Our Management Team
Our management team is comprised of industry veterans that have extensive expertise in drug development and commercialization. With experience spanning successful biopharmaceutical companies to pertinent government organizations, they bring a rich knowledge-base to lead a growing fast-paced company.
Ryan Spencer
Chief Executive Officer
Ryan Spencer is Chief Executive Officer of Dynavax, where he leads the company’s mission to help protect the world against infectious diseases. He first joined Dynavax in 2005 and served in positions with increasing responsibility across finance, investor relations, and corporate strategy, before becoming Senior Vice President of the commercial organization. Mr. Spencer has been instrumental in leading the approval and commercialization of the company’s differentiated hepatitis B vaccine – HEPLISAV-B® – and leveraging the company’s proprietary CpG 1018® adjuvant for development of multiple COVID-19 vaccines and advancing a diversified vaccine candidate pipeline. Prior to joining Dynavax, he served as Assistant Controller at QRS Corporation and as a member of the audit practice at Ernst & Young. Mr. Spencer is an active member of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO). He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Business Economics from University of California, Santa Barbara.
David Novack
President and Chief Operating Officer
Mr. Novack joined Dynavax in 2013, and currently serves as President and Chief Operating Officer, responsible for Research and Development, Technical Operations, Quality, and Supply Chain. Previously, Mr. Novack served as Senior Vice President of Operations where he led the company’s technical operations, supply chain, and quality teams through FDA approval, launch and commercialization of HEPLISAV-B. Mr. Novack has more than 30 years of relevant industry experience, with more than 20 years of direct vaccine industry experience. Prior to Dynavax, Mr. Novack was at Novartis where he served in various roles, including Global Head of Technical Operations and Supply Chain for Diagnostics, and Global Head of Manufacturing Strategy for Vaccines. Prior to Novartis, Mr. Novack held management positions at MedImmune and Lederle Laboratories (now Pfizer). Mr. Novack received a B.S. in Biology from the State University of New York at Albany, and an M.B.A. from Columbia University.
Robert Janssen
Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President, Clinical Development
Dr. Janssen was appointed Chief Medical Officer and Vice President, Clinical Development in July 2013. He previously served as Dynavax's Vice President, Medical Affairs and Senior Director, Clinical Development. Prior to joining Dynavax in 2010, Dr. Janssen was Vice President, Medical Affairs at Gilead from 2008 to 2010 where he was responsible for oversight of physician and health care provider education focused on HIV and hepatitis B therapies. Until 2008, Dr. Janssen spent 23 years at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), most recently as the Director of the Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention from 2000 to 2008. Under his leadership, CDC first explored HIV treatment as a mode of HIV prevention and launched several of the earliest Phase 3 trials of pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV. Dr. Janssen received a Bachelor of Arts degree with Honors in Humanities from Stanford University and his M.D. degree from the University of Southern California. He is a neurologist with training in virology at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Janssen has been the beneficiary of numerous honors and awards during his career. He has published over 130 scientific articles in a variety of journals and has served as a reviewer for leading scientific journals.
Kelly MacDonald
Chief Financial Officer
Kelly MacDonald is Chief Financial Officer at Dynavax, where she leads the finance and accounting functions to execute the company's strategic and financial objectives in support of its mission to help protect the world against infectious diseases. As a member of Dynavax’s Senior Leadership Team, Ms. MacDonald has played an integral role in driving Dynavax’s strong financial position and has led several important initiatives at the company, including advancing its efforts to foster an inclusive workplace and build a values-driven culture. She joined Dynavax in 2021 from Ironwood Pharmaceuticals where she served in roles of increasing responsibility, including as Chief Accounting Officer and Vice President, Finance, leading the company’s corporate accounting and finance processes, enterprise risk management, treasury and capital allocation strategy. While at Ironwood, Ms. MacDonald also played an integral role in providing financial counsel on the company’s strategic planning, accounting policies, R&D portfolio management, global business development, product launches and commercial execution.
She is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a Bachelor of Science in accounting from Fairfield University and a Master of Business Administration from the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Jeff Coon
Chief Human Resources Officer
Mr. Coon joined Dynavax in 2019 and is currently Chief Human Resources Officer. From 2017 to 2019, he was the Senior Vice President of Human Resources at FivePrime Therapeutics. From 2011 to 2017, Mr. Coon was at Depomed, Inc., where he served as Senior Vice President, Human Resources and Administration. Mr. Coon has held senior-level Human Resources positions within the life sciences industry over his 35 plus year career, including HR leadership positions with Johnson & Johnson, PDL BioPharm, Exelixis, Depomed, and FivePrime Therapeutics prior to joining Dynavax. He received a M.S. in Human Resources Management from Golden Gate University and a B.A. in Public Administration from the California State University-Long Beach.
Donn Casale
Chief Commercial Officer
Mr. Casale joined Dynavax in 2017 and currently serves as Chief Commercial Officer. Previously, Mr. Casale served as Vice President of Sales & Marketing where he was responsible for developing and managing all aspects of US commercial including the go-to market strategy, brand P&L, marketing, and sales execution to support the launch of HEPLISAV-B. Mr. Casale has more than 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, with over 12 of those years directly related to vaccines. Mr. Casale began his career in 2000 at Merck where he held a variety of positions with increasing responsibility in sales leadership, marketing, and corporate strategy to support the launches of ZOSTAVAX®, GARDASIL®, ROTATEQ® and PROQUAD®. In addition to his experience at Merck, Mr. Casale spent 3 years at Depomed where he held management positions in marketing and sales operations. Mr. Casale earned a B.A degree in Political Science from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.
Todd Lopeman
Senior Vice President, Technical Operations
Mr. Lopeman joined Dynavax in 2014 and currently serves as Vice President Technical Operations. Mr. Lopeman is a key member of the leadership team responsible for technical leadership and strategy for both owned and external contract manufacturing organizations, process development, engineering, manufacturing sciences teams and information technology to support the launch of HEPLISAV-B. Mr. Lopeman has over 25 years experience in all aspects of process engineering including new facility design, existing facility upgrades and ensuring overall engineering compliance with regulatory requirements. Mr. Lopeman has held positions of increasing responsibilities with Novartis, Sandoz/Novartis, and KMI/Parexel in the U.S. and internationally. Mr. Lopeman earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from North Carolina State University, Raleigh.
Riccardo Manetti
Senior Vice President, Business Development
Mr. Manetti joined Dynavax in 2020 and currently serves as Senior Vice President, Business Development. Mr. Manetti joins Dynavax from GSK Vaccines where he was the Head Business Development, R&D Center Italy and Global Commercial. Mr. Manetti has more than 20 years experience in the vaccine industry, with a majority of those 20 years in Business Development. Mr. Manetti experience with different stages of business development including discovery to commercial stage, including mergers and acquisitions. Mr. Manetti has held positions of increasing responsibilities with GSK Vaccines, Chiron and Novartis in the U.S. and internationally. Mr. Manetti earned a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology and Microbiology from the University of Padua.
John L. Slebir
Senior Vice President, General Counsel
John Slebir joined Dynavax in 2021 and currently serves as Senior Vice President, General Counsel. Mr. Slebir has more than 20 years of experience in life sciences and 30 years of corporate law practice. Mr. Slebir joins Dynavax from VIVUS, Inc. (NASDAQ: VVUS) where he held roles of increasing responsibility within the organization. Most recently, he served as Senior Vice President, Business Development, General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer, and Corporate Secretary. While at VIVUS, Mr. Slebir was involved in but not limited to the company’s commercial and clinical development partnering efforts, commercial and supply chain alliance management, corporate governance, securities laws and periodic reporting, risk management, commercial and regulatory compliance and submissions, director and executive compensation, and intellectual property protection. Before joining VIVUS in 2009, Mr. Slebir served for over 10 years as an attorney at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, P.C., specializing in corporate securities and corporate governance. Prior to joining Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, P.C., Mr. Slebir was an attorney at two prominent Bay Area law firms specialized in defense litigation. Mr. Slebir holds a B.A. in Communications from San Diego State University and a J.D. from Santa Clara University School of Law.
Dong Yu
Senior Vice President, Vaccine Research
Dr. Yu joined Dynavax in 2021, as Senior Vice President of Vaccine Research. Prior to joining Dynavax, Dr. Yu was at GSK Vaccines, where he held roles of increasing responsibility. Most recently, he was Head of Preclinical R&D U.S., responsible for leading the organization of more than 80 scientists with diverse expertise to drive preclinical R&D of GSK vaccines portfolio in the U.S. Additionally, Dr. Yu was one of twelve founding Vaccines Fellows recognized by GSK for his expertise in vaccines. Prior to GSK, Dr. Yu was at Novartis Vaccines where he led RNA biology and vector development as the Director and Function Head of Microbial Molecular Biology.
Dr. Yu received his PhD in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry from the University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, Connecticut. He then worked at the Washington University School of Medicine as Assistant Professor. Dr. Yu has authored over 40 publications in various journals and books. His publications reflect his research interests in virology, infectious diseases, and vaccines. Dr. Yu is a recipient of several prestigious awards, such as the Investigator in the Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease Award from Burroughs Wellcome Fund, the Wyeth Young Investigator Award in Vaccine Development from the Infectious Diseases Society of America, and the Howard Temin Award from National Institutes of Health.
Catherine Burgess
Vice President, Regulatory Affairs
Dr. Burgess joined Dynavax in 2022 and currently serves as Vice President Regulatory Affairs. Dr. Burgess has more than 20 years of industry experience with 18 years specific to Regulatory. Dr. Burgess joined Dynavax from Takeda, where she held roles of increasing responsibility, most recently as Vice President, Head of Regions (EUCAN, JP, GEM, CN) and International Advertising and Promotion where she was responsible for the regional regulatory strategy across the Takeda R&D portfolio including registrations from early development through the commercial life-cycle as well as providing support for the AdPromo activities across Takeda’s pipeline. Prior to Takeda, Catherine worked at Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) as a Global Regulatory Lead (Oncology) and was the Head of Genomics and Genetics Discovery Unit at CuraGen Corporation. Catherine holds a PhD in Biomedical Sciences with a focus in Neurogenetics from Eastern Virginia Medical School. She served as a post-doctoral fellow for 3 years at the Karolinska Institute, Department of Molecular Medicine in Stockholm, Sweden.
Paul Cox
Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications
Paul Cox joined Dynavax in 2023 and currently serves as Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications. Mr. Cox has more than 15 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical and technology industries. Before joining Dynavax, he held leadership roles in investor relations, communications and corporate strategy at biotechnology companies including Neumora Therapeutics, Kymera Therapeutics, Sage Therapeutics, Voyager Therapeutics, Neon Therapeutics (acquired by BioNTech), as well as at multiple strategic consulting firms, including Stern Investor Relations. He has been ranked in Institutional Investor’s All-America Executive Team in multiple investor relations categories and currently serves as President and board director of the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI) Boston chapter, one of the largest and oldest investor relations professional associations. He holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a Master’s degree in Finance from Harvard University Extension School.
Scott Donald
Vice President, Quality
Mr. Donald joined Dynavax in 2015 and currently serves as Vice President, Quality. In this role, Mr. Donald is responsible for providing the strategic and operational quality oversight of all products manufactured both internally and at contract manufacturing organizations, from R&D through commercialization. Mr. Donald has over 20 years industry experience spanning engineering, project management, quality systems and quality operations. Prior to joining Dynavax, Mr. Donald has held positions of increasing responsibility with bioKinetcs, Novartis and Grifols. A proud veteran of the U.S. Army, Mr. Donald served our country overseas in Operation Desert Storm and later as a squad leader with the 101st Airborne Division. Mr. Donald earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Penn State University.
Eric Frings
Vice President, Site Head and Managing Director
Mr. Frings joined Dynavax in 2011 and currently serves as Vice President, Site Head and Managing Director for Dynavax GmbH, where the drug substance for HEPLISAV-B is manufactured, in Duesseldorf, Germany. Mr. Frings has more than 25 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry. Prior to joining Dynavax, Mr. Frings was a site director at Intercell/Valneva. Previously to Intercell/Valneva, Mr. Frings held a variety of positions at Chiron/Novartis, including Head of Bulk Manufacturing, Head of Third Party (CMO) Management and Project Director. Mr. Frings was with Novo Nordisk in Copenhagen/Denmark. Mr. Frings holds a MSc in Biology and a Ph. D. in Microbiology, both from the University of Bonn, Germany.
Friedhelm Helling
Vice President, Process Development and Manufacturing Sciences
Dr. Helling joined Dynavax in 2019 and currently serves as Vice President, Process Development and Manufacturing Sciences.
Dr. Helling has spent more than 30 years in the biotech and biopharmaceutical sectors, serving in positions spanning vaccine research and development, manufacturing sciences and production. Most recently, he was Global Head – Process Science and Local Manufacturing, Science and Technology at GSK Vaccines SRL, and previously held senior roles in Technical Development and Manufacturing Science and Technology with Novartis. Early in his career, Dr. Helling did postdoctoral research at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, working to develop a melanoma vaccine and co-founded a biotech start-up focused on advancing a cancer vaccine.
Dr. Helling holds a PhD in Biochemistry from Philipp University of Marburg.
Ouzama Henry
Vice President, Clinical Development
Dr. Ouzama Henry joined Dynavax in 2022 and currently serves as Vice President, Clinical Development. Dr. Henry has more than 14 years of vaccine and infectious disease experience. Before joining Dynavax, she served in multiple roles at GSK vaccines, most recently as Vice President Clinical Development at the U.S. Research and Development Center in Rockville, MD, where she oversaw the development of global clinical epi plans for a range of vaccine candidates and licensed vaccines. Previously, Dr. Henry conducted infectious disease and vaccine clinical research with Merck & Co., Inc. Dr. Henry was an Instructor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Henry holds a Masters of Science in Epidemiology from Columbia University, a Medical Doctorate from Harvard Medical School, and a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from Harvard College. She has published 27 scientific articles in a variety of journals.
Eleni Constantinidis Kornblatt
Vice President Commercial Strategy
Ms. Kornblatt joined Dynavax in 2023 and currently serves as Vice President Commercial Strategy. Ms. Kornblatt joins Dynavax after 24 years at Merck where she held roles of increasing responsibility within the commercial organization. In her final role at Merck, Ms. Kornblatt served as Executive Director of Global HPV Vaccines. While at Merck, Ms. Kornblatt had various other commercial leadership roles dedicated to the Company’s commercial operations, sales, marketing, business development, U.S. and Global strategy and manufacturing. Ms. Kornblatt has extensive experience launching and commercializing vaccines in both the U.S. and Global markets.
Ms. Kornblatt has dual B.S. degrees from Penn State University and Universidad de Alicante, SPAIN in Supply Chain Management and Global Marketing, and an MBA from Villanova University. She also serves as a Board Member for the Penn State University Schreyer Honors College.
Patricia Novy
Vice President, Medical Affairs
Dr. Novy joined Dynavax in 2021 and currently serves as Vice President, Medical Affairs. She comes to the Company with over 10 years of experience in the vaccines field. Dr. Novy joined Dynavax from Moderna, where she was Senior Director, Global Medical Affairs, responsible for development of Medical Affairs strategy, plan, and execution for COVID-19 vaccine and other pipeline assets. Previously, Dr. Novy has served in multiple leadership roles at GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics. Dr. Novy earned a BS in Biological Sciences from the University of California at Davis and a PhD in Immunology from Duke University.
Alex Oh
Vice President, Intellectual Property and Associate General Counsel
Alex Oh joined Dynavax in 2022 and currently serves as Vice President, Intellectual Property and Associate General Counsel. Before joining Dynavax, Mr. Oh served as Vice President, Legal & IP at Visus Therapeutics, Inc. and as Senior Counsel at Juno Therapeutics, a Bristol Myers Squibb Company, where he led global IP strategy, managed patent procurement and portfolios, handled administrative proceedings, negotiated complex IP and corporate transactions, and oversaw external partnerships and collaborations. Previously, Mr. Oh was a Partner in the Technology & Intellectual Property group at Stoel Rives LLP, where he advised clients on global IP strategy, procurement and portfolio management, IP litigation and administrative proceedings, IP licensing, acquisitions and divestitures, patent infringement and validity analysis, and due diligence evaluations for corporate transactions. While at Stoel Rives, Mr. Oh also served as an Affiliate Instructor of Law at the University of Washington School of Law.
Mr. Oh holds a J.D. from the University of Wisconsin Law School, an M.S. in Biotechnology from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, and a B.S. in Neurobiology and a B.A. in Communication from the University of Washington.
Meg Smith
Vice President, Sales and Operations
Ms. Smith joined Dynavax in 2019 and currently serves as Vice President Sales and Operations. In this role, Ms. Smith serves as the National Sales Leader and oversees the Company’s sales operations, commercial analytics and training functions. Previously, Ms. Smith served as Executive Director of Sales where she was responsible for managing all aspects of sales execution to support the launch of HEPLISAV-B. Ms. Smith has more than 20 years of relevant industry experience, with a majority of her experience in the vaccine industry. Before joining Dynavax, Ms. Smith spent 20 years in a variety of leadership and strategic account management roles with Merck & Co., Inc. Ms. Smith holds a B.S. in Accounting and an M.B.A. both from Spring Hill College.
Board of Directors
Our Board of Directors is a well-established group with broad leadership backgrounds. Their current and previous roles as biotech executives, physicians, researchers, and investors provides us with multifaceted expertise to help us reach our shared vision for helping patients.
Scott Myers, MBA
Chairman of the Board
Mr. Myers has been a member of the Dynavax board since October 2021. Mr. Myers has worked in the global pharmaceutical and medical technology industries for nearly three decades. Previously, he was the Chief Executive Officer and served on the board of directors of AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Inc., where he led its turnaround and strategic sale to Covis Pharma, S.à.r.l., a pharmaceutical company, in November 2020. Mr. Myers has served as Chairman of the board of directors of Rainier Therapeutics, Inc., an oncology biotechnology company focused on late-stage bladder cancer, from June 2018 to January 2020, and served as its Chief Executive Officer from September 2018 to January 2020. Mr. Myers led Rainier’s asset sale of vofatamab to Fusion Pharmaceuticals Inc. Prior to Rainier, Mr. Myers served as Chief Executive Officer, President and Director for Cascadian Therapeutics, Inc., an oncology company, from April 2016 through its acquisition by Seattle Genetics in March 2018. Mr. Myers is an independent director of Selecta Biosciences. He is Chairman of the Board of Harpoon Therapeutics and Sensorion. He was an independent director at Trillium Therapeutics, Inc. until their acquisition by Pfizer in November of 2021. Mr. Myers holds a B.A. in Biology from Northwestern University and an M.B.A. from the Graduate School of Business (Booth) at the University of Chicago.
Francis Cano, Ph.D.
Dr. Cano was appointed to the Dynavax board in November 2009. Dr. Cano is President and Founder of Cano Biotech Corp., a consulting firm focusing on the vaccine business, and also serves on the boards of Biomerica, Inc., a developer and manufacturer of diagnostic products, and Arbor Vita Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company. From 1993 to 1996, Dr. Cano was President and Chief Operating Officer for Aviron, a biopharmaceutical company, which was later acquired by MedImmune in 2001. As a Co-Founder of Aviron, he completed two rounds of venture financing, a licensing agreement with SmithKline Biologicals and in-licensed Flu-Mist influenza vaccine from the National Institutes of Health. For 21 years, Dr. Cano worked with the Lederle Laboratories Division of American Cyanamid, most recently as Vice President and General Manager of the Biologicals unit. He earned a Ph.D. in Microbiology from Pennsylvania State University, served as a Research Associate at Rutgers Institute of Microbiology, and holds a M.S. in Microbiology and a B.S. in Biology from St. John's University.
Julie Eastland
Ms. Eastland was appointed to the Dynavax board in July 2020. Ms. Eastland currently serves as President and Chief Executive Officer at Harpoon Therapeutics. Most recently she served as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of ReCode Therapeutics, a private-held genetics medicine company focused on delivery of novel, anti-viral lipid nanoparticles therapeutics for respiratory diseases. Prior to ReCode, Ms. Eastland served as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Business Officer of Rainier Therapeutics, a private biopharmaceutical company focused on FGFR3 bladder cancer. Prior to Rainier she served as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Business Officer of Cascadian Therapeutics, a publicly traded company. While at Cascadian, Ms. Eastland was instrumental in the negotiation and sale of the company to Seattle Genetics, primarily for tucatinib, a HER2 targeted breast cancer therapy now marketed as Tukysa. Prior to Cascadian, Ms. Eastland served as Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Finance and Operations of VLST Corporation, a privately-held biotechnology company, and held various financial and strategic management positions at publicly traded biotechnology companies including Dendreon and Amgen. Ms. Eastland received an M.B.A. from Edinburgh University Management School and a B.S. in finance from Colorado State University. She also serves on the boards of Harpoon Therapeutics (Nasdaq: HARP) and Graybug Vision (Nasdaq: GRAY).
Daniel Kisner, M.D.
Dr. Kisner has been a member of the Dynavax board since July 2010. He most recently served as a partner at Aberdare Ventures and prior to that as President and CEO of Caliper Technologies, leading its evolution from a start-up focused on microfluidic lab-on-chip technology to a publicly traded, commercial organization. Prior to Caliper, he was the President and Chief Operating Officer of Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biomedical pharmaceutical company. Previously, Dr. Kisner was Division Vice President of Pharmaceutical Development for Abbott Laboratories and Vice President of Clinical Research and Development at SmithKline Beckman Pharmaceuticals. In addition, he held a tenured position in the Division of Oncology at the University of Texas, San Antonio School of Medicine and is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology. Dr. Kisner serves on the Board of Directors of Conatus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Zynerba Pharmaceuticals, Inc. He holds a B.A. from Rutgers University and an M.D. from Georgetown University.
Brent MacGregor
Mr. MacGregor was appointed to the Dynavax board in July 2020. Mr. MacGregor previously served as Senior Vice-President, Global Commercial Operations at Seqirus, a CSL Limited company. At Seqirus, Mr. MacGregor led a global team of 280 people in sales, marketing, commercial development, public policy and business development for a portfolio of seasonal influenza vaccines, an intra venous anti-viral product, a suite of in-licensed vaccines and pharmaceutical products, and a pandemic and pre-pandemic business. Prior to Seqirus, Mr. MacGregor was President and Global Head of Novartis Influenza Vaccines, where he led integrated global operations of its influenza portfolio, through its acquisition by CSL Ltd. Mr. MacGregor held several roles while at Sanofi Pasteur where he spent 17 years with his final role as President, Sanofi Pasteur KK, Tokyo, Japan. Mr. MacGregor received an M.B.A. from Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management, a Master of Arts from University of Reading, Reading, England and a Bachelor of Arts from Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada.
Peter Paradiso, Ph.D.
Dr. Paradiso was appointed to the Dynavax board in September 2020. Dr. Paradiso has worked in vaccine development for over 30 years. He is currently the sole proprietor of Paradiso Biologics Consulting, LLC. and serves as a member of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) R&D and Manufacturing Investment Committee (RDMIC), which has been established to make investment decisions for vaccine R&D and manufacturing under the COVAX pillar of the ACT-Accelerator. In addition, he is Chairman of a Procurement Reference Group (PRG) to advise The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and The GAVI Alliance – formerly the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI) on the procurement of rotavirus vaccines. Dr. Paradiso retired in 2012 where he served as Vice President, New Business and Scientific Affairs for Pfizer Vaccines, a Division of Pfizer, Inc. In this position, Dr. Paradiso was responsible for global scientific affairs and strategic planning within the vaccine research and development group and for commercial oversight of products in development. Dr. Paradiso received a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in biochemistry from the University of Vermont College of Medicine and a BS in Chemistry from St. Lawrence University.
Peggy Phillips
Ms. Phillips has been a member of the Dynavax board since August 2006 and has served on the Boards of Portola, Tekmira, and PhaseRx. She also served on the board of Western Wireless, a cellular network operator, from 2004 until the acquisition of the company by Alltel in mid-2005. From 2003 until 2011, Ms. Phillips served on the Board of the Naval Academy Foundation. From 1996 until 2002, she served on the board of directors of Immunex Corporation, a biotechnology company, and, from 1999, she served as the Chief Operating Officer until the company was acquired by Amgen in 2002. During her career at Immunex, she held positions of increasing responsibility in research, development, manufacturing, sales and marketing. As senior vice president for pharmaceutical development and general manager for Enbrel®, she was responsible for clinical development and regulatory affairs as well as the launch, sales and marketing of the product. Prior to joining Immunex, Ms. Phillips worked at Miles Laboratories. Ms. Phillips holds a B.S. and a M.S. in microbiology from the University of Idaho.
Ryan Spencer
Mr. Spencer, joined Dynavax in 2005 and currently serves as Chief Executive Officer. Previously, Mr. Spencer served as Senior Vice President of Commercial where he was instrumental in leading the launch and commercialization of HEPLISAV-B. Throughout his time at Dynavax, Mr. Spencer has held a variety of positions with increasing responsibility, building from a foundation in corporate finance to business strategy and investor relations. Prior to joining Dynavax, Mr. Spencer was the Assistant Controller at QRS Corporation, a publicly-held technology company, and was a member of the audit practice at Ernst & Young. Mr. Spencer earned a B.A. in Business Economics from University of California, Santa Barbara.
Elaine Sun
Ms. Sun has been a member of the Dynavax board since December 2021. Over her career Ms. Sun has led and played key roles in a broad range of transactions, including multiple mergers, acquisitions and financings, valued in excess of $50 billion. Most recently, Ms. Sun served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Halozyme. Prior to Halozyme, she served as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Strategy Officer at SutroVax, Inc. (now known as Vaxcyte, Inc.), a private biopharmaceutical company developing vaccines to prevent serious infectious diseases. While at SutroVax she provided strategic, operational and financial leadership for a rapidly growing organization, including establishing innovative agreements with external contract manufacturers. Previously, Ms. Sun served as Managing Director and Head of West Coast Healthcare for Evercore Partners and Managing Director at Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. Ms. Sun previously served on the Board of Directors of Cirius Therapeutics, a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company. Ms. Sun received her B.A. from Wellesley College and M.B.A from Harvard Business School.
Scientific Advisory Board
Our Scientific Advisory Board is comprised of renowned leaders in vaccine research and development, who work closely with Dynavax’s leadership team to guide our efforts developing innovative vaccines.
Peter R. Paradiso, Ph.D.
Chairman of the Board
Peter Paradiso, Ph.D., is Chair of Dynavax’s Scientific Advisory Board and a member of the company’s Board of Directors. He is a consultant at Paradiso Biologics Consulting, LLC, where he advises clients on vaccine development, licensure and marketing. Dr. Paradiso spent more than 30 years in the Vaccine Division of Pfizer, before retiring from his role as Vice President, New Business and Scientific Affairs.
Dr. Paradiso is active in the public health field as a member of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation’s (CEPI’s) Scientific Advisory Committee (SAG) and R&D and Manufacturing Investment Committee (RDMIC), and co-chair of the CEPI-NIAID Steering Committee on Broadly Protective Corona Virus Vaccines. He has held several public health leadership roles for governmental and nongovernmental organizations, including as a member of the Department of Health and Human Services’ National Vaccine Advisory Committee, a liaison member of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, an advisor for the World Health Organization’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on vaccines, a member of Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization’s (GAVI) Task Force on Research and Development, and as chair of a Procurement Reference Group (PRG) that advised UNICEF and GAVI on the procurement of rotavirus vaccines.
Dr. Paradiso received a Doctor of Philosophy degree in biochemistry from the University of Vermont College of Medicine and a Bachelor of Science in chemistry from St. Lawrence University.
Robert Coffman, Ph.D.
Robert Coffman, Ph.D., is a consultant in the vaccine field and an adjunct professor in the Department of Biomolecular Engineering and the Genomics Institute at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Dr. Coffman retired as Dynavax’s Chief Scientific Officer in 2019. In that role, he led the discovery and development of novel vaccine adjuvants and therapeutic agents that target toll-like receptors, and helped guide the development and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of HEPLISAV-B®, the company’s differentiated vaccine for hepatitis B, and its proprietary CpG 1018® adjuvant, which is now used in multiple vaccines. Prior to joining Dynavax, Dr. Coffman was a founding member of the DNAX Research Institute, where with Dr. Tim Mosmann, he made key discoveries including defining the two principal subtypes of helper T cells (Th1 and Th2) and the basic mechanisms of T cell regulation in asthma and infectious and parasitic diseases, as well as demonstrating the central role of regulatory CD4+ T cells in preventing inflammatory bowel disease.
Dr. Coffman has authored more than 200 scientific publications and is an editor of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Microbiology and is a recipient of the Novartis Prize for Basic Immunology and the William B. Coley Award.
Kathryn M. Edwards, M.D.
Kathryn Edwards, M.D., Professor of Pediatrics Emerita, Infectious Diseases Division, and the former Director of the NIH-funded Vanderbilt Vaccine Research Program, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. In her more than 40-year tenure at Vanderbilt, she led pivotal clinical trials for many vaccines and played a major role in their subsequent implementation. Dr. Edwards played a key role in the evaluation and licensure of the bacterial conjugate and acellular pertussis vaccines and in both seasonal and pandemic influenza vaccines. She remains active in assessing the safety and effectiveness of vaccines and monoclonal antibodies and in mentoring the next generation of vaccine scientists.
Dr. Edwards She has served on multiple committees of the NIH, CDC, FDA, WHO, and Infectious Diseases Society of America, including as Chair of the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biologic Products Advisory Committee. Dr. Edwards is the recipient of the IDSA Mentor Award, the Maureen Andrews Mentoring Award from the Society for Pediatric Research, the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases Maxwell Finland award for Scientific Accomplishments, the Frank Morriss Leadership Award in Pediatrics, and the American Pediatric Society Howland Award. In 2008, Dr. Edwards was elected to the National Academy of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. She has over 600 publications in peer reviewed journals.
She graduated from the University of Iowa College of Medicine and completed her pediatric residency and infectious disease fellowship at Northwestern University and her postdoctoral training in immunology at Rush Medical School.
Rino Rappuoli, Ph.D.
Rino Rappuoli, Ph.D., is Scientific Director of the Biotecnopolo di Siena Foundation and head of MAD Lab Toscana Life Sciences, Italy. He is also an Honorary Professor of Vaccinology at Imperial College, London, and Senior Professor of Molecular Biology at the University of Siena. Dr. Rappuoli has introduced several novel scientific concepts and developed several licensed vaccines, including the first conjugate vaccine against meningococcus C, the MF59-adjuvanted seasonal and pandemic influenza vaccine, and other vaccines for acellular pertussis containing a non-toxic mutant of pertussis toxin, meningococcus B, respiratory syncytial virus and CRM 197 as carrier of most conjugate vaccines.
Previously, Dr. Rappuoli was Chief Scientist and Head, External R&D and at GSK Vaccines, Founder of the GSK Vaccines Institute for Global Health (GVGH), head of Vaccine R&D at Novartis, CSO at Chiron Corporation, and Head of R&D at Sclavo. Dr. Rappuoli is a member of US National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, the European Molecular Biology Organization, the Royal Society of London, the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, and the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, and is President of the International Union of Microbiological Societies. Dr. Rappuoli is a recipient of the Gold Medal by the Italian President, the Albert B. Sabin Gold Medal, the Gairdner International Award, the European Inventor Award for Lifetime Achievement, the Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize, and the Robert Koch Award. He was nominated as the third most influential person worldwide in the field of vaccines (Terrapin). He has published nearly 800 works in peer-reviewed journals and has an H-index of 157.
He earned his doctorate in biological sciences at the University of Siena, Italy, and was a visiting scientist at Rockefeller University and Harvard Medical School.