Leadership Team
Dr. Kathy Bowdish
President & CEO
Dr. Bowdish joined PIC Therapeutics as its President & CEO in August 2020, bringing more than 20 years of biopharmaceutical business and scientific leadership to the company.
Kathy was most recently at Sanofi, where she launched and led Sanofi Sunrise, a venture investment and partnering vehicle to accelerate early stage pioneering science for patients benefit, and more recently served as Vice President and Head of R&D Strategy.
Prior to her leadership roles at Sanofi, Kathy co-founded or led several early-stage life science companies focused on biological therapies. Kathy’s positions include President & CSO, Permeon Biologics; President & CEO, Anaphore; President, Alexion Antibody Technologies and Senior Vice President, Alexion Pharmaceuticals and Founder, CEO & CSO, Prolifaron, prior to its acquisition by Alexion.
Kathy has served on the Boards of Directors of MyoKardia, Warp Drive Bio, Portal Instruments, Thermalin, Permeon Biologics, Anaphore and Prolifaron, and most recently as an Observer on the DiCE Molecules Board. Kathy received her Ph.D. in molecular genetics from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, and her B.Sc. degree in biology from the College of William and Mary.
Chris VanDeusen, PhD
Vice President & Chief Scientific Officer
As Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. VanDeusen is responsible for leadership of all of PIC Therapeutics' scientific and development efforts.
Dr. VanDeusen brings over 15 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical sector, with extensive expertise in drug discovery and development having contributed to or been the inventor of multiple compounds entering into pre-clinical development. Previously, he was the head of the Chemistry division within Tissue Protection and Repair at Sanofi and Genzyme, leading global project teams in the areas of inflammation and fibrosis. Dr. VanDeusen is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board for Katexco Pharmaceuticals.
Dr. VanDeusen earned a BA in Chemistry from Wittenberg University and a PhD from Stanford University.
Lisa Sturla, PhD
Head of In Vitro Pharmacology
As Head of In Vitro Pharmacology, Dr. Sturla plays an instrumental role in leading the in vitro Pharmacology program.
She has over 15 years of experience as a cellular and molecular biologist in pediatric and adult oncology, and has been the principal investigator of studies of brain tumor patients to identify and validate biomarkers and therapeutic targets.
Dr. Sturla received a BSc with honors from University of Bristol (UK) and a PhD from University of Leeds (UK) in Pediatric Oncology.
Susan E. Alters, PhD
Head of In Vivo Pharmacology
Susan Alters co-leads in vivo pharmacology and pre-clinical planning at PIC Therapeutics, working with the company since February 2021. Susan gained extensive knowledge of basic research, IND-enabling bioanalytical, PK/PD, toxicology, and clinical development from a variety of past positions at Aeglea Biotherapeutics, Amunix, Targesome, Surromed, and Applied Immune Sciences/RPR GenCell.
Dr. Alters is Principal Consultant and President of Alters Bioscience Consulting, where she brings industry expertise to companies developing novel therapeutics. Dr. Alters specializes in setting and implementing overall drug development strategies required to move preclinical therapeutics through clinical development. Dr. Alters proven track record of scientific productivity is emphasized by her contributions to numerous IND and BLA submissions, publications, and patents on preclinical and translational drug development.
Dr. Alters received her Ph.D. from Stanford University in Cancer Biology, and subsequently performed postdoctoral research in Immunology at Stanford University Medical Center.