Management Team
Molly Shoichet, PhD, O.C., O.Ont, FRS
CSO & Co-Founder
Molly is a leading expert in the development of polymers for drug delivery and tissue regeneration. She is a Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry and the Institute of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Toronto. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society and of the National Academy of Engineering, an Officer of the Order of Canada, a Winner of the Herzberg Gold Medal (Canada’s highest award in science), the 1st person inducted into all 3 of Canada’s National Academies, and a co-founder of 4 biotech startups.
Robert Devenyi, MD, FACS, FRCSC
CMO & Co-Founder
Robert is a world-renowned ophthalmologist and vitreoretinal surgeon at Toronto Western Hospital. He is a Clinician Investigator in the Surgical Retina Clinic at the Donald K. Johnson Eye Institute (University Health Network), and was previously the Ophthalmologist-in-chief of the Institute. He is also a Professor in the Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Sciences at the University of Toronto.
Thierry Nivaggioli, PhD
CEO
Thierry is an industry leader in the development of ocular biotech. Previously, he was the lead of biologic drug delivery at Genentech/Roche. He also co-developed Ozurdex at Oculex/Allergan, and was a co-founder of Macusight.
Adam Forman, PhD
Director, R&D
Adam is a chemist and biomaterial engineer with 10+ years of research experience. He leads the development of Synakis’ ocular biomaterial SNK-125. Previously, he obtained his PhD in Chemistry from the University of Toronto.
Jonathan Labriola, PhD
Director, Operations
Jonathan is a biochemist and protein engineer with 10+ years of research experience. He leads Synakis’ operational and regulatory activities. Previously, he obtained his PhD in Biochemistry from McGill University.
Advisory Team
Michael Gottlieb, CPA
Business Advisor
Michael is a biotech CEO and commercial pharma leader, with clinical development and startup expertise.
Belinda Tsao Nivaggioli, PhD
Business Advisor
Belinda is the CEO of Dianomi Holdings Inc.
Peng Yan, MD, FRCSC
Clinical Advisor
Peng is an ophthalmologist and vitreoretinal surgeon at Kensington Eye Institute and a Clinician Investigator in the Surgical Retina Clinic at the Donald K. Johnson Eye Institute (University Health Network). He is also an Assistant Professor in the Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Sciences at the University of Toronto.
Alexander Baker, PhD
Scientific Advisor
Alexander is a co-inventor of Synakis’ ocular biomaterial SNK-125 and an expert in synthetic biology, protein and biomaterial engineering. He is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Dalhousie University.