About Us
Stemcell expertise.
Drug development
know-how.
Business and research
acumen.
Our Team 
Joe has more than 45 years of industry and research experience. He is an Executive Partner at MPM BioImpact and was formerly Chief Scientific Innovation Officer at ReNAgade Therapeutics and Chief Scientific Officer at PureTech Health. Before joining PureTech, he oversaw all aspects of research and development for ModeSTEMCELL Therapeutics as President of Research & Development and Chief Scientific Officer. Previously, Joe was Chief Scientific Officer at Millennium Pharmaceuticals and Global Head of Oncology Research at Takeda Pharmaceutical Company. He held senior R&D positions at Hoechst Marion Roussel, Schering-Plough (DNAX) and Bristol Myers Squibb. Joe began his career at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), where he contributed to the discovery of a class of proteins known as tyrosine kinase oncogenes as key regulators of the immune system. Joe earned a Ph.D. in Immunology and conducted his postdoctoral training in molecular virology at Kansas State University Cancer Center. He graduated from the University of Nebraska with a B.S. in Microbiology and Chemistry.
Hope joins Stemcell with more than 25 years of legal experience, with the majority of her career spent in the healthcare industry, and deep knowledge of pharmaceutical, gene therapy and life sciences companies. Most recently, she was General Counsel at Applied Genetic Technologies Corporation (AGTC), where she oversaw legal, IP and compliance. Before her tenure at AGTC, Hope served as General Counsel and Vice President of Administration at Spirovant Sciences, where she was a member of the company’s executive leadership team helping to develop strategy for, and lead operations of, the company. Hope also served as counsel at Reed Smith, LLC, representing biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies in a variety of strategic collaborations, and as Executive-In-Residence at Militia Hill Ventures, supporting the building and growth of successful life sciences companies. Previously, she was Vice President and Associate General Counsel at GlaxoSmithKline, where she supported worldwide business development on numerous strategic collaborations, including licenses, divestments, joint ventures and mergers and acquisitions. Hope earned her J.D. at the University of Pennsylvania Law School and her B.S. in Economics from the University of Delaware.
Ciaran has deep experience in building and leading teams across biotech and consulting sectors. He was most recently Chief Operating Officer of ReNAgade Therapeutics. Prior to ReNAgade, he held a principal leadership role at The Boston Consulting Group where he led large projects / programs across corporate strategy, R&D operations, M&A, and commercial. Ciaran was previously an early scientific lead at ModeSTEMCELL where he helped build out delivery capabilities.
Teresa Lipcsey brings deep and broad experience throughout the organizational life cycle, building high performing finance teams and implementing strategic financial planning, processes and controls. She has a proven track record supporting IPOs and M&A, driving organizational growth, expansion and value. Teresa most recently served as a Vice President of Accounting & Finance at Wave Life Sciences. Before that, she was a Vice President, Corporate Controller at axogen. Previously, Teresa held key financial leadership positions including Vice President of Finance at SomaLogic, Invisible Sentinel and BioBDx (Formerly BioBehavioral Diagnostics Company). She began her professional career at Deloitte.
Teresa holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Finance from the University of Maryland and is a certified public accountant.
Dr. Frank Neumann brings a record of proven leadership in cell therapy and oncology clinical development to his role as Chief Medical Officer.
Prior to joining Orna, Frank most recently served as Senior Vice President and Global Head of Clinical Development at Kite, a Gilead Company. He previously held positions as Chief Medical Officer at Verastem, Inc. (also known as Verastem Oncology) and as Vice President, Head of Oncology Clinical Research at bluebird bio. In addition, Frank was clinical development head of all global cell therapy approaches at Takeda Pharmaceuticals, where he held various leadership roles of increasing prominence, including global clinical lead and medical team lead for two distinct cancer therapies. Earlier in his career, he was a member of the oncology medical teams at AstraZeneca and Sanofi-Aventis.
Board certified in Hematology/Oncology, Internal Medicine and Palliative Care Medicine, Frank was a research scholar at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and is currently an assistant professor at the Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf, Germany, where he received his M.D. He earned his Ph.D. from the Rheinische-Friedrich-Wilhelm University in Bonn, Germany. In addition to his role with Orna, Frank is an Entrepreneur Partner with MPM BioImpact.
Siva joins Stemcell Therapeutics as Chief Technology Officer and brings significant experience in pharmaceutical manufacturing. He has broad experience in clinical and commercial biologics, small molecule and vaccine manufacturing, CMC strategy, process development, external vendor/alliance and project management, regulatory support, and life cycle product management. Prior to Orna, Siva was Senior Vice President, Head of Technical Operations and Quality at Omega Therapeutics and Vice President, Head of Manufacturing for Alnylam’s internal and external manufacturing operations, including seminal contributions to the registration and launch of Onpattro®, Givlaari®, and Oxlumo®. Before Alnylam, he was Executive Director, Global Tech Services, Process and Analytical Development at Alexion Pharmaceuticals, and earlier was Director of Manufacturing for Sanofi-Pasteur, where he was responsible for commercial vaccine product manufacturing and facility management. Siva began his industry career at Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. supporting global biologics manufacturing teams. He received his Ph.D. in Biochemical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience & Biotechnology and additional postdoctoral research at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and Pennsylvania State University.
Brian joined as Chief Business Officer at Stemcell via the acquisition of ReNAgade Therapeutics in 2024. He is experienced in acquisitions, divestitures, partnerships, financings, licensing, and venture capital across biotech, pharmaceutical, medical device and consumer health sectors. Brian joined ReNAgade Thereapeutics as Chief Business Officer from Corporate Development roles at BMS and Johnson & Johnson, where Brian executed 25 strategic transactions, including the separation of J&J’s Consumer Health business in 2022.
Prior to Johnson & Johnson, Brian was an investment banker at JPMorgan, where he had extensive CEO, CFO, and board-level interactions regarding strategy development/execution while building/maintaining biopharma industry relationships. Brian executed 14 M&A transactions, and was responsible for marketing materials, strategic and financial partner approach, valuation, and negotiations. In addition, Brian executed 30 financings across various capital markets, and led preparation of offering memorandums, due diligence sessions, management presentations, and investor roadshows.
Brian holds a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from Villanova University and an MBA from Stern School of Business at New York University. Prior to business school, Brian was an Officer in the US Navy Civil Engineer Corps, where he received two Navy Commendation Medals for his service.
Elyse has expertise throughout the entire employee life cycle, most recently as head of HR at ReNAgade Therapeutics. Before joining ReNAgade, she held an HR generalist role at Fulcrum Therapeutics. During Elyse’s tenure at Fulcrum, she played a pivotal role in building the HR infrastructure as the second non-scientific hire. She supported the team through significant change, navigating the complexities of pre-commercial growth and the transition from a private to a public company. Elyse began her career in HR in agency talent acquisition.
Passionate about creating HR cultures that prioritize “people over paper,” Elyse is dedicated to building environments that center the employee experience beyond the 9-5. As a devoted mom to two young boys, she understands the importance of work-life balance and creating a family-friendly workplace. She aims to support and build inclusive workplaces where individuals can thrive & teams can be successful.
Elyse holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Carnegie Mellon University and a Masters from the University of Houston.
Managing Partner, MPM BioImpact
Managing Partner, MPM BioImpact
Ansbert is Chairman of the Board and Co-Founder of Orna, and Managing Director of MPM BioImpact. He founded MPM Capital in 1992 as a biotech venture capital firm and later its affiliate BioImpact Capital for private/public funds. Ansbert and the MPM BioImpact team have been the inspiration and driving force behind building leading biopharmaceutical companies such as BioMarin Pharmaceuticals, Idenix Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Merck & Co.), Mitobridge (acquired by Astellas), Pharmasset (acquired by Gilead Sciences) and, more recently, Cullinan Oncology (NASDAQ: CGEM), ElevateBio, Stemcell Therapeutics and ReNAgade Therapeutics. MPM BioImpact believes that these companies, in which Ansbert was the lead investor and served on the Boards of Directors, are some of the biggest successes in biotech – companies that ultimately result in helping thousands of patients live longer and vastly improved lives. Prior to founding MPM, Ansbert was at The Boston Consulting Group in its Boston office.
Ansbert’s commitment to drug discovery and curing disease inspires his work both within and outside of MPM BioImpact. In recognition of MPM’s novel work to finance and build companies which may have a significant impact on cancer care and cures globally, Ansbert and Luke Evnin are recipients of the 2017 Global Oncology Visionary Award. He is a member of the Harvard Medical School Board of Fellows and the Research Advisory Council of Massachusetts General Hospital.
Ansbert received an M.D. from J.W. Goethe University in Frankfurt and held research positions at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Biochemistry Department at Harvard University. While at the German Cancer Research Center, he focused on HPV16 and 18 in Professor Harald zur Hausen’s group (Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine, 2008). Ansbert has published in leading scientific journals such as Nature and Cell.
