Management

Arthur T. Sands, M.D., Ph.D., has served as President of Nurix since June 2020, and as Chief Executive Officer and a member of the company’s board of directors since September 2014. Prior to joining Nurix, Dr. Sands was the co-founder and served as President, Chief Executive Officer, and as a member of the board of directors of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on target validation and pharmaceutical development, from 1995 to July 2014. Before founding Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Dr. Sands served as an American Cancer Society postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Human and Molecular Genetics at Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Sands holds a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from Yale University and an M.D. and a Ph.D. in Cell Biology from Baylor College of Medicine.

Hans van Houte has served as Chief Financial Officer of Nurix since June 2020 and has led the company’s finance team since 2015. Prior to joining Nurix, Mr. van Houte was a managing partner at Bionation LLC, a financial consulting firm, and served as acting CFO for multiple new biotechnology companies formed with investments totaling over $150 million from Third Rock Ventures and The Column Group. Mr. van Houte previously held senior financial roles in biotechnology companies including Vice President, Finance and Operations at Trubion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., where he was part of the team that took Trubion public in October 2006. Prior to Trubion, Mr. van Houte was the Controller, Treasurer, and Principal Accounting Officer at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, where he helped build the financial and accounting organization post-IPO to support growth from a $100 million to a multibillion market capitalization. Mr. van Houte holds a B.S. in Business Administration, Finance and Accounting from Babson College.

Gwenn M. Hansen, Ph.D., has served as Chief Scientific Officer of Nurix since June 2020 and served as the company’s Senior Vice President, Research from July 2019 through May 2020. Since joining Nurix in 2015, Dr. Hansen has focused on establishing the company’s DNA encoded library technology platform for small molecule discovery and leading the company’s discovery organization. Prior to joining Nurix, Dr. Hansen was an Associate Professor in the Center for Drug Discovery at Baylor College of Medicine and served in a variety of discovery-focused roles at Lexicon Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Hansen holds a B.A. in Biology from Gustavus Adolphus College and a Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.

Christine Ring, Ph.D., J.D., has served as Chief Legal Officer and Chief Compliance Officer of Nurix since October 2023, and has served as the company’s Secretary since March 2020. Dr. Ring served as Nurix’s General Counsel from September 2019 to October 2023. Prior to joining Nurix, Dr. Ring held multiple positions assisting companies protect intellectual property, engage in licensing transactions, raise capital, and transition from private companies into public companies. Her most recent corporate positions were as Senior Vice President, Legal at Dermira, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on medical dermatology, and as Senior Vice President of Technology, Strategy & Licensing at Amyris, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on renewable fuels and specialty chemicals. Dr. Ring has served on the board of directors of BIOMILQ, Inc. since February 2022, and has served as board chair since March 2023. Dr. Ring holds an A.B. in Biophysics from the University of California, Berkeley, a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from the University of California, San Francisco, and a J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. 

Jason Kantor, Ph.D., has served as Chief Business Officer of Nurix since October 2023, and served in various finance and business strategy roles since joining the company in July 2020. Prior to joining Nurix, Dr. Kantor served as a Senior Biopharma Analyst at Artisan Partners, where he covered industry trends for both large and small cap biotech and pharma companies globally. He also served as Board President at Biotech Partners, meeting the non-profit’s goals of increasing corporate sponsorship and gaining support from local government. Dr. Kantor previously served as Managing Director, Biotechnology Analyst at Credit Suisse, RBC Capital Markets and WR Hambrecht + Co, focusing on innovative biotech companies and building successful healthcare and research franchises. Prior to that, he held a position as Vice President, Biotechnology Analyst at JP Morgan Chase & Co. Dr. Kantor holds a B.A. in Biology from the University of California, San Diego and a Ph.D. in Cell and Development Biology from Harvard University.

Pasit Phiasivongsa, Ph.D., has served as Chief Technical Officer of Nurix since May 2024. Dr. Phiasivongsa served as Nurix’s Executive Vice President, Technical Operations from October 2023 through April 2024, and as the company’s Senior Vice President, Technical Operations from August 2022 through September 2023. Prior to joining Nurix, Dr. Phiasivongsa served as Senior Vice President, Pharmaceutical Development & Manufacturing at Kronos Bio, where he led all CMC development, manufacturing, and supply chain-related activities. Before Kronos, Dr. Phiasivongsa served as Senior Vice President, Technical Operations at Principia Biopharma, where he incorporated key innovations into CMC development and manufacturing. Prior to Principia, he was Vice President, Pharmaceutical Development at Tobira Therapeutics, where he was responsible for CMC-related activities and led the intellectual property strategy and development for the company’s core assets. Early in his career, he held positions in drug discovery, development, and manufacturing. He is listed on 28 U.S.-issued patents and more than 30 patent applications. Dr. Phiasivongsa earned his B.S. in Biochemistry and Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical and Chemical Sciences from the University of the Pacific, Stockton. 

Paula G. O’Connor, M.D., has served as Chief Medical Officer of Nurix since May 2024.  Dr. O’Connor served as Executive Vice President and Head of Clinical Development from February 2024 through April 2024, and as the company’s Senior Vice President of Clinical Development from September 2022 through January 2024. Dr. O’Connor is trained as a hematologist-oncologist with more than 15 years of drug development expertise. Prior to joining Nurix, Dr. O’Connor held senior level positions in Clinical Development and Medical Affairs at Protagonist Therapeutics, Oncopeptides, Inc., Coherus Biosciences, Medivation, Onyx, and Genentech. Dr. O’Connor completed her fellowships in Hematology, Oncology, and AIDS Oncology at the combined programs of the Massachusetts General, Brigham and Women’s, and Dana Farber Cancer Institute. She holds a B.A. in Psychology-Biology from Yale University and an M.D. from Stanford University.

Alpana Loomba, MSc., has served as Senior Vice President, Development Operations at Nurix since May 2024. Ms. Loomba has over 25 years of experience in drug development across several indications including hematology-oncology, infectious disease, and organ transplantation and has worked on fifteen drug products that have received FDA or international regulatory approval in North America, the EU and APAC. During her career, she has worked in development operations serving in positions of increasing responsibility at Merck, Schering-Plough, Zeneca, Roche, Portola Pharmaceuticals, Gilead Sciences and most recently at Allogene Therapeutics. Ms. Loomba holds a BSc. and MSc.in Food and Nutrition from the Lady Irwin College, Delhi University, India, and she started her research career at Johns Hopkins University.

Buckley Kohlhauff has served as Senior Vice President of Information Technology of Nurix since September 2021. He has over 15 years of experience as an IT executive in the biopharmaceutical industry, leading teams responsible for driving innovation through the secure use of technology. He previously served as Chief Technology Advisor at TeamLogic IT, assisting companies in developing their digital strategy. Prior leadership positions also include Senior IT Director at FivePrime Therapeutics and Senior Director of Information Systems at Lexicon Pharmaceuticals. He has extensive experience optimizing IT infrastructure, ensuring system compliance, improving systems performance, and introducing new levels of business intelligence. As a result of his lifelong work and commitment to innovation and excellence, Buckley has received the RedHat Innovation Award and the Ernst & Young Computerworld Honors Award. He studied IT Management and Cybersecurity at Western Governors University and Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University.

Christopher B. Phelps, Ph.D., has served as Vice President and Head of Early Discovery at Nurix since January 2021. Dr. Phelps has more than 10 years of experience in small molecule discovery, with a focus on DNA encoded library technology. Prior to joining Nurix, he served in multiple roles at GSK, most recently as Director of DNA Encoded Library Screening. He earned his B.S. in Biology from St. Lawrence University and his Ph.D. in Chemistry and Biochemistry from the University of California, San Diego, and he completed his post-doctoral training at Harvard University.

Frederick Cohen, Ph.D., joined Nurix in 2017 and has served as Head of Medicinal Chemistry since April 2020. He has more than 20 years of experience in small molecule drug discovery, spanning multiple therapeutic areas including oncology, neurodegeneration and antibiotics. Prior to joining Nurix, he served at Achaogen, Genentech, and Tularik. Dr. Cohen earned his B.A. in Chemistry from Occidental College and his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of California, Irvine.

Bev Benson, Ph.D., has served as Vice President and Head of Clinical Science at Nurix since January 2022. Dr. Benson has over 22 years of experience in drug development across numerous indications and has worked on five drugs that have received FDA approval. During her career, she has worked as a Clinical Scientist serving in positions of increasing responsibility at Amgen, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, BeiGene, CytomX Therapeutics and most recently at Principia Biopharma. Dr. Benson holds a B.S. in Microbiology from the University of Oklahoma and a Ph.D. in Pharmacology & Toxicology from the University of Kansas, and she completed her postdoctoral fellowship at the Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah.

Davorka Messmer, Ph.D., joined Nurix in 2022 and has served as Vice President of Discovery Biology since June 2024. Dr. Messmer has more than 10 years of drug development experience in small molecules and peptide therapeutics and over 20 years of experience in immunology and oncology. Prior to joining Nurix, Dr. Messmer held roles at Johnson & Johnson, Plexium and Inception Sciences. She earned her B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Duesseldorf and her Ph.D. in Immunology from the Rockefeller University in NY.

Elizabeth Bosch, Ph.D., has served as Vice President, Alliance and Program Management at Nurix since January 2023 and served as the company’s Head of Alliance Management and Research Program Management from June 2018 through December 2022. Prior to joining Nurix, she worked at Five Prime Therapeutics, Inc., Incyte Corporation and Sentinel Biosciences, Inc. Dr. Bosch earned an M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles and completed her postdoctoral work at the Cell Signaling Dept, DNAX/Schering Plough Biopharma and the Jules Stein Eye Institute at UCLA. 

Eren Demirhan, Ph.D., has served as Vice President and Head of Biometrics at Nurix since March 2021, leading the Company’s Biostatistics and Clinical Data Science efforts. Dr. Demirhan brings over 17 years of experience in drug pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, championing data-driven drug development ideology and implementation. Prior to joining Nurix, Dr. Demirhan served in a variety of roles at Allogene Therapeutics, Medivation, Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Novartis, Biogen, and GSK. Dr. Demirhan holds a B.A. in Statistics from Middle East Technical University, a Ph.D. in Statistics from North Carolina State University and an M.B.A from Kenan Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill.

Eva Kras, M.S., joined Nurix in 2023 and has served as Vice President and Head of Regulatory Affairs since February 2024. Ms. Kras has over 22 years of experience in drug development, spanning early to late-stage programs across several therapeutic areas, including oncology/hematology and rare disease. Throughout her career, she has been responsible for developing innovative regulatory strategies leading to numerous global regulatory marketing approvals. Prior to joining Nurix, she held a variety of roles at Amgen, Seattle Genetics, BioMarin, GSK, Coherus and most recently BeiGene. Ms. Kras earned her B.S. in Pharmacology from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and her M.S. in Regulatory Science from the USC School of Pharmacy.

Hao Lu, Ph.D., joined Nurix Therapeutics in July 2021 and has served as Vice President of Discovery Pharmacology since July 2024. With over 15 years of experience in drug discovery for small molecules and biologics, Dr. Lu has played a key role in advancing therapeutic candidates across a range of areas, including oncology, immune-oncology, immunology, and infectious diseases. Before joining Nurix, he held position at EMD Serono and Bristol-Myers Squibb. Dr. Lu earned his B.S. in Chemistry from The Chinese University of Hong Kong, graduating with first-class honors, and his Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Chemical Biology from Stony Brook University.

John M. Lin has served as Vice President, Research Informatics at Nurix since July 2024 and served as the company’s Executive Director, Research Informatics from May 2021 through June 2024.  Prior to joining Nurix, he served in multiple roles in Data Science, Systems, and Infrastructure at Nektar Therapeutics, Five Prime Therapeutics and Novartis.  Mr. Lin holds a B.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, and an M.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Columbia University.  

Joseph D. Robinson has served as Vice President, Facilities Operations at Nurix since July 2023. Mr. Robinson has been responsible for developing the facilities, real estate, lab services and operations functions at Nurix since he joined the company in January 2016. Prior to Nurix, Mr. Robinson served in positions of increasing responsibility developing and growing administrative and operational functions for early-stage companies, including Presidio Pharmaceuticals, a developer of anti-viral therapeutics, and VaxGen, a vaccine company. Mr. Robinson began his career at the Conant Medical Group. Mr. Robinson studied Communications at San Francisco State University and Management at St. Mary’s College of California.  

Linda L. Neuman, M.D., M.B.A., has served as Vice President of Clinical Development at Nurix since May 2024.  Dr. Neuman is trained as an internist, practiced medicine for 10 years prior to entering industry, and has more than 12 years of drug development experience in both oncology and rare disease. Prior to joining Nurix, she held senior positions in clinical development at Aeglea BioTherapeutics, Catalyst Biosciences, Adverum Biotechnologies, Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, Puma Biotechnology, and Onyx Pharmaceuticals.  Dr. Neuman completed her internal medicine residency at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Indianapolis.  She holds a B.S. in Biology from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, an M.B.A from Indiana Wesleyan University, and an M.D from Southern Illinois University.