Irwin Scher M.D., President & CEO, joined Biosynexus in 2005. Prior to joining Biosynexus, Dr. Scher served as a consultant to the CEO of Merck KGaA and as Vice President, Global Clinical Research & Development at Merck KGaA. Prior to this, he held the roles of Senior Vice President, Drug Development and Medical Affairs at Astra-Zeneca, and of Vice President Drug Development at Merck & Company Inc. Dr. Scher is a veteran of academic medicine, having spent fourteen years at the National Naval Medical Center, the Naval Medical Research Institute and the Uniformed Services University as the director of Rheumatology. Dr. Scher graduated from the New York State University at Albany New York, with a BS in Chemistry in 1962, followed by a degree in medicine from Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Dr. Scher has published 115 peer-reviewed papers, focused on B-cell activation and immunogenetics.

James Mond, M.D. Ph.D., Executive Vice President & Chief Scientific Officer, joined Biosynexus in 1999 with specific expertise in developing products for the prevention of bacterial infections. Prior to joining Biosynexus, Dr. Mond worked as a consultant to VSI. In this position he oversaw the development of the vaccine technology the company licensed to GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). Dr. Mond was instrumental in ensuring the bacterial vaccine program with GSK moved forward, and his scientific insights led to new, patented vaccine technology. These pediatric vaccines have successfully completed Phase III efficacy trials. Dr. Mond received his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from New York University Medical School. Dr. Mond worked in the prestigious laboratory of Immunology under Dr. William Paul at the National Institute of Health. Dr. Mond is an acknowledged worldwide expert in Immunology with 196 publications in the most prestigious journals and books. He has acted as a consultant to the NIH, FDA, and pharmaceutical companies. Dr. Mond is a practicing board-certified Internist and Rheumatologist and is currently an adjunct Professor of medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda.

John F. Kokai-Kun, Ph.D., Senior Director of Development and Project Team Leader for Pagibaximab, joined Biosynexus in 1999. Dr. Kokai-Kun received his Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine where his research interests involved mechanisms of action of bacterial toxins and food-borne pathogens. Dr. Kokai-Kun performed post-doctoral research at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD where his research studied Shiga toxin-producing E. coli. Dr. Kokai-Kun joined Biosynexus in 1999 as the Director of Microbiology and has worked on various projects within the company including lysostaphin, nisin, staphylococcal vaccines, and pagibaximab and also served as the co-leader for the lysostaphin development project. Dr. Kokai-Kun has published over thirty peer-reviewed manuscripts and reviews in the field of microbial pathogenesis and drug development and has submitted eleven patent applications. He is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences, and served over twenty years in the United States Army Reserve, most recently at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

Destrey Roberson, Director of Clinical Operations, joined Biosynexus in 2008. Mr. Roberson spent several years practicing as a nurse before transitioning into clinical research, which has been invaluable throughout the clinical development process. With over a decade of experience in clinical operations, Mr. Roberson has set up and managed multiple large clinical research trials from planning through all phases of execution, data management and reporting. His experience in clinical operations of trials spans all of the Americas. Prior to joining Biosynexus, Mr. Roberson was Director of Clinical Operations at a start-up medical device company. Mr. Roberson spent 4.5 years at Inhibitex working on the Veronate program.n

Dawn Litterio, M.B.A., Controller/Human Resources Manager, joined Biosynexus in 2002. Dawn is responsible for overseeing the accounting functions for the company and managing human resources. Dawn has 21 years experience in the accounting field, including 2 years in a local public accounting firm and 19 years in the private sector. Prior to joining Biosynexus, Dawn worked most recently as the corporate controller for CRIIMI MAE Inc., a publicly traded Rockville, Maryland real estate investment trust. While at CRIIMI MAE, Dawn was responsible for all corporate accounting functions and SEC reporting on consolidated financial statements with over $130 million in revenue. Prior to that, Dawn worked as a senior consultant/auditor for a government contractor whose client base focused on work for the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation). Dawn has also held positions with Prudential Home Mortgage and Beers and Cutler, CPAs. Dawn holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from Loyola University, New Orleans and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Maryland.

Sheryl Christmas, Counsel, joined Biosynexus in 2009. Sheryl is responsible for overseeing the legal functions within the company and working with the company’s outside legal advisors. Most recently Sheryl served as Associate General Counsel for GMP Companies, a biotech company in Fort Lauderdale, FL, for over four years. Prior to that, she was an associate in the business practice group in the DC office of Jones Day. Sheryl also clerked for a Justice on the Indiana Supreme Court. Sheryl was valedictorian of her college class and graduated magna cum laude from the University of Notre Dame Law School.