FOUNDERS
Susana Ortiz Urda, MD, PhD, MBA
Dr. Susana Ortiz Urda, a Stanford-trained dermatologist with over 15 years of experience leading the Melanoma Program at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), has extensive expertise collaborating with numerous companies in the execution of clinical trials. As Founder, Dr. Ortiz Urda oversees the overall operations and resources of the company, serving as the primary link between the board of directors and corporate operations.
At UCSF, Dr. Ortiz Urda serves as Director of the Melanoma Center and leads a laboratory studying novel RNA therapeutics for MAPK-driven cancers. In 2013, Dr. Ortiz Urda was honored with the Ellis Family-MRA Young Investigator Award for her work in identifying the mechanisms of drug resistance in NRAS mutated melanoma patients, a type of gene mutation typically associated with a poor prognosis due to the lack of effective treatment options. While several targeted therapy approaches are currently being tested in clinical trials, the experience with the use of BRAF inhibitors for BRAF mutated melanoma has shown limited clinical response due to drug resistance. As a dermatologist and melanoma researcher, Dr. Ortiz Urda is dedicated to preventing and finding new treatments for melanoma.
Dr. Ortiz Urda has received several awards, including the Kardinal-Innitzer Award for Outstanding Science in Dermatology and the Unilever Award from the Austrian Society for Dermatology and Venerology. Prior to entering the melanoma field, Dr. Ortiz Urda’s research focused on immunology and gene therapy of other severe skin diseases. She pursued her medical degree and doctorate at the University of Vienna in Austria and completed a residency in dermatology and a postdoctoral fellowship in epithelial biology at Stanford University, followed by a fellowship in dermatology at UCSF.
Valentin Feichtenschlager, MD
Dr. Feichtenschlager is an expert in molecular and cell biology with a focus on RNA biology and proteomics, and he currently serves as Chief Scientific Officer at Spartia Therapeutics.
He received his medical degree from the Medical University of Vienna, followed by clinical training in dermatology, internal medicine, and surgery. After leading several clinical research projects in dermato-oncology in Vienna, he joined the Ortiz Lab at the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center as a Postdoctoral Fellow.
Executive Team
K. Angela Macfarlane, JD – Executive Chair, Board Member
Ms. Macfarlane has extensive expertise in establishing early-stage companies, having founded and served as CEO of Forsight Labs. Since 2005, the company has established seven companies (4 acquired, 2 strategic partnerships, 1 in development) and has raised ~$200M in venture capital during her tenure. She is currently the CEO of Perceive Biotherapeutics, a biotech start-up focused on addressing age-related macular degeneration, where she has recently raised considerable venture capital and has led the company from the translation of programs from academia through early development and into clinical trials. She currently serves on the board of Perceive Bio, ForSight VISION6, Inc., RenovoRx (NASDAQ: RNXT) - drug delivery in pancreatic cancer, Recognify Life Sciences – treatment of CNS disorders, and Fogarty Innovation (non-profit). Before joining ForSight Labs, Ms. Macfarlane held the position of Chief Technology Counsel at The Foundry and previously served as Technology Counsel for renowned physician/entrepreneur Thomas J. Fogarty, MD, and held various senior management roles at several Med Tech start-ups. She has 25 U.S. patents to her name and holds a BA in Business Administration from San Francisco State University and a JD from Golden Gate University School of Law.
Dr. Eugene de Juan, Jr. MD, Co-Founder and Vice Chairman of Forsight Labs.
Dr. de Juan serves as Managing Member of ForSight Labs, where he participates as an active inventor, operational leader, and clinical advisor in early-stage healthcare venture opportunities including ForSight Labs. Dr. de Juan also serves as the Jean Kelly Stock Distinguished Professor at UCSF where he also sees patients. Previously, he was a professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Southern California and chief executive officer of the Doheny Retina Institute. Earlier, he served at the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where he was co-director of Vitreoretinal Service, director of the Microsurgery Advanced Design Laboratory (MADLAB), and Joseph E. Green Professor of Ophthalmology.
Dr. de Juan earned his MD from the University of South Alabama College of Medicine, where he also completed his internship. He pursued his residency at the Wilmer Ophthalmological Institute in Baltimore, Maryland and subsequently completed a vitreoretinal surgery fellowship at Duke University. He holds patents on over 130 inventions and has 250 academic publications. Dr. de Juan has extensive experience launching early-stage companies and will guide Spartia on strategic direction, clinical trials and drug delivery.
Álvaro Somoza Calatrava, PhD, Senior Research Professor, IMDEA Nanoscience Institute
Álvaro Somoza Calatrava is a Senior Scientist at the IMDEA Nanoscience Institute in Madrid, Spain. The research of Dr. Somoza is focused on the preparation of modified oligonucleotides and functionalization of nanoparticles for different biomedical applications. His work is focused on modified nucleic acids that are conjugated to nanoparticles for the regulation and detection of relevant genes and lncRNAs involved in diseases.