Meet Our Team

Leadership Team
Board of Directors
Scientific Advisory Board
Dog Pack

Leadership Team

Sean McClain

Founder, CEO & Director

Did you know?:

Sean loves chess and perfecting his weekend BBQ with the dream of opening a pop-up restaurant with his favorite chef, Gregory Gourdet.

Sean McClain

Founder, CEO & Director

Sean McClain is the founder and CEO of Absci, pioneering a new era of medicine at the intersection of AI and biology to design life-changing drugs. From a 400 sq. ft. basement lab to an industry-leading biotech platform, his journey reflects a deep belief that the future of health lies in merging human ingenuity with machine intelligence. Sean envisions a world where we move beyond managing symptoms to restoring the body’s innate capacity to heal itself, making curing disease a matter of design, not luck.

Zach Jonasson, PhD

Chief Financial Officer & Chief Business Officer

Did you know?:

As a Sackler Scholar at Harvard, Zach studied the neurobiology underlying learning and memory.

Zach Jonasson, PhD

Chief Financial Officer & Chief Business Officer

Zach Jonasson, PhD is the CFO and CBO of Absci. Prior to these roles, Dr. Jonasson served as an independent member of Absci's board of directors and as chairman of the board from April 2016 to October 2020.

Previously, Dr. Jonasson was a co-founder and Managing General Partner of two venture capital firms, Phoenix Venture Partners LLC (PVP) and Convergent Ventures, where he led both firm's venture capital investment strategies in the biotechnology sector. In those roles, he led investments in companies such as Absci, Valence Therapeutics (acquired by Recursion Pharmaceuticals), Sentinel Monitoring Systems (acquired by SUEZ), Totient (acquired by Absci), and ProFluent Bio, and he established fund investment partnerships with multinational corporations such as Pfizer, Corning, and L'Oreal. Earlier in his career, Dr. Jonasson was a General Partner at Seaflower Ventures, where he led multiple investments in companies including Serenex (acquired by Pfizer) and Metaworks (acquired by United Biosource Corporation) and was a co-founder of several companies, including Risk Capital Management and Corp Enhancement.

Dr Jonasson earned his PhD in Behavioral Neuroscience from Harvard University, where he was a Sackler Scholar, an AM in Statistics from Harvard University, and a BS in Economics from the Honors Program at Georgetown University.

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Ransi Somaratne, M.D., FACC, MBA

Chief Medical Officer

Ransi Somaratne, M.D., FACC, MBA

Chief Medical Officer

Ransi Somaratne is a physician-scientist and seasoned biopharmaceutical executive with deep expertise in clinical development spanning cardiology, rare disease, and beyond. As Chief Medical Officer, he leads the clinical development strategy and execution for Absci's pipeline of AI-designed therapeutics.

Dr. Somaratne joins Absci from Vertex Pharmaceuticals, where he served as Senior Vice President of Clinical Development and Translational Medicine, overseeing clinical programs across Phases 1-4. Prior to Vertex, he served as Chief Medical Officer at several clinical-stage biotechnology companies, leading programs in sepsis, acute respiratory distress syndrome, immune-mediated diseases, and mitochondrial therapies for neuromuscular disorders. Earlier in his career, he held scientific leadership roles at BioMarin Pharmaceutical and Amgen, where he contributed to multiple landmark programs including the Hemophilia A gene therapy Roctavian, the PCSK9 inhibitor Repatha, and Journavx, the first NaV1.8 inhibitor approved for moderate to severe acute pain.

A cardiologist and internist by training, Dr. Somaratne has co-authored more than 30 papers in peer-reviewed journals including the New England Journal of Medicine and JAMA. He earned his M.D. from Albany Medical College and his M.B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Shelby Walker, JD

Chief Legal Officer

Did you know?:

Shelby and her husband ride Icelandic horses and enjoy endurance riding both in the US and Iceland.

Shelby Walker, JD

Chief Legal Officer

Shelby Walker, JD, Chief Legal Officer, leads Absci's legal team and oversees the company's legal affairs, business transactions, intellectual property, risk management, and compliance. Shelby joined Absci from Korro Bio, Inc. where she served as General Counsel & Corporate Secretary. Previously, she held senior leadership roles as Senior Vice President, Intellectual Property at CRISPR Therapeutics and General Counsel at Ginkgo Bioworks.

Shelby holds a JD and LLM from UNH Franklin Pierce School of Law, dual MS degrees in Bioscience Regulatory Affairs and Biotechnology from Johns Hopkins University, and a BS degree in Biotechnology from Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

Karin Wierinck

Chief People Officer

Did you know?:

Karin's joy is spending time with family and friends, preferably by the sea or in the mountains. She loves food and travel, and her Pomeranian, Bono, is a regular travel companion. Karin is thrilled that Bono can come with her to work and collaborate with other Unlimiter canines!

Karin Wierinck

Chief People Officer

Karin Wierinck, Chief People Officer, brings deep experience from her leadership roles at top biotech and pharma companies such as Takeda, Novo Nordisk, and Pfizer. Karin has partnered with diverse executive leadership teams to create business value within dynamic, high-growth environments, all while ensuring strong HR service delivery. Her experience working in the US, Switzerland, and throughout Europe will help Absci develop its global talent base. Karin is passionate about building positive cultures based on trust and transparency. She holds Masters degrees in German Philology and Plurilingual Business Communication from Ghent University, and a Masters Degree in HR Leadership from Rutgers University.

Amir Shanehsazzadeh

Chief AI Officer

Amir Shanehsazzadeh

Chief AI Officer

Amir Shanehsazzadeh, Chief AI Officer, leads Absci's AI Biologics Discovery and Engineering team, overseeing the development, experimental validation, and deployment of Absci's AI Platform for de novo antibody design and optimization. Amir holds degrees in Mathematics and Statistics from Harvard University.

Christine Lemke, PhD, DVM, MBA

SVP, Portfolio and Growth Strategy

Did you know?

In the nineties, Christine bred warmblood sport horses from her home state, Schleswig-Holstein called "Holsteiner". She loves eating out with friends, hiking in the Alps with her partner Joerg and gardening in her second home in France.

Christine Lemke, PhD, DVM, MBA

SVP, Portfolio and Growth Strategy

Christine Lemke, DVM, MBA, Senior Vice President, Portfolio and Growth Strategy, is responsible for implementing and driving a rigorous strategic planning and portfolio management process. As a seasoned international executive, she brings substantial corporate development and operations expertise to Absci. For global bio-pharmaceutical companies, including Bayer, Shire and Takeda, Christine delivered multiple global, cross-functional strategic projects sponsored by executive board members. She holds a DVM from FU Berlin, a PhD from School of Veterinary Medicine Hannover as well as an MBA from University of Denver and is based in Zurich, Switzerland.

Todd Bedrick, CPA

SVP, Chief Accounting Officer

Did you know?:

Todd loves iced coffee, traveling to new places, and paddleboarding lakes and rivers with his wife and two children. He is also a long-time Portland Trailblazers fan!

Todd Bedrick, CPA

SVP, Chief Accounting Officer

Todd Bedrick, Chief Accounting Officer, oversees the accounting and reporting, corporate tax, financial planning and analysis, acquisition integration and has managed multiple company-wide system implementations. Todd played a crucial role through the company's IPO. His prior experience includes being a senior audit manager at Ernst & Young and the Director of Technical Accounting at The Greenbrier Companies. Todd earned his BSBA in Accounting from the University of Arizona - Eller College of Management, he also holds an MS in Financial Analysis, received from Portland State University - School of Business.

Wen Sha

Chief of Staff

Did you know?:

Outside of work Wen enjoys exploring new foods, collecting vinyl records, and spending time in the Canadian Rockies where he is originally from.

Wen Sha

Chief of Staff

Wen Sha is CVP, Strategy & Business Operations, and Chief of Staff to Absci’s Founder & CEO, partnering with the executive team to drive priority internal and external initiatives. He also leads the marketing & communications, business operations, alliance management, and growth strategy teams at Absci. Prior to joining Absci, Wen led Business Operations & Portfolio Management at Seagen. He has worked across large biopharma, high-growth startups, and consulting, with responsibilities spanning corporate strategy, R&D portfolio management, and Chief of Staff roles. Wen holds degrees in Economics and in Management from the University of Alberta and Yale University, respectively.

Amer Denis Akkad PhD

VP, Research

Did you know?

Amer enjoys exploring new cities and cultures with his wife, where they try new try new hiking routes and sample the local cuisine

Amer Denis Akkad

VP, Research

Amer-Denis, VP of Research, leads translational research and preclinical toxicology for de novo antibody drug candidates developed by Absci's proprietary AI models. He is also responsible for ensuring profile alignment and executing the early clinical development strategy. Prior to joining Absci, Amer led drug discovery efforts at Bayer, overseeing projects from early target identification to preclinical candidate selection. Amer also spent four years at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, where he helped establish and lead the Precision Cardiology Laboratory initiative. He holds a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the International Graduate School of Neuroscience in Germany and has qualifications in clinical laboratory genetics.

Alexander Khan,
CPA

CVP, Finance & Investor Relations

Did you know?

Alex enjoys biking, running, cooking, and music and is a longstanding New York Mets fan.

Alexander Khan, CPA

CVP, Finance & Investor Relations

Alex Khan, Corporate Vice President, Finance & Head of Investor Relations interfaces with existing and prospective investors as well as sell side equity research analysts, and partners with the Executive Leadership Team on financial and investor-facing strategy and operations. His prior experience before joining Absci includes healthcare investor relations and advisory, equity research, and public accounting. Alex studied Economics-Accounting at The College of the Holy Cross and maintains a CPA license in New York.

Douglas Ganini da Silva PhD

VP, Biologics Discovery & Research

Douglas Ganini da Silva PhD

VP, Biologics Discovery & Research

Douglas Ganini da Silva, PhD, is the VP of Biologics Discovery and Research at Absci, where he leads the wet-lab discovery teams. Prior to joining Absci, he led analytical and method development activities across multiple programs in support of biologics drug development and manufacture. Before transitioning to industry, Douglas was an accomplished academic researcher specializing in biochemistry, method development and redox biology.

Passionate about fostering innovation, Douglas champions collaboration across scientific and technical disciplines, nurturing a culture of collaboration, creativity and reliable delivery. Douglas holds a PhD in Life Sciences, Biochemistry from the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Charles Romano

VP, Clinical Development Operations

Fun fact:

He currently resides near Atlanta, Ga where he loves to ride his motorcycle, tend his garden and go boating on the weekends.

Charles Romano

VP, Clinical Development Operations

Charlie Romano, Vice President of Clinical Development Operations, oversees our Clinical Trials and contributes to internal product development execution and strategy to help Absci continue to grow as a leader in AI drug creation. Prior to joining our team, Charlie served as VP of Development Operations for Arvinas, managing Clinical Operations, Data Management and Medical Writing. Prior to this, he has worked with Q32 Bio, Peachtree BioResearch (CRO), UCB Pharma, Pfizer and Boehringer Ingelheim. Charlie has managed many global programs from proof of mechanism to Launch.

Among these roles, Charlie has led hair loss studies in autologous stem cells and medical devices as well as products for immunology, inflammation, women's health and oncology. He holds a Masters degree in Public health and a bachelors in Biology.

Anders Kassow

Head of Intellectual Property

Michael Mangone, PhD

VP, Business Development

Did you know?

While Mike’s a city dweller, he enjoys the outdoors with his family any chance he gets by biking, backpacking, snowboarding, kayaking or just lounging on the beach.

Michael Mangone, PhD

VP, Business Development

Mike Mangone, Vice President of Business Development, engages with potential and existing partners as well as contributes to internal product development strategy to help Absci continue to grow as a leader in AI drug creation. Prior to joining our team, Mike served as VP of Corporate Development for Simcha Therapeutics, managing BD, corporate and IP strategy, and facilitating deals with large Pharma partners and leading clinical research institutions. Prior to Simcha, as VP of BD and Operations at BridgeBio Pharma, Mike managed several clinical and commercial stage portfolio companies and helped launch and later sell NULIBRY™. He also held strategic roles at ClearView Healthcare Partners and Flagship Pioneering, contributing to various company creation efforts.

Mike holds a PhD in Pathobiology and Immunology from NYU and AB in Molecular Biology from Princeton University and is based in New York City.

Penelope

Chief Morale Officer

Leadership Team

Board of Directors

Frans van Houten, MSc

Former CEO of Royal Philips

Did you know?

Amer enjoys exploring new cities and cultures with his wife, where they try new try new hiking routes and sample the local cuisine

Amer Denis Akkad

VP, Research

Sean McClain

Founder, CEO & Director

Did you know?:

Sean loves chess and perfecting his weekend BBQ with the dream of opening a pop-up restaurant with his favorite chef, Gregory Gourdet.

Sean McClain

Founder, CEO & Director

Karen McGinnis,
CPA

Former Chief Accounting Officer, Illumina

Board of Director Roles

Chairperson of the Audit Committee
Member of the Compensation Committee

Karen McGinnis, CPA

Former Chief Accounting Officer, Illumina

Karen McGinnis, CPA has served as a member of our board of directors since August 2020.

Ms. McGinnis has also served as an independent director of Alphatec Holdings, Inc. since June 2019, iRhythm Technologies, Inc. since July 2025, Sonendo, Inc. from October 2021 to March 2024, and Biosplice Therapeutics, Inc. from April 2021 until March 2023.

Ms. McGinnis was Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer of Illumina, Inc. from November 2017 until her retirement on April 2, 2021.

Ms. McGinnis also served as the Chief Executive Officer and President of Mad Catz Interactive Inc. from February 2016 to March 2017, the Chief Financial Officer of Mad Catz Interactive Inc. from June 2013 to February 2016 and served as the Chief Accounting Officer of Cymer, Inc. from November 2009 to June 2013. Previously, Ms. McGinnis served as Chief Accounting Officer for Insight Enterprises, Inc., from September 2006 until March 2009, its Senior Vice President of Finance from 2001 through September 2006 and its Vice President of Finance from 2000 through 2001. From 1997 to 2000, she served as the Chief Financial Officer of Horizon.

Prior to Horizon, Ms. McGinnis was employed by KPMG LLP from 1989 to 1997 and served as its Senior Assurance Manager.

Ms. McGinnis is a Certified Public Accountant and received a bachelor's degree in accounting from the University of Oklahoma.

Mene Pangalos,
PhD

Former Executive Vice President, BioPharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca

Board of Director Roles

Member of the Compensation Committee

Mene Pangalos, PhD

Former Executive Vice President, BioPharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca

Prof Sir Menelas Pangalos, Ph.D. has served as a member of our board of directors since January 2024.

Sir Pangalos previously served as AstraZeneca's Executive Vice-President of R&D BioPharmaceuticals from January 2019 to March 2024 and in various Executive Vice-President roles for AstraZeneca since 2010. Prior to joining AstraZeneca, Sir Pangalos held senior R&D roles, including Senior Vice President, at Pfizer, Wyeth Research and GlaxoSmithKline.

In 2019, Sir Pangalos was awarded a knighthood from Her Majesty The Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Sir Pangalos holds Honorary Doctorates from Glasgow University and Imperial College, London, is a Fellow of the Royal Society, the Academy of Medical Sciences, the Royal Society of Biology and Clare Hall, University of Cambridge. Sir Pangalos has taught as a Visiting Professor of Neuroscience at Kings College in the Wolfson Centre for Age-Related Diseases since 2005. Sir Pangalos was also an Adjunct Professor of Neuroscience from 2007 to 2010 at the Institute of Neurological Sciences at Penn University.

Sir Pangalos received a Ph.D. in Neurochemistry and undergraduate degree in Biochemistry from the University of London.

Daniel Rabinovitsj

Vice President, Meta

Board of Director Roles

Chairperson of the Compensation Committee
Member of the Audit Committee

Daniel Rabinovitsj

Vice President, Meta

Daniel Rabinovitsj has served as a member of our board of directors since November 2022. Mr. Rabinovitsj has served as a Vice President of Meta, the parent company of Facebook, and Facebook since August 2018.

Previously, Mr. Rabinovitsj served as Chief Operating Officer of Ruckus Wireless, Inc., a global supplier of advanced wireless systems for the mobile Internet infrastructure market, from October 2014 until its acquisition by ARRIS International plc in December 2017. From 2011 to September 2014, Mr. Rabinovitsj served as Senior Vice President of Qualcomm Atheros, Inc.'s wired and wireless networking and small cell infrastructure business.

Prior to Qualcomm Atheros, Mr. Rabinovitsj served in a number of executive management positions at companies including Atheros Communications, NXP Semiconductors, ST Ericsson, and Silicon Labs. Mr. Rabinovitsj previously served as a board member of QuickLogic Corporation and a private company developing intellectual property based upon machine learning to improve communication and other systems.

Mr. Rabinovitsj received an M.A. in Asian Studies and a B.A. in Philosophy from the University of Texas at Austin.

Joseph Sirosh, PhD

Former CVP and CTO of AI, Microsoft

Joseph Sirosh, PhD

Former CVP and CTO of AI, Microsoft

Joseph Sirosh, Ph.D. has served as a member of our board of directors since January 2022. Dr. Sirosh is currently the CEO and President of CreatorsAGI Inc, and recently served as Vice President of Amazon's Alexa Shopping group from October 2022 to November 2023.

Previously, Dr. Sirosh served as the Chief Technology Officer of Compass, Inc. from December 2018 to August 2022 and held various positions at the Microsoft Corporation from July 2013 to December 2018, including Chief Technology Officer of Artificial Intelligence.

During his tenure at Microsoft, Dr. Sirosh led product and engineering teams with responsibility for the enterprise database, Big Data, and machine learning products. Prior to Microsoft, Dr. Sirosh served as a Vice President of Technology at Amazon.Com, Inc., from December 2004 to July 2013, where he built the machine learning and Transaction Risk Management teams.

Dr. Sirosh holds a B. Tech in Computer Science and Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, and an M.S. in Computer Science and a Ph.D. in Neural Networks from the University of Texas at Austin.

Mary Szela

CEO and President, TriSalus Life Sciences

Mary Szela

CEO and President, TriSalus Life Sciences

Mary Szela has served as a member of our board of directors since July 2025.

Mary has served as CEO and President of TriSalus Life Sciences since January 2018. Prior to joining TriSalus, Mary served as Chief Executive Officer of Novelion Therapeutics, a rare disease company, where she led the company through regulatory compliance and legal difficulties, ultimately orchestrating a successful merger and expansion of Aegerion Pharmaceuticals and QLT Therapeutics. Prior to Novelion, she was Chief Executive Officer of Melinta Therapeutics, leading the company’s revitalization effort and accelerating clinical development of its lead asset for treatment of MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus).

Previously, Mary held progressive leadership roles at Abbott Laboratories including President of the company’s $8 billion U.S. pharmaceutical business. She developed global brands such as Humira® and served as Senior Vice President for global strategic marketing and services.

Mary currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors for Kura Oncology, Prometheus Biosciences, Omega Therapeutics and Senda Biosciences. She received both her B.S. in Nursing and her MBA from the University of Illinois at Chicago.