Company Leadership
(CEO at Ichor Life Sciences)
(CSO at Ichor Life Sciences)
Scientific & Clinical Advisory Board
Scientific & Operational Partnerships
Key contributors to Lento Bio's programs through our partner organizations
Method Development & Analytical Chemistry Lead
Program Project Manager, In Vivo Research
Accounting & Business Operations
FSU Frederich Laboratory
Kris Barnes, PhD
Dr. Barnes’ principal professional interest is to develop therapies to protect valuable human lives against aging and age-related disease. He earned his BS in Biology from SUNY Oswego and his PhD in Neuroscience from Weill Cornell Medicine, after which he was a competitive intelligence consultant in the biotech space with focus on multiple types of chronic diseases including in ophthalmology. He founded Lento Bio at idea-stage in 2022 with the goal of developing novel treatments for chronic aging disorders of the lens, having in the 3 years since developed and patented Lento Bio’s current lead presbyopia asset.
Anita Rajamani, PhD
Dr. Rajamani serves as Chief of Staff to the CEO at Lento Bio, where she leads operational strategy and execution. She earned her BS in Biomedical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology and her PhD from UC Davis, where her research focused on cardiovascular mechanobiology and lipidomics. Prior to joining Lento Bio, Dr. Rajamani held roles spanning competitive intelligence, clinical evaluation, and new product assessment across the life sciences industry, including positions at Astellas Pharma and Intuitive. She brings a unique combination of scientific rigor and strategic leadership to drive cross-functional initiatives as Lento Bio advances its presbyopia treatment program.
Kelsey Moody, PhD, MBA
Dr. Moody is a process-oriented drug developer and executive who has specialized in the study of aging and aging mechanisms for over a decade. Since 2013, Dr. Moody has successfully built Ichor Life Sciences from a living room start-up into a premier, vertically integrated research organization focused on drug discovery and development for pathways of aging. His work has been published in high impact peer-reviewed journals, including Cell. Dr. Moody holds a PhD in biochemistry and molecular biology from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, an MBA in risk management from Concordia University Wisconsin, and a BSc in biochemistry from SUNY Plattsburgh.
Aaron Wolfe, PhD
As a biophysicist with over 15 years of experience, Dr. Aaron Wolfe looks at the world and asks how we can illuminate scientific black boxes as fast as possible. Dr. Wolfe holds a PhD in Structural Biology, Biochemistry, and Biophysics from Syracuse University. Aaron founded Finger Lakes Bio LLC where he licensed a proprietary expression tag allowing for the scaled manufacturing of complex proteins in E. Coli. Finger Lakes Bio was later acquired by Ichor Life Sciences where Aaron became partner and Chief Science Officer. Upon becoming a partner at Ichor, Aaron took part in over $14 million of fundraising across the Ichor portfolio of 7 independent companies.
Ram Nagaraj, PhD
Dr. Nagaraj is a Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and a renowned researcher in lens biochemistry. Dr. Nagaraj’s educational background includes a Ph.D. in Biochemistry, and he has dedicated his career to investigating the processes that lead to lens aging. His research focuses on protein crosslinking in the lens, which contributes to protein aggregation, insolubilization, light scattering, and the loss of lens accommodation. He has also extensively studied the accumulation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) in the lens capsule and how they may contribute to secondary cataract formation with age. Currently, Dr. Nagaraj is actively testing novel small molecules aimed at combating AGE-mediated protein crosslinking and restoring lens resilience in aging eyes. His work addresses conditions such as presbyopia by targeting the underlying biochemical causes of lens stiffness and loss of accommodation.
James Frederich, PhD
Dr. Frederich heads an NIH-funded research laboratory at Florida State University that focuses on developing new strategies and tactics to build complex natural products. His laboratory is specifically interested in biologically active structures that modulate protein-protein interactions in vivo. Dr. Frederich received his PhD in synthetic organic chemistry from UC Irvine, and then served as an American Cancer Society Postdoctoral Fellow at UCLA before starting his independent career at Florida State in 2014. To date, his laboratory has raised over $3 million in federal funding to tackle challenging fundamental problems at the interface of chemistry, biology, and medicine.
Houman Hemmati, MD PhD
Dr. Hemmati is a Board-Certified ophthalmologist and an Ophthalmology Biotech & Pharmaceutical Entrepreneur & Executive. Dr. Hemmati received his Ph.D. in Biology from Caltech and completed his postdoctoral fellowship in Chemical Engineering and Drug Delivery at MIT, and is an Adjunct Assistant Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology at USC Keck School of Medicine. He now serves as Chief Medical Affairs Officer at Vyluma, Inc., where he helps lead the development of pharmacological treatments for nearsightedness (myopia) and other refractive eye conditions. Dr. Hemmati has played a key role in the development of innovative ophthalmic therapies, most notably at Allergan, where he served as Director of Clinical Development. During his time there, he was instrumental in the clinical development of Vuity, the recently approved eyedrop treatment for presbyopia. Furthermore, Dr. Hemmati consulted for Viewpoint Therapeutics, a company previously focused on small-molecule therapies targeting lens protein aggregation. His hands-on experience with the clinical development of eyedrop formulations for presbyopia gives him unique insights into the challenges and opportunities in developing effective solutions for this condition.
Wesley Jackson, PhD
Dr. Jackson is President and Chief Scientific Officer at Valitor, an ophthalmic biotech company developing long-acting biopolymer therapies for vision-threatening diseases. He earned his BS from UC Berkeley and his PhD from UC San Francisco, followed by postdoctoral research at the National Institutes of Health. A biotechnology entrepreneur for over 20 years, Dr. Jackson co-founded Valitor and helped in-license its novel protein-biopolymer conjugation platform from UC Berkeley. He has served as principal investigator on nine NIH projects and led Valitor through a $28M Series B financing. His deep experience in ophthalmology drug development, startup strategy, and preclinical-to-clinical translation makes him a key strategic resource as Lento Bio advances its presbyopia treatment program.
Mark Breazzano, MD, FACS
Dr. Mark Breazzano, M.D., F.A.C.S., serves on the LentoBio Scientific Advisory Board. He is a board-certified ophthalmologist at Retina-Vitreous Surgeons of Central New York and serves as Clinical Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences at SUNY Upstate Medical University. Dr. Breazzano enjoys a reputation as a talented vitreoretinal physician and surgeon, frequently presenting to national and international audiences. His interests include treatment of endophthalmitis, retinal detachment, subluxated intraocular lenses, and age-related macular degeneration, among other age-related conditions and complications.
Igor Bussel, MD, MS, MHA
Igor Bussel, M.D., M.S., M.H.A is a Clinician-Scientist, Board-Certified Ophthalmologist, and Fellowship-Trained Ophthalmic Surgeon. Before starting a private practice, Dr. Bussel was an attending surgeon and teaching faculty at UCI Gavin Herbert Eye Institute and the Director of the Glaucoma Section at VA Long Beach Hospital. Dr. Bussel earned his medical degree from Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science in Chicago, where he also earned master’s degrees in biomedical science and healthcare administration. He completed his residency in ophthalmology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and a fellowship in glaucoma and advanced anterior segment surgery at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. He remains an Assistant Clinical Professor at the UCI School of Medicine and has served as a consultant to numerous biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies focused on developing interventions for age-related diseases.
Kris Grohn, PhD
Kris Grohn is a Scientist at Ichor Life Sciences with over a decade of experience in key areas of biochemistry relevant to Lento Bio’s work. He leads method development and analytical chemistry efforts for Lento Bio, bringing deep expertise in protein characterization and small molecule analysis. His contributions are critical to the development and quality control of Lento Bio’s therapeutic candidates, ensuring rigorous scientific standards throughout the drug development process.
Andy Sargrad
Andy Sargrad is a Research Associate at Ichor Life Sciences with experience across a range of animal models for ocular disease. He serves as Program Project Manager for Lento Bio’s in vivo research, where he performs and oversees technical procedures and data collection. His hands-on expertise with preclinical models and study management ensures the consistent execution and quality of Lento Bio’s animal studies, which are essential for advancing the company’s therapeutic candidates toward clinical development.
Nichole Fish
Nichole is Operations Support Specialist at Ichor Life Sciences. She supports Lento Bio’s accounting and business operations and provides administrative support, helping ensure smooth day-to-day operational execution across the company’s research and business functions.
Sheila Duong
Sheila Duong is a synthetic chemist and PhD candidate in Dr. James Frederich’s laboratory at Florida State University. She works on novel compound design and synthesis for Lento Bio, applying her expertise in organic chemistry to create and optimize molecules that target the biochemical processes underlying lens aging. Her work is central to expanding Lento Bio’s pipeline of therapeutic candidates beyond the current lead asset.