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Management Team

Dr. Ruby Yanru Chen-Tsai

Ruby Yanru Chen-Tsai, Ph.D., CEO, Founder, and President

Dr. Chen-Tsai received her PhD from Cornell University and did her post-doc research at Stanford University. She has been doing research in genome editing and stem cells over 25 years. Prior to joining ASC, Dr. Chen-Tsai worked at Stanford University for 16 years as the Director of Transgenic Research Center and Associate Director of the Stanford Cancer Institute, overseeing nine research technology labs. Her research at Stanford focused on using Parkinson patient-specific iPS cell lines and their differentiation to dopaminergic neurons as a disease model-in-a-dish. She is a co-inventor of the TARGATT™ integrase technology for site-specific gene insertion. Dr. Chen-Tsai is an author of many scientific papers and holder of over fifteen patents. Prior to becoming the CEO of Applied StemCell, Dr. Chen-Tsai led the ASC Therapeutics' gene/cell therapeutic pipeline in the past 5 years. She also led the successful filing of three pre-IND (one stem cell therapy, one gene therapy and one gene editing therapy) with the FDA.

George Hong, Chief Commercial Officer

George Hong, Chief Commercial Officer

George Hong joins Applied StemCell, Inc. as Chief Commercial Officer, bringing more than 20 years of experience in academic and industry roles within life sciences, serving as a sales, marketing, and commercial executive with increasing responsibilities. Prior to joining ASC, George worked as Chief Commercial Officer and President at Exellgene, Head of North America Sales at Advanced Instruments, Strategic Marketing Manager at MilliporeSigma, and Director of Sales and Marketing at Transgenomics. George holds a BS in Molecular Microbiology from the University of Illinois, an MBA in Corporate Entrepreneurship from Boston University, a Ph.D. and a postdoc in Molecular Clinical Microbiology/Immunology from Duke University.

Timothy J. Largen, Chief Operating Officer

Timothy J. Largen, Chief Operating Officer

Timothy J. Largen steps in as Chief Operating Officer (COO) at ASC. With a 25-year career marked by significant contributions to Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs), Tim's experience spans GMP manufacturing, quality management, process engineering, business operations, and regulatory affairs. Prior to joining Applied StemCell, Tim held key positions, including VP of Commercial Manufacturing at Aurion Biotech, VP of Manufacturing Science and Technology (MSAT) at RoslinCT (formerly Lykan), and over 8 years in commercial manufacturing and quality positions at Dendreon. Tim holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology and an MBA in Operations Management Sciences.

Tammy Cameron

Tammy Cameron, Chief Financial Officer

Tammy Cameron joins Applied StemCell, Inc. as Chief Financial Officer bringing with her more than 20 years of experience developing and directing accounting and finance organizations in commercial, high-growth life science companies. Tammy has worked in venture capital-backed start-ups, private global corporations, and publicly-held corporations. Before joining ASC, Tammy worked as Chief Financial Officer for Ceek Women’s Health, Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President of Finance and Human Resources at Intuity Medical Inc, and Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President at Labcyte Inc. during her tenure at these organizations, she supported both private equity and debt financings and was a key individual to build the internal infrastructure to support a commercial organization. She started her career at Ernst & Young, LLP, where she served in the audit practice. Tammy holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from California State University, East Bay and is a Certified Public Accountant in the state of California (inactive).

Director, Finance and Administration, Lucy Gui

Lucy Gu, Senior Director, Finance and Administration

Lucy Gu has over 20 years of experience in the operational accounting and finance field plus 8 years of pubic banking. After joining Applied StemCell in 2012, Lucy developed and implemented several programs to support business growth, including cost tracking, inventory, and stock management. She leads the team for day-to-day accounting functions and annual audits. Oversees financial activities of the company, forecasting, and budgeting, preparing financial reports, and ensuring organizational financial stability. She has participated in and contributed to multiple, successful VC financing rounds and business transactions.

Director, Marketing, Maki Ogawai

Maki Ogawa, Senior Director, Marketing

Maki Ogawa is the Senior Business Marketing Director at Applied StemCell, she oversees all business marketing activities including inbound marketing as well as business development, lead generation and operations. Maki has expertise in building tactical/strategic marketing mix in relation with budget and resources in various business levels. Previously, Maki has worked as a marketing specialist with a few biotechnology startups, CROs, as well as marketing agencies for 20+ years. She graduated with honors from Kawansei Gakuin University with a degree in Business Administration and Marketing and is fluent in both Japanese and English.

Dr. Alfonso Farruggio, Ph.D., Head of Research and Development

Dr. Alfonso Farruggio, Ph.D., Head of Research and Development

Dr. Alfonso Farruggio, Head of Research and Development at Applied StemCell, received his Ph.D. in genetics from Stanford University. He is the co-inventor of TARGATT™, ASC's core site-specific knock-in technology, and has over 15 years of TARGATT™ gene editing experience. Dr. Farruggio carried out his post-doctoral work at Stanford University, and over the years, he has applied for and received several grants. He is a patent holder and an author of many publications on gene editing, induced pluripotent stem cells, and more. Dr. Alfonso Farruggio not only led a group of young scientists in the creation and refinement of TARGATT™ products, such as the TTARGATT™ HEK293 Master Cell Lines for stable knock-in and library construction, he also greatly contributed to the establishment of ASC’s first GMP room. He now spearheads ASC’s research pipeline by leading several innovative projects, including the construction of a unique TARGATT™-iPSC line that could potentially be used to engineer CAR-iNK and CAR-iT products for cancer immunotherapy.

Dr. David Lee, Ph.D., Head GMP and Quality

Dr. David Lee, Ph.D., Director, GMP and Quality

Dr. David Lee joined Applied StemCell with over 20 years of stem cell and natural killer cell GMP and quality experience, he will lead the new GMP and Quality sector at ASC. Dr. Lee received his Ph.D. in genetics from the University of California, Riverside and completed his post-doctoral research at Case Western Reserve University on cell and gene therapy and mammary tumor and prostate cancer regression. Dr. Lee has contributed to several patent registrations and applications as well as 30 scientific papers. After beginning his bio-industrial career as a Senior Scientist at Osiris Therapeutics, Dr. Lee continued his profession as the Chief Operating Officer and Director of Molecular Biology of PlantVax, Inc. and the Chief Scientific Officer of Human Biostar, Inc. Prior to joining ASC, Dr. Lee served as the Head of Bio Strategy and Officer of Cell Therapy Quality at LORDS Co., Ltd. Dr. David Lee has led several R&D teams in cell therapy development projects, helped build cleanrooms and GMP facilities, and has even supervised the GMP manufacturing process. With his comprehensive understanding of industry-level cell therapy product development and GMP manufacturing, Dr. Lee is on a mission to expand ASC’s GMP iPSC-derived product development and manufacturing capabilities to help ASC become a top CRO/CDMO in the biotechnology industry.

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Cassandra Myers, Ph.D., Director, Sales and Business Development

Dr. Cassandra Heighington, Sales Director at Applied StemCell, currently leads the global sales team. She received her PhD from the University of Georgia in Genetics and has over 5 years of experience in scientific sales relating to gene editing services. She specializes in iPSC technologies, CRISPR gene editing, TARGATT technology and custom genetically modified animal models. Her skilled and knowledgeable sales team shares her focus of building strong client relationships and providing optimal custom solutions.

 Dr. Simon Wu, Ph.D., Assistant Director, Project Management

Dr. Simon Wu, Ph.D., Associate Director, Project Management and Technical Operation

Dr. Simon Wu has over 20 years of scientific research experience. He received his PhD from Duke University in Biology. Before joining ASC, Dr. Wu was a Senior Research Scientist II at Abbvie. At ASC he has embarked on a new journey to support management and lead projects to completion, and lead the technical operation team.

Board Members

Dr. Ruby Yanru Chen-Tsai

Ruby Yanru Chen-Tsai, Ph.D., Chairman of the Board

Dr. Chen-Tsai received her PhD from Cornell University and did her post-doc research at Stanford University. She has been doing research in genome editing and stem cells over 25 years. Prior to joining ASC, Dr. Chen-Tsai worked at Stanford University for 16 years as the Director of Transgenic Research Center and Associate Director of the Stanford Cancer Institute, overseeing nine research technology labs. Her research at Stanford focused on using Parkinson patient-specific iPS cell lines and their differentiation to dopaminergic neurons as a disease model-in-a-dish. She is a co-inventor of the TARGATT™ integrase technology for site-specific gene insertion. Dr. Chen-Tsai is an author of many scientific papers and holder of over fifteen patents. Prior to becoming the CEO of Applied StemCell, Dr. Chen-Tsai led the ASC Therapeutics' gene/cell therapeutic pipeline in the past 5 years. She also led the successful filing of three pre-IND (one stem cell therapy, one gene therapy and one gene editing therapy) with the FDA.

Matt Jenkins, Partner

Matt Jenkins, Partner

Matt Jenkins is a Partner at QHP Capital. Prior to joining QHP Capital, Mr. Jenkins established and led the private equity investment portfolio at RTI International where he focused on precision medicine, clinical research, real world evidence, genomics, population healthcare, and consumer-oriented diagnostics. Prior to that, he held various Corporate Development leadership roles in companies such as M*Modal and AllScripts. He also was a co-founder of Cellective Therapeutics, a venture investor, and a consultant at Ernst & Young.

Jeff Edwards, Partner

Jeff Edwards, Partner

Jeff Edwards is a Partner at QHP Capital. Prior to joining QHP Capital, Mr. Edwards co-managed the Principal Investment Private Equity program at the Teacher Retirement System of Texas. Mr. Edwards' previous experience also includes M&A advisory work for Raymond James Capital Markets focusing on middle-market companies. Mr. Edwards also worked as a consultant for State Street Global Advisors. Before moving back to the Capital Markets sector, Mr. Edwards worked in finance and administrative roles in the healthcare industry with Carolinas HealthCare Systems and HCA, Inc. He started his career with the middle market investment bank RW Baird.

Frank Leo, Executive Operating Advisor

Frank Leo, Executive Operating Advisor

Frank Leo is a 40-year veteran of the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries having experience with publicly traded, private equity-backed, and start-up companies in the capacity of executive, investor, and advisor. Mr. Leo served as President and Group President of Sterile Technologies and Life Sciences at Cardinal Health. At Cardinal Health he oversaw the growth of the biotechnology and life sciences group, which was later spun out to form Catalent Inc. Mr. Leo is a serial entrepreneur, having been involved in business value creation and start-ups in the medical device, sterile drug, biotechnology, and healthcare technology spaces.

Vern Davenport, Partner

Vern Davenport, Partner

Vern Davenport is a Partner at QHP Capital. Before joining QHP Capital, Mr. Davenport was multi-time CEO, with executive and Board positions at Medfusion, CEO of Medquist (rebranded to M*Modal), Allscripts, Misys Healthcare, Kodak Health Group (now Carestream Health), Siemens, and Shared Medical Systems. Mr. Davenport started his career at IBM where he spent 11 years in sales, sales leadership, and executive management positions.

Heidi Hagen

Heidi Hagen, Executive Operating Advisor

Ms. Heidi Hagen has extensive experience in operations management and commercializing innovative technologies for the last 30 years. Ms. Hagen's roles have included the Chief Technology Officer of Sonoma Biotherapeutics, Interim CEO of Ziopharm Oncology, Co-Founder & CSO of Vineti, CCO of ZappRx, and numerous Board positions at therapeutics and service companies. Ms. Hagen spent ten years at both Dendreon and Immunex, holding senior operations roles at both companies.

QHP Capital

QHP focuses on providing capital and partnering with management teams to build leading healthcare companies in the middle market. QHP focuses on tech-enabled life sciences and pharma service companies that help reduce the total cost of care, fulfill unmet medical needs, diminish unnecessary procedures, improve efficiency, and elevate patient quality of life. QHP works to transform these companies into larger, better-positioned, and more valuable enterprises.

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