Benjamin L. Oakes, PhD, is Co-founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer at Scribe Therapeutics, a molecular engineering company focused on creating best-in-class CRISPR-based therapies that permanently treat the underlying cause of disease. Previously, as an Innovative Genomics Institute Entrepreneurial Fellow, Dr. Oakes focused on the holistic engineering of genome editing technologies to build novel genome editing molecules.

He has contributed to over 35 publications and patent applications across synthetic biology, molecular engineering, CRISPR, and zinc finger-based genetic modification. Dr. Oakes has been named to the MIT Technology Review 35 Innovators Under 35, San Francisco Business Times 40 Under 40, Endpoints 20 Under 40 in Biopharma, Business Insider 30 Under 40 Transforming Healthcare, and the Biocom Life Sciences Catalyst Awards. He received a Ph.D. in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of California, Berkeley, in 2017, where he worked in the Doudna Lab and Savage Lab developing CRISPR-Cas9 molecules with enhanced characteristics. Two such projects resulted in distinct versions of synthetic sensing systems that can modify nucleic acids only when triggered by external stimuli, and have found use in both research and pragmatically applied technologies.

Prior to his Ph.D. Dr. Oakes received his B.A. in the fields of Philosophy and Neurobiology and worked as a researcher applying unbiased, combinatorial evolution methods to build tens of thousands of “version one” genome editing tools, providing an open source framework for scientists and medical professionals to modify the genome B.C. — before the discovery of CRISPR technology.

Svetlana Lucas is the Chief Business Officer at Scribe Therapeutics, bringing nearly 20 years of experience in strategy, commercialization, and business development leadership to the role. Previously, she served as Senior Vice President, Business Development at Tizona Therapeutics, Inc. (Tizona), a clinical stage immunotherapy company, where she was responsible for the company’s business development strategy and transactions, including global strategic collaboration with AbbVie Inc. Before joining Tizona, Svetlana was Head of Oncology and Inflammation External R&D Team at Amgen Inc. (Amgen), where she oversaw business development activities, including Amgen’s strategic cancer immunotherapy research collaboration and licensing agreement with Kite Pharma, and collaborated with Amgen Ventures on several investments in oncology and inflammation. Svetlana joined Amgen following the acquisition of Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Onyx), where she spearheaded the company’s oncology partnering strategy and due diligence of new opportunities. She has held positions of increasing responsibility in strategy, business development, and strategic marketing at Amgen, PDL BioPharma/Facet Biotech (acquired by AbbVie), and XOMA Corporation.

Svetlana began her career as a strategy consultant in the Life Sciences practice of McKinsey & Company, Inc. She received her undergraduate degree in Biology from Moscow State University, and her Ph.D. in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry from the California Institute of Technology.

David Parrot is the Chief Financial Officer at Scribe Therapeutics, bringing more than 30 years of experience as an Investment Banker advising Life Science Companies on raising capital and executing strategic transactions. David joined Scribe in December 2021 from Barclays, where he served as a managing director and was Head of West Coast Life Science Investment Banking. Before joining Barclays, David spent 11 years at Piper Jaffray as a senior member of the Biotechnology investment banking team. He was previously also a Managing Director at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey and BMO Capital Markets focused on advising private and public biopharma companies.

David earned a BA from Middlebury College and an MBA from the Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley.

Aarif Khakoo, M.D., M.B.A., is Chief Scientific Officer and Head of Research and Development (R&D) at Scribe Therapeutics. Prior to joining Scribe, Aarif served as Chief Medical Officer and Head of Drug Development at Calico Life Sciences, where he led the company’s maturation into a clinical-stage company that filed multiple Investigational New Drug (IND) and Clinical Trial Applications (CTA) supporting its portfolio comprising more than 20 early- and late-stage compounds in cancer, neurological diseases, and tissue homeostasis and repair. Before joining Calico, Aarif held roles of increasing responsibility at Amgen that cemented his track record in drug development and fueled the company’s emergence as a leader in cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. At Amgen, he created and led the Cardiometabolic Division, which delivered seven first-in-class new molecular entities for atherosclerosis, heart failure, and obesity. He then oversaw early clinical development as Head of Translational Medicine across all of Amgen’s therapeutic areas – cardiometabolic, neuroscience, inflammation, and oncology. 

Aarif was a former associate professor at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. He received his M.D. and M.B.A. from Columbia University and his B.S.E in chemical engineering from Princeton University. 

Jennifer Doudna is the Li Ka Shing Chancellor’s Chair and a Professor in the Departments of Chemistry and of Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of California, Berkeley, as well as an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Her co-discovery of CRISPR-Cas9 genetic engineering technology, with collaborator, French scientist Emmanuelle Charpentier, has changed human and agricultural genomics research forever. This genome-editing technology enables scientists to change or remove genes quickly, with a precision only dreamed of just a few years ago. Labs worldwide have re-directed the course of their research programs to incorporate this new tool, creating a CRISPR revolution with huge implications across biology and medicine.

In addition to her scientific achievements and eminence, Doudna is also a leader in public discussion of the ethical and other implications of genome editing for human biology and societies, and advocates for thoughtful approaches to the development of policies around the use of CRISPR-Cas9. She has received many prizes for her discoveries, including the Japan Prize (2016), the Kavli Prize (2018), the LUI Che Woo Welfare Betterment Prize (2019) and the Wolf Prize in Medicine (2020). In 2015, Doudna was named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Associate Professor of Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology

David F. Savage is a co-founder and scientific advisor at Scribe Therapeutics. He is an Assistant Professor of Molecular and Cell Biology and Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley, where he develops tools for studying and manipulating the genome. Dave is an expert in structural biology and protein engineering using high-throughput methodology and is additionally studying the function of photosynthetic carbon dioxide assimilation machinery in the context of the cell. Previously, he was a Department of Energy Physical Biosciences Fellow at the Life Sciences Research Foundation at Harvard Medical School. He earned his B.A. in Chemistry from Gustavus Adolphus College, and his Ph.D. in Biophysics from the University of California, San Francisco.

Brett T. Staahl is the co-founder and VP of External Innovation at Scribe Therapeutics. Previously, he was a Postdoctoral Fellow in the lab of Jennifer Doudna where he pioneered the use of CRISPR ribonucleoproteins, developed robust methods to deliver the proteins to various cell types both in vivo and ex vivo, and showed how they could safely and effectively be used to inactivate disease-causing genes and slow neurodegeneration. He has also worked at and consulted for other biotech startups. Brett has over 20 scientific publications in top-tier journals, several patents issued and pending, and received numerous research grants and awards including the F. Hoffmann-La Roche Postdoctoral Fellowship.

Prior to completing his postdoctoral work at the University of California, Berkeley, Brett received his B.S. in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and his Ph.D. in Developmental Biology from Stanford University, where he studied the genetic circuitry underlying development of the mammalian nervous system and discovered de novo function-altering mutations in the genes of sporadic Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) patients.

Richard Hector is the Head of Intellectual Property at Scribe Therapeutics, where he assists in most legal matters involving the company. Prior to his current role, he served as General Counsel at Amunix Pharmaceuticals, a biotechnology company focused on immuno-oncology and half-life extension products. Before joining Amunix, he was an associate in the Life Sciences patent group at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. In addition, Richard has held various research and management positions in the pharmaceutical industry, including at Bayer, Shaman Pharmaceuticals, and Connetics. He also served as Project Director for the Valley Fever Vaccine Project at the University of California, San Francisco. Richard received his Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of California, Davis, and his J.D. from Golden Gate University. He is licensed to practice law in California and before the USPTO.

Sunny Mok is the Vice President of Program Management at Scribe Therapeutics, where he leads the program management function to drive strategy and execution of Scribe’s product pipeline. Sunny brings nearly 15 years of pre-clinical and clinical drug development experience to the role. Prior to joining Scribe, he was a Director of Project and Portfolio Management at Gilead Sciences, where he managed early and late-stage assets in the inflammation portfolio. Before joining Gilead Sciences, Sunny held positions of increasing responsibility in translational sciences at AstraZeneca supporting pipeline progression and product launches in the infectious disease, vaccines, and oncology therapeutic areas. He was instrumental in identifying new opportunities for advancing precision medicine and digital health initiatives within AstraZeneca.

Sunny received his Ph.D. in Bioengineering from Rice University and an MBA from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley.

Shilpa Shroff is the Vice President of Process Sciences at Scribe Therapeutics, where she leads the process design, scale-up and analytical development teams that advance Scribe’s pipeline products. Shilpa brings almost 18 years of experience in process development in modalities including protein therapeutics, ex vivo cell therapy, and in vivo viral vector therapies. Prior to joining Scribe, she was the Executive Director of Technology Development at BioMarin Therapeutics where she worked with cross-functional teams to address gaps in process knowledge, evaluate available technologies or internally develop technologies for implementation to advance therapies from research stage into the clinic. She enjoys fostering a creative environment to allow scientists to be innovative and passionate about building robust processes to advance therapies for diseases with unmet medical need. Shilpa received her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from University of California, Berkeley, and a Master’s in Aeronautical and Aerospace Engineering from Stanford University.

Vera Switek is the Vice President of Talent at Scribe Therapeutics. She joins Scribe from Audentes Therapeutics, where she served as Senior Director of Talent Acquisition. She brings two decades of life sciences talent acquisition leadership from her roles across the biopharmaceutical industry including at Medivation, BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc., and various other biotechnology consulting engagements, specializing in recruiting top talent for high-growth organizations. Vera received her B.S. in Business Administration from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.