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Our Team

Life Sciences Industry Veterans with Drug Development Expertise

Management Team

Joseph Tucker, Ph.D.

Chief Executive Officer, Director

Peter Facchini, Ph.D.

Chief Innovation Officer

Kevin Coveney, CPA

Chief Financial Officer

Jillian Hagel

Vice President, Innovation

Board of Directors

Michael D. Webb

Board Chair

George Kegler

Director, Chair of the Audit Committee

Frank Pasqualone

Director, Chair of Compensation and Nominating Committees

Marcus Schabacker, M.D., Ph.D.

Director, Chair of Science and Technology Committee

Joseph Tucker, Ph.D.

Chief Executive Officer, Director

Scientific Advisory Board

Maurizio Fava, M.D.

Scientific Advisor

Sheila DeWitt, Ph.D.

Scientific Advisor

John Krystal, M.D.

Scientific Advisor

Michael Liebowitz, M.D.

Scientific Advisor

Joseph Tucker, Ph.D.

Chief Executive Officer, Director

Dr. Tucker is a seasoned executive who has built several publicly traded biotechnology companies. Dr. Tucker was a founder and Chief Executive Officer of Stem Cell Therapeutics, which he took public on the TSX (TSX: SSS). Trillium Therapeutics (NASDAQ: TRIL, TSX: TRIL) acquired Stem Cell Therapeutics in 2013. Dr. Tucker has also held the position of Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Epimeron Inc., a University of Calgary start-up acquired in the creation of Willow Biosciences Inc. (TSX: WLLW). At Willow, Dr. Tucker served as Executive Chairman and Chief Operating Officer. Prior to founding companies, Dr. Tucker was a healthcare analyst with two investment banks and has also worked in technology commercialization for a university technology transfer office. Dr. Tucker received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Calgary.

Peter Facchini, Ph.D.

Chief Innovation Officer

Dr. Facchini has been a Professor of Plant Biochemistry in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Calgary for 25 years. Dr. Facchini held the Canada Research Chair in Plant Metabolic Processes Biotechnology and is currently a Parex Resources Innovation Fellow in the Faculty of Science. Dr. Facchini co-founded and was Chief Scientific Officer of Willow Biosciences Inc. and Epimeron Inc. Dr. Facchini has published over 160 scientific papers and co-invented over 30 patents. Dr. Facchini is an international leader in the biochemistry and biotechnology of natural product metabolism.

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Kevin Coveney, CPA

Chief Financial Officer

Kevin Coveney, CPA, was previously the CFO of Memgen, Inc., a clinical-stage immune-oncology company focused on developing cancer immunotherapies that can safely activate the immune system and be combined with other drugs to eradicate cancer. Prior to Memgen, Mr. Coveney was CFO of Q-State Biosciences, a biotech company focused on CNS disorders, where he was responsible for all investor financial due diligence inquiries and financial reporting requirements to investors and strategic collaboration partners. Before Q-State, Mr. Coveney was Senior Vice President of Finance, HR & IT at Vedanta Biosciences, a private microbiome company developing a therapy for Clostridium difficile infection. Prior to Vedanta, Mr. Coveney served roles of increasing responsibility at Berg Health, a family office/VC-backed clinical-stage biotech focused on oncology with a machine learning/AI platform to improve drug discovery and development. Mr. Coveney has also held senior positions at several global accounting firms, including Grant Thornton, Marcum, Deloitte & Touche, BDO Seidman, and Ernst & Young. Mr. Coveney earned his BS in management from the University of Massachusetts and served as a non-commission officer in the United States Coast Guard.

Jillian Hagel

Vice President, Innovation

Dr. Jillian Hagel, Vice President of Innovation at Enveric Bioscience, boasts over two decades of experience in biotechnology and biochemistry. Her pioneering work in specialized plant metabolism has led to over 30 academic publications in prestigious journals. Jillian co-founded and served as COO at Epimeron Inc., which achieved a significant exit when acquired by Willow Biosciences Inc. (TSX: WLLW). She also co-founded and held the VP and COO position at MagicMed Industries Inc., where she spearheaded the development of the groundbreaking Psybrary™ platform. Jillian's expertise in synthetic biology and biochemistry is pivotal in inventing and producing novel chemical entities, making her a driving force in the field.

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Michael D. Webb

Board Chair

Mr. Webb has more than 25 years of experience in healthcare and life sciences. He specializes in early-stage companies focused on targeted therapeutics and molecular diagnostics. Currently, he is the President and CEO of CXL Ophthalmics. He has been a founder and CEO of multiple biotechnology companies, taking them from seed round funding through venture financing and NASDAQ IPO.

George Kegler

Director, Chair of the Audit Committee

Mr. Kegler was employed by Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals from January 2013 – June 2019, serving as the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Interim from December 2018 – May 2019, where he had responsibility for the global finance function and was a member of the executive committee, Vice President Finance from November 2016 – November 2018, President Specialty Generics (Interim) and Vice President Finance from July 2016 – October 2016, and Vice President, Finance from January 2013 – June 2016. He has served in various consulting roles since June 2019. Mr. Kegler has 40 years of experience in financial planning and analysis, corporate finance, controllership and business development. Previously Mr. Kegler served as the vice president of commercial finance for various businesses within Mallinckrodt and was also interim president of the company’s specialty generics business. Prior to joining Mallinckrodt, he was the chief financial officer for Convatec a private equity-owned company that was purchased from Bristol-Myers Squibb. He worked in various finance roles within Bristol-Myers Squibb including commercial, International, technical operations, research & development as well as the assistant controller of internal controls. Mr. Kegler holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Missouri, an MBA from Saint Louis University and completed the Certified Public Accountant exam in Missouri.

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Frank Pasqualone

Director, Chair of Compensation and Nominating Committees

Mr. Pasqualone is a senior biopharmaceutical executive, who has brought strategic, operational, and cultural focus to building businesses from small/mid cap biotech to top-tier multinational pharmaceutical companies. His functional background includes international strategic oversight, executive P&L management, marketing, multiple major product launches, life cycle management, exclusivity extensions, and drug development prioritization. He has gained broad international expertise including a record of creating profitable businesses in emerging markets.

Marcus Schabacker, M.D., Ph.D.

Director, Chair of Science and Technology Committee

Dr. Schabacker became president and chief executive officer of the ECRI Institute, a nonprofit organization with 500 employees and an operating budget of $70 million focusing on advancing evidenced-based, effective healthcare globally, in January 2018. Prior to joining ECRI, Dr. Schabacker worked at Baxter Healthcare Corporation, serving as corporate vice president and chief scientific officer from July 2015–May 2017, chairman of the executive quality council from March 2014–May 2017, Chief Scientific Officer, Medical Products from July 2014–July 2015, and Vice President, R&D, Medical Products from March 2011–July 2014. During his clinical years, and his time as an industry thought leader, Dr. Schabacker was focused on patient safety and enhancing patient care. For over a decade Dr. Schabacker has served on numerous boards of small and midsize companies and organizations, providing management with guidance and expertise to strategically accelerate growth and to build successful and sustainable high performing management teams. Dr. Schabacker is a board-certified anesthesiologist and intensive care specialist with more than 35 years of healthcare experience in complex global environments, and more than 20 years of senior leadership responsibilities serving the medical device and pharmaceutical industries across the healthcare value chain.

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Maurizio Fava, M.D.

Scientific Advisor

Dr. Maurizio Fava is Psychiatrist-in-Chief of the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), executive director of the Clinical Trials Network and Institute, (MGH), associate dean for clinical and translational research, and the Slater Family Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Fava is a world leader in the field of depression. He has edited eight books and authored or co-authored more than 900 original articles published in medical journals with international circulation, articles which have been cited more than 95,000 times in the literature and with an H index greater than 150. Dr. Fava founded and was director of MGH’s Depression Clinical and Research Program from 1990 until 2014. Under Dr. Fava’s direction, the Depression Clinical and Research Program became one of the most highly regarded depression programs in the country, a model for academic programs that link, in a bi-directional fashion, clinical and research work. In 2007, he also founded and is now the executive director of the MGH Psychiatry Clinical Trials Network and Institute, the first academic CRO specialized in the coordination of multi-center clinical trials in psychiatry.

Stephen M. Stahl, M.D., Ph.D., D.Sc. (Hon).

Scientific Advisor

Dr. Stephen Stahl has held faculty positions at Stanford University, the University of California at Los Angeles, the Institute of Psychiatry London, the Institute of Neurology London, and, currently, as Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience at the University of California Riverside, Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California San Diego and as Honorary Fellow in Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge. Dr. Stahl serves as editor-in-chief of CNS Spectrums and is Senior Academic Advisor and Director of Psychopharmacology for the California Department of State Hospitals (DSH) where he has a leadership role in addressing violence and decriminalization of the seriously mentally ill. Author of over 575 articles and chapters with an H index of 69, and more than 2000 scientific presentations and abstracts, Dr. Stahl is an internationally renowned clinician, researcher, and teacher in psychiatry with subspecialty expertise in psychopharmacology. Dr. Stahl has written over 50 textbooks and edited 15 others, including the best-selling and award-winning textbook, Stahl’s Essential Psychopharmacology, now in its fifth edition, and the best-selling and award-winning clinical manual, Essential Psychopharmacology Prescriber’s Guide, now in its seventh edition.

Sheila DeWitt, Ph.D.

Scientific Advisor

Dr. Sheila DeWitt is a Life Sciences Executive & Serial Entrepreneur with over 30 years of experience in pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. She is currently the Chair, President & CEO of DeuteRx, LLC, the COO and Board Member of Neuromity Therapeutics, Inc., and a Founder and Board Member of RIFFIT, Inc. She also collaborates with Poxel SA and Salarius Therapeutics, Inc. on deuterated drug candidates. Dr. DeWitt has founded and/or led the start-up or turnaround of nine biotechnology companies or business units. Dr. DeWitt earned her B.A. in Chemistry from Cornell University and Ph.D. in Synthetic Organic Chemistry from Duke University. She is internationally recognized for her pioneering contributions to pharmaceutical R&D in the areas of combinatorial chemistry, predictive ADMET, nanotechnology, computational chemistry, and deuterated drugs and has received numerous awards in recognition for her innovation and entrepreneurship. She has authored over 60 publications and abstracts, created and delivered over 20 short courses or symposia, and is an inventor on over 100 patents and/or patent applications.

John Krystal, M.D.

Scientific Advisor

Dr. John Krystal is the Robert L. McNeil, Jr., Professor of Translational Research; Professor of Psychiatry, Neuroscience, and Psychology; Chair of the Department of Psychiatry at Yale University; and Chief of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at Yale-New Haven Hospital. He is a graduate of the University of Chicago, Yale School of Medicine, and the Yale Psychiatry Residency Training Program. He has published extensively on the neurobiology and treatment of schizophrenia, alcoholism, PTSD, and depression. Notably, his laboratory discovered the rapid antidepressant effects of ketamine in humans. Dr. Krystal directs/co-directs the Yale Center for Clinical Investigation (CTSA), NIAAA Center for the Translational Neuroscience of Alcoholism, and Clinical Neuroscience Division of the National Center for PTSD (VA). He is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Medicine; co-director of the Neuroscience Forum of the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS); and editor of Biological Psychiatry (IF=13.382). Previously, Dr. Krystal chaired the NIMH Board of Scientific Counselors and has served as a member of the NIMH National Mental Health Advisory Council and the NIAAA National Alcohol Advisory Council. He also previously served as the president of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP) and the International College of Neuropsychopharmacology (CINP).

Michael Liebowitz, M.D.

Scientific Advisor

Dr. Michael Liebowitz is a Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University and New York State Psychiatric Institute (NYSPI) and is currently Director at Medical Research Network where he is engaged in clinical trials for depression, anxiety, binge eating, ADHD, PTSD, and borderline personality disorders. Dr. Liebowitz completed his fellowship in psychopharmacology at the Depression Evaluation Service at NYSPI, where he helped develop and validate the DSM criteria for atypical depression. Dr. Liebowitz established the Anxiety Disorders Clinic at NYSPI, the first research clinic to specialize in anxiety disorders in the United States. Over the next two decades, Dr. Liebowitz and colleagues helped refine treatments for panic disorder, broadened the diagnostic criteria and established medication treatment for social anxiety disorder, and collaborated in clinical trials comparing medications and behavioral treatments for several anxiety disorders. Dr. Liebowitz developed the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS) which has been the primary outcome measure for several registration programs in social anxiety disorder and is used worldwide as a research and clinical measure.