Our people work across disciplines to advance first-and-best-in-class therapeutics, together.
Capabilities
Our Team
Matt Maisak, PhD
CEO
Matt Maisak, PhD
CEO
Matt Maisak, Ph.D. serves as Chief Operating Officer, Roivant Platforms. Dr. Maisak joined the Roivant team in 2018. Prior to leading the Roivant Platforms, Dr. Maisak was a key member of the Axovant business development team, where he led the in-licensing efforts for the GM1 and GM2 gangliosidoses gene therapy programs from the University of Massachusetts. Prior to Roivant, Dr. Maisak held several strategic roles in Global Operations at Roche Diagnostics, where he worked across regulatory and manufacturing strategy.
Dr. Maisak earned a doctor of philosophy from the Max Planck Institute working under Dr. Axel Borst. During this time, he investigated the role single neuronal subtypes play in the computation of direction selective motion vision. His work was published in Nature and Current Biology and featured in popular science media such as National Geographic (Geo) and Bayerischer Rundfunk. Dr. Maisak studied medicine at Yale University School of Medicine.
Iván Cornella, PhD
CSO
Iván Cornella, PhD
CSO
Throughout his career, Iván has acted as a consultant on target and drug discovery for a number of start-ups and biotech firms. In previous roles, at Roivant Discovery, Cedilla Therapeutics, Merck, AstraZeneca, Sanofi, and Novartis, Iván established and managed translational chemical biology and proteomics teams, supporting target discovery and validation, and lead finding initiatives across disease areas, target classes, and modalities.
Iván holds a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the Universidade da Coruña, Spain, and earned an Executive Certificate in innovation from MIT Sloan School of Management. He completed postdoctoral work at the Institute of Chemistry & Cell Biology of Harvard Medical School (now the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard), as National Cancer Institute Initiative for Chemical Genetics Research Fellow, and at the Boston College chemistry department.
Jason Imbriglio, PhD
Head of Chemistry and Pharmacology
Jason Imbriglio, PhD
Head of Chemistry and Pharmacology
Jason brings more than 17 years of drug discovery and medicinal chemistry expertise to Covant Therapeutics.
Before joining Covant, Jason was a recognized leader in Merck’s global discovery chemistry department, where he held positions of increasing responsibility, most recently as director of chemical biology, leading teams across all levels of discovery, including target identification, target validation, lead identification, and optimization. Jason was a founding member of Merck’s chemical biology group and a co-lead of Merck’s targeted protein degradation group. Jason contributed to the discovery of five development candidates, and three INDs and was a co-inventor in the discovery of the beta-lactamase inhibitor Relebactam.
Jason has authored over 30 peer-reviewed journal articles and holds 12 patents spanning a diverse set of therapeutic areas. He holds a bachelor of arts degree in biology and a bachelor of science degree in chemistry from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, Mass., where he was a recognized Howard Hughes Undergraduate Research Fellow, a doctor of philosophy degree in organic chemistry from the University of Arizona in Tucson, Az. and a National Institute of Health Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award Postdoctoral Fellowship at Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Jagat Adhikari
Jagat has extensive experience in discovery and structural proteomics. He holds a Ph.D. from Duke University and a post-doctoral fellowship from Washington University. Outside of work, Jagat enjoys spending time with family, and hiking.
Matt Christopher
Matt brings to Covant a diverse collection of knowledge and experiences in chemistry, chemical biology, and proteomics after 16 years in drug discovery. When not “sciencing” you can catch him running, boating, and woodworking.
Matt Cullen
Matt began his scientific arc as a chemist trapped in a biologist’s body, initially pursuing his undergraduate studies in biology. However, he transitioned to graduate studies in Medicinal Chemistry and has been hunting drugs the past 14 years.
Christopher Dawson
Dawson brings 9+ years of structural biology experience to Covant. After finishing his Ph.D. at MIT, he worked at HMS structurally characterizing therapeutic targets of SARS-CoV-2. Outside of work, Dawson enjoys watching movies.
Dylan Dieters-Castator
Dylan brings 10+ years of mass spectrometry-based proteomics experience to Covant, with previous focus on secreted proteins and cell surface glycoproteins. Outside of work, Dylan enjoys working out in the gym and hiking with his wife and dog.
Christine Kaiser
Christine is a chemical biologist with broad experience in cell-based assay development, molecular biology, and synthetic medicinal chemistry. When not in the lab, she enjoys reading, running, and rock climbing.
Filippos Kottakis
Experienced cancer biologist with a passion for using new technologies to augment drug discovery and bringing novel cancer therapeutics to patients. When not thinking about new cancer targets, he enjoys traveling with his wife and two young kids.
Ravi Kurukulasuriya
Ravi is a Medicinal Chemist with 25 years of experience in drug discovery research and a fearless problem solver. Outside work, Ravi is an avid cyclist and reader and enjoys the great outdoors of New England.
Huay Keng Loke
Huay-Keng brings 17+ years of drug discovery experience in small and large molecules at Millennium/Takeda Pharmaceuticals and Cedilla Therapeutics. Outside work, she enjoys visiting the numerous charming New England towns and rocky coastlines.
Wenli Meng
Biophysical and biochemical scientist studying binding, Wenli is passionate about unraveling the mysteries of molecular interactions using cutting-edge techniques. Wenli is a dad of two, avid home cook, and not a fan of avocado!
Keith Moore
Keith has two decades of drug discovery experience spanning areas of research from target ID/ChemBio to lead optimization. Outside work, he enjoys coaching his two daughters’ basketball teams and guiding them in the ways of Philly sports fandom.
Jamie Rice
Jamie has extensive experience in early drug discovery for immuno-oncology and auto-immune disease indications. When not hypothesis testing, he enjoys coaching Medford Little League baseball and woodworking
Shaughnessy Robinson
As a medicinal and comp chemist, Shaughn has designed clinical ligands for 6 protein classes and pioneered prospective computational methods. Outside work, he enjoys classical music, landscape photography and home improvement projects.
Matt Smicker
Matt brings over 20 years of experience in R&D, data management, data science, and information technology teams within the pharma industry. Outside of work, Matt enjoys spending time with his three children, reading fiction, and hiking.
Ronald Tomlinson
Ron brings over 30 years’ of experience in pharma and biotech. He studied organic chemistry in college, and for 20 years has been exploring Chemical Biology and Proteomics. Outside of Covant, you will find him working on sports cars or woodworking.
Team News & Events
Our Culture at Covant
At Covant, we passionately believe that the greatest scientific achievements are a direct outcome of a culture fostering creativity, growth and empowerment of our people. Every single day.
Scientific Advisory Board
Alan D. D’Andrea, MD
Alan D. D’Andrea, MD
Fuller-American Cancer Society Professor of Radiation Oncology at Harvard Medical School
Director of the Center for DNA Damage and Repair
Director of the Susan F. Smith Center for Women’s Cancers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Dr. D’Andrea received his Doctor of Medicine from Harvard Medical School in 1983. He completed his residency at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and a fellowship in pediatric hematology-oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Boston Children’s Hospital. He also completed a research fellowship at the Whitehead Institute of Biomedical Research at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he cloned the receptor for erythropoietin, the major hormone for blood production. Dr. D’Andrea joined the Dana-Farber faculty in 1990. He is currently the Fuller-American Cancer Society Professor of Radiation Oncology at Harvard Medical School, the Director of the Center for DNA Damage and Repair, and the Director of the Susan F. Smith Center for Women’s Cancers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
Dr. D’Andrea is internationally known for his research in the area of DNA damage and DNA repair. His laboratory also investigates the pathogenesis of Fanconi Anemia, a human genetic disease characterized by a DNA repair defect, bone marrow failure, and cancer redisposition.
A recipient of numerous academic awards, Dr. D’Andrea is a former Stohlman Scholar of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, a Distinguished Clinical Investigator of the Doris Duke Charitable Trust, a recipient of the E. Mead Johnson Award from the Society for Pediatric Research, a recipient of the G.H.A. Clowes Memorial Award from the American Association for Cancer Research, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a member of the American Association for Cancer Research Academy, the National Academy of Medicine, and the National Academy of Sciences.
Malcolm MacCoss, PhD, FRSC.
Malcolm MacCoss, PhD, FRSC.
Founder and Member, Bohicket Pharma Consulting LLC, Seabrook Island, SC
Visiting Professor of Chemistry for Medicine, University of Oxford, UK
Former Vice President, Basic Chemistry, Merck Research Labs, Rahway, NJ
Dr. Malcolm MacCoss is the Founder of Bohicket Pharma Consulting LLC and currently, Visiting Professor of Chemistry for Medicine at the University of Oxford, UK. Upon completion of his post-doctoral studies in nucleoside and oligonucleotide chemistry, in 1976, he joined Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois. Dr. MacCoss began his pharma career at Merck as a Research Fellow in 1982, becoming Vice President, Basic Chemistry-Rahway in 1999. In 2008, Dr. MacCoss joined the Schering-Plough Research Institute as Group Vice President for Chemical Research. He serves on numerous SABs, has served on the Board of Directors of Idera Pharmaceuticals (2010-2015) and consults for numerous companies in the UK, Europe and the USA (including large pharmas, biotechs and academic spinouts).
He has two Thomas Edison Awards (2004 and 2007, for his inventorship of EMEND and JANUVIA, respectively). In March 2008, Dr. MacCoss was awarded the NJ American Chemical Society Award for Creativity in Molecular Design and Synthesis; and he was admitted as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC) in 2008 and was inducted into the American Chemical Society Medicinal Chemistry Hall of Fame in 2009. In 2010, Dr. MacCoss was the recipient of the American Chemical Society Division of Medicinal Chemistry Award. In the academic arena, he has served on the Advisory Council for the Executive Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Rutgers University, NJ, and in 2013, he was appointed Visiting Professor of Chemistry for Medicine at the University of Oxford, UK.. Dr. MacCoss has authored or co-authored 170 publications in refereed journals, he is an inventor on 118 issued U.S. patents, has authored 10 book chapters and has been an invited speaker 52 times at major symposia, universities and industrial venues.
Bernard Küster, PhD
Bernard Küster, PhD
Professor of Proteomics and Bioanalytics, TUM
Vice Dean of Information Management at TUM School of Life Sciences
Director of the Bavarian Biomolecular Mass Spectrometry Center
Bernhard is a Professor of Proteomics and Bioanalytics and Head of the Bavarian Biomolecular Mass Spectrometry Center at the Technical University of Munich. He was trained as a chemist at the University of Cologne and performed his D. Phil. research at the University of Oxford supervised by David Harvey and Raymond Dwek on the analysis of glycoproteins by mass spectrometry. Bernhard first came in touch with proteomics during his PosDoc years at the EMBL in Heidelberg and the University of Southern Denmark, Odense. In 2000, he joined Cellzome (now GSK), rose through the ranks to become VP of Analytical Sciences and Informatics, and made major contributions to the large-scale analysis of protein-protein and protein-drug interactions.
In 2007, he became a Professor of Proteomics and Bioanalytics at the Technical University of Munich and Director of the Bavarian Biomolecular Mass Spectrometry Center in 2009. His team characterizes the proteomes of cancer patients, investigates how molecularly targeted cancer drugs exert their desired and undesired actions in cells, and develops analytical and bioinformatic tools to study proteomes. Over the years, the group’s research has led to the first map of the human proteome, elucidated the target landscape and mechanism of action of hundreds of clinical kinase inhibitors, and created artificial intelligence-enabled software and databases for pre-clinical drug discovery and beyond. Bernhard is an academic co-founder of the proteomics CRO OmicScouts and the AI company MSAID, both located in the Munich area. He published >250 scientific contributions in top journals, received awards from the Human Proteome Organization (2015) and the German Mass Spectrometry Society (2019), and has been elected to the National Academy of Science – Leopoldina (2021).
Interested in joining us?
We are relentless, creative, and curious. We know that patients can’t wait: we continuously strive to advance science at a fast pace, helping and supporting each other in the discovery of new medicines.
Explore our open positions, we are always excited to hear about great scientists with the right mindset and passion.