About

Alex C. Sapir

Board Member

Alex C. Sapir is an industry veteran and organization builder with over two decades of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, most recently serving as CEO of ReViral Ltd, which was acquired in 2022 by Pfizer. Previously, he served as president and CEO at Dova Pharmaceuticals, leading its transformation from a small, private, pre-commercial company to a 150-person, fully integrated, publicly traded biotech company (later acquired by Sobi, Inc.).

Earlier in his career, Alex was the Executive Vice President for Marketing and Sales at United Therapeutics and held commercial positions of increasing responsibility at GSK and other smaller healthcare companies.

Alex received his BA in Economics from Franklin and Marshall College and his MBA from Harvard Business School where he concentrated in Finance and Strategy.

Alex C. Sapir

Board Member

Alex C. Sapir is an industry veteran and organization builder with over two decades of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, most recently serving as CEO of ReViral Ltd, which was acquired in 2022 by Pfizer. Previously, he served as president and CEO at Dova Pharmaceuticals, leading its transformation from a small, private, pre-commercial company to a 150-person, fully integrated, publicly traded biotech company (later acquired by Sobi, Inc.).

Earlier in his career, Alex was the Executive Vice President for Marketing and Sales at United Therapeutics and held commercial positions of increasing responsibility at GSK and other smaller healthcare companies.

Alex received his BA in Economics from Franklin and Marshall College and his MBA from Harvard Business School where he concentrated in Finance and Strategy.

Sonja L. Banks

Board Member

Sonja L. Banks brings nearly 25 years of experience in patient advocacy, community outreach and non-profit leadership, and she is deeply respected for her grassroots work in the rare disease and sickle cell disease communities. Ms. Banks is currently the chief executive officer of the International Dyslexia Association. Prior to that, she served in various leadership roles at the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America (SCDAA), including as a senior advisor, president, and chief operating officer. In her time at SCDAA, she played a key role in advocacy efforts to designate sickle cell disease as a national priority, and spearheaded grassroots efforts to secure the reauthorization of the Sickle Cell Treatment Act to continue federally funded programs for the prevention and treatment of sickle cell disease. She also oversaw the National Sickle Cell Newborn Screening Program and helped pioneer programs to improve patient outcomes, including a patient-empowered registry and certification programs for community health workers. Prior to joining the SCDAA, Ms. Banks was a director of community service and outreach at the St. Vincent’s Health System in Alabama and held key leadership roles at the United Negro College Fund and the United Way of Central Alabama. Ms. Banks has previously served on the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s Sickle Cell Disease Advisory Committee, Community Health Charities Board, and the American Society of Hematology’s Sickle Cell Disease Coalition. She is currently the first vice chairman for the 6:52 Aids Project Foundation.

James J. Collins, Ph.D.

Board Member

James J. (Jim) Collins is the Termeer Professor of Medical Engineering and Science in the Institute for Medical Engineering and Science and the department of biological engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He is also affiliated with Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering. Jim currently is on the board of directors of Senti Biosciences, Inc. He is a renowned expert in synthetic biology and systems biology and their applications in biotechnology and medicine. He has received numerous awards, including a Rhodes Scholarship, a MacArthur Fellowship, and a National Institutes of Health Director’s Pioneer Award. Jim is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Medicine, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and is a charter fellow of the National Academy of Inventors. National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Medicine, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and is a charter fellow of the National Academy of Inventors.

Katina Dorton, JD, MBA

Board Member

Katina Dorton joined the Fulcrum Board of Directors in January 2020 and serves as the Chair of the Audit Committee. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of TScan Therapeutics, Inc. and Sonoma Biotherapeutics, Inc., and previously served on the Board of Pandion Therapeutics (Nasdaq: PAND) until its acquisition by Merck in 2021 and US Ecology until its acquisition by Republic Services, Inc. in 2022. Katina has held CFO positions at several biotechnology companies, including Nodthera Inc, Repare Therapeutics, AVROBIO, and Immatics GmbH. Earlier in her career, Katina served as a managing director in investment banking for Morgan Stanley and Needham & Company and as an attorney at Sullivan & Cromwell. Katina received her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law, her M.B.A. from George Washington University, and her B.A. from Duke University.

Alan Ezekowitz, MBChB, D.Phil

Board Member

Alan Ezekowitz, MBChB, D.Phil, is currently a venture partner at Third Rock Ventures, LLC. Alan currently serves on the Board of Directors of Organon & Co. Alan Ezekowitz was president and CEO of Abide Therapeutics, a company he co-founded in 2011 until its acquisition by H. Lundbeck A/S in May 2019. Formerly, he was the senior vice president and franchise head for disease areas including bone, respiratory, immunology, muscle, urology and dermatology at Merck Research Laboratories. Prior to Merck, Alan was the Charles Wilder Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and served as the chief of pediatric services at the Massachusetts General Hospital for Children and the Partners Healthcare System. Additionally, he directed the Laboratory of Developmental Immunology at Massachusetts General Hospital. Alan is a member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and has served on multiple National Institutes of Health subcommittees. He was honored by the establishment of the R. Alan Ezekowitz Professorship in Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.

James Geraghty

Board Member

James (Jim) Geraghty is an industry leader with over 30 years of strategic and leadership experience, centered around biotechnology companies developing and commercializing innovative therapies. Jim served as an entrepreneur in residence at Third Rock Ventures from 2013-2016. He was previously senior vice president, North America strategy and business development at Sanofi, which he joined upon its acquisition of Genzyme. Jim spent almost 20 years at Genzyme, where his roles included senior vice president of international development, president of Genzyme Europe, and founder, president and CEO of Genzyme Transgenics. Jim currently serves as chairman of the board of directors of Orchard Therapeutics plc, Pieris Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and OMass Therapeutics, and as a member of the board of directors of Voyager Therapeutics, Inc. and CANbridge Pharmaceuticals Inc. He started his career in healthcare strategy consulting at Bain and Company. A graduate of the Yale Law School, he holds a master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor’s from Georgetown University.

Robert J. Gould, Ph.D.

Board Member

Robert J. Gould was president and chief executive officer of Fulcrum Therapeutics from 2016, the year the company was founded, until his retirement in March 2021, and has over 30 years of industry and management experience. Previously, he served as president and CEO of Epizyme from 2010 to 2015. Prior to joining Epizyme, Robert served as director of novel therapeutics at Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard from 2006 to 2010. He spent 23 years at Merck where he held a variety of leadership positions, culminating in the role of vice president, licensing and external research. During his time at Merck, Robert was instrumental in advancing more than 20 compounds from discovery into clinical development in multiple therapeutic areas. He received a bachelor’s degree from Spring Arbor University and a Ph.D. from the University of Iowa and he completed postdoctoral studies at Johns Hopkins University.

Kate Haviland

Chair

Katebrings an impressive breadth of experience and leadership within the biopharmaceutical industry, as well as a substantial background in business development, portfolio strategy, investor relations and commercial execution. Since April 2022, Kate has served as Chief Executive Officer of Blueprint Medicines. Previously, she served as Chief Operating Officer from January 2019 to April 2022, and as Chief Business Officer from January 2016 to January 2019. Over this time, she was the founding chair of the portfolio management team, formed and executed business development strategy, drove global capital investment plans, and played a key role in capital market financings. In addition, she worked to drive the transformative growth of the company and support its evolution into a fully integrated business by developing and providing ongoing management of critical functions, including portfolio strategy, corporate development, commercial strategy, international, technical operations, corporate affairs, and information systems. Prior to joining Blueprint Medicines, Kate held leadership roles focused on building emerging, high-growth companies and advancing the development of innovative therapies in oncology and rare diseases as Vice President, Rare Diseases and Oncology Program Leadership at Idera Pharmaceuticals, Head of Commercial Development at Sarepta Therapeutics, Executive Director of Commercial Development at PTC Therapeutics, and roles in both corporate development and project management at Genzyme. Kate currently serves on the board of directors of Bicara Therapeutics. She holds a B.A. from Wesleyan University with a double major in Biochemistry/Molecular Biology and Economics and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. Kate currently serves on the board of directors of Bicara Therapeutics.

Bradley E. Bernstein, M.D., Ph.D.

Professor of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School

Bradley E. (Brad) Bernstein is a professor of pathology at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and director of the Epigenomics Program at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. His research focuses on epigenetic gene regulation. His lab studies show how gene activity is controlled by noncoding regulatory elements called ‘enhancers’, and by the way the genes are packaged into chromatin. He is a leader of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)’s ENCODE project, which is mapping the locations and functions of all noncoding elements in the human genome. His work is notable for the identification of specialized chromatin structures that underlie stem cell pluripotency, enhancers associated with autoimmunity and other diseases, and specific epigenetic aberrations that lead to cancer. Brad received his bachelor’s from Yale University and his M.D. and Ph.D. from the University of Washington, before completing a residency in clinical pathology and postdoctoral research at Harvard University. Honors include an Early Career Scientist Award from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, a Career Award in the Biomedical Sciences from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, the NIH Director’s Pioneer Award, an American Cancer Society Professorship and the Paul Marks Prize for Cancer Research.

Michael R. Green, M.D., Ph.D.

In 1990, Michael R. Green joined the Program in Molecular Medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and served as the director of the Program of Gene Function and Expression from 1999 to 2014. He is also the vice provost for strategic research initiatives, chair and professor in the department of molecular, cell and cancer biology and the director of the Cancer Center. He has made pioneering contributions to the understanding of the mechanisms that regulate gene expression in eukaryotes and how alterations in gene expression contribute to cancer and other human diseases. Recently he has used transcription-based approaches and functional screens to identify new genes and regulatory pathways involved in epigenetic regulation and cancer, which have important therapeutic implications. As a young investigator he was the recipient of the Presidential Young Investigators Award (1985), the Searle Scholar Award (1986), the McKnight Neuroscience Award (1991), and was a Harvey Lecturer (1993). He is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the European Molecular Biology Organization. Michael received his M.D. and Ph.D. from Washington University School of Medicine in 1981, and carried out postdoctoral work at Harvard University, where he joined as a faculty member in 1984.

Rudolf Jaenisch, M.D.

Professor of Biology, MIT; Founding Member, Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research

Rudolf Jaenisch joined the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1984. His central research interest is to understand epigenetic regulation of gene expression in mammalian development and disease. He is a pioneer in the understanding of how to transdifferentiate cells from one type to another. Rudolf’s work with embryonic stem cells is providing fundamental discoveries for the field of regenerative medicine. His numerous awards and honors include the Genetics Prize from the Gruber Foundation (2001), election to the National Academy of Sciences (2003), the Max Delbruck Medal (2006), the National Medal of Science (2010), the Wolf Prize in Medicine (2011) and the Otto Warburg Medal (2014). Earlier in his career, Rudolf held research positions at Princeton University, the Fox Chase Institute for Cancer Research and the Salk Institute. From 1977 to 1984, he was the head of the department of tumor biology at the Heinrich Pette Institute at the University of Hamburg. Rudolf earned his M.D. from the University of Munich in 1967 and conducted postdoctoral work in bacteriophages at the Max Planck Institute.

Jeannie T. Lee, M.D., Ph.D.

Professor of Genetics and Pathology, Harvard Medical School

Jeannie T. Lee is a professor of genetics (pathology) at Harvard Medical School, the Blavatnik Institute, and the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). Jeannie specializes in the study of epigenetic regulation by long noncoding RNAs and uses X-chromosome inactivation as a model system. In the Lee Lab, growing knowledge of X-inactivation mechanisms and RNA biology is being translated to treat various human diseases, including Rett, Fragile X, and CDKL5 Syndromes. She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the 2016 recipient of the Lurie Prize from the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, a 2016 awardee of the Centennial Prize from the Genetics Society of America, the 2010 recipient of the Molecular Biology Prize from the National Academy of Sciences and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Jeannie was also named a Distinguished Graduate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 2013 and an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. From 2013-2018, she co-launched the Epigenetics Initiative at Harvard Medical School and served as its co-director. Serving on the board of directors of the Genetics Society of America (GSA), Jeannie spearheaded The All-Genetics Conference (TAGC) in 2016. As GSA’s president, Jeannie established a strategic plan and a development strategy for the society in 2018. She received her bachelor’s in biochemistry and molecular biology from Harvard University and obtained M.D.-Ph.D degrees from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Jeannie then carried out postdoctoral work at the Whitehead Institute and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and became chief resident of clinical pathology at MGH prior to joining the faculty at Harvard Medical School. As a new investigator, she received the Basil O’Connor Scholar Award from the March of Dimes and the Pew Scholars Award.

Danny Reinberg, Ph.D.

Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, New York University School of Medicine

Danny Reinberg is the Terry and Mel Karmazin Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology in the department of biochemistry and molecular pharmacology at New York University School of Medicine. He is also an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Danny is a world-recognized leader in the fields of mammalian transcriptional regulation, chromatin dynamics and epigenetic regulation. His numerous advances are detailed in over 180 publications and his key contributions include identifying the structural and functional characterization of critical components of the human gene expression machinery; discovering several chromatin remodeling factors and key insights into the mechanisms by which genes are activated and repressed in the context of chromatin; and purifying and characterizing several histone methyltransferases and chromatin modifying complexes that have shed great insight into the regulatory interplay between histone modification and gene expression. He is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2012), the National Academy of Medicine (2013) and the National Academy of Sciences (2015). He has served as an American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellow (2015) and the International Blaise Pascal Chair at the Curie Institute in Paris, France (2017). He is a recipient of the Albert Einstein Distinguished Ph.D. Alumnus Award (2014). Danny received his bachelor’s in biochemistry from Catholic University in Valparaiso, Chile and a Ph.D. in molecular biology from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.