CEO, AIVITA BIOMEDICAL
WHY: Stem cell pioneer currently at the helm of Aivita Biomedical, an Irvine-based biotech company specializing in stem cell applications to develop personalized vaccines against cancer and COVID-19; and Immunis Inc., a local biotechnology company developing a novel treatment for age and disease-related immune decline. 2022 Business Journal Innovator of the Year Award winner.
BY THE NUMBERS: Served as a professor at the University of California, Irvine, where he founded, directed and raised money to build the $77 million Sue and Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center. Started and sold four high-tech health companies.
FUTURE PLANS: Linked up with locally based TAE Life Sciences, which is developing a new treatment for difficult-to-treat malignant cancers. The partnership is intended to address “an unmet need in glioblastoma treatment,” the companies said, referring to malignant cancers that affect the brain and spine.
IN THEIR WORDS: “Stem cells deserve your serious attention. They are the building blocks that make you, so undoubtedly have the potential to help therapeutic development for every disease and injury. … They are a renewable source of replacement cells for those lost to disease or injury.”
