Our Team
Leadership
Emre Koyuncu, Ph.D., Founder and CEO
Dr. Koyuncu is a molecular biologist & virologist who has more than 15 years of experience in drug discovery. The intellectual property he developed while he was working at Princeton University formed the basis of several successful startups including Kadmon (acquired by Sanofi) and was licensed/optioned by companies including Merck. Prior to founding Crescenta, Dr. Koyuncu served as a Co-founder and Head of Biology at Evrys Bio. He received his PhD from Heinrich-Pette-Institute for Experimental Virology and Immunology, Hamburg, Germany and was a post-doctoral fellow at Princeton University.
Hahn Kim, Ph.D. , Founder, Chemistry
Dr. Kim has a deep expertise in the area of discovery chemistry. He is currently serving as the founding director of Small Molecule Screening Center at Princeton University. Prior to founding Crescenta, he served as a co-founder and acting Chief Scientific Officer of Chiromics, a Princeton start-up that developed novel chemical technologies for drug discovery and played an instrumental role in establishing the company’s successful research collaborations with companies such as BMS, Genentech, GSK, Merck, and Pfizer. Dr. Kim received his Ph.D. from Princeton University, where he also was a NIH/NCI post-doctoral fellow.
Daniel V. Maravei, Ph.D., Chief Business Officer
Dr. Maravei is a 20-year business development leader serving most recently as Head of BD at Viacyte (acquired by VRTX) with a development-stage cell therapy for T1 Diabetes. Prior to Viacyte, he led a biotechnology healthcare fund as Managing Director/Analyst at MBH Investments. Prior to MBH, Daniel held multiple BD roles at Incyte (INCY) including partnering for their Jak franchise (Jakafi) in Oncology. Daniel received a PhD in Cellular and Molecular Biology from Boston University School of Medicine, was Research Fellow at MGH/Harvard and received an MBA in Finance from University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Scientific Advisory Board
Gökhan Hotamışlıgil, M.D., Ph.D., Chair
Dr. Hotamışlıgil is the J.S. Simmons Professor of Genetics and Metabolism and the Director of the Center for Metabolic Research at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He is an internationally recognized leader. His discoveries on metabolism and immune regulation have played a pioneering role in the emergence of immunometabolism as a new field and identified central mechanisms of metabolic diseases. Most recently, he received the 2018 EASD–Novo Nordisk Foundation Diabetes Prize for Excellence in recognition of his exceptional contributions, which have opened up potential avenues for treatment of many metabolic diseases.
Patrick Y. Lam, Ph.D.
Dr. Lam is a Distinguished Professor of Medicinal Chemistry at Baruch S. Blumberg Institute, who has over 30 years of experience in drug discovery. During his tenure at BMS, he was responsible for the discovery of Eliquis®/Apixaban, a blockbuster anticoagulant drug generating over $10 billion in annual sales. For this achievement, he and his team was honored with the 2015 American Chemical Society Heroes of Chemistry Award. He is also internationally recognized as the co-discoverer of the powerful Chan-Lam Coupling Reaction.
Greg Cosma, Ph.D.
Dr. Cosma is a renowned toxicologist and thought leader in the pharmaceutical industry amassing over 25 years of experience. At Genentech, his most recent role was Vice President of Research and Early Development, where he led their safety assessment organization and also chaired the Genentech Development Review Committee (DRC), guiding the preclinical development of their pipeline through first-in-human studies. His leadership across R&D has led to the approval of many drugs now on the market.
Lynn Enquist, Ph.D.
Dr. Enquist is Henry L. Hillman Professor in Molecular Biology, Emeritus at Princeton University and Princeton Neuroscience Institute. He is a distinguished leader in the fields of molecular biology and virology. He has years of research, business and management experience in academia, government, biotech and large pharmaceutical companies including DuPont and DuPont-Merck.
Board of Directors
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Kathryn Wellen, Ph.D.
Kathryn Wellen is a Professor and Vice Chair of Cancer Biology at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. She is a leader in the field of cancer cell metabolism and metabolic signaling mechanisms. Her research aims to elucidate the roles of nutrient-sensitive protein modifications in regulating signaling and gene expression in the contexts of cancer and metabolic disease. She has been recognized by honors including the 2023 AACR Award for Outstanding Achievement in Basic Cancer Research and the 2023 Sable Award for Outstanding Contribution to Metabolic Physiology.
