Our leadership team has a proven track record of identifying, acquiring, and commercializing new therapies for underserved patient populations, with distinctive capabilities in both pediatric and adult diseases.
Together, we are passionately committed to rapidly advancing targeted therapies for patients in need.
Garry Nicholson, MBA
Chair
Garry Nicholson currently serves as chairman of the board of directors for G1 Therapeutics and as a board member for Tmunity Therapeutics and NextCure. He also previously served on the board of directors for Turning Point Therapeutics, Five Prime Therapeutics and TESARO prior to their acquisitions by large pharmaceutical companies. As former president of Pfizer Oncology, his responsibilities included global commercialization, sales, clinical development, regulatory strategy and business development for Pfizer’s oncology portfolio. Earlier in his career, Mr. Nicholson held various leadership positions in the oncology division of Eli Lilly and Company, including global oncology platform leader. He has also served as president and CEO of XTuit Pharmaceuticals. Mr. Nicholson earned a B.S. in Pharmacy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an M.B.A. from the University of South Carolina.
Natalie Holles
Director
Natalie currently serves as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Third Harmonic Bio. She has more than 20 years of executive leadership, business development, corporate strategy, and commercial experience gained in a range of therapeutic areas. Prior to Third Harmonic, Natalie served as President and CEO of Audentes, an Astellas company. She joined the company as Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer in August 2015 and was subsequently promoted to President and Chief Operating Officer in May 2018, and then to President and CEO in January 2020. Prior to joining Audentes, Natalie served as Senior Vice President, Corporate Development at Hyperion Therapeutics, Inc. (acquired by Horizon Pharma in 2015). Before that, she provided executive-level strategy and business development advisory services to a number of privately-held biopharmaceutical companies. Earlier in her career, Natalie served as Vice President, Business Development at KAI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (acquired by Amgen in 2012) and held corporate development and commercial roles at InterMune, Inc. (acquired by Roche in 2014) and Genentech, Inc. Natalie holds an M.A. in molecular, cellular and developmental biology from the University of Colorado, Boulder, where she was a Howard Hughes Medical Institute predoctoral fellow, and an A.B. in human biology from Stanford University.
Dan Becker, MD, PhD
Director
Dan Becker is a Partner at Access Biotechnology, the biopharmaceutical investing arm of Access Industries, a privately held US-based industrial group with global strategic investments of $25+ billion. Prior to joining Access, Dan was a Principal at New Leaf Venture Partners, where he played a key role in multiple private and public biopharma investments, and a Principal in the Health Care practice at the Boston Consulting Group, where he led projects across the healthcare sector with an emphasis on biopharma R&D. Dan trained clinically in internal medicine and nephrology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, and was a Research Fellow at Harvard Medical School. He obtained both his MD and PhD (Cellular and Molecular Biology) degrees from the University of Michigan, and received his BS in Physiology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Jeremy Bender, PhD, MBA
Director
Jeremy Bender, Ph.D., M.B.A. has served as our Chief Executive Officer, President and a member of our board of directors since September 2020. Prior to joining Day One, Dr. Bender was Vice President of Corporate Development at Gilead Sciences, a pharmaceutical company, from March 2018 to September 2020. Prior to that, he was Chief Operating Officer of Tizona Therapeutics from July 2015 to March 2018 and Chief Business Officer of Sutro Biopharma, a biotechnology company specializing in cancer and autoimmune therapeutics, from October 2012 to July 2015. Prior to joining Sutro Biopharma, he was Vice President of Corporate Development at Allos Therapeutics, a biotechnology company focused on cancer treatments, from January 2006 to September 2012. Dr. Bender began his career in the life sciences practice at Boston Consulting Group, a management consulting company. Dr. Bender also sits on the board of Mereo BioPharma as an independent board member. Dr. Bender holds a B.S. in Biological Sciences from Stanford University, a Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of Colorado, and an M.B.A. from the MIT Sloan School of Management.
Scott Garland
Director
Scott Garland is the chief executive officer of PACT Pharma, an immuno-oncology company focused on developing neoantigen targeted T-cell therapies for solid tumors. Prior to PACT, Mr. Garland served as president and chief executive officer of Portola Pharmaceuticals, where he led the company through the commercial launch of Andexxa® and a successful acquisition by Alexion. Before joining Portola, Mr. Garland was at Relypsa, where he served as chief commercial officer, and then as president of the U.S. organization after Relypsa’s acquisition by Vifor Pharma. Prior to Relypsa, Mr. Garland was chief commercial officer at Exelixis where he led the launch of cabozantinib. Mr. Garland has held numerous other commercial leadership roles at Genentech, Amgen and Merck, including leading the commercial franchises for two multi-billion dollar therapies – Avastin® and Rituxan®. He also serves as a board member for Calithera Biosciences. Mr. Garland received a Bachelor of Science degree from California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo and a master’s degree in Business Administration from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.
Michael Gladstone
Director
Michael Gladstone is a Partner at Atlas Venture, where he builds new therapeutics companies, primarily in the areas of oncology and immunology. Michael contributed to launching several Atlas-originated companies, including Padlock Therapeutics (acquired by BMS), Surface Oncology (NASDAQ: SURF), and IFM Therapeutics Inc (acquired by BMS; and its spinout IFM Tre acquired by Novartis). He has served as a board member or observer for IFM Therapeutics LLC, Indalo Therapeutics, Akrevia Therapeutics, AvroBio (NASDAQ: AVRO), Akero (NASDAQ: AKRO), Delinia (acquired by Celgene), and Replimune (NASDAQ: REPL). Prior to joining Atlas in 2012, Michael worked at L.E.K. Consulting and previously, he conducted HIV vaccine research in the Viral Pathogenesis department of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Michael serves as an advisor to several organizations, including as member of the Corporate Advisory Committee for National Tay Sachs and Allied Diseases, a national organization focused on funding research, promoting awareness, and supporting families affected by Tay-Sachs and related genetic diseases.
John A. Josey, PhD, MBA
Director
John Josey is a Venture Partner at The Column Group. Previously he served as the President, Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors of Peloton Therapeutics, Inc., from 2013 until its acquisition by Merck in 2019. He joined Peloton in 2011 as the first employee in the role of President and Chief Scientific Officer. For over thirteen years, Dr. Josey was employed at Array BioPharma Inc., a company that he helped to build as a member of the founding management team. There he rose to Vice President of Discovery Chemistry. Dr. Josey’s previous experience also includes Amgen, Inc. and the Glaxo Research Institute. He received a BS degree in chemistry from Colorado State University, a PhD in organic chemistry from The University of Texas at Austin, and an MBA from the University of Colorado. He was a Damon Runyon-Walter Winchell Postdoctoral Fellow at the California Institute of Technology. Dr. Josey is currently an adjunct faculty member of the Department of Biochemistry at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. John currently serves on the Board of Directors for VHL Alliance, Circle Pharma, Inc. (Chair), Nura Bio, and Day One Biopharmaceuticals.
Saira Ramasastry, MS, MPhil
Director
Ms. Ramasastry is the managing partner of Life Sciences Advisory, LLC, an independent firm that she founded to provide strategic advice and business development solutions for life science companies. Prior to founding Life Sciences Advisory, Ms. Ramasastry spent 10 years as an investment banker with Merrill Lynch & Company, where she helped establish the biotechnology practice and advised on mergers and acquisitions, and strategic and capital markets transactions. Previously, she served as a financial analyst in mergers and acquisitions group at Wasserstein Perella & Co., an investment banking firm. Ms. Ramasastry currently serves on the board of directors for Vir Biotechnology Inc., Akouos, Inc., Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd., and Sangamo Therapeutics, Inc., and is also a health innovator fellow of the Aspen Institute and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network. Ms. Ramasastry holds a B.A. in economics and an M.S. in management science and engineering from Stanford University, as well as an M. Phil. in management studies from the University of Cambridge.
Garry Nicholson, MBA
Chair
Garry Nicholson currently serves as chairman of the board of directors for G1 Therapeutics and as a board member for Tmunity Therapeutics and NextCure. He also previously served on the board of directors for Turning Point Therapeutics, Five Prime Therapeutics and TESARO prior to their acquisitions by large pharmaceutical companies. As former president of Pfizer Oncology, his responsibilities included global commercialization, sales, clinical development, regulatory strategy and business development for Pfizer’s oncology portfolio. Earlier in his career, Mr. Nicholson held various leadership positions in the oncology division of Eli Lilly and Company, including global oncology platform leader. He has also served as president and CEO of XTuit Pharmaceuticals. Mr. Nicholson earned a B.S. in Pharmacy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an M.B.A. from the University of South Carolina.
Natalie Holles
Director
Natalie currently serves as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Third Harmonic Bio. She has more than 20 years of executive leadership, business development, corporate strategy, and commercial experience gained in a range of therapeutic areas. Prior to Third Harmonic, Natalie served as President and CEO of Audentes, an Astellas company. She joined the company as Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer in August 2015 and was subsequently promoted to President and Chief Operating Officer in May 2018, and then to President and CEO in January 2020. Prior to joining Audentes, Natalie served as Senior Vice President, Corporate Development at Hyperion Therapeutics, Inc. (acquired by Horizon Pharma in 2015). Before that, she provided executive-level strategy and business development advisory services to a number of privately-held biopharmaceutical companies. Earlier in her career, Natalie served as Vice President, Business Development at KAI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (acquired by Amgen in 2012) and held corporate development and commercial roles at InterMune, Inc. (acquired by Roche in 2014) and Genentech, Inc. Natalie holds an M.A. in molecular, cellular and developmental biology from the University of Colorado, Boulder, where she was a Howard Hughes Medical Institute predoctoral fellow, and an A.B. in human biology from Stanford University.
Dan Becker, MD, PhD
Director
Dan Becker is a Partner at Access Biotechnology, the biopharmaceutical investing arm of Access Industries, a privately held US-based industrial group with global strategic investments of $25+ billion. Prior to joining Access, Dan was a Principal at New Leaf Venture Partners, where he played a key role in multiple private and public biopharma investments, and a Principal in the Health Care practice at the Boston Consulting Group, where he led projects across the healthcare sector with an emphasis on biopharma R&D. Dan trained clinically in internal medicine and nephrology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, and was a Research Fellow at Harvard Medical School. He obtained both his MD and PhD (Cellular and Molecular Biology) degrees from the University of Michigan, and received his BS in Physiology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Jeremy Bender, PhD, MBA
Director
Jeremy Bender, Ph.D., M.B.A. has served as our Chief Executive Officer, President and a member of our board of directors since September 2020. Prior to joining Day One, Dr. Bender was Vice President of Corporate Development at Gilead Sciences, a pharmaceutical company, from March 2018 to September 2020. Prior to that, he was Chief Operating Officer of Tizona Therapeutics from July 2015 to March 2018 and Chief Business Officer of Sutro Biopharma, a biotechnology company specializing in cancer and autoimmune therapeutics, from October 2012 to July 2015. Prior to joining Sutro Biopharma, he was Vice President of Corporate Development at Allos Therapeutics, a biotechnology company focused on cancer treatments, from January 2006 to September 2012. Dr. Bender began his career in the life sciences practice at Boston Consulting Group, a management consulting company. Dr. Bender also sits on the board of Mereo BioPharma as an independent board member. Dr. Bender holds a B.S. in Biological Sciences from Stanford University, a Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of Colorado, and an M.B.A. from the MIT Sloan School of Management.
Scott Garland
Director
Scott Garland is the chief executive officer of PACT Pharma, an immuno-oncology company focused on developing neoantigen targeted T-cell therapies for solid tumors. Prior to PACT, Mr. Garland served as president and chief executive officer of Portola Pharmaceuticals, where he led the company through the commercial launch of Andexxa® and a successful acquisition by Alexion. Before joining Portola, Mr. Garland was at Relypsa, where he served as chief commercial officer, and then as president of the U.S. organization after Relypsa’s acquisition by Vifor Pharma. Prior to Relypsa, Mr. Garland was chief commercial officer at Exelixis where he led the launch of cabozantinib. Mr. Garland has held numerous other commercial leadership roles at Genentech, Amgen and Merck, including leading the commercial franchises for two multi-billion dollar therapies – Avastin® and Rituxan®. He also serves as a board member for Calithera Biosciences. Mr. Garland received a Bachelor of Science degree from California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo and a master’s degree in Business Administration from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.
Michael Gladstone
Director
Michael Gladstone is a Partner at Atlas Venture, where he builds new therapeutics companies, primarily in the areas of oncology and immunology. Michael contributed to launching several Atlas-originated companies, including Padlock Therapeutics (acquired by BMS), Surface Oncology (NASDAQ: SURF), and IFM Therapeutics Inc (acquired by BMS; and its spinout IFM Tre acquired by Novartis). He has served as a board member or observer for IFM Therapeutics LLC, Indalo Therapeutics, Akrevia Therapeutics, AvroBio (NASDAQ: AVRO), Akero (NASDAQ: AKRO), Delinia (acquired by Celgene), and Replimune (NASDAQ: REPL). Prior to joining Atlas in 2012, Michael worked at L.E.K. Consulting and previously, he conducted HIV vaccine research in the Viral Pathogenesis department of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Michael serves as an advisor to several organizations, including as member of the Corporate Advisory Committee for National Tay Sachs and Allied Diseases, a national organization focused on funding research, promoting awareness, and supporting families affected by Tay-Sachs and related genetic diseases.
John A. Josey, PhD, MBA
Director
John Josey is a Venture Partner at The Column Group. Previously he served as the President, Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors of Peloton Therapeutics, Inc., from 2013 until its acquisition by Merck in 2019. He joined Peloton in 2011 as the first employee in the role of President and Chief Scientific Officer. For over thirteen years, Dr. Josey was employed at Array BioPharma Inc., a company that he helped to build as a member of the founding management team. There he rose to Vice President of Discovery Chemistry. Dr. Josey’s previous experience also includes Amgen, Inc. and the Glaxo Research Institute. He received a BS degree in chemistry from Colorado State University, a PhD in organic chemistry from The University of Texas at Austin, and an MBA from the University of Colorado. He was a Damon Runyon-Walter Winchell Postdoctoral Fellow at the California Institute of Technology. Dr. Josey is currently an adjunct faculty member of the Department of Biochemistry at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. John currently serves on the Board of Directors for VHL Alliance, Circle Pharma, Inc. (Chair), Nura Bio, and Day One Biopharmaceuticals.
Saira Ramasastry, MS, MPhil
Director
Ms. Ramasastry is the managing partner of Life Sciences Advisory, LLC, an independent firm that she founded to provide strategic advice and business development solutions for life science companies. Prior to founding Life Sciences Advisory, Ms. Ramasastry spent 10 years as an investment banker with Merrill Lynch & Company, where she helped establish the biotechnology practice and advised on mergers and acquisitions, and strategic and capital markets transactions. Previously, she served as a financial analyst in mergers and acquisitions group at Wasserstein Perella & Co., an investment banking firm. Ms. Ramasastry currently serves on the board of directors for Vir Biotechnology Inc., Akouos, Inc., Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd., and Sangamo Therapeutics, Inc., and is also a health innovator fellow of the Aspen Institute and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network. Ms. Ramasastry holds a B.A. in economics and an M.S. in management science and engineering from Stanford University, as well as an M. Phil. in management studies from the University of Cambridge.
Fun fact:
During college Jeremy was a DJ at KZSU radio, a fact his teenage children refuse to accept despite overwhelming supportive evidence.
Jeremy Bender, PhD, MBA
Chief Executive Officer
Jeremy Bender, Ph.D., M.B.A. has served as our Chief Executive Officer, President and a member of our board of directors since September 2020. Prior to joining Day One, Dr. Bender was Vice President of Corporate Development at Gilead Sciences, a pharmaceutical company, from March 2018 to September 2020. Prior to that, he was Chief Operating Officer of Tizona Therapeutics from July 2015 to March 2018 and Chief Business Officer of Sutro Biopharma, a biotechnology company specializing in cancer and autoimmune therapeutics, from October 2012 to July 2015. Prior to joining Sutro Biopharma, he was Vice President of Corporate Development at Allos Therapeutics, a biotechnology company focused on cancer treatments, from January 2006 to September 2012. Dr. Bender began his career in the life sciences practice at Boston Consulting Group, a management consulting company. Dr. Bender also sits on the board of Mereo BioPharma as an independent board member. Dr. Bender holds a B.S. in Biological Sciences from Stanford University, a Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of Colorado, and an M.B.A. from the MIT Sloan School of Management.
Fun fact:
While living in Chicago, Sam supported himself through medical and graduate school as a Spinning™ instructor.
Samuel Blackman, MD, PhD
Head of R&D
Samuel Blackman, M.D., Ph.D. is our co-founder and has served as our Chief Medical Officer since November 2018. Prior to co-founding Day One, Dr. Blackman was Head of Clinical Development at Mavupharma, a drug discovery company focused on leveraging the immune system to treat cancer and infectious diseases, from September 2018 to July 2019. Prior to Mavupharma, he was Head of Clinical Development at Silverback Therapeutics, a biotechnology company developing tissue-targeted therapeutics, from August 2016 to September 2018. Prior to Silverback, Dr. Blackman was a senior medical director at Juno Therapeutics, a biotechnology company focused on cancer treatments from June 2014 to August 2016, and before that he held roles of increasing responsibility at Seattle Genetics, Merck, and GlaxoSmithKline. He is a graduate of the pediatric hematology/oncology fellowship program at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Children’s Hospital Boston, and the pediatric residency program at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. Dr. Blackman received his B.A. in Philosophy, his M.D. and Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Fun fact:
Davy was born in the Alps and was put on skis nearly at the same time as he learned to walk.
Davy Chiodin, PharmD
Chief Development Officer
Dr. Davy Chiodin brings to Day One nearly 20 years of pharmaceutical industry experience and 15 years of oncology development experience across tumor types and stages of development. In his role, Davy oversees Regulatory Science, Clinical Operations, Biometrics, Program Management and Quality Assurance. Prior to joining Day One, Davy was at Acerta, a member of the AstraZeneca group, where he led the Regulatory Science and Quality Assurance functions through the acalabrutinib global filings and the build of the AZ hematology franchise. Davy spent more than 10 years at Roche/Genentech, assuming roles of increased responsibility in the Regulatory function in both Europe and the US, including 2 years fully dedicated to the pediatric oncology portfolio. He has remained an active contributor to the pediatric oncology community since then. Davy received his PharmD from the University of Grenoble, France, and a Master in Regulatory Affairs and Pharmacoeconomics from the universities of Lille and Paris, France.
Fun fact:
Adam has advised businesses across 6 continents, lived on 3 continents and attended Bruce Springsteen concerts on 2 continents.
Adam Dubow
General Counsel
Adam Dubow joined Day One as General Counsel in October 2022 following a 22-year tenure at Bristol Myers Squibb, where he most recently served as Chief Compliance and Ethics Officer, establishing a best-in-class global compliance program. In addition to serving on the management team, Adam previously served as the Company’s Lead Counsel for the Global Research and Development organization. Prior to this role, he directed the Legal Teams for the Europe, Middle East & Africa, as well as the Asia Pacific and Japan Regions. He also created and led the Global Corporate Policy function at Bristol Myers Squibb.
Prior to joining Bristol Myers Squibb, Adam was a Partner at Sedgwick, Detert, Moran & Arnold, where he specialized in products liability litigation. Adam currently serves on the Global Board of the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association. He holds an undergraduate degree from Brandeis University, and a J.D. from Fordham University School of Law. Adam is a member of the New York State Bar.
Lauren Merendino, MBA
Chief Commercial Officer
Lauren Merendino is a seasoned commercial leader with over 25 years of pharmaceutical & biotech leadership with expertise in building and leading commercial teams and a record of successful product launches.
In her most recent role as Chief Commercial Officer at Myovant Sciences, she led the successful launches of two products across 3 indications. Prior to Myovant, Lauren was the Head of the Neurological Rare Diseases therapeutic area at Genentech where she led a cross-functional team including sales, marketing, access, medical affairs, advocacy, legal and finance. This included the launch of a novel therapy in SMA, which quickly grew to become the market leader. Prior to this role, she led the Commercial Pipeline team for Neuroscience, Rare Diseases, Pediatrics & Anti-infectives. Lauren's career is built on a deep foundation of Marketing, Sales and leadership experience, with a strong record of success across all roles.
Lauren has a Bachelors of Science in Microbiology from Penn State University and completed her MBA at New York University.
Fun fact:
Mike worked through college as an elementary school playground supervisor, baseball umpire, and waste-water treatment technician among many other jobs.
Mike Preigh, PhD
Chief of Technology Operations
Mike brings over 25 years of experience in product development and manufacturing to Day One. Prior to joining Day One, he was an independent consultant supporting CMC development for multiple venture backed start-up companies. He spent 10 years at Array BioPharma, where he led a CMC group that successfully filed INDs for 20+ new chemical entities and supported clinical development of multiple marketed drugs including binimetinib and tucatinib. He also spent 12 years at Pfizer in Manufacturing and R&D. He received his PhD in Chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh and his BA Chemistry from Illinois Wesleyan University.
Fun fact:
A past proud owner of a purple Honda Rebel motorcycle.
Jaa Roberson
Chief People Officer
Jaa Roberson has 20 years of human resources experience across the biopharma, health insurance, and retail industries. Most recently, she was the head of human resources for Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on cellular immuno-oncology. Previously, she served as the head of human resources for Achaogen. Before that, she spent six years at Genentech/Roche supporting the oncology, IMPACT, and immunology & ophthalmology commercial business units. Earlier in her career, Ms. Roberson held human resources roles at Blue Shield of CA, Levi Strauss & Company, and Williams-Sonoma. Ms. Roberson earned her Bachelor of Arts from Rice University and her Master of Violin Performance from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
Raphaël Rousseau, MD, PhD
Chief Medical Officer
Raphaël Rousseau, MD, PhD joined Day One as Chief Medical Officer in May 2023. Raphaël is a renowned leader in the biotech industry with more than 25 years of experience building clinical development teams and leading phase 1 to 4 adult and pediatric clinical trials in academia, large and small biopharmaceutical companies.
Prior to Day One, Raphaël was Chief Medical Officer at Neogene Therapeutics and Gritstone, where he launched several global Phase 1-2 clinical trials in personalized neoantigen-targeting engineered T cells and cancer vaccines. Prior to those positions, he created and led the innovative pediatric drug development group at Roche and Genentech, overseeing their pediatric strategy across the company’s oncology portfolio. He led the pediatric development and registration of several small molecule inhibitors and immune checkpoint blockers in close collaboration with European and North American academic pediatric oncology consortiums.
Raphaël is a graduate of Texas Children’s Cancer Center pediatric hematology-oncology fellowship and Center for Cell and Gene Therapy at Baylor College of Medicine. He obtained his M.D. and graduated from Paris University pediatric residency program where he also received his Ph.D. in therapeutic biotechnologies.
Fun fact:
Started his career at the young age of nine working as a paper boy.
Charles N. York II, MBA
Chief Operating and Financial Officer
Charles York II, M.B.A., has served as our Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer since February 2021. Immediately prior to joining Day One, Mr. York served as Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Aeglea Biotherapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company specializing in rare metabolic disease , where he led the investor relations, corporate development, communications, financial planning, accounting, human resources and information technology since September 2015, after joining Aeglea as Vice President, Finance, in July 2014. Prior to joining Aeglea, Mr. York held financial management roles in the life science, pharmaceutical and technology industries and began his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. Mr. York is a CPA in the state of Arizona and received a B.S. in Accounting from the University of Connecticut and an MBA from the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin.
Fun fact:
During college Jeremy was a DJ at KZSU radio, a fact his teenage children refuse to accept despite overwhelming supportive evidence.
Jeremy Bender, PhD, MBA
Chief Executive Officer
Jeremy Bender, Ph.D., M.B.A. has served as our Chief Executive Officer, President and a member of our board of directors since September 2020. Prior to joining Day One, Dr. Bender was Vice President of Corporate Development at Gilead Sciences, a pharmaceutical company, from March 2018 to September 2020. Prior to that, he was Chief Operating Officer of Tizona Therapeutics from July 2015 to March 2018 and Chief Business Officer of Sutro Biopharma, a biotechnology company specializing in cancer and autoimmune therapeutics, from October 2012 to July 2015. Prior to joining Sutro Biopharma, he was Vice President of Corporate Development at Allos Therapeutics, a biotechnology company focused on cancer treatments, from January 2006 to September 2012. Dr. Bender began his career in the life sciences practice at Boston Consulting Group, a management consulting company. Dr. Bender also sits on the board of Mereo BioPharma as an independent board member. Dr. Bender holds a B.S. in Biological Sciences from Stanford University, a Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of Colorado, and an M.B.A. from the MIT Sloan School of Management.
Fun fact:
While living in Chicago, Sam supported himself through medical and graduate school as a Spinning™ instructor.
Samuel Blackman, MD, PhD
Head of R&D
Samuel Blackman, M.D., Ph.D. is our co-founder and has served as our Chief Medical Officer since November 2018. Prior to co-founding Day One, Dr. Blackman was Head of Clinical Development at Mavupharma, a drug discovery company focused on leveraging the immune system to treat cancer and infectious diseases, from September 2018 to July 2019. Prior to Mavupharma, he was Head of Clinical Development at Silverback Therapeutics, a biotechnology company developing tissue-targeted therapeutics, from August 2016 to September 2018. Prior to Silverback, Dr. Blackman was a senior medical director at Juno Therapeutics, a biotechnology company focused on cancer treatments from June 2014 to August 2016, and before that he held roles of increasing responsibility at Seattle Genetics, Merck, and GlaxoSmithKline. He is a graduate of the pediatric hematology/oncology fellowship program at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Children’s Hospital Boston, and the pediatric residency program at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. Dr. Blackman received his B.A. in Philosophy, his M.D. and Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Fun fact:
Davy was born in the Alps and was put on skis nearly at the same time as he learned to walk.
Davy Chiodin, PharmD
Chief Development Officer
Dr. Davy Chiodin brings to Day One nearly 20 years of pharmaceutical industry experience and 15 years of oncology development experience across tumor types and stages of development. In his role, Davy oversees Regulatory Science, Clinical Operations, Biometrics, Program Management and Quality Assurance. Prior to joining Day One, Davy was at Acerta, a member of the AstraZeneca group, where he led the Regulatory Science and Quality Assurance functions through the acalabrutinib global filings and the build of the AZ hematology franchise. Davy spent more than 10 years at Roche/Genentech, assuming roles of increased responsibility in the Regulatory function in both Europe and the US, including 2 years fully dedicated to the pediatric oncology portfolio. He has remained an active contributor to the pediatric oncology community since then. Davy received his PharmD from the University of Grenoble, France, and a Master in Regulatory Affairs and Pharmacoeconomics from the universities of Lille and Paris, France.
Fun fact:
Adam has advised businesses across 6 continents, lived on 3 continents and attended Bruce Springsteen concerts on 2 continents.
Adam Dubow
General Counsel
Adam Dubow joined Day One as General Counsel in October 2022 following a 22-year tenure at Bristol Myers Squibb, where he most recently served as Chief Compliance and Ethics Officer, establishing a best-in-class global compliance program. In addition to serving on the management team, Adam previously served as the Company’s Lead Counsel for the Global Research and Development organization. Prior to this role, he directed the Legal Teams for the Europe, Middle East & Africa, as well as the Asia Pacific and Japan Regions. He also created and led the Global Corporate Policy function at Bristol Myers Squibb.
Prior to joining Bristol Myers Squibb, Adam was a Partner at Sedgwick, Detert, Moran & Arnold, where he specialized in products liability litigation. Adam currently serves on the Global Board of the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association. He holds an undergraduate degree from Brandeis University, and a J.D. from Fordham University School of Law. Adam is a member of the New York State Bar.
Lauren Merendino, MBA
Chief Commercial Officer
Lauren Merendino is a seasoned commercial leader with over 25 years of pharmaceutical & biotech leadership with expertise in building and leading commercial teams and a record of successful product launches.
In her most recent role as Chief Commercial Officer at Myovant Sciences, she led the successful launches of two products across 3 indications. Prior to Myovant, Lauren was the Head of the Neurological Rare Diseases therapeutic area at Genentech where she led a cross-functional team including sales, marketing, access, medical affairs, advocacy, legal and finance. This included the launch of a novel therapy in SMA, which quickly grew to become the market leader. Prior to this role, she led the Commercial Pipeline team for Neuroscience, Rare Diseases, Pediatrics & Anti-infectives. Lauren's career is built on a deep foundation of Marketing, Sales and leadership experience, with a strong record of success across all roles.
Lauren has a Bachelors of Science in Microbiology from Penn State University and completed her MBA at New York University.
Fun fact:
Mike worked through college as an elementary school playground supervisor, baseball umpire, and waste-water treatment technician among many other jobs.
Mike Preigh, PhD
Chief of Technology Operations
Mike brings over 25 years of experience in product development and manufacturing to Day One. Prior to joining Day One, he was an independent consultant supporting CMC development for multiple venture backed start-up companies. He spent 10 years at Array BioPharma, where he led a CMC group that successfully filed INDs for 20+ new chemical entities and supported clinical development of multiple marketed drugs including binimetinib and tucatinib. He also spent 12 years at Pfizer in Manufacturing and R&D. He received his PhD in Chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh and his BA Chemistry from Illinois Wesleyan University.
Fun fact:
A past proud owner of a purple Honda Rebel motorcycle.
Jaa Roberson
Chief People Officer
Jaa Roberson has 20 years of human resources experience across the biopharma, health insurance, and retail industries. Most recently, she was the head of human resources for Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on cellular immuno-oncology. Previously, she served as the head of human resources for Achaogen. Before that, she spent six years at Genentech/Roche supporting the oncology, IMPACT, and immunology & ophthalmology commercial business units. Earlier in her career, Ms. Roberson held human resources roles at Blue Shield of CA, Levi Strauss & Company, and Williams-Sonoma. Ms. Roberson earned her Bachelor of Arts from Rice University and her Master of Violin Performance from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
Raphaël Rousseau, MD, PhD
Chief Medical Officer
Raphaël Rousseau, MD, PhD joined Day One as Chief Medical Officer in May 2023. Raphaël is a renowned leader in the biotech industry with more than 25 years of experience building clinical development teams and leading phase 1 to 4 adult and pediatric clinical trials in academia, large and small biopharmaceutical companies.
Prior to Day One, Raphaël was Chief Medical Officer at Neogene Therapeutics and Gritstone, where he launched several global Phase 1-2 clinical trials in personalized neoantigen-targeting engineered T cells and cancer vaccines. Prior to those positions, he created and led the innovative pediatric drug development group at Roche and Genentech, overseeing their pediatric strategy across the company’s oncology portfolio. He led the pediatric development and registration of several small molecule inhibitors and immune checkpoint blockers in close collaboration with European and North American academic pediatric oncology consortiums.
Raphaël is a graduate of Texas Children’s Cancer Center pediatric hematology-oncology fellowship and Center for Cell and Gene Therapy at Baylor College of Medicine. He obtained his M.D. and graduated from Paris University pediatric residency program where he also received his Ph.D. in therapeutic biotechnologies.
Fun fact:
Started his career at the young age of nine working as a paper boy.
Charles N. York II, MBA
Chief Operating and Financial Officer
Charles York II, M.B.A., has served as our Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer since February 2021. Immediately prior to joining Day One, Mr. York served as Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Aeglea Biotherapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company specializing in rare metabolic disease , where he led the investor relations, corporate development, communications, financial planning, accounting, human resources and information technology since September 2015, after joining Aeglea as Vice President, Finance, in July 2014. Prior to joining Aeglea, Mr. York held financial management roles in the life science, pharmaceutical and technology industries and began his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. Mr. York is a CPA in the state of Arizona and received a B.S. in Accounting from the University of Connecticut and an MBA from the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin.