Our Leadership Team
Driving us towards our mission everyday with world-class expertise in drug development
Executive Team
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Nara is a consultant ENT surgeon at Barts Health NHS Trust with over 10 years of C-suite experience in immunology research and advancing assets through clinical development. She founded and led the medical services company, CCHC, and has been instrumental in growing Phaim from a UK start-up to a growth company with ongoing clinical trials in type 1 diabetes and a discovery pipeline in multiple autoimmune diseases.
A Royal College of Surgeons Tutor and Fellow, Nara also serves as the Honorary Secretary of ENTUK and the Clinical Lead for Innovation at the Royal Society of Medicine. She is a public governor at Chelsea & Westminster Hospital Foundation Trust and a mentor for the BioIndustry Association.
She holds a Diploma in Otolaryngology, a Master’s in Surgical Education and a PhD in immunology from Imperial College.
Nara is one of Phaim's founding members and is passionate about bringing novel therapies and digital healthcare applications to market.
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Professor Piers Daubeney MA DM FRCP FRCPCH DCH is a consultant paediatric cardiologist at Imperial College and the Royal Brompton Hospital with over 25 years of combined CEO and drug trial experience. He trained in medicine at Oxford University and St Thomas' Hospital, where he gained Honours in Therapeutics and Clinical Pharmacology. Piers has worked with leading pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer, Daiichi Sankyo, and Servier, contributing his expertise in clinical research and drug development. He has published over 100 scientific papers, edited two books, and is a member of the UK Medicines for Children Clinical Research Network.
Piers co-founded and serves as CEO of The Congenital and Children's Heart Centre providing specialised medical and surgical care for children and adults with congenital heart disease, drawing patients from both national and international referral bases. He is also the former President of the British Congenital Cardiac Association (BCCA) and helped coordinate its response to the COVID pandemic in the UK. He is proud of the help and support that the BCCA has given to colleagues in Ukraine during the current conflict.
Pier's expertise lies in the development of new drugs that promote child health and he has extensive experience of large multicentre drug studies. He is a founding member of Phaim and committed to eradicating autoimmune disease.
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Dr. Tihamer Orban MD MRCPCH is a world leader in the immunological mechanisms underpinning Type 1 Diabetes (T1DM) with over 40 years of research experience, including nearly two decades at Harvard University. He has pioneered novel adjuvant enhanced Antigen-based Immune Modulation (AIMs) therapies, which are the foundation of Phaim's unique platform approach to drug development to ameliorate autoimmune diseases.
A board-certified pediatrician, he earned his medical degree from the Szent-Gyorgyi Albert University in Hungary and has secured more than $20 million in research funding throughout his career. Dr. Orban has dedicated his work as a Translational Clinical Investigator to the discovery and clinical evaluation of novel therapies for T1DM. He served as Principal Investigator at three major U.S. nationwide networks focused on autoimmunity, including TrialNet, the Immune Tolerance Network, and the Autoimmune Centre of Excellence at Harvard, all funded by the National Institutes of Health. He also chaired the Safety Monitoring Committee for TrialNet, overseeing the safety of several multicenter clinical trials.
While at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, Dr. Orban initiated and chaired a landmark phase 2 multicenter clinical trial using abatacept in T1DM patients, with results published in The Lancet. He has expertise in driving regulatory approvals for novel drugs and has played a key role in designing and executing multiple clinical trials.
Dr. Orban is one of Phaim's founding members and currently serves as President and Chief Scientific Officer of the company, where he provides visionary leadership, overseeing scientific development, and guiding the management and governance of the AIM therapy. His focus remains on advancing research and driving the company’s mission forward.
Board of Directors
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Dr. Annalisa Jenkins is a life sciences thought leader with over 20 years of biopharmaceutical industry experience. Prior to joining PlaqueTec as CEO in November 2017, Dr. Jenkins served as president and CEO of Dimension Therapeutics, a leading gene therapy company that was acquired by Ultragenyx in November 2017. Prior leadership roles have included the head of global research and development and executive vice president global development and medical at Merck Serono, and several senior positions at Bristol Myers-Squibb over 15 years, including serving as senior vice president and head of global medical affairs. Earlier in her career, Dr. Jenkins was a medical officer in the British Royal Navy during the Gulf Conflict, achieving the rank of surgeon lieutenant commander.
Dr. Jenkins is a board member of several growing companies, including Phaim, Ardelyx, Inc., iOX Therapeutics Limited, Thrombolytic Strategies Incorporated, PhESi, Oncimmune, Cocoon Biotech Inc.(Non Executive Chair), Cellmedica (Non-Executive Chair), Vium Inc.(Executive Chair), and Silence Therapeutics (Non-Executive Chair). She also is a committee member of the Science Board to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA), and serves on the board of the Center for Talent Innovation in the U.K. Dr. Jenkins graduated with a degree in medicine from St. Bartholomew’s Hospital in the University of London and subsequently trained in cardiovascular medicine in the U.K. National Health Service.
Dr. Jenkins has been a member of Phaim's board since 2019.
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Jon Green has more than 30 years operational experience in biotechnology, innovation hubs and life science. He is currently Chief Operating Officer at ImmuONE, a Scientific and Laboratory Consultant at Coel, a Consultant at Blackpowder Consulting, and holds several other directorships and NED appointments, including at Phaim.
Notably, Jon held the position of Chair of the Board of One Nucleus for 17 years and Chief Operating Officer of Iontas, a well known antibody engineering CRO.
Jon started his career in academia as a member of scientific staff in the Biochemistry Department, Imperial College and then as a Senior Scientific Officer with the Medical Research Council Toxicology Unit. Jon joined Cambridge Antibody Technology (CaT), in 1992 as a Senior Scientist, initially working on several drug discovery projects. Jon then helped establish the CaT process development group before moving across to operational management. Jon held the post of VP Site General Manager, at what was MedImmune, a wholly-owned subsidiary of AstraZeneca, formed through the merger of CaT and MedImmune where Jon was responsible for leading the site operations of the Cambridge R&D facilities.
Jon has a MPhil in molecular biology/cellular pathology, is a Chartered Biologist, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology, the Royal Society of Arts and Manufacturing and Fellow of the Institute of Directors.
Jon joined Phaim's Board in 2022.
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Professor Michael Cheung is a practicing Paediatric Cardiologist in Melbourne, Australia. He has more than 25 years experience in the NHS, Canadian and Australian healthcare systems and is currently the Director of Cardiology, and Leader of the Heart Research Group at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute. His clinical work is at the Royal Children's Hospital and with the Adult Congenital Heart team at the Royal Melbourne Hospital. His research has included clinical trials and he has published 9 book chapters and >200 manuscripts. Michael is the Paediatric representative of the Victorian Cardiac Network and the Chair of the Paediatric Executive of the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand.
His deep expertise in clinical research trials as well as networked knowledge of the Australian landscape is helping Phaim progress their Type 1 Diabetes therapy in into human trials.Micheal joined Phaim's Board in 2024.
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Grant Mason DSC DSM ADC is currently the Head of the Australian Defence Staff in London, Grant also serves as an ex-officio Trustee with the Imperial War Museum and ex-officio Commissioner with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
Grant has 34 years of service in the Australian Army, focusing on strategic planning, leadership, and senior management in complex and challenging environments. He has worked on major Defence acquisition projects, overseen the selection of future Army Officers, and served in overseas diplomatic roles.
He studied History and Politics at the University of New South Wales and holds an MBA from its School of Business, along with several graduate diplomas in operations management. Grant is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, a Trustee of London Legacy (a charity that serves Australian and New Zealand veteran’s families) and Patron of Australian Army Sailing.
Grant joined Phaim's Board in 2024. He is very excited about joining the team and is truly inspired by Phaim's mission to develop a range of curative treatments to improve the lives of those affected by auto-immune disease.
Advisory Board
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Karolina has nearly a decade of experience in investing and building life sciences and healthcare companies within the Cambridge Cluster. Currently, she sits on the boards of 5 early-stage companies in Cambridge. She played a pivotal role in securing pre-seed, seed and Series A investments from a stellar syndicate of investors. In 2018, she co-founded and successfully delivered the first life sciences startup accelerator in Cambridge, nurturing a portfolio of 20 early-stage ventures that raised over £68m.
Her career commenced as a scientist at a leading biopharmaceutical company, contributing to the development of a diverse product portfolio for clinics. Karolina holds a PhD in protein folding (diabetes & neurosciences) from the University of Cambridge and conducted postdoctoral research in drug development at AstraZeneca. The majority of her research work focused on peptide pharmaceuticals associated with diabetes type I and II.
Karolina joined Phaim's team in 2024.
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Professor Sir George Alberti is a distinguished figure in diabetes research and clinical care. Educated at Balliol College, Oxford, he earned a DPhil in Biochemistry and later became renowned for his work on insulin and diabetes management. Early in his career, he made significant contributions to understanding diabetic ketoacidosis, introducing low-dose insulin therapy which revolutionized treatment worldwide.
In the 1970s and 1980s, he played a key role in developing continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII), and Newcastle University became a centre for diabetes research under his leadership. His work with organisations such as the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), and the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) further advanced diabetes care globally.
As president of the Royal College of Physicians and chair of Diabetes UK, George continued to influence health policies. His career spans groundbreaking research, international initiatives, and major advancements in diabetes care that have improved the lives of millions worldwide.
He joined Phaim's Advisory team in 2017.
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Rakesh Tailor joined Phaim's team in 2024.
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Philip Daubeney MA (Oxon) served for many years as CEO of ICI Africa and Asia, the predecessor to AstraZeneca. He was responsible for overseeing their pharmaceutical operations, including corporate mergers, acquisitions and company disposals.
He then became CEO at the Electricity Association and Non-Executive Chairman of the JP Morgan Indian Investment Trust.
He is currently Non-Executive Chairman of the International Air Compressors Association and Chairman of AFNOR UK, a subsidiary of AFNOR France, the French Standards Body.
He brings significant expertise in corporate governance, compliance and a proven track record in the development and sale of individual corporate entities.
Philip joined Phaim's team as an early member in 2015.
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Bob Damms is currently Senior Life Science Investment Advisor to the Department for International Trade, responsible for identifying and profiling UK life science and healthcare companies and investment funds, and facilitating introductions to global investors.
He is an expert in the assessment and development of new products and technologies and comes with over 25 years' experience of developing new biomedical technologies through roles in industry, consulting, venture capital and equities research. Including Director of Strategic Partnerships at The Institue of Cancer Research, Head of Technology at Merlin Biosciences and Experimental Officer at ICI Pharmaceuticals.
He brings together his deep interest in converging healthcare technologies, translational research, and innovative commercialization models with extensive experience across biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and eHealth. His background spans university start-ups, SMEs, global corporations, and government sectors.
Bob joined Phaim's team as an early member in 2015.
Notable contributions
Sir David Barnes
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Sir David Barnes, who sadly passed away at the age of 84, was a pioneering leader in the pharmaceutical industry and served on the scientific and advisory team at Phaim Pharma. Best known for transforming ICI’s bioscience division into AstraZeneca, one of the world’s major pharmaceutical companies, Sir David was a visionary in drug development and corporate strategy. His tenure at Zeneca was marked by his clear-sighted leadership, ultimately steering the company to its successful merger with Astra. Sir David’s extensive expertise in the field, combined with his dedication to advancing medical research, made a lasting impact on the industry and on Phaim Pharma’s mission.
Dr. Heyam Jalahej
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Dr. Heyam Jalahej MD, retired in July 2023 and was instrumental in Phaim's journey from the beginning. Board Certified in Paediatrics and Surgery, she trained at Szent-Gyorgyi Albert University, Hungary. Dr. Jalahej brought extensive expertise in Ethics, Clinical Compliance, and trial design. Her significant contributions included leading complex phase 1 and 2 trials at Joslin Diabetes Center, Harvard, and guiding the development and FDA approval of a novel AIM therapy for T1DM. We are enormously grateful for her wisdom and guidance during her time at Phaim.
Our Values
Pioneering New Paths with Purpose
Caring without Borders
Resourcefully Resilient
Dreaming the Impossible
Join our team
If you’re passionate about science and driven to be at the forefront of eradicating autoimmune disease, this is your opportunity. Join our innovative team and be part of a biotech startup that’s pioneering a novel therapeutic platform.
We’re driven by our commitment to change lives. If you share this vision, we want to hear from you.