Trace Brookins, Chief Compliance Officer

Trace has been in the medical profession since 1983 with the past 26 years involved in the clinical trials industry. Trace’s experience includes roles such as a CRA, Project Management and Quality Assurance for domestic and international pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies.  He has conducted numerous Quality Assurance GCP, vendor and technology audits and established a Computer System Validation (CSV) program with an international technology vendor. Trace founded, operated and sold a successful CRO which was recognized by the international firm Deloitte and Touche.

Brian Czerniecki, MD, Chief Medical & Scientific Advisor

Chief Medical and Research Consultant’s research goal is the development of vaccines for the prevention of breast and other solid-tumor cancers. His research interests focus on dendritic cell biology and interactions with T cells. He is involved with several clinical trials for treating patients with early breast cancer with dendritic cell vaccines. Dr. Czerniecki has more than 100 publications and is recognized nationally for his contribution to the development of sentinel lymph node mapping, a procedure for determining the spread of cancer into lymph nodes that is less invasive than diagnostic surgery.

Dr. Czerniecki is currently Chair and Senior Member in the Moffitt Cancer Center Department of Breast Oncology. Dr. Czerniecki received his BS in Biochemistry from the University of Maine and his MD from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ), Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, and his PhD from UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson and Rutgers University. Dr. Czerniecki completed his general surgical residency at The Ohio State University and was Surgical Oncology Fellow at the NCI with Dr. Steven Rosenberg prior to his position at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.

While at the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Czerniecki served as Professor of Surgery, Perelman School of Medicine; Attending Surgeon, Department of Surgery, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania; and Co-Director of the Rena Rowan Breast Center–Recruitment and Center Expansion.

Gary Koski, PhD, Chief Scientific Advisor

Gary received his PhD in immunology from Johns Hopkins University and postdoctoral training in cancer immunology at the NIH. He has held research positions at the University of Penn and The Cleveland Clinic.  Dr. Koski is currently Associate Professor at Kent State University’s Department of Biological Sciences whose research includes immunology, cancer and infectious diseases. 

William Slichenmyer, MD, Executive Oncology Advisor

For over 20 years Bill has held leadership and executive roles in large and small pharma companies where he contributed to the development of anticancer agents of many classes including cytotoxic drugs, monoclonal antibodies, oligonucleotide therapeutics and targeted small molecules.   Most recently, Bill was a partner at Alacrita, a drug development consultancy. Prior to joining Alacrita, Bill had been part of executive management teams and led the development of innovative anticancer drugs while in the role of Chief Medical Officer at AVEO Oncology and Merrimack Pharmaceuticals.  Earlier in his career, Bill held leadership and executive roles in large and small biopharma companies including Pfizer, Parke-Davis, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Hybridon and Burroughs-Wellcome. His responsibilities in these roles spanned clinical development, medical affairs, portfolio strategy and regulatory strategy, from preclinical development through to post-marketing trials and label extensions.

He has led programs through NDA and MAA approvals in various cancer types including GI stromal tumor, kidney and breast cancers. He has worked on small molecules, monoclonal antibodies, RNA-based therapeutics and oncolytic viruses.

Bill has a BA (Chemistry) and MD degrees from Case Western Reserve University, and a ScM degree in Clinical Investigation from Johns Hopkins University.

John Zawad, PhD,  Strategic Scientific Advisor

Dr. Zawad has over 15 years experience in the pharmaceutical industry in marketing, competitive intelligence, product development and business development. He was the US office of Technology Licensing and Alliances at Aventis Pharmaceuticals which includes early stage licensing activities in the areas biotechnology, genomics, gene therapy, drug delivery, neuroscience (schizophrenia, affective disorders, sleep disorders, multiple sclerosis and stroke), respiratory diseases, rheumatoid arthritis and immunology. Dr. Zawad was also involved in managing Aventis' strategic investments into venture funds. He received his PhD. in biochemistry (1983) from the University of Tennessee.

Thomas Pillsworth, Jr., M.S., PhD, Senior Medical Affairs Advisor 

Dr. Pillsworth’s experience in the pharmaceutical industry includes positions of increasing responsibility in both the business and operational sides in big pharma as well as pre-clinical, confined clinical, and later stage development CROs. Dr. Pillsworth holds a B.S. in Biochemistry/Biophysics and an M.S. in Physiology from S.U.N.Y. and a Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences School of Medicine. He completed a residency/fellowship in Laboratory Medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine Hospitals. Dr. Pillsworth is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences and the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the California State University San Marcos and primarily teaches BSN majors.

Sarabjit S. Ashta, MBA, Senior Director Corporate Development

Sarabjit brings more than 20 years experience in the pharmaceutical industry in the area of external partnerships, in-licensing and M&A.  Prior to ImmunoRestoration, Sarabjit was Chief Business Officer at Glycadia, Inc.  Previously, he held leadership roles at Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Endo Pharmaceuticals, Biogen and Becton Dickinson. Sarabjit received his undergraduate degree in Econometrics from the London School of Economics and an MBA in International Finance from NYU Stern School of Business. 

William E. Gannon, Jr., MD, MBA, Senior Regulatory Advisor

Previously served as Chief Scientific Officer/Medical Director and Co-Founder of Capital City Technical Consulting (CCTC) a Washington, DC based Consultancy Corporation. In addition to receiving his medical training and clinical work at Ross University, Case Western Reserve and George Washington University, Dr. Gannon obtained an M.B.A. at George Washington University in 1988 and has since built a wealth of experience in the management of clinical trials including designing the trials and building operational teams to ensure their successful completion. Dr. Gannon has held positions in multinational Clinical Research Organizations, medical device, biotech and pharmaceutical firms. In his most recent position prior to CCTC, Inc., Dr. Gannon served as Vice President – Clinical & Medical Affairs in the biotechnology arena. Dr. Gannon’s primary focus has been on oncology therapeutic and diagnostic applications, but he possesses a board range of experience across therapeutic categories. Dr. Gannon has managed clinical trials and operations as well as the design of corporate and regulatory strategies, regulatory submissions and execution of Phase I through Phase IV clinical trials in the U.S., Europe and Asia..

James Conklin, MD, Chief Medical Advisor

Mary Buckles, ESQ. Executive Director / Intellectual Property

Pierre J.G. Corin, MS, Senior Operations Advisor