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The team behind Cryptyx Bioscience.
 

Mohammad R. “Mo” Seyedsayamdost, Ph.D., Co-Founder

Mohammad R. Seyedsayamdost, Ph.D.

CO-FOUNDER & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Dr. Mohammad Seyedsayamdost was trained at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard Medical School before joining Princeton University in 2013 as an Assistant Professor. In 2021, he was promoted to Professor of Chemistry and Molecular Biology. Mo is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including a MacArthur "Genius" Award in 2020.

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Brett Covington, Ph.D.

CO-FOUNDER & CHIEF SCIENCE OFFICER

Dr. Brett Covington obtained his Ph.D. in Chemistry from Vanderbilt University where he received extensive training in natural product discovery, isolation, and characterization. Brett is passionate about natural product discovery and is currently developing new methods to unlock the hidden arsenal of biologically active molecules yet to be discovered from bacteria.

Dr. Ximing Li

Ximing Li, Ph.D.

RESEARCH SCIENTIST

Dr. Ximing Li obtained his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Princeton University and M.S. in Physical Chemistry from University of Washington. With knowledge of total synthesis, he is dedicated to large-scale isolation and synthesis of cryptic metabolites with therapeutic potential.

Vanessa Ying, research scientist

Vanessa Ying

RESEARCH SCIENTIST

Vanessa Ying obtained a B.S. in Chemistry from University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has expertise in isolation and total synthesis of natural products and drug leads.
At Cryptyx Bioscience, Vanessa is identifying new cryptic metabolite drug leads and scaling up production for further development.

Sierra Knodle

Sierra Knodle

RESEARCH SCIENTIST

Sierra Knodle obtained an M.S. in Chemistry and B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Colorado, with concentrations in Physical and Organic Chemistry. She brings significant experience and passion in synthesis and purification of peptides & other small organic compounds. 

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Jetson Farris

RESEARCH ASSISTANT

Jetson Farris holds a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of California, San Diego, with a specialization in organic chemistry. At Cryptyx Bioscience, Jetson focuses on large-scale microbial culture and natural product isolation, playing a key role in advancing our drug development pipeline.

Chari Smith, Ph.D.

Chari Smith, Ph.D.

SCIENTIFIC ADVISOR

Dr. Chari Smith is currently the VP of R&D in Metabolic Disease at Kriya Therapeutics and a consultant with biotech companies and universities on translational science. Prior to her current role, she worked at Glaxo Smith Kline focusing on cell biology and cellular biochemistry to help discover and develop numerous drugs. Additionally, she served as Biology Leader for GSK's Discovery Partnerships with Academia where she fostered collaborative partnerships with academia, focused on early stage drug discovery.

Robert Dobbins, M.D., Clinical Advisor

Robert Dobbins, M.D.

CLINICAL ADVISOR

Dr. Robert Dobbins is a physician scientist trained at Vanderbilt University's Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics.  He has experience in early and late phase development for new drugs targeting indications in diabetes, obesity, neurosciences and liver disease. Robert brings a unique combination of technical expertise, clinical experience, and project leadership skills to drive planning and execution of clinical development.

Bonnie Bassler, Ph.D., Scientific Advisor

Bonnie Bassler, Ph.D.

SCIENTIFIC ADVISOR

Dr. Bonnie Bassler is the Squibb Professor and Chair of the Department of Molecular Biology at Princeton University. She has pioneered the field of bacterial quorum sensing, a cell-to-cell communication system in bacteria. Bonnie has received numerous awards, including a MacArthur Fellowship (2002),  the Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences (2009), the Richard Lounsbery Award (2011), the L’Oreal-UNESCO Award (2012), and the Pearl Meister Greengard Prize (2016).

Dr. Jon Clardy, Scientific Advisor

Jon Clardy, Ph.D.

SCIENTIFIC ADVISOR

Dr. Jon Clardy is currently the Hsien Wu and Daisy Yen Wu Professor of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology at Harvard Medical School. His work has impacted every area of natural product research, and he has pioneered numerous directions, including discovery of new classes of natural products, their macromolecular targets, and their roles in biology and medicine.

Chari Smith, Ph.D.

Chari Smith, Ph.D.

SCIENTIFIC ADVISOR

Dr. Chari Smith is currently the VP of R&D in Metabolic Disease at Kriya Therapeutics and a consultant with biotech companies and universities on translational science. Prior to her current role, she worked at Glaxo Smith Kline focusing on cell biology and cellular biochemistry to help discover and develop numerous drugs. Additionally, she served as Biology Leader for GSK's Discovery Partnerships with Academia where she fostered collaborative partnerships with academia, focused on early stage drug discovery.

Robert Dobbins, M.D., Clinical Advisor

Robert Dobbins, M.D.

CLINICAL ADVISOR

Dr. Robert Dobbins is a physician scientist trained at Vanderbilt University's Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics.  He has experience in early and late phase development for new drugs targeting indications in diabetes, obesity, neurosciences and liver disease. Robert brings a unique combination of technical expertise, clinical experience, and project leadership skills to drive planning and execution of clinical development.

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