Leadership

Karolina leads business development, investor relations, and corporate communications. Prior to Rezera, she was Vice President of Business Development at Voloridge Health, where she led strategic investments, and previously held senior corporate development and strategy roles at Frequency Therapeutics. Earlier in her career, she was a founding team member at Life Biosciences and co-founded a biotechnology startup, Spotlight Biosciences, contributing to the financing and development of a portfolio of biomedical ventures.

She has served on the boards of Molecular You, ONVY, and SiPhox Health. Her scientific background spans research roles at Harvard Medical School, Tufts University, the Max Planck Institute for Cell Biology and Genetics, and the Leibniz Institute for Polymer Research, resulting in multiple peer-reviewed publications.

Karolina holds a M.Sc. in Molecular Biology from Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Ph.D. in Regenerative Medicine from Technische Universität Dresden, an M.B.A. from Quantic School of Business and Technology.

David joined Rezera during its seed-funded stage and is an inventor of all four clinical molecules. David leads the medicinal chemistry function, working collaboratively with biology, DMPK and computational chemistry colleagues to design and optimize molecules towards candidate selection. He is the first author of several publications on NLRP3 inhibitors and has given invited talks on this subject at various international conferences. Prior to Rezera, he worked as a medicinal chemist at leading pharmaceutical companies, including Novartis, GSK and Takeda.

David holds a MChem in Chemistry from the University of Southampton. He has been awarded Chartered Chemist status and admitted as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Nicola leads Clinical Program and Portfolio Management ensuring the Portfolio can progress within time, budget and scope considerations, delivering each molecule's full potential.

Prior to Rezera, she was Vice President Program & Portfolio Management at Amphista Therapeutics, a biotech where she was able to lead the first successful IND submission, alongside supporting the set up of a clinical team and associated requirements to enable the Company’s First, First in Human study, within Oncology. Nicola has previously also worked in several pharmaceutical companies (Pfizer, GSK and AZ) where she has a proven track record of developing molecules within a range of pre-clinical and clinical phases.

Nicola holds a Project Management Professional certification from the Project Management Institute since 2019. Nicola also has a Bachelor of Sciences honors degree from The University of Paisley.

Julie-Ann leads Technical Operations at Rezera, where she is responsible for the company's Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls (CMC) strategy, technical development, manufacturing and supply across the product portfolio. She provides strategic leadership for drug substance and drug product development, analytical sciences, clinical manufacturing, regulatory CMC activities and external manufacturing partnerships, supporting the progression of Rezera’s small-molecule programmes through clinical development to commercialization.

With more than 30 years of pharmaceutical development experience, Julie-Ann has held leadership roles across biotechnology and specialty pharmaceutical companies, including Therakind, Vectura and Innovata. She also founded Penton Consultancy Services, providing strategic CMC and technical operations leadership to biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, including supporting Phase 2 to Phase 3 transitions, regulatory submissions and commercial readiness.

Julie-Ann holds a B.Sc. in Pharmacy from Aston University and a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutics from the University of Manchester. She completed her pharmacy pre-registration training at Pfizer Central Research in Sandwich, Kent.

Valérie leads drug substance development with responsibility spanning late-stage development, process optimization, and manufacturing strategy. She is a medicinal chemist with more than 35 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry, driven by a passion for connecting scientific innovation with the people and organizations that can maximize its impact and ultimately improve patients' lives.

Her career began at SmithKline Beecham in the United States before moving to the UK, where she held roles across several biotechnology companies, contributing to the discovery and development of innovative medicines. In 2016, she joined Rezera at its inception, helping to build the company from the ground up.

Throughout her career, she has established and managed an extensive network of scientific collaborators and strategic partners, ensuring that the right expertise is brought together to meet evolving business and scientific needs. As Rezera has grown, her role has evolved beyond discovery research to overseeing the Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls (CMC) progression of the company's therapeutic assets, guiding programs from late discovery through to clinical trials.

Valérie obtained a Diplôme d'études approfondies and a Maitrise de Chimie from the Université d’Orsay (Paris XI).

Pete Thornton leads Translational Science, offering decades of senior scientific leadership in the biopharmaceutical sector. He possesses deep and proven expertise in driving drug discovery and development programs from inception through to development, drawing on an impressive professional background at MedImmune and AstraZeneca.

Throughout his career, Pete has cultivated a wealth of experience spanning the entire R&D continuum. His expertise is particularly concentrated within the neuroinflammation, pain and metabolic therapeutic areas, where he has demonstrated a proven track record of leading both small molecule and biologic (large molecule) programs. His comprehensive operational and strategic insight spans the critical milestones of drug development, successfully guiding assets from initial target validation and lead optimization through to human clinical trials.

An accomplished academic and thought leader, Pete holds a B.Sc. in Pharmacology from the University of Bristol and a Ph.D. in Neuroinflammation from the University of Manchester. He has published extensively in top-tier peer-reviewed journals on the topics of neuroinflammation and metabolism, with a specialized focus on the role of glial and cerebrovascular inflammatory mechanisms in disease pathogenesis.

Shawna-Gay oversees the company’s legal affairs and provides strategic, legal and business guidance to the board and executive leadership across a broad range of matters.

With more than 15 years of experience in the life sciences and technology sectors, she is recognized for combining practical business judgment with legal expertise to help companies navigate complex challenges, manage risk, and achieve their strategic objectives. Prior to Rezera, she served as Vice President, Corporate & Securities Law and Corporate Secretary at Generation Bio, where she led legal support for securities compliance, governance, risk management, and employment matters. Earlier in her career, she held progressively senior roles at EchoStar Corporation, developing a wide-ranging corporate practice spanning transactional, governance, and operational matters.

Shawna-Gay received her J.D. and M.A. in Public Policy from Stanford University and A.B. from Harvard University.