Officers
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Peter G. Savas

Chairman and CEO


Mr. Savas brings over 30 years of experience in executive leadership positions across life sciences. He was CEO of Alseres Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Chairman and CEO of Aderis Pharmaceuticals, developer of the Neupro® transdermal patch marketed worldwide to treat Parkinson’s disease and Restless Legs Syndrome and Chairman and CEO of Unisyn, a cGMP contract manufacturer of biologics for clinical trials. Peter also held executive and operating leadership positions with Bristol Myers, Waters, Millipore, Genex and Zymark. With a personal mission for entrepreneurism and pursuing advancement in neurologic science, Peter bridges strategic and operational healthcare experience with broad access to industry, academia, regulatory and capital markets leaders. Peter holds a BS in Chemistry from Syracuse University and is credentialed as a Professional Director by the American College of Corporate Directors.

directors
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Henry Brem, MD

Dr. Brem is the Harvey Cushing Professor of Neurosurgery at The Johns Hopkins University, Director of the Department of Neurosurgery, and Neurosurgeon-in-Chief, and represents clinicians on the LikeMinds Board. Over the past 30 years, Dr. Brem has introduced new therapeutic approaches to Neurosurgery. His devotion to patient care, clinical excellence and translational science has brought together a unique group of neurosurgeons and investigators that have changed the field of neurosurgery. At Hopkins, he has built one of the largest brain tumor research and treatment centers in the world. He reinstituted the Hunterian Neurosurgery Laboratory and has trained numerous researchers who have revolutionized the fields of intraoperative imaging, angiogenesis, immunotherapy, and controlled release polymers for drug delivery to the brain.
Gary Frashier, PhD, MBA, P.E.

Dr. Frashier has served as a Chief Executive Officer for over 24 years in life science and specialty chemicals and has over 17 years of experience in international operations. He served as the CEO and Chairman of OSI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. whose product Tarceva is now sold globally by Roche, Genentech and Astellas for the treatment of many solid tumors with sales of over $1.9 Billion per year. OSI was acquired by Astellas in 2010 for $4 Billion. Prior to OSI, Dr. Frashier served as Executive Vice President of Millipore Corporation and as President of their International Operations. When Millipore acquired Waters Corporation, he served as President and CEO of their Waters Chromatography subsidiary. Prior to this, he joined Genex Corporation, which discovered, developed and patented the first single-chain antibodies. Dr. Frashier financed over $250 Million in capital for his companies from a combination of equity funding and other sources and is a Strategic Partner in SV Life Sciences. Dr. Frashier has a BS in Chemical Engineering from Texas Tech University, an MS from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Management (Alfred P. Sloan Fellow) and a PhD in Innovation Leadership from Our Lady of the Lake University.
Robert Langer, ScD

Dr. Langer is the Chairman of Science and Intellectual Property at LikeMinds. He is the David H. Koch Institute Professor at MIT and has over 1,300 issued and pending patents worldwide. Dr. Langer’s patents have been licensed or sublicensed to over 350 pharmaceutical, chemical, biotechnology and medical device companies. He is the most cited engineer in history. Dr. Langer has received over 220 major awards. He is one of 4 living individuals to have received both the United States National Medal of Science (2006) and the United States National Medal of Technology and Innovation (2011). He also received the 2002 Charles Stark Draper Prize, considered the equivalent of the Nobel Prize for engineers, the 2008 Millennium Prize, the world’s largest technology prize, the 2012 Priestley Medal, the highest award of the American Chemical Society, the 2013 Wolf Prize in Chemistry, the 2014 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences and the 2014 Kyoto Prize. He is also the only engineer to receive the Gairdner Foundation International Award; 82 recipients of this award have subsequently received a Nobel Prize.
Paul Sekhri

Mr. Sekhri is the Chairman of the Compensation Committee at LikeMinds. Paul is the CEO of eGenesis, bringing decades of experience leading life sciences companies, including those with a focus on immunology, and has been a director on more than 24 private and public company boards. He most recently comes from Lycera Corp., where he served as president and chief executive officer. Prior to Lycera, he served as group executive vice president, global business development, and chief strategy officer for Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries, Ltd., and earlier, operating partner and head of the Biotechnology Operating Group at TPG Biotech. Previously, Mr. Sekhri founded Cerimon Pharmaceuticals where he served as president and chief executive officer. Prior to founding Cerimon, he was president and chief business officer of ARIAD Pharmaceuticals. Earlier in his career, Mr. Sekhri held various senior positions at Novartis AG, including senior vice president, head of global search and evaluation, business development and licensing, and global head, early commercial development. Mr. Sekhri completed graduate work in neuroscience at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore and received his B.S. in zoology from the University of Maryland, College Park.
Robert Van Nostrand, CPA

Mr. Van Nostrand is the Chairman of Finance and Audit at LikeMinds. Robert is a seasoned leader in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries, bringing more than 30 years of experience in the private sector to become a valuable industry resource through board participation and industry leadership positions. For 21 years Mr. Van Nostrand was at OSI Pharmaceuticals, Inc., or OSI, a biotechnology company, serving in a variety of executive positions including Chief Financial Officer as well as SVP and Chief Compliance Officer. After this, Mr. Van Nostrand was EVP and Chief Financial Officer of Aureon Laboratories, Inc., a pathology life science company. Prior to that, Mr. Van Nostrand served as EVP and Chief Financial Officer of AGI Dermatics, a private biotechnology company, from July 2007 to September 2008 when the company was acquired. Today, Mr. Van Nostrand serves as a director of several biotech and related companies. He is currently on the Board of Directors of Achillion Pharmaceuticals and Enumeral Biomedical Corporation, both biotechnology companies, Intra-Cellular Therapies, a biopharmaceutical company, Yield10 Bioscience, Inc., formerly Metabolix, Inc., a bio agricultural company, and the Biomedical Research Alliance of New York, a private company providing clinical trial services. Mr. Van Nostrand holds a B.S. in Accounting from Long Island University, New York and completed advanced management studies at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

ADVISORS
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Heiner Dreismann, PhD

At LikeMinds, Dr. Dreismann represents the field of diagnostics. From 2000 to 2006, Dr. Dreismann was President and CEO of Roche Molecular Systems (RMS), a division of F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. and the company that pioneered molecular diagnostics in the clinical arena. During his tenure as CEO, RMS annual sales doubled to US$ 1.2 billion and the portfolio of tests and hardware sales were greatly expanded. Dr. Dreismann led the introduction of PCR-based tests in Europe as early as 1992 and witnessed firsthand the industry growth over the last two decades. Prior to being appointed CEO, Dr. Dreismann held other senior positions within Roche Diagnostics in the areas of Global Business Development, Business Unit Manager for PCR and Microbiology, as well as R&D positions in microbiology and infectious diseases, and in manufacturing. Dr. Dreismann has a master’s degree in Biology and a PhD in Microbiology/Molecular Biology from Westfälische Wilhelms University, Muenster, Germany. He completed Post-Doctoral studies with the French Center for Nuclear Research, Saclay, France, investigating gram-negative bacteria genetics.
Ann Graybiel, PhD

Dr. Graybiel is an Institute Professor at MIT. Her research is focused on how the regions of the forebrain that influence movement, mood and motivation — the basal ganglia and neural pathways interconnecting the basal ganglia with the cerebral cortex — operate in normal and abnormal conditions. Dr. Graybiel and her group, in order to approach these issues, apply combinations of methods ranging from multi-electrode recordings from neurons in the brain to genetic engineering, optogenetics, fast-scan cyclic voltammetry and designer drug manipulations during behavior. Dr. Graybiel was elected to the National Academy of Sciences of the USA (1988), to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1991), and to the Institute of Medicine of the USA (1994). She was awarded the Dow Award in 2002, the Prix Plasticité Neuronale IBSEN in 2005 and the Vanderbilt Prize in 2008. In 2001, Dr. Graybiel was awarded the National Medal of Science of the United States. In 2012 she was awarded the Kavli Prize in Neuroscience. Dr. Graybiel received her PhD in Psychology and Brain Science from MIT, and MA in Biology from Tufts, and BS in Biology and Chemistry from Harvard University.
J. William Langston, PhD

Dr. Langston is the Associate Director of the Stanford Udall Center, Department of Pathology at Stanford University Medical School. A graduate of the University of Missouri School of Medicine, he served as faculty member at Stanford University Medical School and Chairman of Neurology at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose, California before founding the Parkinson’s Institute. Dr. Langston gained national and international recognition in 1980s for the discovery of the link between a tainted “synthetic heroin” and parkinsonism. The bad batch of heroin proved to contain a substance known as MPTP, which is selectively toxic to the same nerve cells in the brain that die in Parkinson’s disease. The discovery of the biologic effects of this compound led to a renaissance of the basic and clinical research in Parkinson’s disease. He is the founding member of the Scientific Advisory Board for the Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, which he continues to serve on.
Jerome Lisk, MD

Dr. Lisk is a seasoned clinician, contributing years of experience in neurological disorders to LikeMinds. He has been an advisor for biotech startups and done research on Immunotoxin therapy at the University of Michigan. Dr. Lisk is a 2013 Graduate of the American Academy of Neurology Palatucci Advocacy Leadership Forum and 2016 Graduate of the American Academy of Neurology Diversity Leadership Program. Dr. Lisk is currently a member of the Christus Health IRB Committee, member of the American Academy of Neurology Diversity Subcommittee, Trinity Leadership Curriculum and Virtual Visit Committee at Christus Trinity Mother Frances Hospital. Dr. Lisk earned his medical degree at the Medical College of Virginia and completed his Internship at UCLA then his Neurology Residency & Movement Disorders fellowship at the University of Texas at Houston.
Saira Ramasastry, MS

Ms. Ramasastry represents key experience in market research and transaction advisory at LikeMinds. Saira is the Managing Partner of Life Sciences Advisory, is a seasoned industry insider with over 20 years of transaction and advisory experience. Prior to LSA, she helped found and establish the leading life sciences franchise on Wall Street at Merrill Lynch and was responsible for emerging biotech coverage. Ms. Ramasastry is a recognized thought leader on life sciences public-private alliances and is frequently called upon as a speaker. She serves on the Industry Advisory Board of the Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research. She serves on the Boards of Directors of Sangamo Biosciences (NASDAQ: SGMO), Repros Therapeutics (NASDAQ: RPRX) and Pain Therapeutics (NASDAQ: PTIE). Ms. Ramasastry has a B.A. in Economics with Honors and Distinction from Stanford University where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa, and advanced degrees in Management Science & Engineering and Management Studies from Stanford University and the University of Cambridge. She is a lecturer for the Bioscience Enterprise Program and serves on the Advisory Council of the Cambridge Judge Business School.
Dwaine Rieves, MD

Dr. Rieves brings 19 years of FDA drug evaluation experience to LikeMinds. Dr. Rieves is currently a writer and premier pharmaceutical/biotechnology drug development consultant at NDA Partners LLC and Rieves Consultancy LLC. His drug development focus was in diagnostics, radiation countermeasure products, hematology and general internal medicine products (particularly biological products, including cell therapies and gene therapies). He retired from the US FDA in 2013 after service in a variety of drug review and development roles in the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research and the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. Prior to joining the FDA, Dr. Rieves completed training in internal medicine, critical care medicine and pulmonary diseases at Johns Hopkins.
Sven Rohmann, MD, PhD, MBA

Dr. Rohmann brings a broad range of expertise in capital markets and innovation to LikeMinds. Dr. Rohmann possesses a unique blend of scientific, pharmaceutical and biotech and venture knowledge. Dr. Rohmann brings an extensive network of contacts in the health care sector including academic and government research administrators. In addition, Dr. Rohmann has a thorough knowledge of global research & development as well as EMA/FDA regulatory policies, and a significant experience in M&A and partnering making him one of the leading experts in innovation management, value building & capturing. Dr. Rohmann is currently the CEO at Oasmia Pharmaceutical AB in Sweden. Sven previously spent 10 years at Merck Serono and headed establishment of Oncology. Dr. Rohmann was also a managing partner in many venture firms, raising multiple funds, and consistently delivered high returns. Dr. Rohmann received his MD from the University of Mainz, Germany, and his PhD from the Erasmus University, Rotterdam, Netherlands.
John P. Seibyl, MD

Dr. Seibyl's expertise in the field of nuclear imaging in Parkinson’s is unparalleled as he brings not only his expertise as a clinician and a Primary Investigator to LikeMinds, but also the patient's perspective in Parkinson's. Dr. Seibyl is Managing Director and Distinguished Scientist at inviCRO, LLC having merged in 2016 with Molecular Neuroimaging, a company he co-founded in New Haven, Connecticut. He is also Senior Scientist at the Institute for Neurodegenerative Disorders and Associate Clinical Professor of Diagnostic Radiology, Yale University. Prior to this, Dr. Seibyl was Chief of the Section of Nuclear Medicine and the Director of the Yale PET Center and NeuroSPECT Center within the Yale School of Medicine. He is board-certified in both Psychiatry and Nuclear Medicine, having completed training in both specialties at Yale. He is currently the PI for the Imaging core of the Parkinson’s Progression Marker Initiative (PPMI) Trial, a large, multicenter, International trial of Parkinson’s disease progression. Dr. Seibyl is an author on over two hundred publications on brain imaging and is a reviewer for multiple top-tier journals.
Robert Sgroi

Mr. Sgroi has over 20 years of diversified experience in the field of Molecular Imaging. As a Board Certified and Registered Nuclear Medicine Technologist, he has combined his clinical experience and business acumen to support his passion to build a career centered around making a positive impact on the lives of patients, their families and those who care for them. Mr. Sgroi is the Director of Marketing and New Product Opportunities at Jubilant Radiopharma. Prior to joining Jubilant, Mr. Sgroi was Chief Marketing Officer at Piramal. Mr. Sgroi spent nearly 20 years at GE Healthcare. His leadership roles at GE included Global Brand Director for a $350 million division of GE Healthcare and Brand Leader for DaTscan (Ioflupane I-123). DaTscan was the first significant molecular imaging agent to come to the US market in over a decade and the world’s first Schedule II radiopharmaceutical. As Brand Leader, he had sole responsibility for all aspects of the commercialization of this product including its 2009 U.S. launch. Mr. Sgroi holds a dual degree in both Business Management and Nuclear Medicine from Molloy College.
Richard Thorn, PhD

Dr. Thorn is currently an independent consultant for Thorn Pharma Development and a scientific advisor to LikeMinds. Dr. Thorn brings over 30 years of experience in biopharmaceutical and diagnostic product CMC and Project Management. He was also involved with Altropane for a significant portion of its development history. Dr. Thorn held positions as a Program Director at Navidea Biopharmaceuticals, Senior Vice President of Program Operations at Alseres Pharmaceuticals, and played key roles previously at Boston Life Sciences, Boston Biomedica, Verigen, Baxter Diagnostics, Cambridge Biosciences, and the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Thorn completed his BA in Biological Sciences at UC San Diego and his PhD In Molecular Biology at the University of Pennsylvania.
Thomas H. Tulip, PhD

Dr. Tulip is an expert in nuclear medicine at LikeMinds. He has spent more than 30 years in the development and commercialization of radiopharmaceuticals and imaging agents, with a track record of success in R&D, business development, brand and alliance management, and international business. Prior to joining FluoroPharma Medical Inc. in 2015, he served in corporate leadership roles from 2011-2015 at Navidea BioPharmaceuticals, Inc., where he led one of the few successful recent launches of an innovative radiopharmaceutical; established global partnerships; and in-licensed a pair of bestin- class neuroimaging assets. Previously, Dr. Tulip held senior leadership positions at Alseres Pharmaceuticals, Lantheus Medical Imaging (LMI), Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS), and DuPont. Dr. Tulip was Chairperson of the Society of Nuclear Medicine Corporate Advisory Board and served as a Director of the Council on Radionuclides and Radiopharmaceuticals. He serves on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the Medical Imaging Technology Association (MITA) and has led its PET Working Group. He earned a B.S. from the University of Vermont, and an M.S. and Ph.D. from Northwestern University.
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