Gottlieb Keller, Dr. iur. – Chairman of the Board

Gottlieb Keller was General Counsel at Roche until his retirement in 2020. Dr Keller studied law and economics at the University of Basel. After his doctorate and qualification as lawyer and notary public in Basel he joined the legal department of F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd in 1984. He was appointed Company Secretary of Roche Holding Ltd. in 1999 and became a member of the Corporate Executive Committee in 2003, heading first the global human resources and later the legal and patent department. He served as President of the Chamber of Commerce Germany-Switzerland, scienceIndustries, Swissholdings and as Vice-President of economieSuisse and member of the board of Basilea Ltd. He retired from Roche in 2020 and currently serves on the board of several foundations. He was awarded the “Bundesverdienstkreuz” of Germany.    

Rolf Haenggi, lic. jur. - Member of the Board

After completing his studies in law, Rolf Hänggi worked in financial and investment analysis, fund management, mortgages and financing. At the Zurich Group, he held the position of Head of Finance and Global Investments worldwide, and acted as Deputy CEO of the Corporate Executive Board for several years. He served as Chairman or Board Member of Zurich Insurance Company, Rüd Blass & Cie AG Bankers and Speedel Holding. He was Vice-Chairman of the Board of Roche Holding AG and Nestlé AG. He is member of the Advisory Board for the Master course of Advanced Studies in Applied History, and past member of the Board of Trustees of the Foundation Luftbild Schweiz and of the Werner Abegg Foundation. Rolf Hänggi is graduate of the School of Law at the University of Basel and received an ISMP from the International Senior Managers Program at Harvard Business School.

Adriano Aguzzi, MD - Member of the Board

Adriano Aguzzi directs the Institute of Neuropathology at the University of Zurich. His research focuses on prions - exploring how they damage brain cells, why they accumulate in lymphoid organs, and how they reach the brain after entering the body from peripheral sites. Prof. Aguzzi has provided the first evidence that prions can be halted in vivo with therapeutic antibodies (Heppner et al., Science 2001) and that epitope specificity is crucial to the action of such antibodies (Sonati et al., Nature 2013). His lab has discovered the prion protein receptor (Küffer et al., Nature 2016). Prof. Aguzzi is the Director of the MD-PhD program at the University of Zurich and Past President of the Swiss Society of Neuropathology. He is the Founding Director of the Swiss National Reference Center for Prion Diseases. Prof. Aguzzi has patented diagnostic and therapeutic methods in the prion field. He has advised the British, Italian, and Swiss government on prion diseases. He serves on the editorial board of the journal Science and is Editor-in-Chief of the Swiss Medical Weekly. Among other honors, Prof. Aguzzi has won the Ernst-Jung, Marcel-Benoist, Baillet-Latour, and Robert-Koch Prizes as well as the Gold Medal of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO). He was awarded three Doctorates honoris causa from the Universities of Bologna, Teramo, and Liege.

Regula Dannecker, lic. jur. - Member of the Board

Regula Dannecker studied law at the University of Zürich. She holds a Master in Law from the University of Cape Town and a Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) in International Contract Law and Arbitration from the University of Zürich. Following her admission to the bar association of the canton of Zürich, she worked with Ernst & Young AG in Zürich and for almost eight years with law firms in Cape Town and Johannesburg as a legal advisor to companies and individuals with a focus on international matters. Regula Dannecker is a member of the board of SwissCham Southern Africa. Since 2009 she has been working as an attorney with the law firm weber schaub & partner ag, specializing in corporate and contract law and international private law. Regula Dannecker has been serving on the Board of Directors of Mabylon since its inception in 2011.

Erlend Hansen, MD, BSEE - Member of the Board

Erlend Hansen earned both a medical degree from University of California, Irvine and a degree in electrical engineering with a focus on biomedical engineering from Rice University. In his early career he conducted research at Houston Texas’ Baylor College of Medicine on ventricular assist devices and hyperthermal cancer treatment. His internal medicine residency training was in Switzerland, providing valuable experience in acute medical care as well as the management of geriatric patients. He now practices medicine in Canton Zug. 

Alcide Barberis, PhD - CEO and Board Member

Alcide Barberis is a biotech entrepreneur, Board member and executive with over 20 years of management experience in the biotechnology industry and scientific experience in the private and public research sectors. Before joining Mabylon, he was CEO & President of Humabs BioMed, now a subsidiary of VIR  biotechnology. His career includes entrepreneurial startups (co-founder of ESBATech AG, acquired by Alcon in 2009, and Oncalis AG), executive management, R&D management and business development. He has been a member of the Board of Directors of ESBATech, Oncalis, EffRx Pharmaceuticals, which was acquired by Abiogen Pharma in 2023, and he is currently member of the Board of Directors of Ontrack Biomedical. Dr. Barberis holds a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry from the University of Zürich.

Prof. Thomas Bieber, MD, PhD, MDRA

Dr. Thomas Bieber is an experienced clinician-scientist in the field of inflammation and allergy. He has a strong regulatory background and expertise in drug development strategy. He is the Scientific Director of the Medicine Programs of the International Kühne -Foundation. In this role, Dr. Bieber will have the opportunity to further strength the translational research efforts of Christine Kühne-Center for Allergy Research and Education (CK-CARE) in atopic dermatitis and allergy. Dr. Bieber is also Founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Davos BioSciences, a non-profit company under the umbrella of the Kühne Foundation dedicated to drug target and biomarker discovery. Before his retirement in September 2023, Dr. Bieber was Chairman and Director of the Department of Dermatology and Allergy of the University of Bonn. In 2023, Dr. Thomas Bieber has been awarded by Clarivate as a Highly Cited Researcher and among the top 11 most cited researchers of the University of Bonn. Dr. Bieber received his MD and PhD degrees from the University Louis Pasteur in Strasbourg. He earned a master degree in drug regulatory affairs and is lecturer for drug development strategy in the MDRA program at the University of Bonn.

Christoph Heusser, PhD

Dr. Christoph Heusser is an Advisor and Consultant in Immunology and Antibody Based Therapies supporting several biotech companies. He is a renowned expert in immunology who pioneered antibody-based therapies and antibody-mediated effector functions. Before retirement, Dr. Heusser was Principal Research Investigator at the Novartis Research Institutes of Biomedical Research. He previously held positions as Head of Immunology at Ciba-Geigy and Head of the Transplantation-Immunology Unit at Novartis and gave lectures on antibody-based interventions at the University Basel for 15 years. During this time, he initiated and executed several intervention strategies in the area of allergy, autoimmunity and transplantation. He co-invented the concept of anti-IgE treatment, which resulted in the development of Xolair. Dr. Heusser received his PhD in Biochemistry and Immunology from the ETH Zurich and was later a member at the Basel Institute for Immunology, working on B cell immune regulation.

Prof. Jonathan K.C. Knowles, PhD

Professor Knowles is the former Head of Group Research and a Member of the Executive Committee or the Roche Group for 12 years up to the end of 2009. He was a member of the Genentech Board for 12 years and a member of the Chugai Board for 7 years. Under his leadership, the company developed and implemented a strategy of highly effective therapies based on personalized healthcare.

He was for 5 years the Chairman of the Research Directors’ Group of EFPIA (European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industry Associations) and was the first chairman of the Board of the Innovative Medicines Initiative, a unique public-private partnership between 28 Pharmaceutical companies and the European Commission with the participation of over 200 academic institutions in Europe with a budget of more than 5 Billion Euros over ten years.

Prior to this, he served as Director of the Glaxo Institute in Geneva for 10 years and as Head of European Research for Glaxo Wellcome.   In 2011, Jonathan Knowles was appointed as a Trustee of Cancer Research UK and as a board member of A*Star, the leading state research organisation in Singapore.  He was appointed Chairman of the board of  Immunocore in 2013 and stepped down in 2018. He was the founding chairman of the Genomics England Access Committee, the independent oversight committee for Genomics England and served for 6 years until 2019.

Jonathan Knowles is a visiting professor at the University of Oxford and at the Finnish Institute for Molecular Medicine at the University of Helsinki. He is a Member of the European Molecular Biology Organization, Professor Emeritus at EPFL, Lausanne and a visiting Scholar at Pembroke College, Cambridge. In April 2015 Jonathan Knowles was chosen as the Personalized Medicine World Conference 2015 Honorary and in 2017 he was elected as a fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences.

He currently serves as a non-executive member of a number of Biotech company boards in the US and Europe and on the international scientific advisory boards of several Public Organisations.

Peter Lichtlen, MD, PhD

Dr. Peter Lichtlen is Chief Medical Officer of Numab Therapeutics and Chief Medical Advisor of EffRx Pharmaceuticals. Between 2011-2018 he was with Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, serving as Chief Medical Officer until acquisition by Mallinckrodt. Before he was Medical Director and Head of Clinical R&D at ESBATech AG, which was acquired by Alcon in 2009. Dr. Lichtlen has hands-on experience in clinical development (Phase I-IV) and non-clinical research with biologicals and small molecules, both in small and mid-size as well as in big pharma companies. In his career, he has had responsibilities for global product portfolio development, as well as interactions with various regulatory agencies (FDA, EMA, PMDA, PEI, MHRA, Swissmedic) with focus on immune-mediated diseases, immuno-oncology, GI diseases, ophthalmology, CNS, orphan, and rare diseases. Dr. Lichtlen has also managed organizational development including buildup of Medical Affairs, Pharmacovigilance, Clinical Operations, Regulatory Affairs, Sales & Marketing. Dr. Lichtlen holds an MD and a PhD degree in Molecular Biology from the University of Zurich.

Wayne Shreffler, MD, PhD

Dr. Wayne Shreffler, a renowned expert on immunologic mechanisms of food allergy, is the director of the Food Allergy Center at Massachusetts General Hospital, the division chief of pediatric allergy and immunology at MGH of Children, a principal investigator at the Center for Immunology and Inflammatory Diseases, and an associate professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. His research and multi-disciplinary clinical programs focus on characterization of the immune response to food allergens and the early stages of allergen-induced immune reaction. Dr. Shreffler has authored more than 70 papers, maintained continuous NIH and other research funding since 2007, served on the editorial board of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology and as reviewer for numerous journals and grant study sections / committees. He was elected a Fellow of the AAAAI in 2009. Dr. Shreffler received his MD and PhD degrees from New York University and his Pediatrics training at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Prof. Adriano Aguzzi, MD

Adriano Aguzzi directs the Institute of Neuropathology at the University of Zurich. His research focuses on prions - exploring how they damage brain cells, why they accumulate in lymphoid organs, and how they reach the brain after entering the body from peripheral sites. Prof. Aguzzi has provided the first evidence that prions can be halted in vivo with therapeutic antibodies (Heppner et al., Science 2001) and that epitope specificity is crucial to the action of such antibodies (Sonati et al., Nature 2013). His lab has discovered the prion protein receptor (Küffer et al., Nature 2016). Prof. Aguzzi is the Director of the MD-PhD program at the University of Zurich and Past President of the Swiss Society of Neuropathology. He is the Founding Director of the Swiss National Reference Center for Prion Diseases. Prof. Aguzzi has patented diagnostic and therapeutic methods in the prion field. He has advised the British, Italian, and Swiss government on prion diseases. He serves on the editorial board of the journal Science and is Editor-in-Chief of the Swiss Medical Weekly. Among other honors, Prof. Aguzzi has won the Ernst-Jung, Marcel-Benoist, Baillet-Latour, and Robert-Koch Prizes as well as the Gold Medal of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO). He was awarded three Doctorates honoris causa from the Universities of Bologna, Teramo, and Liege.

Prof. Magdalini Polymenidou, PhD

Magdalini Polymenidou is an Assistant Professor at the Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, with a double appointment between the Faculty of Science and the Medical Faculty of the University of Zurich. Her lab is investigating the molecular pathways triggering neurodegeneration, with focus on the interplay between protein aggregation and RNA misregulation, characterizing both diseases. Trained as a pharmacist in Thessaloniki (Greece), she received her PhD in 2006 in the laboratory of Adriano Aguzzi in Zurich. In 2008, she joined Don Cleveland (University of California in San Diego) as a postdoctoral fellow, where she used genome-wide approaches to decipher the function of RNA-binding proteins associated with ALS and FTD. Among other honors, she has received the Swiss National Science Foundation Professorship, the K99 Pathway to Independence Award from the National Institutes of Health, the Career Development Award from the Human Frontier Science Program, and the Georg-Friedrich Götz Prize from the University of Zurich. Magdalini is the coordinator of the Gender Equality Committee of the Neuroscience Center Zurich.

Prof. Arnold von Eckardstein, MD

Arnold von Eckardstein studied medicine in Giessen and Kiel and then specialized in laboratory medicine and clinical chemistry after internships in Frankfurt and Münster (Germany). After several years of work as a consultant at the University Hospital of Münster and research group leader at the Institute of Arteriosclerosis Research in Münster, he became professor at the medical faculty of the University of Zurich and the director of the Institute of Clinical Chemistry of the University Hospital of Zurich in 2001. His main research interests include risk factors and biomarkers of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases as well as structure, function, and metabolism of high density lipoproteins (HDL) and sphingolipids. Arnold von Eckardstein is the Editor-in-Chief of Atherosclerosis as well as editorial board member and executive board member of several research journals and scientific societies, respectively, with a focus on cardiovascular diseases or lipid metabolism or laboratory medicine.