Board of Directors

David is Founder and Chairman of Gradalis, Inc. From 2004-2012, Mr. Shanahan served as President of Mary Crowley Cancer Research Centers, a cancer research non-profit specializing in clinical application of gene and immune therapies.  Mary Crowley Cancer Centers have treated over 4,500 cancer patients in FDA-approved clinical trials.

He is a named inventor on several U.S. patents and co-author of multiple peer-reviewed publications in the field of molecular therapeutics.  Prior to his leadership at Mary Crowley, Mr. Shanahan served as the lead investor and founder of successful enterprises in a wide array of fields, many of which led to successful transactions of portfolio investments in the computer, commercial real estate and agricultural industries. 

He obtained a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Texas A&M University.

Mr. Berry has over 20 years of private market investing experience. Since joining WP Global in 2005, he has been involved in servicing clients as well as all aspects of investing and investment management functions, including serving on the Investment Committee. His purview at WP Global spans private equity and debt, as well as both direct and fund investments.

Before joining WP Global Partners, Mr. Berry was a principal for five years at Abbott Capital Management LLC, where he focused on co-investments. Previously, he was a junior principal at Grumman Hill Group, a small growth LBO firm, where he analyzed and performed due diligence for direct private equity investment opportunities in several industries. Mr. Berry started his career at Price Waterhouse Corporate Finance as an analyst in their Merger and Acquisitions advisory practice, and also worked in the healthcare investment banking practice of CIBC World Markets.

Mr. Berry is a board member or observer of Foundation Partners, Lakeview Farms, RizePoint, Royal Camp, Corsicana Mattress, and Upstream Rehabilitation, among other portfolio companies, and serves as an advisory board member of more than a dozen invested funds. He holds an M.B.A. from New York University and is a member of the Beta Gamma Sigma national honors society. He also earned a B.A. degree in Economics from Franklin and Marshall College.

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Joe is the Managing Director, Santé Ventures. Prior to founding Santé, Dr. Cunningham was with Austin Ventures and was previously the Vice Chair of the Ascension Health Ventures investment committee. He previously served as Chief Medical Officer of the Providence Health System and Executive Director of the 300 physician Providence Health Alliance.

Dr. Cunningham has served on numerous boards and organizations in the realm of public policy, both governmental and private. He has extensive management experience and is recognized nationally for his expertise in healthcare delivery systems, physician associations and compensation models.

He currently serves on advisory boards for both Health Services Corporation (BC/BS) and United Healthcare. He is board certified in both Internal Medicine and Quality Assurance and Peer Review. Joe received his B.S. and M.D. degrees from Texas A&M University and his MBA from Baylor University.

Steven Engle joined Gradalis as Chief Executive Officer in April 2022. Before joining Gradalis, Mr. Engle served as CEO of CohBar, a clinical-stage mitochondria-based therapeutics developer, and CEO and Board Chair of XOMA, an antibody therapeutics company that helped develop products with multiple pharmaceutical companies including Novartis, Merck, Pfizer, and Takeda. Prior to XOMA, Mr. Engle served as CEO and Board Chair of La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company, which was the first to discover the biology of B cell tolerance, developed the first B cell toleragen for lupus patients, and received an approvable letter from the FDA. While at drug delivery systems company Cygnus, he helped gain FDA approval of and launch Nicotrol for smoking cessation.

Mr. Engle currently serves on the Board of Prescient Therapeutics Ltd., AROA Biosurgery Ltd, and Author-it Software Corporation. He is a former director of BIO, BayBio and BIOCOM. Mr. Engle holds M.S.E.E. and B.S.E.E. degrees from The University of Texas with a focus in biomedical engineering.

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Harry has served as the Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs Emeritus of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, since June 2009.  Prior to being named Vice Chancellor Emeritus, Dr. Jacobson had served as Vice Chancellor at Vanderbilt University from 1997 to 2009. 

He served as a director of Renal Care Group from 1995 to March 2006 and was Chairman of the board of directors of Renal Care from 1995 to 1997.  Dr. Jacobson previously served as a director of Kinetic Concepts, Inc. and Merck & Co., Inc.  From 1985 to 2009, he served as a Professor of Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He is the Chairman of MedCare Investment Funds and a founding partner of TriStar Technology Ventures. 

Dr. Jacobson has published over 100 research articles, reviews and book chapters and co-edited the book, The Principles and Practice of Nephrology.  Dr. Jacobson received an M.D. from the University of Illinois and a B.S. from the University of Illinois.  He completed an internal medicine residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital and specialty training in nephrology at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Dallas.

Rob is the Co-Managing Partner of The Milestone Group and Co-Chairman of Milestone's Investment Committee. Mr. Landin is responsible for establishing the strategic direction of Milestone and the firm's capital markets activities and fundraising. Mr. Landin has 24+ years of real estate acquisition, development, capital markets and investment management experience. 

Prior to joining Milestone in 2004, Mr. Landin held key roles with Olympus Real Estate Partners and Colony Capital Partners, two leading U.S. real estate private equity firms where he was responsible for identifying, negotiating and structuring acquisition opportunities, as well as liquidating diverse performing and non-performing portfolios. During his tenures at Olympus Real Estate Partners and Colony Capital Partners Mr. Landin transacted on over $10 billion of real estate investments. 

Mr. Landin received a B.A. in Managerial Economics from Union College in Schenectady, NY and studied at The London School of Economics. He is a member of The Real Estate Council and Real Property Association of Canada (REALpac). He also serves as Treasurer and Trustee of the St. Philip's School and Community Center in Dallas, TX. 

John is a co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer at Gradalis. He has served in various roles since helping co-found the company in 2003. He specializes in medical oncology and hematology and is board certified in internal medicine.  He is an Oncologist and has been exploring therapies for cancer treatments for over 30 years. 

Dr. Nemunaitis previously held academic positions at University of Toledo's Eleanor N. Dana Cancer Center, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the University of Washington School of Medicine. He is a member of the board of directors of the American Cancer Society of Gene and Cell Therapy and is on the editorial board of several peer reviewed journals focusing on cancer and molecular sciences.  Dr. Nemunaitis has authored 444 peer-reviewed publications and 45 book chapters. 

Dr. Nemunaitis received an M.D. from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Ohio. He completed training in internal medicine at Boston City Hospital and a fellowship in oncology and hematology at University of Washington School of Medicine and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle.

Scott is the Executive Director and Treasurer of the Albert and Margaret Alkek Foundation of Houston, Texas, a private foundation primarily supporting institutions in the Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas. 

Since January 1996, Mr. Seaman has served as the Chief Financial Officer of Chaswil Ltd., an investment management company. Since September 1986, Mr. Seaman has served as Secretary and Treasurer of M & A Properties Inc., a ranching and real estate concern.  Mr. Seaman is the Managing Member of ICT Development LLC, an energy services supplier.  He is past Chairman and President, of ICT Management Inc., the general partner of Impact Composite Technology Ltd., a composite industry supplier.

Mr. Seaman is a director of Somebody Cares America, a non-profit charitable organization. He received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Bowling Green State University and is a certified public accountant.