Vaccinex Leadership Team
Maurice Zauderer, Ph.D.
Maurice Zauderer, Ph.D. has served as our President and Chief Executive Officer and a member of our board of directors since our inception in April 2001. Prior to founding the company, Dr. Zauderer was an Associate Professor at the University of Rochester and has also held senior faculty positions at Columbia University. During his academic career, Dr. Zauderer held the position of visiting scientist at the Laboratory of Cell Biology, the Ontario Cancer Institute and the National Cancer Institute. Dr. Zauderer received a B.S. in Physics from Yeshiva University and a Ph.D. in Cell Biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Jill Sanchez, CPA
Jill Sanchez has served as our Chief Financial Officer since March 21, 2024. Prior to this Ms. Sanchez served as our Interim Chief Financial Officer from March 14, 2024 to March 21, 2024, and as our Controller from January 2019 to March 21, 2024. Ms. Sanchez also previously served as our Accounting Manager from 2002 to 2005. Ms. Sanchez received a B.S. in Accounting from St. John Fisher College.
John E. Leonard, Ph.D.
John E. Leonard, Ph.D. has served as our Senior Vice President, Development since January 2009. Prior to joining us, Dr. Leonard served as a principal at John Leonard Consulting, LLC from September 2005 to January 2009. From February 2003 until September 2009, he was the Vice President, Program Executive of Biogen Idec, Inc., a publicly traded biotechnology company, and from August 1988 until January 2003 he served in various roles in product development, regulatory affairs and quality assurance at IDEC Pharmaceuticals Corporation, which merged with Biogen, Inc. to form Biogen Idec, Inc. Dr. Leonard received a B.S. in Chemistry and an M.S. in Chemistry and Biochemistry from California State University, Long Beach, and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of California, Riverside.
Ernest S. Smith, Ph.D.
Ernest S. Smith, Ph.D. has served as our Senior Vice President, Research and Chief Scientific Officer since December 2008. Dr. Smith previously served as our Vice President, Research and Chief Scientific Officer from April 2003 to December 2008 and our Research Director from June 2001 to April 2003. Prior to joining us, Dr. Smith was a research scientist at the University of Rochester. Dr. Smith received a B.A. in Biology from St. John Fisher College, and an M.S. and a Ph.D. in Immunology from the University of Rochester.
Elizabeth E. Evans, Ph.D.
Elizabeth E. Evans, Ph.D. has served as our Senior Vice President, Discovery and Translational Medicine since March 2020 and Chief Operating Officer since May 2021. Dr. Evans previously served in a variety of research and leadership roles at Vaccinex including as our Vice President, Discovery Research. Prior to joining Vaccinex, Dr. Evans was a research scientist at the University of Rochester. Dr. Evans received a B.S. in Biology and a B.S. in Anthropology from State University of New York at Stony Brook, and an M.S. in Immunology and a Ph.D. in Pathology from the University of Rochester.
Directors
Albert D. Friedberg
Albert D. Friedberg has served as chairman of our board of directors since our inception in April 2001. Mr. Friedberg has also served as the Chief Executive Officer and President and a director of Friedberg Mercantile Group Ltd., a Toronto-based commodities and investment management firm, since founding the company in 1971. Since 1978, he served as the President and Chief Investment Strategist for the Friedberg Group of Funds. Mr. Friedberg was appointed as a member of the Commodity Futures Advisory Board of Ontario in 1979, and served as chairman of the Toronto Futures Exchange from March 1985 to June 1988. Mr. Friedberg received a B.A. in Economics from Johns Hopkins University and an M.B.A. in International Banking from Columbia University. We believe that Mr. Friedberg’s experience in the financial and investment management industry, and his experience as the Chief Executive Officer and President and service as a director of Friedberg Mercantile Group give him the qualifications and skills to serve on our board of directors.
Chrystyna Bedrij Stecyk
Chrystyna Bedrij Stecyk is a Co-founder and Principal of Griffin Securities, Inc. At Griffin, Ms. Bedrij Stecyk focuses on providing business advisory services to companies and institutional investors, including investment and market analysis, strategy and development. She has over 25 years of experience in the financial services industry, including business advisory, research, and investment banking. In 2013, Ms. Bedrij Stecyk co-founded Agilis Biotherapeutics, a gene therapy company for rare diseases of the CNS that in 2018 was acquired by PTC Therapeutics, Inc. Ms. Bedrij Stecyk has a Master of Business Administration in Finance from New York University’s Leonard N. Stern of Business and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Vassar College. Ms. Bedrij Stecyk is registered with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and is a licensed General Securities Principal and Representative, Investment Banking Principal and Representative, Operations Professional, and Research Analyst.
Jacob B. Frieberg
Jacob B. Frieberg has served as a member of our board of directors since February 2015. Mr. Frieberg has also served as a principal at The WTF Group, a Toronto-based property management company, since founding the company in 1984. Prior to that time, he was the Vice President at Rockford Developments, a Calgary-based multi-family building company. Mr. Frieberg received a B.A. in Economics from the University of Western Ontario. We believe that Mr. Frieberg’s experience in business, including his management responsibility, gives him the qualifications, skills and financial expertise to serve on our board of directors.
Bala S. Manian, Ph.D.
Bala S. Manian, Ph.D. has served as a member of our board of directors since December 2004. Dr. Manian has also served as chairman of the board of directors of ReaMetrix Inc., a privately held biotechnology company, since founding the company in 2004. He also currently serves as a director of Syngene International Limited, a publicly traded Indian biotechnology company, and previously as a director of Biocon Ltd., a publicly traded Indian biopharmaceutical company. Dr. Manian is a co-founder and director of Quantum Dot Corporation, a privately held bioscience company, and a co-founder of SurroMed, Inc., a privately held biotechnology company, and serves as a director at other life sciences companies. He was also the founder and chairman of the board of directors of Lumisys Incorporated, a medical imaging company acquired by Eastment Kodak Co., the founder and chairman of the board of directors of Molecular Dynamics Incorporated, a life science instrumentation company acquired by APBiotech Inc., and the founder and chairman of the board of directors of Biometric Imaging Inc., a privately held biotechnology company. Dr. Manian received a B.S. in Physics from the University of Madras, an M.S. in Applied Optics from the University of Rochester and a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University. We believe that Dr. Manian’s experience as a founder of numerous biotechnology companies and his service as a director of other publicly traded and privately held life science companies give him the qualifications and skills to serve on our board of directors.
Gerald E. Van Strydonck
From August 2008 to December 2018, Mr. Van Strydonck served as the Chief Financial Officer of Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School. Mr. Van Strydonck was previously the Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Sigma Marketing LLC, the Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Essex Partners Inc., and a managing partner of the Rochester, New York office of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. Mr. Van Strydonck has also served on the boards of other privately held companies. Mr. Van Strydonck received a B.B.A. from St. John Fisher College and an MBA from the State University of New York at Buffalo.
Barbara Yanni
Barbara Yanni has served as a member of our board of directors since February 2015. Ms. Yanni was Vice President and Chief Licensing Officer at Merck & Co., Inc., a publicly traded pharmaceutical company, from November 2001 until her retirement in March 2014. Prior to this, Ms. Yanni served in various roles at Merck including in corporate development, financial evaluation and tax. She currently serves on the boards of Trevena, Inc., a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company, and also serves on the board of a privately held biopharmaceutical company, Symic Bio, Inc. Ms. Yanni received an A.B. from Wellesley College, a J.D. from Stanford Law School and an LL.M. from New York University. We believe that Ms. Yanni’s experience in biotechnology and pharmaceutical business evaluation and transaction execution, her financial and general business knowledge, and her service as a director of other publicly traded and privately held life science companies give her the qualifications, skills and financial expertise to serve on our board of directors.
Maurice Zauderer, Ph.D.
Maurice Zauderer, Ph.D. has served as our President and Chief Executive Officer and a member of our board of directors since our inception in April 2001. Prior to founding the company, Dr. Zauderer was an Associate Professor at the University of Rochester and has also held senior faculty positions at Columbia University. During his academic career, Dr. Zauderer held the position of visiting scientist at the Laboratory of Cell Biology, the Ontario Cancer Institute and the National Cancer Institute. Dr. Zauderer received a B.S. in Physics from Yeshiva University and a Ph.D. in Cell Biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.