Maurice Zauderer, Ph. D. – Founder, President & Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Zauderer co-founded Vaccinex and has served as President, Chief Executive Officer and a director since its inception in 1997. He is the inventor of core technologies for construction of representative cDNA libraries in vaccinia virus and discovery of fully human monoclonal antibodies. Prior to founding Vaccinex, Dr. Zauderer was a Professor at the University of Rochester and has also held faculty appointments at Columbia University. During his academic career, Dr. Zauderer held the position of visiting scientist at the Laboratory of Cell Biology (Rome, Italy), the Ontario Cancer Institute (Toronto, Canada), and at the National Cancer Institute (Bethesda, Maryland). Dr. Zauderer holds a Ph.D. in cell biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is also a member of the board of directors of the New York Biotechnology Association (NYBA).


Ernest Smith, Ph.D. – Senior Vice President, Research & Chief Scientific Officer

Dr. Smith joined Vaccinex at its inception in 1997 and was a key developer of its core cDNA library and antibody discovery technologies. Previously a research scientist at the University of Rochester, Dr. Smith is an experienced molecular and cellular immunologist with the skills and expertise to lead the company's research efforts. He is listed as an inventor on Vaccinex patent applications covering novel gene discovery methods, antigen delivery systems, and selection of fully human monoclonal antibodies. Dr. Smith earned his Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of Rochester School of Medicine.


Raymond E. Watkins – Senior Vice President & Chief Operating Officer

Mr. Watkins joined Vaccinex in 2001. He has over 25 years of management experience in FDA-regulated biopharmaceutical and biotechnology businesses, including Praxis Biologics (founding stage), Lederle-Praxis, Wyeth, Invitrogen and Life Technologies. Mr. Watkins has held several functional senior management roles in product and technology development, biologics manufacturing, regulatory, and quality assurance. Immediately prior to joining Vaccinex, he was Director of Operations, Australasia, for Life Technologies (Invitrogen) where he was responsible for all aspects of R&D, biomanufacturing, quality, FDA/TGA regulatory affairs, and general business management. Mr. Watkins serves on the Advisory Board of the Center for Biotechnology Education & Training at the Rochester Institute of Technology and is a member of the Advisory Board of Vybion.


John E. Leonard, Ph.D. – Senior Vice President, Development & Officer

Dr. Leonard has over 20 years of experience at Idec and Biogen-Idec where he held Senior Director-level positions in Regulatory Affairs, Quality, Project Management and Product Development, and Vice President-level positions in Quality, Product Development and Program Management. While at Idec, Dr. Leonard was a key executive leader in the development of Rituxan, Zevalin and Tysabri, all highly successful therapeutic antibodies with combined global sales of over $7 billion. Dr. Leonard is considered a distinguished authority on therapeutic antibody development, having extensive experience across numerous development programs encompassing all stages of development - from lead selection and IND-directed non-clinical studies, through clinical studies and, ultimately, FDA approval and commercialization. Dr. Leonard serves on the Board of Advisors to the Dean at the College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of California, Riverside.



Robert B. Parker, Ph.D. – Director, Regulatory Affairs and Quality Systems

Dr. Parker joined Vaccinex in 2006 as its Director of Regulatory Affairs and Quality Systems. He has over 35 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, sixteen of these years serving in senior management roles in drug Regulatory Affairs for major pharmaceutical companies such as Fisons and Celltech, and most recently as Senior Director, Regulatory Affairs for Genzyme Corporation, one of the world's leading biopharmaceutical companies. Dr. Parker also has extensive experience in both research and applied pharmacology, serving in various scientific, development, and senior management positions at Warner-Lambert/Parke-Davis, Pennwalt, Rorer Group and SmithKline Beecham.


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