About Us

Jodi Cook, Ph.D., is President and Chief Executive Officer of Skylark Bio, Inc. She is an operationally focused business leader with experience across public and private biotechnology and medical device organizations. She brings to Skylark a unique combination of expertise across science, clinical development, operations and commercialization in both therapeutics and device companies including gene therapy modality and hearing indications. Prior to leading Skylark, Dr. Cook was Senior Vice President, Gene Therapy Strategy at PTC Therapeutics. Before PTC, Dr. Cook served as the Chief Operating Officer of Agilis Biotherapeutics where she oversaw its sale worth over $1 billion to PTC. Earlier in her career, she served as Vice President, Clinical Research & Professional Relations at InSound Medical, a company that developed, manufactured and sold extended wear hearing devices. Dr. Cook also held the role of Director, Hearing Aid Center, and Assistant Professor at the Mayo Clinic and before that was the Director of Audiology and Business Development at Songbird Hearing, and Clinical Assistant Professor at Arizona State University.

She earned her Ph.D. from Arizona State University, a Master’s of Audiology at University of South Carolina and her Bachelor of Arts from Loyola University of Maryland. She did a fellowship at Johns Hopkins Medical School in Baltimore, Maryland. She currently serves as a Board member of Fennec Pharmaceuticals and was previously Board Chair of STRM.BIO.

Shawn Harriman, Ph.D., is Chief Development Officer, Head of Translational Sciences at Skylark Bio. He brings over 27 years of experience working in cross-functional teams bridging clinical, pre-clinical and drug discovery. Dr. Harriman has worked across multiple therapeutic areas and has been involved in over 30 IND filings and four drug approvals. He has extensive experience with a diverse set of modalities, including gene therapy, and interacting with global regulatory bodies including, the CBER and CDER divisions of the FDA, EMA, MHRA, PMDA, and most recently with the Chinese regulatory agency, NMPA.

Prior to joining Skylark he was Chief Development Officer, Head of Research and Development, for Frontera Therapeutics responsible for the development of AAV based gene therapies for Ophthalmology, Hematology, Neuromuscular and Metabolic Disease indications. He served as Senior Vice President for Pyxis Oncology, Head of Nonclinical Development, where he was responsible for the advancement of immuno-oncology and antibody-drug conjugate-based oncology programs through preclinical development to IND stage and into clinic. Lastly, he served as Vice President at Sarepta Therapeutics, Head of Translational Sciences, where he was a key contributor in the company obtaining accelerated FDA approval of two medicinal products, Vyondys and Amondys for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), and for the advancement of AAV based gene therapies for DMD and other rare neuromuscular diseases.

Dr. Harriman received a B.S. in Zoology and an M.S. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Rhode Island. Dr. Harriman received his Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry from the University of Kansas and completed his postdoctoral research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Margaret McGuigan, CPA, MBA, is Vice President of Finance and Accounting at Skylark Bio, where she oversees finance and accounting operations. Prior to her current role, she was Senior Vice President of Finance at Vedanta Biosciences, a clinical-stage biotech company. During her tenure at Vedanta, she led the finance processes across multiple private financings and was the finance representative on program teams that secured grant and government contract agreements.

Before joining Vedanta, Ms. McGuigan held various roles at Legrand North America managing finance and accounting functions, financial reporting, and internal controls. She began her career at Ernst & Young where she spent nearly six years in their external audit practice.

Ms. McGuigan earned her Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from Santa Clara University and her Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of Connecticut. She is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of Connecticut.

Anne Marie Conway, M.H.A., R.N. is Senior Vice President of Clinical Development and Program Management at Skylark Bio. Anne Marie brings 30+ years of experience in clinical drug development with demonstrated success through optimizing clinical program outcomes through all phases of product lifecycle management. Her career trajectory has taken her from academia to industry where she has held roles of increasing responsibility in clinical development, clinical operations, and program management.

Most recently, Anne Marie was a consultant to Myrtelle Gene Therapies where she was Acting Head of Clinical Operations. Other roles in gene therapy have included Clinical Head of Biologics at PTC Therapeutics and Vice President of Clinical Operations at Agilis Biotherapeutics. While at Agilis and then at PTC, Anne Marie was the Clinical Lead for the AADC AAV gene therapy program resulting in the approval of Upstaza™ in the UK and Europe.

Her other roles have included Vice President and Program Executive for Autism Spectrum Disorder and Vice President of Clinical Operations at Finch Therapeutics. Prior to that she was Vice President Clinical Development Operations at Shire Human Genetic Therapies. While at Shire HGT, Anne Marie led a global organization of 80+ people and was involved in 4 product approvals, including elaprase™ for the treatment of Hunter syndrome.

Prior to making the transition to the biotech industry, Anne Marie was the Research Manager for the Gastroenterology Division at Tufts Medical Center in Boston.

Anne Marie is currently a Senior Lecturer (Adjunct) in Healthcare Administration at Suffolk University in the Sawyer Business School where she teaches graduate level courses in Innovation and Strategic Management.

Anne Marie received her Bachelor of Science with a major in Nursing from Boston University and a Master of Health Administration from Suffolk University.

Anjil Giri, Ph.D. is the Head of Technical Operations at Skylark Bio, with responsibilities spanning internal and external vector manufacturing, process and analytical development, supply chain, as well as quality control activities. Dr. Giri is an accomplished technical operations leader with experience in bioprocessing and CMC development for gene therapies and traditional biologics.

Most recently, Dr. Giri was the Head of CMC Development at PTC Therapeutics, where he oversaw CMC strategy and development of PTC’s portfolio of AAV gene therapy candidates for CNS and ocular indications, including EU and UK approval of Upstaza, the first AAV gene therapy molecule delivered directly to the brain. Prior to PTC, Dr. Giri held TechOps roles of increasing responsibilities at Tesaro-GSK and Alexion Pharmaceuticals, where he contributed to the development and commercialization of monoclonal and bispecific antibodies, including Ultomiris and Jemperli.

Dr. Giri’s work in academia and industry has resulted in 10 peer-reviewed publications with over 900 citations, and a patent. He received a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University and a Bachelor’s in Biological Systems Engineering from the University of Idaho.

Scott C. Stromatt, M.D., MBA is our consulting physician at Skylark Biotherapeutics, where he provides medical input and management of our clinical programs. His career has spanned multiple clinical indications from Phase 1 to Phase 4, successful NDAs, and experience with various therapeutic modalities including small molecules, antibodies, bispecific antibodies, dendritic cell vaccines, antisense oligonucleotides, and AAV gene therapies. He has worked in multiple settings, including biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and contract research companies.

Previously, Dr. Stromatt was Senior Vice President, Chief Medical Officer, of Neurology Clinical Development at Ultragenyx, Chief Medical Officer at GeneTx Biotherapeutics, and Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at Aptevo Therapeutics. Prior to that he was Chief Medical Officer at Emergent, Trubion, Cell Therapeutics and Northwest Biotherapeutics. He has worked developing dendritic cell vaccines, antibodies, and small molecules for hematologic and sold tumors. Additionally, he has worked on drugs in various rare diseases including: Angelman syndrome, cystic fibrosis, Lou Gehrig’s Disease, and acute myeloid leukemia.

He earned his MD from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, and completed his residency at the University of New Mexico where he was a Chief Medical Resident. He is board certified in Internal Medicine and completed an MBA at the University of Colorado.

40+ years studying inner ear biology 30 years HHMI

David P. Corey, Ph.D. is the Bertarelli Professor of Translational Medical Science in the Department of Neurobiology. For over 40 years, Dr. Corey has studied proteins of the hair-cell mechanotransduction complex with methods ranging from single-cell electrophysiology to single-molecule force spectroscopy to biochemistry to cryo-EM. His laboratory is now focused on how mutations in some of these proteins lead to hereditary deafness, and how gene therapy can treat deafness. With Casey Maquire (Massachusetts General Hospital), he has also developed methods for gene therapy in the inner ear, developing more efficient vectors and restoring hearing in five different mouse models with either gene addition or Cas9 disruption of a dominant mutation. With Cynthia Morton (Brigham and Women’s Hospital), he heads the Harvard Medical School Center for Hereditary Deafness. He has received many awards, including the Young Investigator Award from the Biophysical Society and the Award of Merit from the Association for Research in Otolaryngology, the Association’s highest award. He is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.

20+ years engineering vectors/gene therapies

Casey Maguire is a scientific co-founder and consultant of Skylark Bio.  He obtained his Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry in 2006.  Dr. Maguire is a virus vector bioengineer by training, with over 23 years of experience, first working with adenoviruses for his doctoral work and with adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors.  He is an Associate Professor Neurology at Harvard Medical School and Principal Investigator at the Massachusetts General Hospital.

He has published over 50 peer-reviewed papers, mainly in the field of vector gene delivery and therapy and has 5 issued US patents related to biotechnology, including novel AAV-based gene delivery systems. Together with collaborator and neurobiologist, Dr. David Corey at HMS, they have developed and tested novel AAV systems for gene delivery and therapy in mouse models of deafness and in 2018 demonstrated that AAV could efficiently transduce the inner ear of non-human primates.

Nilay Thakar, Ph.D. is the co-founder of Skylark Bio and serves as its Head of Business Development. Dr. Thakar is also a Principal with ARCH Venture Partners and focuses on company creation, identifying and evaluating new life sciences technologies, and providing operating assistance to early-stage portfolio companies. He also supported investments in, and serves as board observer or member at, Skylark Bio, Lifordi Immunotherapeutics, Doppler Bio, hC Bio, Arbor Bio, Volastra Tx, and Sonothera.

He has authored eight peer-reviewed publications with greater than 250 citations in the areas of neuroscience, stem cell biology, intracellular signalling, and epigenetics. Prior to ARCH, Dr. Thakar led the turnaround of an Australian biotech start-up Stem Cells Limited and out-licensed their assets to Evotec GmbH, served as a Think Tank Advisor at the Australian Academy of Sciences, and worked as an Analyst at Dendright, a biotech start-up developing personalized immunotherapy. Dr. Thakar also conceived an app to help blind Australians use public transport and was selected a Finalist for Queensland Government Open Data Award.

Dr. Thakar holds a B.S. in Biochemistry (High-Distinction honors) and a Ph.D. in Cell Biology from the University of Queensland in Australia. He also completed his M.B.A. at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

20+ years as cochlear implant surgeon and auditory neuroscientist

Titles:

• Ansin Foundation Chair in Otolaryngology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear (MEE) and Harvard Medical School
• Director, Pediatric Otology and Neurotology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear
• Program Director, Harvard Neurotology Fellowship
• Director, International Patient Services, Department of Otolaryngology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear
• Board Member, Auregen BioTherapeutics
• Former Chair, Clinical Advisory Board, Frequency Therapeutics
• Lead Consultant, 3NT Medical

Daniel Lee MD FACS is the Ansin Foundation Chair in Otolaryngology at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear (MEE) and Harvard Medical School. He is Director of Pediatric Otology and Neurotology, Program Director of the Harvard Neurotology Fellowship and Director of International Patient Services in the Department of Otolaryngology at MEE. He has extensive experience in the surgical restoration of hearing in pediatric and adult patients with cochlear implants, auditory brainstem implants, and bone conduction implants. He is a pioneer in the development and dissemination of minimally invasive endoscopic ear surgery techniques. He is known internationally for his work on the diagnosis and management of patients with superior canal dehiscence syndrome.

Dr. Lee’s basic and translational research group has been funded for two decades and seeks to 1) answer fundamental questions about central auditory processing and 2) improve auditory brainstem implant outcomes for patients with Neurofibromatosis Type 2 (NF2). His recent work has included pre-clinical studies of a conformable multichannel auditory brainstem implant electrode array in collaboration with the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Geneva, Switzerland. He has also secured several federally funded grants to develop endoscopic-assisted drug delivery technologies for treating inner ear disorders.

Dr. Lee was chair of the Clinical Advisory Board at Frequency Therapeutics for nine years. Frequency went IPO in October of 2019 and focused on the development of small molecule therapy for hair cell regeneration to treat sensorineural hearing loss. Frequency completed a reverse merger with RNA-editing firm Korro Bio in 2023. He is currently on the Board of Directors of Auregen BioTherapeutics, a Cambridge-based company dedicated to the restoration of abnormal tissue using novel autologous cell-based tissue regeneration. Finally, Dr. Lee is a lead consultant for 3NT Medical, a company dedicated to the development of single-use endoscopes for minimally-invasive surgery.

25+ years audiology/hearing science; >20 years NIH-funded research

René Gifford, Ph.D., CCC-A is Chief of Audiology and Research at Hearts for Hearing. Gifford currently holds the Fred H. Bess Chair in Audiology and is a former tenured Professor of Hearing & Speech Sciences, and Director of the Implantables, Hearing Enhancement, & Amplification Research (I HEAR) Laboratory at Vanderbilt University in the School of Medicine. She is also an adjunct professor at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and Arizona State University. Her research there focused on the study of auditory perception, spatial hearing, and binaural development for children and adults using combined electric and acoustic stimulation (EAS) via hearing aid and cochlear implant technology. Dr. Gifford’s research was NIH funded for over 20 years, she has published over 140 peer-reviewed articles, multiple book chapters, and she authored a book, now in its second edition, entitled “Cochlear Implant Patient Assessment: Evaluation of Candidacy, Performance, and Outcomes.” Dr. Gifford was a featured scientist on the National Public Radio, Science Friday broadcast entitled Breakthrough: Portraits of Women in Science—Hearing a Whole New World. Additionally, Dr. Gifford was awarded the 2015 Louis M. DiCarlo Award for Recent Clinical Achievement from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, the 2017 Vanderbilt University Chancellor’s Award for Research, as well as the 2021 Jerger Career Award for Research in Audiology from the American Academy of Audiology.

Edwin J. Weeber, Ph.D. is a neuroscientist and biotechnology consultant with more than 25 years of experience in translational neuroscience, neurodevelopmental disorders, and therapeutic development. His research has focused extensively on the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying learning, memory, and synaptic plasticity, with particular expertise in Angelman syndrome and UBE3A biology.

Dr. Weeber has held leadership positions across academia, biotechnology, and the nonprofit research sector. He previously served as Vice President of Neuroscience and Biology at PTC Therapeutics, where he directed neuroscience research and translational programs spanning gene therapy, pharmacology, biomarker development, and preclinical therapeutic evaluation. He has also held senior scientific leadership roles within the Angelman syndrome research community and has been involved in Angelman syndrome research and therapeutic development for nearly two decades.

Through EJW Consulting, Dr. Weeber advises biotechnology companies and research organizations on translational strategy, experimental design, therapeutic evaluation, biomarkers, electrophysiology, and preclinical-to-clinical development. His work with Skylark focuses on its Angelman syndrome and neuroscience programs, providing scientific and translational guidance with particular emphasis on CNS therapeutics, gene therapy, electrophysiology, and the assessment of therapeutic efficacy in preclinical models.

Dr. Weeber received his Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of New Mexico School of Medicine and has authored extensively in the areas of synaptic plasticity, learning and memory, neurodevelopmental disease, and neurological therapeutics.

Dr. Gregory Robinson has more than 30 years of experience helping advance scientific discoveries into the clinic, including more than a decade developing gene therapies using adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors and non-viral approaches to target different tissues for a variety of diseases. Dr. Robinson has held CSO roles at several gene therapy companies including Tevard Biosciences, developing tRNA gene therapies for rare diseases; Summation Bio, a non-viral approach to treating ophthalmologic disorders; Akouos, developing treatments for hearing disorders (acquired by Lilly); Nightstar Therapeutics, targeting inherited retinal diseases (acquired by Biogen); and Agilis, focused on rare central nervous system disorders (acquired by PTC Therapeutics). Prior to his experience in gene therapy, Dr. Robinson held leadership roles at Shire Plc. and Eyetech Pharmaceuticals. He has co-authored more than 40 peer-reviewed publications and has 13 issued patents. Dr. Robinson holds a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Boston University, completed postdoctoral studies at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, and received his B.S. in Biology from Macalester College.

Dr. Gillis joined ARCH Venture Partners as a Venture Partner in 2005 and became a Managing Director in 2006. He is focused on the evaluation of new life science technologies and on the development and growth of ARCH’s biotechnology portfolio companies. He serves as a Director and/or Chairman of multiple companies within the ARCH ecosystem.

Dr. Gillis was a founder and director of Corixa Corporation and served as CEO from its inception and as its Chairman from 1999 until its acquisition in 2005 by GlaxoSmithKline. Prior to Corixa, Dr. Gillis was a founder and director of Immunex Corporation. From 1981 until his departure in 1994, he served as Immunex’s Director of Research and Development, Chief Scientific Officer, and as CEO of Immunex’s R&D subsidiary. Dr. Gillis was interim CEO of Immunex Corp. following its majority purchase by American Cyanamid Co. and remained a member of the board until 1997. Amgen, Inc. acquired Immunex in 2002.

Dr. Gillis is an immunologist by training with over 300 peer-reviewed publications in the areas of molecular and tumor immunology. He is credited as being a pioneer in the field of cytokines and cytokine receptors, directing the development of multiple marketed products including Leukine, (GM-CSF), Prokine (IL-2) and Enbrel (soluble TNF receptor-Fc fusion protein) as well as the regulatory approval of Bexxar (radiolabeled anti-CD20) and the vaccine adjuvant MPL. Dr. Gillis received a B.A. from Williams College and a Ph.D. from Dartmouth College.

Alessandro is Director of Intellectual Property at B-FLEXION (formerly Waypoint Capital).

After having spent a couple of years at the European Brain Research Institute “Rita Levi-Montalcini” in Rome (Italy), Alessandro moved to Geneva (Switzerland) to join Serono International S.A. (subsequently Merck Serono) where he began his career in the field of Intellectual Property. After a short period in JT International SA, he joined back the Bertarelli Family at B-FLEXION where he focuses on running due diligences, providing assistance to the group, and supporting the portfolio companies on intellectual property and healthcare compliance matters.

Alessandro holds a master’s degree in Medical, Molecular and Cellular Biotechnology from the University “La Sapienza” of Rome, a license as Regulatory Affairs Manager from EUCRAF (Germany) and a Certificate in United States Healthcare Compliance from Seton Hall University School of Law (USA). He is a chartered European Patent Attorney.

Jodi Cook, Ph.D., is President and Chief Executive Officer of Skylark Bio, Inc. She is an operationally focused business leader with experience across public and private biotechnology and medical device organizations. She brings to Skylark a unique combination of expertise across science, clinical development, operations and commercialization in both therapeutics and device companies including gene therapy modality and hearing indications. Prior to leading Skylark, Dr. Cook was Senior Vice President, Gene Therapy Strategy at PTC Therapeutics. Before PTC, Dr. Cook served as the Chief Operating Officer of Agilis Biotherapeutics where she oversaw its sale worth over $1 billion to PTC. Earlier in her career, she served as Vice President, Clinical Research & Professional Relations at InSound Medical, a company that developed, manufactured and sold extended wear hearing devices. Dr. Cook also held the role of Director, Hearing Aid Center, and Assistant Professor at the Mayo Clinic and before that was the Director of Audiology and Business Development at Songbird Hearing, and Clinical Assistant Professor at Arizona State University.

She earned her Ph.D. from Arizona State University, a Master’s of Audiology at University of South Carolina and her Bachelor of Arts from Loyola University of Maryland. She did a fellowship at Johns Hopkins Medical School in Baltimore, Maryland. She currently serves as a Board member of Fennec Pharmaceuticals and was previously Board Chair of STRM.BIO.