dr Brian K. Halak
Dr. Halak joined Domain Associates in 2001 and became a Partner in 2006. He currently serves on the Board of Alimera Sciences, GI Dynamics, Immune Control, Optherion, Tobira Therapeutics and Vanda Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: VNDA). He was previously on the Board of CortriaTM Corporation and Esprit Pharma until the company was acquired by Allergan. From 2000 to 2001, Dr. Halak was an Associate with Advanced Technology Ventures where he participated in the firms investments in Plexxikon, Percardia and Emphasys. From 1993 to 1995, he was a Consultant at the Wilkerson Group where he developed strategy for pharmaceutical and medical device companies. Dr. Halak has a degree in biomedical engineering from University of Pennsylvania and a PhD from Thomas Jefferson University.
dr Dennis H. Giesing
Dr. Giesing, from 2008 to 2010, was Chief Scientific Officer of CortriaTM Corporation. For over 30 years, Dr. Geising has served in a variety of senior scientific and leadership roles within large pharmaceutical companies with the last appointment being Senior Vice President, Lead Optimization at Aventis Pharmaceuticals Inc. where he had worldwide responsibility for the Aventis R&D product pipeline from late discovery through early clinical development. Prior to Aventis, he held senior R&D leadership roles in translational medicine, drug metabolism and clinical pharmacokinetics at Hoechst Marion Roussel, Marion Merrell Dow, and Marion Laboratories. During his over 30 years of large pharma drug development experience, Dr. Giesing has been instrumental in the development and approval of multiple new pharmaceutical products, including Allegra, Ketek, Adipra, Anzemet, Cardizem and Pentassa. Dennis Giesing earned a B.S. in Chemistry and his Ph.D. in Biochemical Pharmacology at the University of Missouri, Kansas City. Dr. Giesing is also CEO and co-founder of CepheidRx LLC, a pharmaceutical consulting company.
dr Eugenio A. Cefali
Dr. Cefali is a globally recognized expert in the field of niacin pharmaceutical development, bioavailability and pharmacokinetics, holding several patents in the area. From 2008 to 2010 Dr. Cefali was Sr. Vice President Research & Development of CortriaTM Corporation. Dr. Cefali held multiple key positions at Kos Pharmaceuticals, Inc. from 1994 to 2007, including Vice President of Clinical Pharmacology, Vice President of Clinical Development and Vice President of Lead Optimization from 2004 to 2007. Prior to his work at Kos, Dr. Cefali was Manager of Pharmacokinetics at Whitby Research in Richmond, VA, and Senior Scientist of Biopharmaceutics at Schering Plough Research. Dr. Cefali has a B.S. in Pharmacy from St. John’s University and a Pharm.D. and Ph.D. from Virginia Commonwealth University, Medical College of Virginia.