Our founders have come together to integrate the latest advancements in the fields of physics, chemistry, biology and machine learning, and to attract top talent from around the world to solve some of today’s most fundamental challenges in health and disease.
Scientific Co-founders ⟶ Leadership Team ⟶ Board of Directors ⟶
LEADERSHIP
Scientific Co-founders
Mallinckrodt Professor of Physics & Applied Physics & Professor of Systems Biology. Experimentalist with a focus on soft matter physics, biophysics, and biotechnology. Developed widely adopted techniques to investigate the properties of biomaterials. Successful 18-year career at former Exxon Research and Engineering Co. Published: 800+ papers; h-index of 195. Co-founder of more than 10 startup companies. Member of the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering and American Academy of Arts and Sciences
David A. Weitz
Harvard University
Professor of Physical Chemistry and Biophysics in the departments of Chemistry and Physics with a focus on protein biophysics. Developed approaches to study protein aggregation, protein self-assembly, and protein-protein interactions. Published 300+ papers, h-index of 80. Co-founder of three other companies (Fluidic Analytics, Wren Therapeutics, Xampla).
Tuomas Knowles
University of Cambridge
Professor of Experimental Neuroscience at University of Cambridge and University Professor at the University of Toronto’s Department of Medicine, Division of Neurology. Identified key genes responsible for nerve cell degeneration. One of the most cited authors in field of Alzheimer’s disease research. Member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, a fellow of the American Neurological Association, Royal Society of London and the Royal Society of Canada, and a Foreign Member to the National Academy of Medicine of the United States National Academies. Published 165+ papers; h-index of 90.
Peter St George-Hyslop
University of Cambridge / University of Toronto
Head of Cellular Genetics at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, Director of Research at the Cavendish Laboratory at the University of Cambridge, and Senior Research Fellow at Churchill College. Co-founder and co-leader of the global Human Cell Atlas initiative. Distinguished Fellow of the International Society for Computational Biology, Fellow of the Royal Society, EMBO member, and fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences. Published 200 papers; h-index of 108.
Sarah Teichmann
Wellcome Sanger Institute / University of Cambridge
LEADERSHIP
Leadership Team
Kelly Martin serves as Executive Chairman and is a co-founder of Transition Bio. He has extensive experience leading both public and private life sciences companies. His previous positions include Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Radius Health, a commercial biopharmaceutical company, and CEO of Elan Corporation plc, a pharmaceutical company focused on neurodegenerative diseases. Kelly spent more than two decades in finance at Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc., holding senior positions in several global divisions including Debt markets, International Equities, Systems & Technology, and the International Private Banking Group. Mr. Martin is a graduate of Princeton University.
G. Kelly Martin
Executive Chairman
In addition to his role as Scientific Co-Founder, Tuomas Knowles serves as Chief Technology Officer. He leads the Company’s technology and data platform strategy as well as the overall direction of the platform, including drug target opportunities.
Tuomas Knowles
Chief Technology Officer, Co-Founder
Shilpi Arora serves as Co-President and Chief Scientific Officer. She has more than 18 years of experience leading multiple areas of drug discovery, target ID & validation, pharmacology, and translational sciences, working in biotech, academia, and non-profits. Her drug discovery programs focused on oncology, inflammation, and rare diseases. Prior to Transition Bio, Shilpi’s was Vice President of Discovery and Translational Biology at Exo Therapeutics. She earned her M.S and Ph.D. in Cancer Biology from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences and completed her post-doctoral research at the Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto, Canada as well as working on the development of ChIP on chip technology at UC Irvine, California.
Shilpi Arora, Ph.D.
Co-President and Chief Scientific Officer
Martin Kulander serves as Co-President and Chief Operating Officer. He joined Transition Bio in 2021 from AstraZeneca where he was Senior/Executive Director, Oncology R&D Strategy. While at AstraZeneca, he served in various leadership roles in the oncology commercial, R&D, and business development organizations. Martin was on the team that delivered the Enhertu and Dato-DXd (DS-1062) deals and subsequently worked on both assets in-house. Martin’s broad life sciences operating experience includes portfolio investment and analysis as well as strategy consulting. He has worked on more than 10 FDA approved drugs in his career and is a graduate of Dartmouth College.
Martin Kulander
Co-President and Chief Operating Officer
LEADERSHIP
Board of Directors
Samuel Cohen, Ph.D.
Dr. Samuel Cohen is an Executive Director and co-founder of Transition Bio. His leadership and professional experience spans across science, entrepreneurship, and strategic consulting. Dr. Cohen is currently CEO and co-founder of Ride Therapeutics, a newly formed technology platform company solving drug delivery et the molecular level. Dr, Cohen was previously the CEO and co-founder of Wren Therapeutics. He holds degrees in Natural Sciences (Physics) and a PhD in Biophysical Chemistry from University of Cambridge and was a Visiting Fellow at Harvard.
Tuomas Knowles, Ph.D.
Professor Knowles is an Executive Director and Co-Founder of Transition Bio and serves as the Company’s Chief Technology Officer. At the University of Cambridge, he is Professor of Physical Chemistry and Biophysics in the departments of Chemistry and Physics with a focus on protein biophysics. Prof. Knowles has developed pathbreaking approaches to study protein aggregation, protein self-assembly, and protein-protein interactions which has led to more than 300 published papers and an h-index of 80. Prof. Knowles is the co-founder of five companies based on his scientific research.
Paxton Major
Paxton Major joined the Board of Directors in 2024. Mr. Major is a Managing Director at Northpond Ventures, where he serves as a member of the investment team and helps to lead investments in biopharma R&D tools, precision medicine, and digital health. Paxton was previously a consultant at Trinity Partners, a life science-focused strategy and management consultancy that advises clients by providing in-depth market, competitor, customer, and financial insights. Paxton earned a B.S. with honors in neurobiology from Brown University.
G. Kelly Martin, Executive Chairman
Kelly Martin serves as Executive Chairman and is a co-founder of Transition Bio. He has extensive experience leading both public and private life sciences companies. His previous positions include Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Radius Health, a commercial biopharmaceutical company, and CEO of Elan Corporation plc, a pharmaceutical company focused on neurodegenerative diseases. Kelly spent more than two decades in finance at Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc., holding senior positions in several global divisions including Debt markets, International Equities, Systems & Technology, and the International Private Banking Group. Mr. Martin is a graduate of Princeton University.
Alfred W. Sandrock, Jr., M.D., Ph.D.
Dr. Al Sandrock joined the Board of Directors 2022. Dr. Sandrock is a world-renown neuroscientist and leader in biopharmaceutical development. He currently serves as CEO of Voyager Therapeutics, a gene therapy company focused on neurologic diseases. Prior to joining Voyager, Dr. Sandrock held several senior roles during his more than twenty-year tenure with Biogen, including Executive Vice President of R&D and Chief Medical Officer. He holds an M.D. and PhD in neurobiology from Harvard, a B.A. from Stanford, and completed extensive clinical training at Massachusetts General Hospital in neurology and neuromuscular disease.
Robert Weeks
Robert Weeks joined the Board of Directors in 2024, and has a background in investing, capital markets, investment banking, and financial product development. He serves as an advisor to a private charitable foundation, where he is responsible for all aspects of the foundation’s endowment and charitable operations since. Rob previously served as Chief of Staff to the Chairman of the Board at TD Ameritrade. Mr. Weeks earned a B.A. in Economics and M.S. in Finance from Washington University in St. Louis.
Kathy Yi, M.B.A.
Kathy Yi joined the Board of Directors in 2022. Ms. Yi is the former Chief Operating Officer of Affini-T Therapeutics and brings extensive leadership in biotech and finance. Her previous positions include CFO at Cerevel Therapeutics and CFO of Sangamo Therapeutics as well as senior finance roles at Novartis and Life Technologies (acquired by Thermo Fisher). Ms. Yi holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from UC Berkeley and an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School.
LEADING RESEARCH CENTERS
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