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Board of Directors
Haval Shirwan, Ph.D.
Chief Scientific Officer and Founder
Dr. Shirwan is the Founder and CSO of ApoImmune and also a member of the Board of Directors. He is Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Louisville, and is the Director of the Molecular Immunomodulation Program at the Institute for Cellular Therapeutics at Louisville. He is also the Hamilton Chair in Autoimmune Disease and a University Scholar at the School of Medicine.
Throughout his career Dr. Shirwan has maintained a focus on clinically relevant details of the immune response. Dr. Shirwan investigated the molecular basis of the effects interferons on the replication of viruses during his graduate studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His postdoctoral work at the California Institute of Technology dealt with the structure and function of major histocompatibility complex antigens. He was recruited from Caltech to start the Molecular Immunology Program at Cedars/Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles with a focus on transplantation immunology. After a brief tenure at the Alleghany University of Health Sciences in Philadelphia, PA, Dr Shirwan joined the faculty of the University of Louisville in 1998. In recent years, Dr. Shirwan has focused on translational research and pioneered the ProtEx technology, the Company's platform technology, as a safe, efficient, and practical alternative to DNA-based immune gene therapy for immunomodulation.
Dr. Shirwan has served on numerous study sections for national and international funding agencies, including the National Institutes of Health, the Veteran's Administration, The U.S.-Israel Binational Science Foundation, Israel Science Foundation, American Heart Association, Wellcome Trust, and Philip Morris USA Inc. He has also served on the Editorial Board of the journal Graft, was Section Editor for Current Opinion in Organ Transplantation, and an ad hoc reviewer for numerous scientific journals. He is the member of several scientific organizations and authored more than 100 papers, reviews, and book chapters. He has lectured at various national and international scientific meetings as an invited speaker. Dr. Shirwan's numerous honors and recognitions include the following organizations and awards: the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the Red Cross, an NIH First Independent Research Support & Transition (FIRST) award, the American Society of Transplant Physicians-Ortho Award, the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Young Investigator Award, and the Louisville Business First, Partners in Health Care Award.
For additional information, please visit Dr. Shirwan's University of Louisville web site.
George Emont
Executive Chairman, ApoImmune
Managing Partner, Kentucky Seed Capital Fund
Partner, Triathlon Medical Ventures
Mr. Emont brings a significant background in the life sciences and venture capital industry to the ApoImmune team. Mr. Emont is a Managing Partner with the Kentucky Seed Capital Fund and a Venture Partner with Triathlon Medical Ventures. Until 2003, Mr. Emont was Director of Venture Capital for Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM), managing their $70 million venture portfolio. Mr. Emont was a co-founder of OncoTherapeutics, an early stage cancer immunotherapy company, which was sold to Biomira, Inc. As part of the IAI Venture Capital Group of Minneapolis, he evaluated and recommended new investment opportunities. Mr. Emont led the first round of financing of SangStat Medical Corporation and served on its Board of Directors prior to its going public and eventually being bought by Genzyme. Previously, Mr. Emont held positions within Baxter Healthcare. He holds an MBA in Finance and Marketing from the University of Chicago. Mr. Emont brings a diverse background in venture capital, business development and proven early stage company development expertise.
Steve Gailar
Acting CEO, ApoImmune
Managing Partner, Kentucky Seed Capital Fund
President & CEO, MetaCyte Business Lab LLC
Mr. Gailar is President and Chief Executive Officer of MetaCyte Business Lab LLC, the life sciences business accelerator in Louisville, KY, and managing partner of Kentucky Seed Capital Fund. Mr. Gailar has spent the last 30 years as a manager of, and investor in, various life sciences businesses. During 14 years at Eli Lilly and Company he held various management positions in finance, sales, and marketing, as well as establishing the initial Pharmaceutical Strategic Planning component for the company which determined future competencies, investments and acquisitions. Mr. Gailar spent 3 years in the San Francisco Bay Area in senior management positions of emerging biotechnology companies including his role as President and CEO of Marlstone Corporation, a rational drug design firm. For 13 years Mr. Gailar was a Managing Director of Senmed Medical Ventures, a private evergreen venture capital firm making investments in university spin-outs and mid-to-late stage private life science companies. He has been Founder/CEO of seven biomedical startups and has raised more than $50 million in venture capital financing. The public market capitalization of his investments exceeds $1 billion. Mr. Gailar holds a B.A. from Indiana University and an M.S.I.A. from Purdue University's Krannert School of Business.
Michael J. Curtin
Vice President for Finance and CFO, University of Louisville
Michael J. Curtin is the University of Louisville's Vice President for Finance and Chief Financial Officer. He has served in that role since 2003 when he was appointed by President James R. Ramsey.
The Vice President for Finance is the senior financial officer for the University and its several corporate affiliates.
Mr. Curtin has a long and prominent professional career at the University of Louisville. Apart from his current position as Vice President for Finance, he served as the Director of Planning and Budget from 1995 to 2003 and as Director of Budget and Financial Planning from 1985 to 1995. He also has served in several other capacities at the University of Louisville within the financial arena including Budget Director, Assistant Budget Director, Budget and Policy Analyst and Financial Systems Analyst. In all he has been with the University for thirty-three years.
From 1970 to 1974 Mr. Curtin served as Assistant to the Director, Office of Program Analysis for the Kentucky Department for Human Resources, specializing in financial and accounting systems. He also worked as a Research Analyst for the Kentucky Department of Transportation, specializing in automated highway costing systems.
Michael J. Curtin received a B.S. in Finance from Western Kentucky University, a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Louisville in 1977, and an M.S.S. (Master of Strategic Studies) from the U.S. Army War College at Carlisle, Pa. in 1999.
Mr. Curtin is a retired Brigadier General who served as Deputy Commander of the Kentucky Army National Guard. He has a thirty-six year distinguished military career.
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