Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer
Alex is an urologist, scientist, and serial entrepreneur, bringing over 15 years of experience in healthcare and biotechnology to Paterna. He received his BS from Yale University and his MD and PhD from the University of California, San Francisco. Alex completed his residency and fellowship training in urology and male reproductive medicine and surgery at Baylor College of Medicine, and started his career as an academic physician-scientist, transitioning more heavily into startups and growth companies over the last decade. Alex’s clinical and NIH-funded basic research focus as faculty at the University of Utah is in men’s sexual and reproductive health, and his entrepreneurial work has encompassed healthcare technology, diagnostics, medical devices, clinical research, and medical innovation. Alex has had founding and executive operational roles at multiple companies, with several exits to date, most recently at Vault Health, where he served as Chief Medical & Scientific Officer. In his spare time, he enjoys endurance cycling, skiing, good wine, and spending time with his wife and two boys.

Chief Operating Officer
Meredith Vadis is a transformative leader with a history of building high-performing organizations. She provides fractional executive, operational, and administrative leadership to small and mid-sized companies, including Paterna Bio. Previously, Meredith was President of Vault Workforce Screening, a nationwide employment screening solutions provider, where she successfully modernized and sold the company in less than two years. During the first year of the pandemic, she created, built, and ran Minnesota’s COVID-19 statewide public testing system. Later, at Vault Health, she led the governmental COVID testing and vaccination partnerships with more than a dozen states. Meredith was also Regional Administrator (Chief Executive Officer) for one of the largest U.S. regional governing bodies, which oversees mass transit, wastewater utilities, regional economic development and urban land planning.

Meredith holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and Political Science from Marquette University and a Master’s in Public Policy from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. She began her career leading communications on electoral campaigns and running federal offices for a Member of Congress.

With a proven track record in both the public and private sectors, she leverages her multi-sector experience, clear communication, accountability, and collaborative leadership to help organizations minimize risk and maximize operational capacity and efficiency. Meredith turns the unknown and uncertainty into tangible action, empowering companies to achieve extraordinary outcomes.

Co-founder and Chief of Scientific Advisors
Brad received his BS in Chemistry from Lewis and Clark College, his PhD in Cell Biology from Stanford University, and conducted his postdoctoral training in genetics at Harvard Medical School. He is the Chief Academic Officer at Huntsman Cancer Institute, and also Professor and Chair of the Department of Oncological Sciences – both at University of Utah School of Medicine – where he holds the Jon M. Huntsman Presidential Endowed Chair in Cancer Research. His scientific work focuses on understanding how chromatin structure and remodeling regulates gene expression, and his lab has provided multiple insights into how chromatin structure is established and remodeled to control gene expression and development in the germline and early embryos, including in the setting of spermatogenesis. Brad is an Investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) and is a co-founder of Paterna Biosciences Inc., where he serves as Chair of Scientific Advisors. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2017 and to the Royal Society in 2023.

Recognized for her adept problem-solving ability, she navigates ambiguous circumstances with ease, consistently delivering tangible results. Residing in Gulf Breeze, Florida, she enjoys tennis, beach outings, boating, and spending quality time with her husband and three boys.

Fractional Chief Marketing Officer
Jessica Kelley holds an M.B.A. in Marketing Management from the University of St. Thomas and a B.S. in Business Finance from the University of Minnesota. She brings over 20 years of marketing expertise in healthcare, including digital health, men’s and women’s health medical devices, and healthcare software services in diverse environments ranging in size from a $200 billion corporation to start-ups. Jessica is passionate about effective marketing, having witnessed its power to help change people’s lives. When Jessica talks marketing, you can expect a blend of metrics-driven strategy and execution with a laser-focus on acquiring and retaining customers. 

Regulatory
Michael is an accomplished scientific professional and an unabashed drug developer, having served as a regulator, consultant, and executive in biotech for over 15 years. Currently, Michael is a Co-Founder and Principal of CatalystBio, a Global Life Sciences Advisory Firm dedicated to moving first-in-class, first-in kind technologies off the bench and into the clinic. Michael also serves as the CEO and Co-Founder of BioSynthera, INC which is developing the next generation of therapeutics for clotting/bleeding disorders. Prior to founding CatalystBio and BioSynthera, he was most recently the VP of Product Development and Analytics at COUR, where he led the growth of a five-person virtual company to a 50-person operating company and built out manufacturing, quality, research and development, program management, and regulatory functions. He also led both internal and external diligence teams. Before joining COUR, he was a Senior Consultant at BioTechLogic, advising pharmaceutical manufacturers on drug development and CMC strategy, including drafting, reviewing, and authoring CTDs for regulatory submissions. Prior to consulting, he was a Research Chemist in the Division of Pharmaceutical Analysis at the US Food and Drug Administration, where he established a laboratory developing on applying modern analytical technologies to evaluate and regulate complex therapeutics (generics, biologics, and NCE’s). Michael has authored nearly 50 peer-reviewed publications and is an internationally recognized speaker on applying modern analytical technologies to drug development. He was the chair of the 15th Symposium on the Practical Applications of Mass Spectrometry in the Biotechnology Industry and a founding member of the CASSS meeting on Cell and Gene Therapies. He currently serves on the Executive Advisory Board for Northwestern’s Chemistry of Life Process Institute and is the Treasurer of the Gower Foundation. Michael was a postdoctoral scholar at Washington University Medical School in Saint Louis, where he was an American Cancer Society/Canary Foundation Fellow in Early Detection. Michael has a BA in Chemistry from Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, and a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Regulatory
Greta is a scientist and biotech executive with expertise bridging product development, preclinical/toxicology, CMC, and clinical operations with a record of successful regulatory filings and clinical operational efficiency. Currently, Greta is a Co-Founder and Principal of CatalystBio, a Global Life Sciences Advisory Firm dedicated to moving first-in-class, first-in kind technologies off the bench and into the clinic. Greta also serves as the COO and Co-Founder of BioSynthera, INC which is developing the next generation of therapeutics for clotting/bleeding disorders. Prior to co-founding CatalystBio and BioSynthera, Greta was the Sr. Director of Clinical Operations and Program Development at COUR Pharmaceuticals, where she oversaw COUR’s platform product development and pipeline and led the company’s IND and clinical operations efforts. During her tenure at COUR, Greta opened four INDs and built out COUR’s internal clinical operations capabilities for executing early phase studies. Before joining COUR, Greta was a post-doc at Northwestern University, where she worked in novel chemoprevention drug development and led several multi-disciplinary, translational research projects. Her peer-reviewed publications appeared in top-tier scientific journals such as Nature Biomedical Engineering and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Greta obtained her doctorate in biological sciences at Northwestern University, where she focused on the nanoscale epigenetic structure-function relationship of chromatin in cancer cell chemoevasion and the development of strategies to physiochemically target chromatin structure as a means of increasing chemotherapeutic efficacy. She received a Bachelor of Arts in chemistry and a Bachelor of Arts in music from St. Olaf College.

Scientific Manager
Xichen holds a BS in life sciences from Sun Yat-sen University in China and a PhD in oncological sciences from the University of Utah. Her graduate work, under the mentorship of Drs. Bradley Cairns and Jingtao Guo, focused on human male reproductive biology. She specializes in single-cell genomics, germline stem cell biology, and testicular development. Currently serving as Scientific Manager at Paterna, Xichen leads a team dedicated to developing cutting-edge technologies for human in vitro spermatogenesis. In her spare time, she enjoys fitness, gardening, and spending time with her family.

Product Development Manager/Senior Scientist
Joey holds a BA/BS from The Evergreen State College in Washington and PhD in biochemistry from the University of Utah. Prior to graduate school, Joey spent 6 years in biotech working on drug discovery and clinical device development at Presage Biosciences, a startup in Seattle, WA where his work directly contributed to the development and clinical advancement of anti-cancer drugs, the launching of multiple clinical trials with a novel device and 5 publications. Joey’s PhD work focused on novel macrophage-tumor cell interactions, demonstrating that pro-tumorigenic macrophages directly transfer dysfunctional mitochondria to breast cancer cells, which induce proliferative signaling cascades, promoting tumorigenesis in vitro and in vivo. As a Senior Scientist at Paterna, Joey is developing methodology to promote in vitro spermatogenesis. In his spare time Joey loves to cook, play music and thumb through his record collection.

Senior Scientist
David earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Utah and a PhD in Oncological Sciences from the Huntsman Cancer Institute. His academic research focused on mechanisms of melanoma metastasis using both in vitro and in vivo models. Following his academic work, David transitioned to the pharmaceutical industry, where he served as a preclinical scientist and R&D lead in oncology drug development. Currently, as a Senior Scientist at Paterna, he is focused on helping the scientific team promote in vitro spermatogenesis. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, particularly works on science and history, and participates in sports such as volleyball, pickleball, grappling, and snowboarding. He is married with two daughters and enjoys supporting them at their soccer games.

Senior Scientist
Alek earned a BS in biochemistry and biological sciences from the University of Denver. After graduating, he worked for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory as a biochemist co-developing their cell-free metabolite synthesis platform. He then went on to obtain an MS in Clinical Investigation with an emphasis in urologic oncology and a PhD in Integrative Physiology from the University of Utah. During his PhD, Alek applied molecular biology, electrophysiology, and lipid mass spectrometry techniques to characterize the role of mitochondrial phospholipids in energy expenditure and tissue function. As a Senior Scientist at Paterna, Alek is working with the R&D team to co-develop the in vitro spermatogenesis pipeline. In his free time, Alek enjoys reading, climbing, and traveling with his family.

Senior Scientist
Igal holds a BS from the University of British Columbia and a PhD in neurobiology from the University of Utah. Trained as a cellular and molecular biologist, Igal worked on engineering immune cells for adoptive immunotherapy as a research technician and developed novel tools to study the extracellular matrix of the brain in his graduate work. At Paterna, Igal brings his expertise to isolating and differentiating spermatids. In his spare time, Igal enjoys hiking, skiing, reading, and spending time with his growing family.

Research Scientist
Nika holds a BS from the University of Utah in biochemistry, with a specialty in physics. At Huntsman Cancer Center she took on projects relating to pancreatic and lung adenocarcinoma, and was an author on several papers, exploring the effects of HNF4A mutations on cancers, as well as acting as lab manager. She put her 3D organoid culture skills to use in helping develop a novel pipeline using patient biopsies to screen a large number of drugs with the goal of finding new biomarkers and improving prognostics for cancer patients. She also helped develop an RNA extraction system for 3D cell culture at scale. As Research Scientist at Paterna, she uses her cell culture skills to help solve male infertility. When she’s not in the lab, she spends as much time as possible outdoors and helps host runs for a number of run clubs in addition to skiing, biking, climbing, and camping.

Bioinformatician
Graham earned his BS in Biology from Guilford College and a PhD in Oncological Sciences from the University of Utah, under the mentorship of Dr. Bradley Cairns. During his PhD studies, Graham applied genomics and bioinformatics approaches to uncover how key developmental genes are regulated in embryos. Currently Graham serves as Bioinformatician for Paterna Biosciences. In this capacity, Graham applies his breadth of bioinformatic and molecular biology experience to produce and analyze single-cell RNA-seq datasets. Outside of work, Graham enjoys spending time with his wife, mountain and road biking, snowboarding, and exploring all of the outdoors that Utah has to offer.

Research Associate
Varshinee graduated with a B.Tech in Biotechnology from PSG College of Technology, India. During her undergraduate work she focused on projects in molecular biology and genetic engineering. Varshinee has also worked with the CRISPR/Cas9 system to induce beneficial mutations in genes involved in Beta-thalassemia. She completed her MS in Biotechnology at Northeastern University, Boston. During her graduate studies she interned with ThermoFisher and worked on data collection from bioreactors with varying conditions to validate and compare different Raman spectroscopy-based instruments. As a Lab Associate at Paterna, she works under Bingqian to test and optimize various conditions to promote growth of spermatogonial stem cells in vitro. In her spare time, she enjoys practicing Indian Classical dance and reading books.

Research Intern
Jaikin is currently a third-year MD/MBA dual-degree candidate at Creighton University School of Medicine in Omaha, Nebraska. He received his BS in Biochemistry from UCLA. Jaikin recently completed his first two years of medical school before moving to Salt Lake City to work as a Research Intern for Paterna. He is concurrently finishing up the MBA portion of his degree online through Creighton. In his free time, he enjoys exploring Utah, golfing, watching football, and spending time with his 2-year-old golden retriever, Maggie.

Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer
Alex is an urologist, scientist, and serial entrepreneur, bringing over 15 years of experience in healthcare and biotechnology to Paterna. He received his BS from Yale University and his MD and PhD from the University of California, San Francisco. Alex completed his residency and fellowship training in urology and male reproductive medicine and surgery at Baylor College of Medicine, and started his career as an academic physician-scientist, transitioning more heavily into startups and growth companies over the last decade. Alex’s clinical and NIH-funded basic research focus as faculty at the University of Utah is in men’s sexual and reproductive health, and his entrepreneurial work has encompassed healthcare technology, diagnostics, medical devices, clinical research, and medical innovation. Alex has had founding and executive operational roles at multiple companies, with several exits to date, most recently at Vault Health, where he served as Chief Medical & Scientific Officer. In his spare time, he enjoys endurance cycling, skiing, good wine, and spending time with his wife and two boys.

Co-founder and Chairman
Jim is a urologist, serial entrepreneur, scientist and Director of Men’s Health at the University of Utah. He received his BA from Dartmouth, his MD from Duke and his MS in clinical epidemiology from the University of Washington. Jim completed a fellowship in male infertility at The University of Illinois at Chicago and joined the faculty at University of Utah. He built the reproductive urology program at RMANJ, which was acquired by IVIRMA, the largest IVF clinic in the world. Jim has founded five companies, exited two, holds 8 patents, has over 250 publications in the men’s health and male infertility space and has served as the president of the Society for Male Reproductive Urology. He has worked with Drs Guo, Cairns, Nie and Pastuszak for over a decade and developed the idea for Paterna after having to tell many patients that they could not have biological children. In his spare time he enjoys road and mountain biking, ski mountaineering, climbing and time with his wife and two boys.

Board Director
Ryan is a partner at SpringTide with experience driving innovation within health systems and in startup environments. Prior to SpringTide, Ryan helped pioneer population health models within the University of Utah Health delivery and payer arms. Ryan was the CFO of a digital health platform, TruClinic, and led its acquisition by InTouch Health, which was subsequently acquired by Teladoc. Ryan also served as the National Deputy Finance Director for Senator Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign.
Ryan earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Brigham Young University and an MBA from the Wharton School.
He is also a board director at OpenLoop, Troomi, and IgniteData. He is a board observer at Aegle Health Partners and Okadoc.

Independent Board Member
Cynthia Tsai has more than 30 years of experience in global biotechnology and medical technology. She spent 16 years on Wall Street as a Vice President with Merrill Lynch and Kidder Peabody (1982-1995). Since 2016, she has been the CEO of Tana Systems, a global software and IT company based in the U.S. and India, leading a team of 50 engineers in the U.S. and 500 engineers in India. She is also the Chief Executive Officer of Healthquest, a global biotechnology and medical technologies advisory firm. Past roles include CEO of HealthExpo and General Partner in MassTech Ventures, an equity fund focused on technology development at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She currently serves on the Board of Selectors for the Jefferson Foundation Awards, the Prix Galien Foundation, Certus Critical Care Inc., Vita Nav TitinKM and Ethan Allen. She earned a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Missouri.

He started his career as consultant in PwC, and worked in different companies across industries – such as Uralita, Levantina and Planasa – mainly as CFSO, until he joined Igenomix, in early 2020, where he served as CFO & Strategy Director. He actively participated in the successful exit of EQT, in summer 2022, when the company was acquired by Vitrolife, where he joined the Executive Team of the combined company as SVP Strategy and Corporate Development. Since summer 2022, he has been working in different roles of the new IVF-clinics group formed by KKR. He currently leads the integration of acquisitions as well as the transformation initiatives.

Francisco education includes an MSc in Industrial Engineering double degree from Universidad Politecnica de Valencia (UPV) and Cranfield University, an MBA from Instituto de Empresa, and a Senior Executive Programme from London Business School.

Board Observer

Board Observer

Amy Divaraniya, PhD is the Founder and CEO of Oova, a women’s health company. She has more than 10 years of experience as a data scientist and has both led and published original research in the areas of personal genomics and biomarker discovery. Her understanding of biology and being able to apply complex analyses have led to innovative projects in the healthcare space. In 2017, Dr. Divaraniya chose to pivot her career as a data scientist and devote herself to improving women’s healthcare. After facing her own struggles with conceiving her son, Dr. Divaraniya decided to build a solution to help women experiencing difficulty getting pregnant. Today, she and her team have built the first at-home test, Oova, that measures multiple hormones through urine samples and provides personalized results and insights on a woman’s fertility. Oova has resonated with many women and clinicians and has now been adopted by over 100 clinics and hospitals across the country.

Co-founder and Scientific Advisor
Kyle received his BS in Biology and BA in Chemistry from Whitworth College and his PhD in Biochemistry & Biophysics and Animal Sciences from Oregon State University. His postdoctoral training was at Kansas University Medical Center and then University of Pennsylvania where he started his life’s work on stem cells, gametogenesis and fertility. He is a Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh where his lab has pioneered methods for testicular stem cell and testicular tissue transplantation to treat male infertility. He is the founding director of the UPMC Fertility Preservation Program and the UPMC Magee Center for Reproduction and Transplantation (CRT) that is committed to translating lab bench discoveries into clinical practice. CRT provides fertility preservation and fertility restoration services to patients in Western Pennsylvania and through a coordinated network of more than 40 sites around the US. His team is committed to improving access to fertility care for all people and working toward a future where every person who wants to have a biologically related child can do so.

Co-founder and Bioinformatics Consultant
Jingtao is a professor and investigator at the Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, China. He received his BS from Peking University, and his PhD from University of Utah under the mentorship of Dr. Brad Cairns. He completed his postdoctoral training with Drs Brad Cairns and Doug Carrell, and was subsequently appointed as an Assistant Professor at the University of Utah School of Medicine. Jingtao has worked with Brad, Jim, and Xichen on human germline stem cells and testis development for a decade. In late 2021, after living in Utah for almost 10 years, Jingtao and his family moved back to Beijing, where he leads a ~20 member research group and continues his research on human reproduction and testis biology. In his spare time, he enjoys reading books, listening to music, hiking and traveling with his family.