Team

Scientists, drug developers and engineers, decoding the secretome together.

One team, one mission: regenerate tissues to rejuvenate lives.

Leadership

Management

Julie Anne Smith

Chief Executive Officer and Director

Julie Anne Smith brings over 20 years of life sciences industry experience to Juvena, with a proven track record of leading private and public biotechnology companies through the successful development and commercialization of therapeutics for rare and orphan diseases.

Jeremy O’Connell, PhD

Chief Scientific Officer and Co-Founder

As Chief Scientific Officer and Co-Founder of Juvena Therapeutics, Dr. O’Connell oversees research strategy, pre-clinical science and early development, and intellectual property efforts. Dr. O’Connell’s expertise in proteomics and systems biology was accrued during a PhD from UT Austin, a postdoc at Harvard, and his time in industry.

Banmeet Anand, PhD

Senior Vice President of Drug Development

Dr. Banmeet Anand’s more than 20 years experience in the discovery and development of antibodies encompasses fusion proteins, naked, ADCs and bi-specific antibodies; small molecules, and cellular therapies (NK-T, CAR-T) at biotechs and large pharma including Harpoon (a subsidiary of Merck & Co. inc.), Astellas and Genentech.

Colin Hislop, MD

Senior Vice President of Clinical Development

As SVP Clinical Development, Dr. Colin Hislop leads Juvena’s clinical-stage drug candidates. His 38-year tenure in drug development and life sciences spans multinational roles across therapeutic areas at companies including Lilly (Eli Lilly and Company), Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals, Peninsula Therapeutics, CV Therapeutics, Versartis Inc. Anthera Pharmaceuticals and most recently Eiger BioPharmaceuticals. His expertise encompasses early and late-stage clinical development as well as the successful prosecution of multiple drug approvals.

Bek Madjidov

Vice President of Finance and Operations

Bek Madjidov is the Head of Finance and Operations at Juvena Therapeutics, responsible for administrative and operational functions (finance, human resources, information technology, and facilities).

Thach Mai, PhD

Senior Director of Discovery & Platform

Dr. Thach Mai joined Juvena Therapeutics as a Stem Cell Biologist and Bioinformatician to lead the validation and discovery of the key rejuvenating protein factors in Juvena Therapeutics’ complex embryonic secretome cocktail and develop and improve Juvena’s HTS platform for protein therapeutic discovery.

Priya Handa, PhD

Senior Director, Translational Biology & Pharmacology

Priya Handa, PhD has over 15 years of experience in basic, preclinical and translational research spanning multiple disease areas including metabolic, hepatic, renal and ocular, among others. Prior to joining Juvena Therapeutics, Priya was a Principal Scientist and a team leader at Surrozen focused on tissue regeneration using their antibody platform in diseases with an unmet need. There, she championed several early stage discovery programs and was a key contributor to the Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) program which is currently in Phase I clinical trials.

Zhihua Li, PhD

Senior Director, Bioanalytical Science

Dr. Li is a biologist with a multidisciplinary background in Biochemistry, Immunology, Cell and Molecular Biology, with 7 years of research experience in academia and 4 years in industry. He joined Juvena Therapeutics as a Protein Engineering Scientist to build protein expression and purification pipelines and to improve Juvena Therapeutics’ pipeline library of rejuvenating proteins for therapeutic purposes.

Julie Seal, MBA

Senior Director, Program Management

Julie Seal is a program and portfolio management leader with a track record of advancing complex biopharmaceutical programs from early development through commercialization. She brings deep experience across biologics and small molecules, leading cross-functional efforts spanning nonclinical, translational, clinical, CMC, regulatory, and commercial functions.

Governance