John Sholar, JD

Chief Executive Officer

John is a seasoned biotech executive, having served at various times over the years as jCyte’s General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Chief Strategy Officer, Chief Operating Officer, and now as jCyte’s Chief Executive Officer.

He brings to jCyte more than 25 years of experience, serving as the head of North American legal for a large publicly traded pharmaceutical company, in private practice as a law firm partner focused on intellectual property development and pharmaceutical patent licensing and litigation, and in the military as a Naval Officer leading teams in new mission areas around the globe.

John earned his juris doctorate magna cum laude from the University of Illinois where he served as an editor of the Law Review and subsequently completed a federal appellate court clerkship in Washington, D.C.

Henry J. Klassen, MD, PhD

Co-Founder and Chairman

Henry Klassen, MD, PhD, is Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of California, Irvine. He has a longstanding interest in neural plasticity and regeneration that dates to his undergraduate days at UC Berkeley and continued during MD/PhD studies at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Klassen’s clinical training included internship at the Cambridge Hospital, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, and residency in ophthalmology at Yale Eye Center, followed by a combined fellowship in medical retina and retinal research at Moorfields Eye Hospital and the Institute of Ophthalmology in London. His research has shown that transplanted retinal progenitor cells improve the function of photoreceptors of the degenerating retina of RCS rats. He continues to pursue the goal of translating these findings into a cell-based therapy for patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and other blinding diseases. This effort has included co-founding a startup company (jCyte) and completion of phase 1/2a and phase 2b clinical trials in RP.

Jing Yang, MD, PhD

Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer

Dr. Yang has worked as a physician-scientist in ophthalmology for more than 16 years, beginning her career at the Peking University Eye Center. Later, she began studying regenerative medicine at the University of Copenhagen, developing new ways to isolate and grow retinal progenitor cells; and served as an adjunct professor in the Department of Opthalmology at the University of California, Irvine from 2013 to 2022.

She has developed pivotal techniques to advance stem cell therapies, and is also exploring other clinical applications for retinal progenitor cells, such as using them to treat glaucoma and other optic nerve diseases.

Adrian Morris, MS

Chief Development Officer

Mr. Morris brings to jCyte over three decades of pharmaceutical industry experience in global leadership roles in R&D, commercial strategy, marketing, and business development, including a remarkable track record of successfully guiding the development and leading the launch of numerous innovative breakthrough therapies that went on to become blockbuster assets for GlaxoSmithKline.

During Mr. Morris’ illustrious career at GSK, he guided the global clinical development programs across more than a dozen disease areas where he led the launches of some of GSK’s most successful brands, including the first combination therapy for HIV, the first influenza antiviral (Relenza), the first long-acting beta agonist (Serevent) and Advair, a global top five selling medication. Notably, Mr. Morris guided the pipeline in GSK’s most valuable therapeutic area, respiratory, where he achieved unparalleled success resulting in the approval of its five latest respiratory medicines. Given Mr. Morris’ deep scientific background, his track record of success in GSK’s Global R&D organization, his strong hands-on commercial experience in the international pharmaceutical marketplace, and Global Center of Excellence leadership, Mr. Morris was tasked by GSK’s corporate executive team with leading their global response to the H1N1 influenza pandemic, as well as establishing a new global business unit responsible for the research, development, manufacture, distribution, marketing, and sales of novel genetic diagnostics.

Prior to joining jCyte, Adrian was managing director of Pharmaco Consulting, where he supported clients with developing global clinical development programs and commercial strategies across emerging therapeutic areas, with an emphasis on cell and gene therapies.

Adrian is a geneticist by training and earned his Master’s degree in Genetics from Cambridge University, UK. Before joining the pharmaceutical industry, he spent his early career researching the genetic basis of inherited human diseases at Guy’s Hospital in London.

John Pollack, MD, FASRS

Chief Medical Officer

Dr. Pollack is a retinal clinician, surgeon, and educator and brings over two decades of clinical, research, and drug development experience in ophthalmology to jCyte. Dr. Pollack is a past president of the American Society of Retinal Specialists (ASRS), the largest organization of retinal specialists in the world, and its philanthropic arm, the Foundation of ASRS.

Dr. Pollack joins jCyte from Neurotech, where he served as Chief Medical Officer. While at Neurotech, Dr. Pollack oversaw the execution of their Phase 3 clinical program, patient safety, and supported the company’s regulatory submissions and development objectives. Dr. Pollack has practiced at Illinois Retinal Associates for 25 years, while also being on faculty at the Rush University Medical Center. In addition to seeing patients and being listed in the “Best Doctors in America” and “Guide to America’s Top Ophthalmologists,” he is an internationally recognized researcher, serving as a Study Chairperson, Principal Investigator (PI), or Co-PI on nearly 20 studies of novel therapies for age-related macular degeneration, macular edema, retinal detachment, and artificial vision. Dr. Pollack has delivered over 200 scientific presentations at international scientific conferences, published over 60 papers and book chapters, and is a highly sought-after speaker and advisor. Dr. Pollack’s work led to him being honored as a Charter Inductee into the Retina Hall of Fame in recognition of his lifetime achievements and contributions to the field of retina.

Dr. Pollack earned his undergraduate degree in Biology at Washington University in St. Louis and his MD at Georgetown University. He returned to Washington University’s Barnes Hospital to complete his ophthalmology residency followed by a retina-vitreous fellowship at the Medical College of Wisconsin.

Rob Beathard, CPA

Chief Strategy Officer

Rob Beathard serves in a critical role supporting corporate and clinical development activities for jCyte. He works closely with the executive management team on cultivating strategic partnerships, securing corporate financing, and allocating resources to meet the Company’s strategic and financial goals. He is also integrally involved with clinical data analysis and trial design optimization.

Mr. Beathard played a vital role in securing the Ex-US licensing and commercialization agreement for jCell therapy with Santen Pharmaceutical in 2020, with a total deal size over $250 million in addition to tiered, double-digit royalties on net commercial sales in Santen’s licensed regions. Since the agreement was executed, he has served on the Joint Steering Committee between the two companies. Prior to the licensing deal, he was pivotal in securing over $10 million in funding to jCyte in 2019 via the combination of an early-stage equity financing round and a non-dilutive CLIN2 grant award from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM).

jCyte hired Mr. Beathard as its first fulltime employee in 2017 following the Company’s announcement of its first CLIN2 grant award from CIRM to fund its Phase 2b trial. At that time, he was chiefly responsible for designing and implementing the entire corporate internal control framework and oversaw all finance, accounting, and grant management functions. Prior to joining jCyte, he spent years working for PricewaterhouseCoopers within their assurance and advisory lines of service, with a focus on the life sciences industry. He holds an active certified public accountant license in the state of California.

Victor Chao, MBA

Vice President Commercial Strategy and Operations

Mr. Chao is a biotech executive with over 25 years of industry experience across numerous corporate leadership roles in commercial, market access, CMC operations, and supply chain management for both biologic and small molecule products in ophthalmology and oncology.

Mr. Chao joins jCyte from Santen Pharmaceuticals where he served as the Head of Commercial Operations for North and Latin America, responsible for commercial alliances and partnerships, market access, trade and distribution, and sales operations for all of Santen’s ophthalmology pharmaceutical products and surgical devices. Prior to Santen, he was with McKesson Specialty Health as the Senior Director of Multisource Products where he led, scaled, and launched numerous process initiatives and products and was responsible for McKesson’s $300M generics and biosimilars business. Before joining McKesson, he was at Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals in leadership roles responsible for CMC operations, process engineering, and global supply chain management for their multi-billion-dollar products Betaseron^® and Kogenate^® across multiple manufacturing sites within the United States and Europe.

Victor holds a BS in chemical engineering from Brigham Young University and earned his MBA from The Wharton School with a dual major in strategy and entrepreneurship.

David S. Boyer, MD

David S. Boyer, M.D. is a world-renowned clinician, surgeon, and educator at the Retina-Vitreous Associates Medical Group in Southern California. He is board certified in ophthalmology and has completed formal sub-specialty training in medical and surgical diseases of the retina, vitreous, and macula. Dr. Boyer is currently a leading investigator for various national clinical trials on retinal diseases and serves as an advisor for multiple research, educational and charitable institutions. He received his medical degree from the Chicago Medical School, finished his residency at the Los Angeles County – USC County Medical Center, and completed his retinal surgery fellowship at the Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia. He is currently an Adjunct Clinical Professor at USC/Keck School of Medicine.

Jeffrey Heier, MD

Jeffrey Heier, M.D. is the Co-President and Medical Director, Director of the Vitreoretinal Service, and Director of Retina Research at Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston. Dr. Heier is on the Executive Board of the Retina Society, the Executive Committee of the American Society of Retina Specialists, is the Past President of the New England Ophthalmological Society, and a member of the Macula Society. He is one of the leading retinal clinical researchers, and is a scientific advisor to many biotechnical or pharmaceutical companies, lectures nationally and internationally, and has authored numerous, peer-reviewed works. Dr. Heier received his medical degree from Boston University, did an internship and residency at Fitzsimons Army Medical Center, and vitreoretinal fellowship at OCB/Tufts School of Medicine. Dr. Heier served as a physician in a Combat Support Hospital in the Persian Gulf War, where he was awarded a Bronze Star.

Peter K. Kaiser, MD

Peter K. Kaiser, M.D. is the Chaney Family Endowed Chair for Ophthalmology Research and a Professor of Ophthalmology at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine. He graduated magna cum laude with Highest Honors from Harvard College and magna cum laude from Harvard Medical School. He completed an internal medicine internship at Massachusetts General Hospital, an ophthalmology residency at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, and a vitreoretinal fellowship at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute before joining the vitreoretinal department of the Cole Eye Institute at the Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio. As a RO1 NIH-funded investigator, Dr. Kaiser leads a team involved in the evaluation of vascular biology in AMD and diabetic retinopathy. He is director of the Cole Center for ocular Research and Evaluation (CORE). He is the founder and director of the Digital Optical Coherence Tomography Reading Center (DOCTR).

Baruch D. Kuppermann, MD, PhD

Baruch D. Kuppermann, M.D., Ph.D. is the Roger F. Steinert Professor, Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology, and Director of the Gavin Herbert Eye Institute at the University of California, Irvine. He also holds a joint appointment with the Department of Biomedical Engineering at UC Irvine. After completing his Ph.D. in neuroscience at the California Institute of Technology, Dr. Kuppermann went on to earn an M.D. at the University of Miami, and completed fellowships in Retina at both St. Joseph’s, and at the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Kuppermann is also co-director of the Center for Translational Vision Research at UC Irvine, which is focused on developing new treatments for blinding retinal conditions. He has published over 200 peer-reviewed articles in the medical literature, and over 50 book chapters. He is also strongly involved in clinical research, having served as principal investigator in many trials evaluating new drugs and technologies.

Mark Pennesi, MD, PhD

Dr. Mark Pennesi is the Director of Ophthalmic Genetics at the Retina Foundation in Dallas, TX. He is also a Professorship in Ophthalmology and Molecular and Medical Genetics at Oregon Health & Science University in the Paul H. Casey Ophthalmic Genetics Division at the Casey Eye Institute, a leader in development of novel therapies for inherited retinal dystrophies. Dr. Pennesi received a combined MD/PhD at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas followed by a residency in Ophthalmology at University of California – San Francisco. He is the recipient of an ARVO/Alcon Early Career Clinician-Scientist Research Award, An Alcon Young Investigator Award, an FFB career development award, an RPB career development award, and an FFB enhanced career development award and is the PI or co-PI on numerous clinical trials for gene therapies to treat RPE65 and ABCA4 related retinopathy, Type IB Usher syndrome, CNGA3 and CNGB3-related achromatopsia, X-linked retinitis pigmentosa, choroideremia, and CEP290-related retinopathy.

Paul Sieving, MD, PhD

Dr. Paul Sieving is internationally known for seminal genetic, mechanistic and translational studies of human inherited retinal diseases, often termed retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and Stargardt macular degeneration. He developed the first human therapy trial for RP patients with Ciliary Neurotrophic Factor (CNTF) in 2005, and he initiated the first human gene therapy trial for patients with X-linked Retinoschisis, with trial results published in 2018.

Dr. Sieving is the Neil and MJ Kelly Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of California at Davis, School of Medicine, and he is the Founding Director of the Center for Ocular Regenerative Therapy. His graduate studies included nuclear physics at Yale University, JD study at Yale Law School, and he obtained his MD and PhD in Bioengineering from the University of Illinois. Dr. Sieving is an elected member of the US National Academy of Medicine, and also the German National Academy of Sciences. He was previously Director of the National Eye Institute (NEI) at NIH for 18 years. At NEI he launched the “Audacious Goals Initiative in Regenerative Medicine,” a national translational program to understand the biology of cell regeneration and to develop therapeutic technologies to replace photoreceptors and retinal ganglion cells lost from disease.