R&D Veteran on Leading a Biotech through Founding, IPO and Acquisition

Dr Zain Kassam is a Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer at Finch Therapeutics, a clinical-stage microbiome therapeutics spin out of OpenBiome, the world’s first stool bank for fecal transplants. He is also a founding team member, former Chief Medical Officer, and current Special Advisor to the Board of Directors at OpenBiome.Dr Kassam is a gastroenterologist, physician-scientist and biotechnology entrepreneur dedicated to discovering and developing innovative microbiome therapeutics. He was named to the prestigious Top 40 under 40 Healthcare Innovator List by MedTech. Dr Kassam has served as a Scientific Advisory Board member for the American Gastroenterological Association Center for Gut Microbiome Research & Education, and as a Clinical Research Affiliate at the MIT Center for Microbiome Informatics & Therapeutics. He has authored over 150 peer-reviewed publications, abstracts and book chapters including in leading journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine, Gastroenterology and Gut. Dr Kassam has been involved in over 25 prospective microbiome therapeutic studies, including the first randomized trials in ulcerative colitis and hepatic encephalopathy. He holds funding from the CDC, the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America and numerous private foundations.Dr Kassam received his MPH degree from Harvard University with a focus on Clinical Trials and completed his post-doctoral training in microbiome engineering at MIT. He was awarded his MD from Western University in London, Canada. Dr Kassam completed his Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology training at McMaster University, where he was both the Chief Medical and Chief Gastroenterology Resident.

Jo Viney, PhD, is an entrepreneurial scientist and experienced biotech executive. A self-described “drug-hunter,” she has successfully advanced a number of new therapies into the clinic.Dr Viney currently serves as the CEO of Seismic Therapeutic. Prior to Seismic Therapeutics, she was the president, chief scientific officer and co-founder of Pandion Therapeutics, now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Merck & Co, where she developed novel therapeutics designed to address the unmet needs of patients living with autoimmune diseases. Prior to founding Pandion, Dr Viney previously worked at Immunex, Amgen and most recently Biogen where she served as senior vice president of the drug discovery organization.Throughout her career, Dr Viney has been an advocate for workplace inclusiveness. From 2015 – 2020, she served on the Board of WEST, a non-profit organization supporting early to mid-career women and was WEST’s President for the 2017-2018 term. Dr Viney has maintained longstanding membership with the Society for Mucosal Immunology (SMI) and American Society of Immunologists (AAI). She has served numerous terms on the SMI Board and was president from 2011-2013. Together with SMI colleagues and Nature Publishing Group, she launched the journal Mucosal Immunology.Dr Viney is a member of the board of directors for Finch Therapeutics, Harpoon Therapeutics, Graphite Bio and Lab Central. She also serves on the Scientific Advisory Board for HotSpot Therapeutics and the Board of Advisors for Life Science Cares. In 2019, Dr Viney was featured in Endpoints Special Report on 20 Extraordinary Women, and in 2020, Jo was chosen as one of FiercePharma’s Fiercest Women in Life Sciences.