About Us

Leadership Team

Jordi Mata-Fink, Ph.D.

Chief Executive Officer

Co-Founder

Bio

Jordi Mata-Fink is Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer at Gate Bioscience. Prior to Gate, Jordi worked at Flagship Pioneering where he helped found and launch multiple biotechnology companies, including Editas Medicine, Rubius Therapeutics, and Generate Biomedicines. Jordi trained in Chemical Engineering at Stanford and MIT. When he’s not leading Gate, Jordi is an avid youth soccer coach.

Pat Sharp, Ph.D.

VP of Discovery Sciences

Scientific Co-Founder

Bio

Pat Sharp is Scientific Co-founder and Vice President of Discovery Science at Gate. Pat was the first to demonstrate that small molecules can selectively inhibit protein secretion through Sec61 in the secretory translocon. Prior to Gate, Pat was a medicinal chemist at Merck and trained in chemical biology at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI) in Australia and at UCSF. In addition to his scientific pursuits, Pat is an accomplished artist in multiple media, including hyper-realistic line drawing and painting.

Raman Talwar, M.S.

Chief Technology Officer

Co-Founder

Bio

Raman Talwar is Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer at Gate. Raman is a serial entrepreneur and technology builder who has founded and contributed to innovative companies across industries including: Applied Materials, Bluestar Genomics, Third Rock Ventures, and Maze Therapeutics. Raman trained in physics and engineering and is a halfway decent ultimate frisbee player.

Brian Cathers, Ph.D.

Chief Scientific Officer

Bio

Brian is the Chief Scientific Officer at Gate, where he oversees all drug discovery activities. Prior to Gate, Brian was the CSO at Global Blood Therapeutics (GBT), acquired by Pfizer, developing drugs for sickle cell anemia. Earlier in his career, Brian led the teams at Celgene that uncovered the molecular mechanism of thalidomide and the IMiDs, ushering in the era of targeted protein degradation and producing five new investigational drugs. Brian holds a B.S. in chemistry from Emporia State University and an M.S. and a Ph.D. in medicinal chemistry from the University of Kansas. He can still throw a football 40 yards.

Nina Oberbeck, Ph.D.

Sr. Director, Translational Sciences

Bio

Nina Oberbeck is the Sr. Director of Translational Sciences at Gate Bioscience, where she leads Gate’s programs and portfolio strategy. Prior to Gate, Nina worked at Maze Therapeutics in small molecule drug discovery. Nina completed her postdoctoral training at Genentech and holds a Ph.D. from the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, University of Cambridge. She has published several first-author papers in high-impact journals, including Nature. In her spare time, she enjoys off-the-beaten-path travel, discovering new cultures and cuisines, and reading literary fiction.

David Wyatt, Ph.D.

Sr. Director, Platform Sciences

Bio

David is the Sr. Director of Platform Sciences at Gate Bioscience. Prior to Gate, David worked at Maze Therapeutics, Element Genomics, and UCB Pharma developing technology platforms for drug discovery. David trained in Genetics and Molecular Biology at the University of North Carolina, where he studied DNA damage response polymerases while moonlighting as a semi-pro guitar player.

Zhe Li, Ph.D.

SVP, Medicine Design

Bio

Li is the SVP of Medicine Design at Gate Bioscience, where he oversees all medicinal chemistry and molecule design. Prior to Gate, Li was Vice President of Chemistry at Global Blood Therapeutics (GBT), acquired by Pfizer, where he developed drugs for sickle cell anemia including GBT440 (Voxelotor) and GBT021601 (Osivelotor). Li has held industry positions in multiple companies including Principal Scientist at Takeda, and an academic appointment at UCSF. In his career he has contributed to nine clinical candidates and one approved drug in hematology, metabolic, CV, oncology and neurology. He enjoys hiking and exploring kitchen chemistry after work.

Jim Zheng, Ph.D.

VP of Nonclinical Development

Bio

Jim is the VP of nonclinical development at Gate, where he oversees DMPK and toxicology. Prior to Gate, Jim was the executive director of DMPK at Neuron23 Inc. and supported clinical pharmacology, developing drugs for Parkinson’s disease. Earlier in his career, he led the DMPK bioanalytical group and was a key contributor of multiple INDs and NDAs at Gilead Sciences, culminating in the approval of lenacapavir long acting injectable for HIV. Jim holds a B.S. degree in chemistry from Peking University and a Ph.D. in analytical chemistry from Purdue University. In his spare time, Jim enjoys playing pickleball.

Vanessa Van Voorhis, Ph.D.

VP of Program, Portfolio and Alliance Management

Bio

Vanessa Van Voorhis is the VP of Program, Portfolio and Alliance Management at Gate. Prior to Gate, Vanessa worked at Sonoma Biotherapeutics, where she helped to raise their Series B and led their multi-program collaboration with Regeneron. She has a background in business strategy, helping to build companies at Third Rock Ventures and working across the healthcare sector at the Boston Consulting Group. Vanessa has a Ph.D. in biochemistry from UCSF and is a UC Berkeley alumni and a lifelong Cal fan (Go Bears!).

About us

Gate Bioscience

Leadership Team

Jordi Mata-Fink, Ph.D.

Pat Sharp, Ph.D.

Raman Talwar, M.S.

Brian Cathers, Ph.D.

Nina Oberbeck, Ph.D.

David Wyatt, Ph.D.

Zhe Li, Ph.D.

Jim Zheng, Ph.D.

Vanessa Van Voorhis, Ph.D.

Board of Directors

Clare Ozawa, Ph.D.

Vineeta Agarwala, M.D., Ph.D.

Tom Daniel, M.D.

Jeff Hatfield

Scientific & Strategic Advisors

Scott Biller, Ph.D.

Jay Parrish, Ph.D.

James Winkler, Ph.D.

Rebecca Voorhees, M.Sc., Ph.D.

Ramanujan Hegde, M.D., Ph.D.

Ville Paavilainen, Ph.D.

Peter DiLaura

Our Investors

GATEBIO

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