Fate’s founders include researchers from across the United States and multiple scientific disciplines, including basic biology, biological chemistry and translational medicine. As authors of many of the most far-ranging breakthroughs in stem cell science, the team is defining the changes in the field:

Founding Scientific Team

Philip Beachy, Ph.D.
Dr. Philip Beachy is the Ernest and Amelia Gallo Professor of Developmental Biology at Stanford University School of Medicine, and Associate at the Institute of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine. He received a Ph.D. degree in biochemistry at Stanford University School of Medicine and spent two years as Staff Associate at the Carnegie Institution's Department of Embryology.  He was previously a Professor of Molecular Biology and Genetics at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.  Dr. Beachy is an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, a member of the National Academy of Sciences, a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Dr. Beachy studies the normal functions of secreted protein signals of the Hedgehog pathway and the pathological roles of such signaling pathways in developmental disorders and cancer growth.

Sheng Ding, Ph.D.
Dr. Sheng Ding is Associate Professor of the Chemistry and Cell Biology Departments at the Scripps Research Institute.  He performed his undergraduate at the California Institute of Technology with Drs. Grubbs, Rees, Goddard, Myers and Chan. His work with Dr. Grubbs (2005 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry) resulted in the "the second generation of Grubbs Catalyst", and his work with Dr. Rees resulted in a 0.7 Å DNA structure.  After he graduated from the California Institute of Technology in 1999, he joined the lab of Dr. Peter Schultz at the Scripps Research Institute to conduct his Ph.D. studies, which opened up new avenues for developing future regenerative medicines.  Dr. Ding recently left his post as a scientific advisor of the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation (GNF) in La Jolla, California in order to focus on his work with Fate Therapeutics.

Dr. Ding is developing and integrating chemical and functional genomic tools to study stem cell biology and regeneration, with an emphasis on high throughput cellular screens to identify small molecules and genes which can control cell fate.

Randall Moon, Ph.D.
Dr. Randall Moon is an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and a Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Washington School of Medicine. He is also the William and Marilyn Connor Chair, and Director, of the Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine at the University of Washington. Dr. Moon received his B.A. degree in Biology at New College, Sarasota, FL, and his Ph.D. in Zoology at the University of Washington. After completing his postdoctoral work in molecular biology at the California Institute of Technology, he joined the faculty of the University of Washington, where he has been the recipient of a Syntex Scholar in Cardiovascular Research, a Career Development Award from the NIH, a recipient of a L.L. Temple Award from the Alzheimer's Association, and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Dr. Moon studies the Wnt signal transduction pathways with an emphasis on their normal roles in vertebrates, their mechanisms of action, their linkage to various disease processes, and the development of therapeutics targeting these pathways. His laboratory employs a wide range of approaches, including high throughput screening for small molecules, advanced mass spectrometry methods, and cell biological and biochemical approaches. The laboratory employs a diverse range of systems for these studies, including mice, Xenopus, zebrafish, tissue culture cells, and stem and progenitor cells.

David Scadden, M.D.
David Scadden is the Gerald and Darlene Jordan Professor of Medicine at Harvard University and a practicing hematologist/oncologist. He is currently co-direct of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, whose mission is to organize, enable and inspire the intellectual resources of Harvard University to fulfill the promise of stem cells. He also co-chairs with Dr. Melton the Harvard University Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, the first department established across faculties in Harvard’s history. Dr. Scadden heads the Center for Regenerative Medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital and oversees the Hematologic Malignancies program in the MGH Cancer Center. He is an authority on the medical applications of stem cell biology with a particular emphasis on their use in the settings of cancer and AIDS. His laboratory has made key contributions in how the stem cell context or niche regulates stem cell function, in defining molecules limiting stem cell growth and in discovering a molecular basis for stem cell aging. He is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Science, the Board of External Experts for the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, a former member of the Board of Scientific Counselors for the National Cancer Institute and is an Associate Member of the Broad Institute, serves on multiple editorial boards and scientific advisory boards and is the recipient of honorary awards including from the Doris Duke Charitable Trust, the Burroughs Wellcome Fund and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Dr. Scadden’s focus is to broaden the view of stem cells from replacement parts to targets for drug based therapies, using medications to enhance stem cell repair of damaged organs or impair the growth of cancer stem cells. His goal is to translate stem cell science to improve the lives of people with chronic disease.

Leonard Zon, M.D.
Dr. Leonard I. Zon is the Grousbeck Professor of Pediatric Medicine at Harvard Medical School, an Investigator with  the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and Director of the Stem Cell Program at Children's Hospital Boston. He received a B.S. in chemistry and natural sciences from Muhlenberg College and an M.D. from Jefferson Medical College. He subsequently did an internal medicine residency at New England Deaconess Hospital and a fellowship in medical oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.  Dr. Zon is a member of the Institute of Medicine, the Founder and Past President of the International Society for Stem Cell Research, Past President of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, and the Principal Faculty as well as Chairman of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute’s Executive Committee.

Dr. Zon is internationally recognized for his pioneering research in the new fields of stem cell biology and cancer genetics. His current research focuses on two critical avenues of investigation: identifying the genes that direct stem cells to become cancers or to develop into more specialized blood or organ cells, and developing chemical or genetic suppressors to cure cancers and many other devastating diseases.

Scientific Advisory Board

Robert S. Langer, Jr., Sc.D.
Dr. Langer is the Kenneth J. Germeshausen Professor of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  He is the former Chairman of the FDA Science Board, the FDA's highest advisory board, and has written 780 articles and 450 abstracts, and has nearly 500 issued or pending patents.  Dr. Langer has received over 100 major awards, including the 2002 Charles Stark Draper Prize, considered the world's most prestigious engineering prize.

Ram Sasisekharan, Ph.D.
Dr. Sasisekharan is a Professor of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  His research on complex polysaccharides has led to 90 publications and 30 patents.  He has won both the Burroughs Wellcome and Beckman Foundation Young Investigator Awards and was the recipient of 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001 CaPCure Awards from the CaPCure Foundation.  Dr. Sasisekharan serves on the steering committee of the Consortium for Functional Glycomics.

Bennett M. Shapiro, M.D.
Dr. Shapiro served as an Executive Vice President at Merck & Co. from 1990 to 2003.  Dr. Shapiro is the former head of Worldwide Licensing and External Research at Merck.  Prior to that, he served as the head of basic and preclinical research at Merck & Co. and as Chairman of the Biochemistry Department at University of Washington.

Leadership Team

Paul Grayson, President and CEO
Paul Grayson is the President and CEO of Fate Therapeutics. Grayson was previously managing director of Sanderling Ventures. Over the last ten years he has completed both private and public capital fundraising, delivering over $200 million for emerging companies. Transactions completed under Grayson’s watch produced over $150 million in recognizable revenue with an announceable value in excess of $1 billion dollars, and included agreements with BMS, Lilly, Warner Lambert, Merck, F. Hoffmann La Roche, Pharmacia Upjohn, Kraft Foods, Campbell's Soup, Nestle and the Coca Cola Company. Grayson was a founding member of the management team of Aurora Biosciences and the founding chairman, CEO and president of Senomyx, Inc. He was previously chairman of the board of directors for Naviscan PET Systems and CalciMedica, and active on the board of directors for Taligen Therapeutics and REN Pharmaceuticals. Grayson received his MBA from the University of California, Irvine and his B.A. in Computer Science and Biochemistry from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Dr. John Mendlein, Executive Chairman
Dr. John Mendlein is the current Executive Chairman of Fate Therapeutics. He recently served as CEO of Adnexus Therapeutics (a developer of a new class of protein therapeutics) from May 2005 until October 2007, at which time the privately-held, Boston based biotechnology company was purchased by Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMY) in a transaction valued at more than $505 million. Previously, Mendlein served as chairman and CEO at Affinium Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; and served in a variety of roles, including board member, general counsel and chief knowledge officer, at Aurora Biosciences Corporation (now Vertex Pharmaceuticals, VRTX,) a biotechnology company focused on discovering drugs for kinases, g-protein coupled receptors and ion channels. He has worked as an attorney at Cooley GodwardKronish LLP, a law firm, in its life sciences and technology litigation practice groups; at Smith Kline & French Laboratories, Ltd., now GlaxoSmithKline plc (GSK), in the Department of Molecular Biology and Protein Expression; and served as a member of the board of directors of Monogram Biosciences (MGRM), Inc.; and the advisory board of Genesys Capital, a venture capital firm. He is the author or inventor of over 40 publications and patents. Mendlein earned his Ph.D.in physiology and biophysics from the University of California, Los Angeles, a J.D. from the University of California Hastings School of Law and a B.S. in biology from the University of Miami.

Alex Rives, Founding President
Founding President, Fate Therapeutics. Associate, ARCH Venture Partners & Accelerator Corp. Alex is a co-founder of Fate Therapeutics and Apoptos. As an Associate at Accelerator, he was instrumental in the founding of Seredigm, where he was Founding General Manager, and Spaltudaq. He has made significant contributions to the early development and growth of ARCH Portfolio companies VLST, Spaltudaq, Allozyne, and Seredigm. He holds a B.S. with distinction in Biology and Philosophy from Yale University, where he graduated magna cum laude, with a commendation in biotechnology, and was elected Phi Beta Kappa.

Thomas St. John, Executive Vice President, Research and Development
Thomas St. John, Ph.D. is the Executive Vice President of Fate Therapeutics, Inc., responsible for Fate’s research and development programs.  Prior to Jan 2007, he was Vice President, Therapeutic Development, at ICOS Corporation, having responsibility for ICOS’ development stage programs.  In this role, he was responsible for taking eleven drug discovery programs into clinical development, including Cialis®.  Dr. St. John, was a member of ICOS' executive management; he joined ICOS as a startup in Sep 1990.  Prior to ICOS, he was a faculty member in the Basic Sciences Division at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center from Sep 1985, conducting research in cell adhesion and leukocyte trafficking.  He performed postdoctoral research at Stanford University in the departments of Medical Microbiology and Pathology with Drs. McDevitt and Weissman.   He received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Stanford University, and a B.S. in biology from the California Institute of Technology.

Francine Farouz, Senior Director of Medicinal Chemistry
Francine Farouz is Senior Director Medicinal Chemistry of Fate Therapeutics, Inc. Dr. Farouz has been a medicinal chemist in the biotech industry in increasing roles of responsibility for 14 years. Most recently, she was Director MedicinalChemistry at ICOS Corporation, where she managed teams of medicinal chemists focused onthe design of small molecules for the treatment of cancer and inflammatorydiseases who under her leadership delivered two NCE’s that moved forward into Phase 1trials. Prior to joining ICOS, she was a Principal Scientist at Elan Pharmaceuticals and aScientist at Athena Neurosciences, working in therapeutic areas such as pain,Alzheimer’s disease and inflammation. During that time, she made key contributions toseveral projects bringing forward two compounds into clinical trials. She is a co-inventoron 16 issued patents. She completed postdoctoral training in Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Minnesota. She received her Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from University of Notre Dame and a B.S in Chemical Engineering from Ecole Superieure de Chimie Industrielle de Lyon.

Scott Wolchko, Chief Financial Officer
Scott is the Chief Financial Officer of Fate Therapeutics, and is responsible for the Company’s financial and business development activities.  Mr. Wolchko began his career as an investment banker with Morgan Stanley & Co., where he served for six years in the firm’s New York City and Menlo Park, California offices.  As a member of the firm's Investment Banking Health Care Group, he assisted emerging growth companies in the health care technology sector complete capital-raising and strategic transactions.  Prior to joining Fate Therapeutics, Scott served as the Chief Financial Officer of Bocada, Inc., where he oversaw all financial, legal, human resource and information technology operations, and was previously the Senior Director of Corporate Development at drugstore.com, where he was responsible for evaluating and executing financial and business development opportunities.  Mr. Wolchko holds an M.S. in Biochemical Engineering from the University of Virginia, and a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Vermont

Board of Directors

Amir Nashat, Board Member
General Partner of Polaris Venture Partners.  Current or past director of Adnexus Therapeutics, Andora, where he is the founding President, Athenix Corporation, aTyr Pharmaceuticals, Avila Therapeutics, Hydra Biosciences, Pervasis Therapeutics, where he was the founding President, Promedior Pharmaceuticals and WaveRx.  

Robert T. Nelsen, Board Member
Co-founder and Managing Director of ARCH Venture Partners.  Founding or early investor in Adolor, Alnylam, Array Biopharma, Aviron, Caliper Technologies, deCode Genetics, Illumina, Ikaria, Trubion and Xenoport, among others.  Board member of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Institute.

Bryan Roberts, Board Member
Managing General Partner of Venrock.  Current or past director in Achaogen, Allux Medical, athenahealth, CodeRyte, Ikaria, Illumina, Intarcia, Microbia, Nanosys, Satiety, Sirna, Surface Logix, Tempo Pharmaceuticals, Vitae Pharmaceuticals and Xenoport  

Carl Weissman, Board Observer
Venture Partner, OVP Venture Partners.  Carl serves as President and CEO of Accelerator, a joint investment vehicle backed by a syndicate of venture capital firms.  Current or past director in Allozyne and Accelerator and board observer to CODA Genomics, NanoString and Viral Logic Systems Technology.