About

Timothy J. Miller, Ph.D.

CEO, President and Co-Founder

Timothy Miller is CEO, President and Co-Founder of Forge Biologics, Inc., a VC-backed gene therapy development engine focused on accelerating access to potentially life-saving AAV gene therapies. Prior to founding Forge, Dr. Miller co-founded Abeona Therapeutics, a rare disease gene and cell therapy company. He served as Abeona’s CEO and President from 2012-early 2018, taking the company public in 2015. He is a proven biotech leader with experience in driving gene therapy pipeline development, regulatory strategy, investor relations, M&A activities, licensing, GMP manufacturing, clinical development, and leading stakeholder/shareholder engagement. Dr. Miller has over 20+ years of business development, scientific research, product development and clinical operations expertise, with a focus on transitioning novel gene and cell therapies through pre-clinical and Phase 3 human clinical trials. He is an avid patient-centric drug developer and entrepreneur. Dr. Miller earned a Ph.D. in Pharmacology from Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), and degrees in Biology/Molecular Science (M.S. and B.S.) from John Carroll University. Dr. Miller received the CWRU Alumni Association 2022 Professional Achievement Award.

Jaysson Eicholtz

Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer

Jaysson Eicholtz is Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer at Forge Biologics. Mr. Eicholtz has 20+ years of operational experience in FDA regulated industry and specializes in design and operation of aseptic processing facilities. Prior to launching Forge, Mr. Eicholtz held operational management roles with increasing levels of responsibility at Tyson Foods, Wyeth, Sanofi Pasteur, Dendreon, Unither, Nationwide Children's Hospital and Scout Bio. He graduated with a B.S. in Animal Science from the University of Maryland where he also received his M.S. in Biotechnology.

Erandi De Silva, Ph.D.

Co-Founder and Senior Vice President of Product Development

Erandi De Silva is Co-Founder and Senior Vice President of Product Development at Forge Biologics. She is an experienced scientist and entrepreneur, with 10+ years of experience in discovery research, therapeutic development, and partnering across oncology, infectious disease, and gene therapy. Prior to founding Forge, Dr. De Silva held leadership roles in both academic and industry settings, including at Myonexus Therapeutics. She earned a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from Princeton University, where she was awarded the Procter Fellowship in recognition of exceptional research, and her B.S., with honors, from Stanford University. She was also a Postdoctoral Research Scientist at Genentech.Dr. De Silva was named to the 2022 40 Under 40 by Columbus Business First and 2022's Fiercest Women in Life Sciences by Fierce Pharma.

Maria Escolar, M.D.

Chief Medical Officer

Maria Escolar is the Chief Medical Officer at Forge Biologics and is a Tenured Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh and Founder of the Program for the Study of Neurodevelopment in Rare Disorders (NDRD) at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. Dr. Escolar has more than 20 years of experience as a practicing clinician and researcher and is internationally known for her work in children with rare genetic neurodegenerative conditions such as leukodystrophies and mucopolysaccharidosis. Dr. Escolar has authored more than 80 manuscripts, including two original research articles in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine. Her translational research focuses on prospectively studying the natural progression of these diseases, developing treatments that translate into meaningful neurobehavioral outcomes and the relationship with neuroimaging and biomarker changes. She has contributed to the design of multiple trials and has been the lead investigator on many gene therapy and ERT trials. Dr. Escolar is a graduate of the Escuela Colombiana de Medicina, she has a M.S. in human nutrition from Columbia University and completed a residency in general pediatrics and fellowship in child development and behavioral pediatrics at the Cornell University Medical Center.

Ashley Craddick

Director of Process Development

Ashley Craddick is the Director of Process Development at Forge Biologics. Ashley has 10 years of experience in gene therapy and specializes in downstream purification focusing on optimizing FDA compliant processes. Prior to joining Forge Biologics, Ashley held operational management and developmental roles with Scout Bio and Nationwide Children's Hospital. She graduated with a BS in Chemistry from Urbana University in 2009. Ashley and her husband, Adam, have two young children that occupy their free time taking them to sporting events and exploring outside.

Jeremy Pupillo

Director, Supply Chain and Facilities

Jeremy Pupillo is the Director, Supply Chain and Facilities at Forge Biologics. Jeremy brings 20+ years of supply chain operations knowledge, with 10 years in an FDA regulated environment. Prior to joining Forge Biologics, Jeremy held operational management roles with increasing levels of responsibility with Ball Corporation, Dendreon, Unither, Bristol-Meyers Squibb and Lonza. He earned his MBA with Columbia College in 2016 and his CSCP certification from APICS in 2017. When not on a softball field with his daughter, you can find Jeremy spending time with his wife Kim, their three grandchildren and two sons on their boat in the Finger Lakes.

Carolyn Odom

Director of Clinical Program Managementt

Carolyn Odom is the Director, Clinical Program Management at Forge Biologics. Prior to entering clinical research, she worked in the non-profit realm for a decade promoting independence and access to sport for people with disabilities. Carolyn has worked on the site, CRO and industry levels from pre-clinical through Phase III clinical trials, most recently as Director of Program Management at Abeona Therapeutics. She received an MA (Honours) in History from the University of St. Andrews. Carolynis a puppy raiser for Canine Companions for Independence and is rarely seen without a dog at her side. She is currently raising Zia III at Forge.

David Dismuke, Ph.D.

Chief Technical Officer

David Dismuke serves as Chief Technical Officer and came to Forge Biologics with more than 15 years of experience in large-scale manufacturing. He is an authority in the bioprocessing and design of gene therapy vectors and has led CMC operations in the manufacturing of pre-clinical and clinical-grade AAV vectors for more than 10 years. Prior to joining Forge, Dr. Dismuke was the Vice President of Manufacturing at StrideBio where he directed the development of manufacturing and analytical processes for AAV vectors that utilize novel capsids. In addition, he led the design of therapeutic and reporter transgenes and innovative molecular enhancements to improve AAV production and therapeutic function. He also served as Head of Vector Production at Voyager Therapeutics, where he led teams in the manufacturing and analytical testing of AAV using the baculovirus/Sf9 production system. Prior to Voyager, Dr. Dismuke was Director of the UNC Vector Core, where he oversaw GMP operations as well as the production of research-grade vectors. He earned his Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University, focusing on the molecular biology and lifecycle of HIV-1, and conducted postdoctoral research at UNC Chapel Hill.

John Maslowski

Chief Commercial Officer

Mr. Maslowski is Chief Commercial Officer at Forge Biologics. He served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Castle Creek Biosciences, Inc. from January 2020 to March 2021 and served in the same role at Fibrocell Science, Inc. (a NASDAQ rare disease cell and gene therapy company) from 2016 until Fibrocell was acquired in 2019. Prior to the acquisition, Mr. Maslowski served as Senior Vice President of Scientific Affairs and Vice President of Operations of Fibrocell between 2012 to 2016. Mr. Maslowski has extensive experience in the field of cell and gene therapy, including advancing D-Fi, a genetically modified autologous fibroblast therapy, to pivotal clinical trials, and LAVIV ®, a non-modified autologous fibroblast therapy, through U.S. FDA approval and commercialization. Mr. Maslowski also serves on the board of Alliance for Regenerative Medicine, the scientific advisory board of Castle Creek Biosciences, and the advisory board of Life Science Cares Philadelphia. Mr. Maslowski previously served as the Chairman of the board of directors of Falcon Therapeutics, a privately held Durham, N.C. company focused on the development of cell therapy products for oncology, from 2019 to 2021, and on the board of directors of Castle Creek Biosciences and Fibrocell from 2016 to 2021. Mr. Maslowski has 20+ years of experience in pharmaceutical and biologics development at major pharmaceutical companies including Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Merck & Co., Inc., and Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd. Mr. Maslowski received his B.S. in biology from Ursinus College and his M.S. in microbiology from Villanova University.

Christina Perry

Senior Vice President of Finance and Investor Relations

Christina Perry is Senior Vice President of Finance and Investor Relations at Forge Biologics. She spent the last several years as the CFO of Drive Capital where she built out all accounting and finance operations, back-office needs, and investor relations and reporting. Ms. Perry managed complex entity legal structures and has had extensive experience in equity and debt financings. Over the last 15+ years, she has worked with public and private companies and startups across varying industries, developing operational processes to scale with high growth. Ms. Perry spent the onset of her career at Deloitte, is a licensed CPA in the state of Ohio, earned her B.B.A. at the University of Notre Dame and a Master of Accountancy from Miami University.

Juan Ruiz, M.D., Ph.D.

Senior Vice President of Clinical Affairs

Juan Ruiz serves as Senior Vice President of Clinical Affairs at Forge Biologics. He has decades of experience in clinical drug development and has held C-level positions at Abeona Therapeutics, Lykera Biomed and Digna Biotech, where he spent more than ten years leading teams dedicated to developing gene therapy translational medicine programs. His proven track record demonstrates a start-to-finish scope, from early preclinical and proof of concept studies to manufacturing, regulatory IND and IMPD submissions, clinical trial design and execution, as well as manufacturing and quality control of the adenoviral vectors. Dr. Ruiz has been instrumental in achieving multiple Orphan Product Designations, has led teams for successful Scientific Advice and Protocol Assistance meetings with the FDA and EMA, and has helped design Patient Reported Outcomes (PRO) in the U.S. to assess skin outcome measures in patients with systemic sclerosis for use as primary endpoints in late-stage clinical trials. He is the author of more than 40 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters and is an inventor on multiple issued patents. Dr. Ruiz earned his Ph.D. in molecular biology from the University of Navarra. He was a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Connecticut and earned his M.B.A. from the IESE Business School at the University of Navarra.

Christopher Shilling

Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and Quality

Christopher Shilling is Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and Quality at Forge Biologics. He has over 15 years of experience in the development of novel gene therapies for rare and significant disorders. Mr. Shilling is an experienced leader in gene therapy regulatory affairs, pharmacology, toxicology, and project management focused on developing strategies for early phase clinical trials in support of a variety of transformative therapeutics for pediatric and rare diseases. Prior to joining Forge, Mr. Shilling started the Drug and Device Development program at Nationwide Children’s Hospital which was instrumental in gaining acceptance from regulators for over twenty first-in-human gene therapy clinical trials of novel biologic products, a dozen orphan drug designations, and two fast track designations. This body of work contributed to over fifteen successful licenses with industry partners for technologies discovered while at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and The Ohio State University. He has provided regulatory guidance and strategy to patient-focused foundations and industry ranging from angel invested startups to late stage and commercial staged biopharma. Mr. Shilling received a B.S. in biology and his M.S. in Pathology from The Ohio State University.

Juan Ruiz, M.D., Ph.D.

Senior Vice President of Clinical Affairs

Juan Ruiz serves as Senior Vice President of Clinical Affairs at Forge Biologics. He has decades of experience in clinical drug development and has held C-level positions at Abeona Therapeutics, Lykera Biomed and Digna Biotech, where he spent more than ten years leading teams dedicated to developing gene therapy translational medicine programs. His proven track record demonstrates a start-to-finish scope, from early preclinical and proof of concept studies to manufacturing, regulatory IND and IMPD submissions, clinical trial design and execution, as well as manufacturing and quality control of the adenoviral vectors. Dr. Ruiz has been instrumental in achieving multiple Orphan Product Designations, has led teams for successful Scientific Advice and Protocol Assistance meetings with the FDA and EMA, and has helped design Patient Reported Outcomes (PRO) in the U.S. to assess skin outcome measures in patients with systemic sclerosis for use as primary endpoints in late-stage clinical trials. He is the author of more than 40 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters and is an inventor on multiple issued patents. Dr. Ruiz earned his Ph.D. in molecular biology from the University of Navarra. He was a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Connecticut and earned his M.B.A. from the IESE Business School at the University of Navarra.

Chris McPherson

Vice President of GMP Manufacturing

Chris McPherson is Vice President of GMP Manufacturing at Forge Biologics. Mr. McPherson has extensive experience in technology transfer, validation, and cGMP manufacturing. He has over 25 years in industry and specializes in continuous improvement for efficiency and compliance, problem solving, and scale up of client processes in a contract manufacturing environment. Mr. McPherson has been subject matter expert and manufacturing lead in numerous regulatory inspections from FDA, EMA, and other regulatory agencies as well as client audits and due diligence audits. Prior to joining Forge, he held technical leadership positions in industry as Director of Manufacturing, Principal Scientist for Validation, Audits, and Inspections and Head of Clinical Manufacturing with Guilford Pharmaceutical, Cambrex Bioscience, WuXi Apptec, Biotest Pharmaceutical and Samsung Biologics. Mr. McPherson holds two Bachelor of Science degrees in Chemistry and Biochemistry from Pennsylvania State University.

Adam Davis, Ph.D.

Vice President of Analytical Development

Adam Davis is Vice President of Analytical Development at Forge Biologics. He leads the development of product specific and platform method development for characterization, release testing, and stability testing. He established teams dedicated to nucleic acid based methods, protein based methods, and cell based methods respectively, and oversaw the qualification and transition of methods to the Quality Control team and establishment of a Blaze Vector Core dedicated analytic team. Dr. Davis joined Forge with more than 15 years of experience in recombinant adeno-associated viral vector product development, process development, and manufacturing. He has led various teams in the scalability of multiple platforms for the production, purification, and characterization of both pre-clinical and clinical recombinant gene therapy vectors. Prior to joining Forge, Dr. Davis was the Director of Manufacturing and Contract Manufacturing at Abeona Therapeutics. There he led the establishment of manufacturing capabilities to supply early pre-clinical development in adherent cell culture while simultaneously developing suspension culture capabilities, both in-house and through contract development and manufacturing partners. Dr. Davis was a scientist at BioMarin Pharmaceutical before Abeona, where he led a team optimizing yield in the Sf9/baculovirus system to produce the company’s first gene therapy product. He began his gene therapy career at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Dr. Davis earned his Ph.D. from The Ohio State University, focusing on the rational design of recombinant AAV vector capsid for targeted delivery.

Dan Salvo

Director of Communications and Community Development

After graduating college with a B.S. in Business Administration, Dan created DP Studios Productions, an award winning photography, film production, and live streaming company. Over the past 15 years, he has captured millions of photographs, created hundreds of films, and consulted for dozens of businesses from around the world to develop their creative vision and content for media communications.

Coupled with strong attention to detail and a wealth of technical knowledge, Dan’s storytelling and communication skills stand paramount in each of his projects. Clients rely on his ability to absorb large, amorphous concepts and goals, and convert those into actionable projects, effortlessly and creatively bridging the gaps between businesses, technology, and the people that bring them together.

Dan brings an innate ability to navigate within delicate and nuanced spaces, an invaluable mandate when working in the rare disease space. This capacity for capturing and communicating arcs of emotion is preeminent in his two documentary films, The Weight of a Mountain and At the Edge of Hope. These films required thousands of hours of filming and editing as well as the indelible trust of those featured. In return, these powerful projects provided viewers with an intimate glimpse into the world of rare disease, gene therapy, and the resilience of the human spirit.

Adam S. Davis, Ph.D.

Senior Director, Analytics

Adam Davis joins Forge Biologics with more than 15 years of experience in recombinant adeno-associated viral vector product development, process development, and manufacturing. He has led various teams in the scalability of multiple platforms for the production, purification, and characterization of both pre-clinical and clinical recombinant gene therapy vectors. Prior to joining Forge Biologics, Adam was the Director of Manufacturing and Contract Manufacturing at Abeona Therapeutics, where he established manufacturing capabilities to supply early pre-clinical development in adherent cell culture. Adam also developed suspension culture capabilities, both in-house and through contract development and manufacturing partners. Prior to his work at Abeona Therapeutics, Adam was a scientist at BioMarin Pharmaceutical where he led a team optimizing yield in the Sf9/baculovirus system to produce Valoctogene Roxaparvovec, the company’s first gene therapy product. Prior to BioMarin, Adam contributed to the development and manufacturing of clinical gene therapy vectors at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. He earned his Ph.D. from Ohio State University, focusing on the rational design of recombinant AAV vector capsid for targeted delivery.

Steven Goden

Senior Vice President of Finance and Operations

Steve Goden serves as Senior Vice President of Finance and Operations at Forge Biologics, and has over 35 years of financial and administrative management expertise in a wide range of organizations in all stages of development, from start‐up through rapid growth and maturity. Prior to joining Forge, Mr. Goden was Senior Director of Finance and Operations at Abeona Therapeutics, a rare disease NASDAQ gene and cell therapy company. He previously served as Chief Financial Officer of Red5 Pharmaceuticals, a biotech start-up that developed novel diagnostic assays, and SironRx Therapeutics, another biotech start-up that developed dermal wound therapies to reduce scarring. Prior to his biotech experience, Mr. Goden served as Executive Vice President for Cohesant Inc., an investment holding company that acquired, grew and divested of a variety of companies, including GlasCraft Inc., CuraFlo, and Raven Lining Systems. Earlier in his career, Mr. Goden served in senior financial roles at Cole National Corporation (e.g. Pearle Vision, Target Optical, Things Remembered) and Progressive Insurance.

Magdalena Tyrpien

Senior Vice President and Head of Business Development

Magdalena Tyrpien is Senior Vice President and Head of Business Development at Forge Biologics. Previously, she was Director of Business Development at PTC Therapeutics, a global commercial stage small molecule and gene therapy biopharmaceutical company. Ms. Tyrpien was directly responsible for leading efforts around licensing and acquisition of assets and led a $268M company acquisition with a Phase III ready asset for patients with PKU. Her professional experience spans in corporate business development, strategic planning, and investor relations in the biotechnology and venture capital industries across a range of therapeutics areas and stages of development. Prior to joining PTC, she spent 4+ years as Director of Corporate Strategy and Business Development at Abeona Therapeutics, a gene and cell therapy company. In this role, she identified, acquired, licensed, and leveraged strategic assets, with a focus in cell and gene therapies for rare neurogenerative diseases. Ms. Tyrpien earned her B.A. from Montclair State University and an M.B.A. from the University of Liverpool (UK).

Laura Carfagna

Director of Sales and Client Development

Laura Carfagna is the Director of Sales and Client Development at Forge Biologics. Laura has 11 years of sales and management experience in the Life Science Industry. Prior to joining Forge Biologics, Laura held sales and sales management roles with Corning Life Sciences, VWR, and Life Technologies. She graduated with a BS in microbiology from Bowling Green State University in 2009. Laura and her husband, Luciano, enjoy spending their free time hiking and cooking new recipes.

Hannah Munizza

Director of Marketing

Before joining Forge Biologics, Hannah spent the last 7 years as the Senior Director of Business Development and Marketing at the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), the venture capital industry’s preeminent trade group, leading business development, programming, industry relations, and marketing. In this role Hannah helped create and market benefits, resources, and programs for NVCA’s 300+ members. Prior to joining NVCA, Hannah worked at CTIA – The Wireless Association. There, she served as the marketing, public relations, and partnerships coordinator for CTIA’s conventions department. She began her career in CTIA’s Regulatory Affairs Department, where she was a member of the association’s regulatory policy advocacy team. Hannah received her BSBA cum laude in marketing and management from Robert Morris University, where she played for the university’s Division I volleyball team.

Frank Agbogbo, Ph.D.

Vice President of Process Development

Frank Agbogbo is Vice President of Process Development at Forge Biologics. He has over 16 years of experience in industry. Previously, Dr. Agbogbo was Senior Director of Process Development at Cytovance Biologics where he oversaw cell line development, cell culture, strain development and fermentation. He was at Cytovance for over 7 years where he took increasing responsibilities from Director of Fermentation to Director of Process Development with supervision of the Upstream and Downstream teams. Prior to Cytovance, Dr. Agbogbo was the Application Technology Manager at Mascoma Corporation where he contributed to the launch of two commercial products. He was also a Principal Scientist at ICM, Inc. and a Scientist at Novozymes. Dr. Agbogbo’s experience includes process development, Design of Experiments (DoE), process optimization, process characterization and scale-up from R&D to manufacturing (cGMP and non-cGMP). He was co-chair at scientific conferences such as the Society for Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology Annual Meeting (SIMB) and Recent Advances in Fermentation Technology (RAFT) on many topics including process optimization, scale-up, DoE, process characterization, downstream development, and process analytical technologies. He has co-authored over 15 peer-reviewed publications and contributed to 5 patents. Dr. Agbogbo earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Texas A&M University, and an M.B.A. with a certificate in Entrepreneurship from the Price College of Business, Oklahoma University.

Meghan Leonard

Vice President of Quality Management

Ms. Leonard is Vice President of Quality Management at Forge Biologics. She started her career in industry in 2004 at Ben Venue Laboratories (a Boehringer Ingelheim Company). Ms. Leonard has over 17 years of experience in FDA-regulated industries as a quality leader, operations leader, and project manager, with experience in compliance, operations, quality systems, and regulatory initiatives within the sterile, injectable pharmaceutical industry. She has experience in the cell and gene therapy, medical device, and chemical industries. Prior to joining Forge Biologics, Ms. Leonard held a quality management role at Abeona Therapeutics for 3 years where she gained experience in cell and gene therapy. Over the course of her career, she has interacted with numerous regulatory health authorities and clients as both a subject matter expert in quality systems and an audit/inspection lead. Ms. Leonard is passionate about building a compliant, efficient, and sustainable QMS that the Forge team is committed to providing to patients and partners. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Case Western Reserve University.

Taleen Barsoumian

Vice President of Client Development

Taleen Barsoumian is Vice President of Client Development at Forge Biologics. Previously, she was the US Director of Sales and Business Development for Cell and Gene at Barkey Corporation (subsidiary of Barkey GmbH & Co. KG), a medical device leader specializing in the science of precise dry temperature thawing used in product development, clinical trials and cGMP compliant manufacturing of cell and gene therapies. She was directly responsible for leading and executing many noteworthy partnerships with FDA approved CAR T-Cell therapy teams as well as closely collaborating with study sponsors in their ongoing Phase I, II and III clinical research trials. Prior to joining Barkey, she was the BioScience Western Regional Sales Manager for North America at Greiner Bio-One, internationally known for its Life Science products used in the cultivation and analysis of cell and tissue cultures as well as three-dimensional (3D) cell-based assays with imaging. She led a team with high profile accounts in academia, biotech, pharma, government and diagnostics. Her initial introduction into the therapeutics industry was with Novartis Pharmaceuticals, where she spent over seven years as a Senior Cardiovascular Sales Consultant and was responsible for the successful launch of seven FDA approved products into the Anti-Hypertensive market. Ms. Barsoumian earned her B.S. from the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California (USC) in Health Promotion & Disease Prevention Studies/Epidemiology, and also holds a Pharmacy Technician License from the California State Board of Pharmacy.