Seismic Therapeutic Forms Translational Medicine Advisory Board with Prominent Experts in Immunology, Rheumatology, Dermatology and Neurology

WATERTOWN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Seismic Therapeutic, Inc., the machine learning immunology company, today announced the formation of a Translational Medicine Advisory Board to support the company’s focus on accelerating the path to impactful, patient-centric therapies for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. The charter members of Seismic’s Translational Medicine Advisory Board are J. Michelle Kahlenberg, MD, PhD, Gerald Nepom, MD, PhD, Kevin O’Connor, PhD, and Cornelia Weyand, MD, PhD. These distinguished experts bring decades of combined experience and leadership in their respective fields of immunology, rheumatology, dermatology and neurology and will provide strategic guidance as the company advances its pipeline of innovative medicines in clinical trials for immune-driven diseases. They are complemented by additional expert advisors in relevant specialty areas.

“We are honored to welcome this exceptional group of advisors whose expertise will contribute valuable insights as we continue to advance our innovative biologics into the clinic,” said John Sundy, MD, PhD, Chief Medical Officer and Head of R&D for Seismic Therapeutic. “Each member brings a wealth of experience from bench-to-bedside in a range of disease areas, supporting our mission to rapidly bring a new era of medicines for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases to improve outcomes for patients.”

• J. Michelle Kahlenberg, MD, PhD, is a Professor of Internal Medicine (Rheumatology) and Dermatology and Vice Chair of Basic and Translational Research, Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School. Her clinical work is centered on the care of complicated lupus patients, including those with refractory skin disease, and her research is funded by multiple NIH and foundation awards and combines translational approaches using patient samples and murine models to uncover the mechanisms that drive lupus and other autoimmune diseases. Dr. Kahlenberg completed her BS in Biology at Denison University, her MD, PhD, and Internal Medicine training at Case Western Reserve University, and her fellowship in Rheumatology at the University of Michigan.

• Gerald (Jerry) Nepom, MD, PhD, is an Affiliate Professor, Immunology, University of Washington School of Medicine, and Immune Tolerance Network Senior Advisor at Benaroya Research Institute (BRI), Center for Interventional Immunology. Dr. Nepom is a past Director of both the BRI and the NIAID-sponsored Immune Tolerance Network. His research is focused on identifying and understanding molecular and genetic mechanisms contributing to pathogenesis of autoimmune disorders and using this information to evaluate autoreactive T cell lineage and fate determination. His translational and clinical applications include development and use of immunological monitoring tools for predicting disease susceptibility and response to therapy in clinical trials, with special emphasis on type 1 diabetes. Dr. Nepom received his bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry from Harvard, and his PhD and MD from the University of Washington.

• Kevin O’Connor, PhD, is a Professor of Neurology and Immunobiology at Yale School of Medicine. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and a PhD in Biochemistry from Tufts University. Following his doctoral studies, Dr. O’Connor completed postdoctoral training in Immunology at Harvard Medical School, where he subsequently served as an Assistant Professor for several years before joining the faculty at Yale. Dr. O’Connor’s research focuses on human translational immunology and neurology, with a particular emphasis on understanding the role of B cells and antibodies in autoimmune diseases. His laboratory investigates both the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which autoreactive B cell subsets and autoantibody isotypes initiate and sustain autoimmunity. This research is conducted through the study of human-derived specimens. These human specimens are often obtained from clinical trials of immune-modulating treatments, serving to leverage a deeper understanding of immune mechanism variability among patients. By understanding this variability, his team’s work contributes to the advancement of personalized medicine approaches in treating autoimmune disorders.

• Cornelia (Connie) M. Weyand, MD, PhD, is a Professor of Medicine and Immunology at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science and the Mayo Alix School of Medicine. She is also Professor Emerita at Stanford University. Dr. Weyand’s research has focused on how immune responses deviate from host protection to tissue damage. Her primary focus has been on autoimmune diseases, specifically atherosclerotic disease and the vasculitides. Prior to her appointment at Mayo Clinic, Dr. Weyand was Chief of Rheumatology and Immunology and the Director of the Center for Translational Medicine at Stanford University and Professor of Medicine at Emory University, where she served as the Director of the Lowance Center for Human Immunology and the Division of Rheumatology. Dr. Weyand earned her MD in Germany, followed by a residency at Hannover Medical School, Germany, and a fellowship in Immunology at Stanford University.

About Seismic Therapeutic

Seismic Therapeutic™ is a clinical-stage biotechnology company making a major shift in how immunology therapies are discovered and developed, enabled by machine learning. The company has a growing preclinical stage best-in-class and first-in-class biologics pipeline, derived from its integrated IMPACT platform, to control dysregulated adaptive immunity and address multiple autoimmune diseases. The company is backed by a strong syndicate of life sciences investors and is located in the Boston biotechnology hub. For more information, please visit www.seismictx.com and follow us on LinkedIn and on X @Seismic_Tx.