About Us

Maria Alba, M.D.

Vice President of Clinical Development

Maria has over 16 years of experience across all phases of development in rare disease, endocrinology, and metabolism. Prior to joining Immunovant, Maria was the Global Medical Leader at Amicus Therapeutics for a phase 2 and 3 clinical program for the development of a second-generation enzyme replacement therapy for Pompe disease. Prior to Amicus Therapeutics, Maria held clinical roles at Vertex, Merck, and Janssen Pharmaceuticals.

Maria earned her M.D. from the Catholic University in Rome, Italy, where she also completed her fellowship in endocrinology and metabolism. Maria went on to complete a post-doctoral fellowship for preclinical research on growth hormone deficiency at the Johns Hopkins University.

Jennifer Ashley

Vice President, Associate General Counsel

Jennifer has over 23 years of experience providing legal and business advice for technology and pharmaceutical companies, advising on complex business transaction, product development, and commercialization/compliance matters. She started her career at Cooley LLP, before transitioning to various in-house roles of increasing scope and oversight responsibility. Most recently, Jennifer served as Senior Vice President, Legal for a commercial stage, public biopharma company, overseeing legal support for the in-licensing, development, launch and commercialization of oncology products in multiple indications.

Jennifer holds a B.A. in Biological Sciences and Sociology from Southern Methodist University and a J.D. from The University of Texas School of Law.

Christine Blodgett

Vice President of Human Resources

Christine brings 20 years of progressive human resources leadership experience across several industries and growth phases, from startups to the Fortune 100. She's spent the majority of her career focused on the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. Most recently, as the head of HR at Turnstone Biologics, Christine oversaw the Company’s talent strategy and management, learning and development programs, and all matters relating to Turnstone’s people and culture. Prior to that, Christine served as HR Director at Honeywell and held multiple leadership roles at Bristol-Myers Squibb and Medarex, Inc.

Christine holds a B.S. in Business Administration from The College of New Jersey and earned two certifications: a Strategic Human Resources Practices certification from Cornell University and a Professional in Human Resources (PHR) certification.

Chau Cheng, Ph.D., MBA

Vice President of Investor Relations

Chau has more than 18 years of experience leading the investor relations function of small- and mid-cap biotech companies. Chau most recently served as Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications at CytomX Therapeutics. Prior to CytomX, Chau spent more than 16 years at Immunomedics during which the company transformed from a research and development-oriented organization to a fully-integrated biopharmaceutical enterprise.

Chau earned a B.Sc. (First Class Honors) in Chemistry from University of Bradford, the United Kingdom, a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from The Open University, the United Kingdom, and a M.B.A. in Finance and International Business from Stern School of Business, New York University.

Andy Deig

Vice President, Financial Planning and Chief of Staff to the CEO

Prior to joining Immunovant, Andy spent almost 13 years at Eli Lilly & Company where he held numerous roles in different functions across the business, including finance, sales, and value & access. Most recently, Andy served as the national account manager for McKesson and Walmart after leading the commercial integration of Dermira.
Andy earned a B.A. from Wabash College in 2008 with majors in Economics and German and an M.B.A. in health sector management and strategy from Duke’s Fuqua School of Business in 2016.

Ranjit Deshmukh, Ph.D.

Vice President of CMC and Technical Operations

Ranjit Deshmukh joins Immunovant with over 25 years of pharmaceutical experience in CMC process development, technical operations, and manufacturing at Ionis, Wyeth / Pfizer, AstraZeneca, and Ocugen. He has contributed to the development and global commercialization of multiple biologicals and vaccines. Prior to Immunovant, Ranjit led the technical operations for cell and gene therapy products at Ocugen where he led the capability build of a custom GMP QC and manufacturing facility for autologous regenerative cell therapy. Prior to Ocugen, he was a key member of the pandemic vaccine team at AstraZeneca, implementing one of the largest networks for COVID vaccines and antibodies across more than 15 global manufacturing sites.

He holds a B.Tech degree in Chemical Engineering from IIT, Varanasi, India, MS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Kentucky, Lexington, and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Arizona, Tucson.

Scott Forman, MBA

Vice President, Program Management

Prior to joining Immunovant, Scott spent over 25 years in the biotech and pharmaceutical industry across several functional and therapeutic areas at Eli Lilly, ICON Clinical Research, Baxter, and, most recently, Horizon Therapeutics and Amgen.  His expertise include: cross-functional team leadership, program management, continuous improvement, and corporate business transformation.  He has led teams through global regulatory submissions, R&D governance infrastructure build outs, research to clinical transitions, clinical and CMC timeline acceleration initiatives, and an R&D integration resulting from M&A.  Scott is an experienced and inclusive ally to all functional areas involved in the drug development process and also is passionate about early career professional development and mentorship. 

Scott has a B.S. in Chemistry from Miami University (Ohio), a M.S. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Maryland, and an M.B.A. from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. 

Tom Forman, MBA

Vice President, CMC Project Management

Tom Forman, MBA spent over 30 years with Eli Lilly where he had numerous roles across Manufacturing, CMC Development, and Portfolio Leadership.  He brings over 20 years of experience leading CMC teams in all phases of development from pre-clinical to seeing the successful launch of multiple marketed products.  Most recently, he was the early phase portfolio leader for Diabetes and Obesity development.

He holds a BS degree in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University and an MBA with Healthcare focus from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University.  Tom is a registered Project Management Professional.

Melissa Goetz

Vice President of Program Management

Prior to joining Immunovant, Melissa spent over 20 years with Eli Lilly in project leadership roles across manufacturing, R&D and the oncology business units. Most recently, Melissa was the program leader for the development, registration, and global launch of a novel oncology product.

She thrives in fast paced and dynamic environments and has a proven track record of developing and leading high performing cross-functional teams through all phases of development, registration, and commercialization.

She holds a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis, an Executive Leadership Certificate from the University of Texas in Austin and is a Six Sigma black belt.

Ian Gourley, M.D.

Vice President of Clinical Development

Ian is a translational medicine and clinical development physician with over 20 years of experience in the biopharma industry. He has focused on early development of both large and small molecules in the immunology/inflammation space. Prior to joining Immunovant, Ian worked at CSL Behring in Clinical Pharmacology & Translational Development, where he was responsible for strategy and clinical oversight of early development programs in the immunology therapeutic area. Prior to CSL Behring, he held positions as Head of Translational Medicine Science, Immunology, at Janssen and in Clinical Precision Medicine at Pfizer. Ian started his industry career with Eli Lilly as a clinical research pathologist.

Ian received his M.B., B.Ch. and completed his M.D. thesis, both from Queen’s University of Belfast, and is a member of the Royal College of Physicians. He is a board-certified clinical pathologist and is accredited by the American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics as an HLA laboratory director.

Thomas Hardy, M.D., Ph.D.

Vice President of Drug Safety and Pharmacovigilance

Tom is a physician scientist with extensive early- and late-phase clinical development expertise. Prior to joining Immunovant, Tom spent 18 years at Eli Lilly and Company, holding key roles in all phases of clinical development. He oversaw numerous IND filings and directed the design and implementation of phase 1 and 2 clinical trials across multiple disease areas. Tom went on to direct multiple global registration trials in the Diabetes Business Unit, resulting in two global approvals. Before joining Lilly, he ran a busy clinical practice in endocrinology.

Tom earned a B.A. in Biology from University of California, Santa Cruz, and he earned his M.D. and Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Indiana University. He completed fellowship training in Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Metabolism at Vanderbilt Medical Center.

Aileen Ilaria, MBA

Vice President Clinical Operations

Aileen brings an extensive depth of drug development experience in global operations including trial design and execution across a broad array of indications.  Prior to joining Immunovant, Aileen was at HUTCHMED International where she was responsible for portfolio and project management and business operations for the execution of the international portfolio.  While spending almost 20 years at Eli Lilly and Company, Aileen was a collaborative leader with a proven track record of delivering broad transformational initiatives and excelled in a fast-paced, innovative, and dynamic environment.  Before joining Eli Lilly, Aileen worked at several academic medical centers in both clinical and research administration roles.

Aileen holds a B.A in Sociology/Pre-Med from Boston College and an MBA with a concentration in healthcare administration from Boston University.

Claudia Jacobs, Ph.D.

Vice President of CMC Project Management Operations and Clinical Supply

Prior to joining Immunovant Claudia spent over 15 years at Eli Lilly & Company where she held numerous roles in product development in CMC, Clinical Trial Materials Manufacturing and Operations, Clinical Supply and Quality roles, supporting early and late phase program as well as launching products to market. Most recently Claudia was a consultant for biotechnology start-up companies as CMC Project Manager, CMC Development Lead, and Quality Assurance Head for early phase programs small and large molecules.

Claudia obtained her Pharmacy Degree from the University of Hamburg, Germany and earned her Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Technology from The Free University of Berlin, Germany.

Jonathan Janes, MB

Vice President Clinical Development

Before joining Immunovant, Jonathan held numerous roles working on diabetes, endocrine, and cardiovascular products at Eli Lilly and Company. Between 2009 and 2021 he held various global Medical Director roles, in critical care, immunology and dermatology. While at Eli Lilly he took a lead medical role in the development of both biologic and small molecules leading to successful product submissions and approvals. 

Jonathan received a First-Class Honours degree from London University in 1983. Qualifying in Medicine in 1988 from the University of Wales, he trained in the University Hospital of Wales, becoming a Member of the Royal College of Physicians in 1992. In 2005 he was made a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, and in 2021 he also became a Fellow of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine.

Ant Kidwell

Vice President of IT and Facilities

Prior to joining Immunovant, Ant led IT and Facilities at Iterum Therapeutics. He has over 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, with the last 11 years setting up and leading IT and facilities at Bio-tech start-ups. Ant’s leadership in IT, cybersecurity, and facilities enables true partnership between IT and business functions to further the goal of delivering needed medicines to patients.

He holds a B.Sc. In Information Management from Albertus Magnus College.

Chedvi Levin-Sister

Vice President of Finance

Chedvi’s expertise includes regulatory compliance (PCAOB, US GAAP, SEC, and IFRS), technical and income tax accounting, revenue recognition (inclusive of gross-to-net in domestic US pharma), stock-based compensation, and leases. She has deep transactional experience in carve-out and business combinations along with implementation of internal controls over financial reporting, including remediation of material weaknesses. Prior to Immunovant, Chedvi spent over 15 years at PwC, where she held numerous roles, most recently as Assurance Director, serving a range of industries and global clients including large pharmaceutical, life science and medical device companies, SEC registrants, technology, and startup companies.

Chedvi earned a B.A. (cum laude) in Management Accounting and Information System from the Jerusalem College of Technology, Israel. She is a CPA (Is).

Launi Masterson

Vice President of Clinical Operations

Launi has more than 25 years of drug development experience in the areas of Global Trial Execution, CRO oversight, client relationship management, vendor management and clinical operations. Prior to Immunovant, Launi led execution of clinical trials at Metavant Sciences, in metabolic disorders. Prior to Metavant, Launi led diverse teams in large pharma, biotech, CROs, and as an entrepreneur managing professionals across a diverse scope in clinical trial planning and delivery.

Launi holds a B.S. degree in Environmental and Biological Sciences from Rutgers University, Cook College.

Linda McKerral

Vice President, CMC Analytical Sciences

Linda joins Immunovant with over 20 years experience in Vaccines and Biologics development and commercialization.  Prior to joining, she held various leadership roles overseeing Analytical, Technical Operations and Quality Control functions during her 6 years at Moderna.  There, she also led various technical development teams, advancing notable infectious disease vaccine and personalized cancer therapy programs.  She scaled analytical development and QC departments to facilitate the company’s rapid growth and evolution. Linda’s career began at Merck and over 15 years she held various technical and leadership roles spanning bioprocess/ analytical development to leading external collaborations.  Prior to departing Merck, she was overseeing a large network of CRO’s for pre-/clinical bioanalysis for large molecules, including complex oncology clinical development programs.

Linda holds a Master of Science degree in Microbiology from the University of Guelph, Canada and a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from the University of Waterloo, Canada. She is a Certified Project Manager (CPM).  

Pooja Mehta

Vice President Drug Substance Tech Transfer

Pooja brings over 16 years of experience in biologics development, tech transfer and manufacturing at Roivant, Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics, Glaxo Smith Kline Vaccine, Grifols and Bristol Myers Squibb. Prior to joining Immunovant, she held various roles of increasing responsibility as a technical lead supporting CMC process development, tech transfer, manufacturing and validation, managing internal and external manufacturing and supported organizations as a member of extended leadership team utilizing innovative approaches to resolve complex issues while meeting quality, regulatory and development objectives.

Pooja holds a Master of Science degree in Biotechnology (Regulatory Affairs) from Johns Hopkins University and Bachelor of Science degree in Biotechnology (Biochemical Pharmacology) from University at Buffalo.

Paola Mina-Osorio M.D., Ph.D.

Vice President of Medical Affairs

Paola is an immunologist focused on autoimmune diseases. Prior to joining Immunovant, she held positions of increasing responsibility at Hoffmann-La Roche, Eli Lilly, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, and Aurinia Pharmaceuticals. Paola has spent the last 10 years of her industry career in Medical Affairs supporting the launch of several innovative drugs in the immunology space.

Paola obtained her M.D. and Ph.D. from the Central University of Ecuador School of Medicine and the National Autonomous University of Mexico Institute of Biomedical Research. She completed her postdoctoral training at the Center for Vascular Biology, University of Connecticut Health Center, and at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, Northwell Health.

Jennifer Moseley

Vice President of Clinical Operations

Jennifer has more than 25 years of drug development experience in the areas of global operations, CRO oversight and management, and operational excellence in clinical trial delivery. Prior to joining Immunovant, Jennifer was at Astellas, where she was responsible for managing program delivery teams supporting regulatory filings, clinical inspection activities, and operational excellence initiatives. Prior to Astellas she spent 16 years at Abbott/AbbVie, where she contributed to development and global submissions for 2 approvals that resulted in new treatment paradigms for AIDS and HCV patients.

Jennifer holds a B.Sc. in Microbiology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Sheetal Patel M.D., MS MBA

Vice President of Clinical Development

Sheetal is a physician with more than 20 years of experience in academia and the biopharmaceutical industry. She has held key roles in all phases of clinical development, medical affairs, and data generation. She has led cross-functional teams for filing of multiple BLA, NDA and device submissions, bringing multiple products to market. Her skillsets expanse from Phase I-IV, registrations trials, prelaunch, launch and LCM in various therapeutic areas globally. Sheetal has worked across large and small biopharmaceutical companies, including: Baxter, Abbott, Shire, Takeda, Bayer, Exact Sciences, Relmada and Lundbeck. She also held positions at Rush University Medical Center and University of Illinois and other Chicago Hospitals prior to making her transition to industry.

Sheetal received her MD from Medical University of Lublin and a Master of Clinical Research from Rush University. In 2022, Sheetal received her Executive MBA from MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology).

Anna Riggs

Vice President of Product Quality

Anna has over 16 years of experience with strong acumen and expertise in development and commercial Quality leadership roles. She’s spent the majority of her career in biotechnology designing and implementing fit for purpose quality systems and leading quality initiatives to achieve robust levels of compliance. Prior to joining Immunovant, Anna served as a head of quality at Locanabio, and prior to that, as a Site Head of Quality for Emergent BioSolutions (formerly PaxVax) with a broad scope of quality oversight for all US facilities including commercial manufacturing of live oral cholera vaccine, all early to late phase GMP development, manufacturing for clinical candidates, and development of a new high throughput Clinical Immunology GCLP laboratory. 

Anna holds an MA degree in Linguistics from Minsk State Linguistic University and has previously been credentialed by SQA with RQAP- GCP and RAC Global from RAPS.

Rod Saponjic Ph.D., MBA

Vice President of Clinical Operations

Rod has more than 25 years of drug development leadership experience in the areas of global operations, project management, clinical operations, clinical systems, and vendor management. Prior to Immunovant, Rod led Clinical Operations at Respivant, responsible for the management of Phase 1-3 trials in the areas of immunology and respiratory disease. Prior to Respivant, Rod led global development operations at Greenwich Bioscience, resulting in the NDA submission and the first FDA approval of a cannabinoid therapy. Prior to Greenwich, Rod has held senior management positions at Alkensa, Clingenix, Patara Pharma, PRA International, AirPharma, Quintiles, and Synteract.

Rod earned his B.A. in Psychology at Texas Tech University. He earned his M.S. and Ph.D. in Neuroscience at Texas Christian University and an M.B.A. at Baker University.

Lauren Schrier, MBA

Vice President of Marketing

Lauren brings expertise in commercial product strategy and execution in immunology. Prior to joining Immunovant, Lauren held multiple leadership roles at Celgene, including experiences spanning Global Marketing, Commercial Development, Project Leadership, and Chief of Staff for the Inflammation and Immunology franchise. Prior to Celgene, Lauren worked in management consulting at Accenture and Easton Associates, where she advised life science clients in opportunity assessment, strategy, and development engagements.

Lauren earned a B.S.E. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, and an M.B.A. in Healthcare and Pharmaceutical Management from Columbia Business School.