Executive Team
PAUL GRAYSON
President and Chief Executive Officer
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.
DAN SHOEMAKER, PH.D.
Chief Technology Officer
Dr. Dan Shoemaker is the chief technology officer and is leading the development of quantitative cell state analysis for the Company's therapeutic development and iPS cell technology. Dr. Shoemaker was most recently chief scientific officer of ICxBiosystems, which develops advanced detection technologies for use in biodefense, cancer and prenatal diagnostics. He led the technology team in establishing molecular tools to enrich and analyze rare cell populations. From 2003 to 2005, he was chief scientific officer of GHC Technologies and led the research and development of rapid ultrasensitive detection assays for biodefense and clinical point-of-care diagnostics. From 1998 to 2003, Dr. Shoemaker held several positions at Merck Research Laboratories, including Director of Target Discovery, senior director at Rosetta Inpharmatics and research fellow in the Department of Molecular Neurosciences, where his main focus was on target identification and biomarker discovery. Dr. Shoemaker’s research at Merck achieved publications in top journals, including Nature, Science and Nature Biotechnology. Dr. Shoemaker received his Ph.D. in biochemistry from Stanford University and his B.S. in biochemistry from University of California, Santa Barbara.
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.
PRATIK MULTANI, M.D., M.S.
Vice President of Clinical Development
Dr. Pratik Multani is the Vice President of Clinical Development at Fate Therapeutics. Prior to joining Fate Therapeutics, Dr. Multani was Vice President of Translational Medicine at Kalypsys, Inc. since 2007, where he advanced the development of multiple compounds in the therapeutic areas of pain and inflammation and metabolic diseases. From 2005 to 2007 as Senior Vice President of Clinical Development and then Chief Medical Officer at Kanisa Pharmaceuticals, Dr. Multani led the clinical development of zosuquidar as well as a companion diagnostic in acute myeloid leukemia. From 2004 to 2005 as Vice President of Clinical Development at Salmedix, he led three clinical development programs in hematologic malignancies and solid tumors. From 1999 to 2004 advancing from Associate Director of Oncology and Hematology to Senior Director of Medical Research at Biogen-Idec, Dr. Multani led or provided strategic direction for multiple drug development programs in Phase 1 to Phase 4 clinical trials, including Zevalin® and Rituxan®.
SCOTT THIES, PH.D.
Senior Director of Stem Cell Biology
Dr. Scott Thies is the Senior Director of Stem Cell Biology at Fate Therapeutics and has been a cell biologist in the biotech industry for 20 years. Most recently, he was the Director of Cell Technology at Geron Corporation. There, he led the assay development effort to characterize cell therapeutics derived from embryonic stem cells, devised differentiation strategies for neural lineage cell therapeutics and played a pivotal role in filing an IND for the first embryonic stem cell-derived therapeutic. Prior to joining Geron, Dr. Thies was a senior scientist in Regenerative Medicine at Genetics Institute and, subsequently, at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals when it acquired Genetics Institute. His research there focused on members of the BMP family and included identifying novel receptors and developing proprietary assays for discovering the therapeutic potential of this protein family. Dr. Thies is an author on 30 papers and an inventor on eight patents. He completed postdoctoral training in biological chemistry and endocrinology at the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of California, San Diego, respectively. Dr. Thies earned a Ph.D. in physiology from Duke University and a B.S. in biology and chemistry from the University of Miami.
FRANCINE FAROUZ, PH.D.
Senior Director of Medicinal Chemistry
Dr. Farouz is Senior Director of Medicinal Chemistry at Fate Therapeutics and has been a medicinal chemist in the biotech industry in increasing roles of responsibility for 14 years. Most recently, she was Director of Medicinal Chemistry at ICOS Corporation, where she managed teams of medicinal chemists focused on the design of small molecules for the treatment of cancer and inflammatory diseases who under her leadership delivered two NCE’s that moved forward into Phase 1 trials. Prior to joining ICOS, she was principal scientist at Elan Pharmaceuticals and scientist at Athena Neurosciences, working in a number of therapeutic areas, including pain, Alzheimer’s disease and inflammation. During that time, she made key contributions to several projects bringing forward two compounds into clinical trials. She is a co-inventor on 36 issued patents. She completed postdoctoral training in Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Minnesota and 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.