About Us
Board of Directors.
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Board Chairman
Dr. Stanley Marks, MD is the Chairman of UPMC's Hillman Cancer Center, the Chief of the Division of Hematology-Oncology at UPMC Shadyside, and a Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Marks is a world-recognized leader in cancer research having served as President of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and on the board of directors of the American Cancer Society, among others. He is also a leading clinician and noted advocate for patients. He is consistently listed among the “Best Cancer Doctors in America” and his patients have founded the Dr. Stanley Marks Research Endowed fund at the Hillman Cancer Center which has raised $7 million for cancer research to date. Dr. Marks has served as chairman of the board at multiple oncology companies including Via Oncology, CTS International and CytoAgents.
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CEO & Co-Founder
Dr. Sam Rothstein, PhD is the CEO and cofounder of Duo Oncology. He has 20 experience researching and developing nanoparticle products like the ones licensed by Duo Onocology. Since founding and bootstrapping his first company in 2010, a particle CDMO, Dr. Rothstein has continuously worked in life science startups as a CSO or CEO. During this time, he led $5 million of contracts and Small Business Innovation Research projects developing particle drug products. As a CEO, he has also raised over $4M in private investment since 2020. Prior to founding Duo Oncology, Dr. Rothstein began working at the interface of cancer immunotherapy and drug delivery as the CEO of Qrono Inc in 2017. Dr. Rothstein holds chemical engineering degrees from Bucknell University and the University of Pittsburgh.
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Member
Dr. Lusong Luo, PhD is currently SVP & Head of External Innovation at BeiGene. Prior to taking this role, Dr. Luo is SVP & Head of Discovery Biology at BeiGene and is also one of the company’s founding scientists. He concurrently serves as the acting CEO and president of MapKure, LLC, and sits on the boards of MapKure, BITT (Boston Immune Technologies & Therapeutics) and two other early-stage biotech firms. Before his tenure at BeiGene, Dr. Luo held significant roles at BioDuro and GSK Oncology. As a key member of numerous oncology drug discovery-development teams, Dr. Luo has contributed to the discovery and development of 15 clinical assets over the years, among them six have obtained regulatory approval. Dr. Luo has published more than 60 research papers, reviews, and book chapters. He trained with Prof. Christopher T. Walsh at Harvard Medical School and obtained his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from University of New Mexico.
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Co-Founder
Dr. Song Li, MD, PhD is a Professor & Director of Center for Pharmacogenetics, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy. Dr. Li’s major research area is drug and gene delivery. He also investigates nuclear receptors and gene regulation. Dr. Li has broad knowledge in medicine, biology, and drug and gene delivery. He is the author or co-author of over 180 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. Dr. Li serves on the editorial boards of several journals and the review panels of NIH, DOD and other funding agencies.
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Member
Mr. Ashley, MS is an experienced life science executive with over 40 years of leadership experience, covering nearly all aspects of pharma startup business. Over the past four decades, he has held numerous roles including CEO, CSO, VP of Commercial Development, Head of Regulatory and Director of Strategic Planning. In these roles, Rob has worked for small startups as well as large pharmaceutical companies. He has also brought several product through regulatory approvals and managed companies through public acquisition and initial public offering events.