About

Timothy J. Miller, Ph.D.

Co-Founder, President, and CEO

Timothy Miller is Co-Founder, President & CEO of Forge Biologics, Inc., a VC-backed gene therapy development engine focused on accelerating access to potentially live-saving AAV gene therapies. Founding CEO & President of Abeona Therapeutics, a rare disease NASDAQ gene/cell therapy company. A proven biotech leader with experience in driving gene therapy pipeline development, regulatory strategy, investor relations, M&A activities, in-licensing, GMP manufacturing, clinical development and leading stakeholder/shareholder engagement. Dr. Miller has over 20+ years of business development, scientific research, product development and clinical operations expertise, with a focus on transitioning novel gene and cell therapies through pre-clinical - Phase 3 human clinical trials. A public/private biotechnology professional with a Ph.D. in Pharmacology, Bachelor of Science (B.S.), Master of Science (M.S.) focused in Biology/Molecular Biology from John Carroll University. He is an avid patient-centric drug developer and entrepreneur.

Jaysson Eicholtz

Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer

Jaysson Eicholtz is the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer at Forge Biologics. Jaysson has 20+ years of operational experience in FDA regulated industry and specializes in design and operation of aseptic processing facilities. Prior to forming Forge Biologics, Jaysson held operational management roles with increasing levels of responsibility with Tyson Foods, Wyeth, Sanofi Pasteur, Dendreon, Unither, Nationwide Children's Hospital and Scout Bio. He graduated with a BS in Animal Science from the University of Maryland in 1999 where he also received his MS in Biotechnology in 2005. You'll find Jaysson and his wife, Michelle, on a rugby field, cross-country course, or running track near their home in Pataskala, Ohio on most weekends as they support their 4 sons' endeavors.

Erandi De Silva, Ph.D.

Co-Founder and Vice President of Product Development

Erandi De Silva, PhD, is the Co-Founder and Vice President of Product Development of Forge Biologics. She is an experienced scientist and entrepreneur, with 10+ years of experience in discovery research, therapeutic development, and partnering across oncology, infectious disease, and gene therapy. Prior to founding Forge, she held leadership roles in both academic and industry settings, including at Myonexus Therapeutics. Dr. De Silva received her BS, with honors, from Stanford University, and earned a PhD in Molecular Biology from Princeton University, where she was awarded the Procter Fellowship in recognition of exceptional research. She was also a Postdoctoral Research Scientist at Genentech.

Maria Escolar, M.D., M.S.

Chief Medical Officer

Maria Escolar is the Chief Medical Officer at Forge Biologics and is Professor of Pediatrics and Director, Program for the Study of Neurodevelopment in Rare Disorders (NDRD) at University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Escolar has more than 20 years of experience as a practicing clinician and researcher and is internationally known for her work in neurodevelopment of children with leukodystrophies and mucopolysaccharidosis. Dr. Escolar has authored more than 60 manuscripts, including two New England Journal of Medicine articles. Her research focuses on behavioral and neuroimaging outcome measurements and natural history of rare neurological diseases. Dr. Escolar is a graduate of the Escuela Colombiana de Medicina, has a Master of Science in human nutrition from Columbia University and completed a residency in general pediatrics and fellowship in child development and behavior at Cornell University Medical Center. She is board-certified in pediatric neurodevelopmental disorders and has been the lead investigator on multiple gene therapy clinical trials.

Ashley Craddick

Director of Process Development

Ashley Craddick is the Director of Process Development at Forge Biologics. Ashley has 10 years of experience in gene therapy and specializes in downstream purification focusing on optimizing FDA compliant processes. Prior to joining Forge Biologics, Ashley held operational management and developmental roles with Scout Bio and Nationwide Children's Hospital. She graduated with a BS in Chemistry from Urbana University in 2009. Ashley and her husband, Adam, have two young children that occupy their free time taking them to sporting events and exploring outside.

Jeremy Pupillo

Director, Supply Chain and Facilities

Jeremy Pupillo is the Director, Supply Chain and Facilities at Forge Biologics. Jeremy brings 20+ years of supply chain operations knowledge, with 10 years in an FDA regulated environment. Prior to joining Forge Biologics, Jeremy held operational management roles with increasing levels of responsibility with Ball Corporation, Dendreon, Unither, Bristol-Meyers Squibb and Lonza. He earned his MBA with Columbia College in 2016 and his CSCP certification from APICS in 2017. When not on a softball field with his daughter, you can find Jeremy spending time with his wife Kim, their three grandchildren and two sons on their boat in the Finger Lakes.

Carolyn Odom

Director of Clinical Program Managementt

Carolyn Odom is the Director, Clinical Program Management at Forge Biologics. Prior to entering clinical research, she worked in the non-profit realm for a decade promoting independence and access to sport for people with disabilities. Carolyn has worked on the site, CRO and industry levels from pre-clinical through Phase III clinical trials, most recently as Director of Program Management at Abeona Therapeutics. She received an MA (Honours) in History from the University of St. Andrews. Carolyn is a puppy raiser for Canine Companions for Independence and is rarely seen without a dog at her side. She is currently raising Zia III at Forge.

David Dismuke

Chief Technical Officer, Ph.D.

David Dismuke joins Forge with more than 15 years of experience in large-scale manufacturing. He is an authority in the bioprocessing and design of gene therapy vectors, and has led CMC operations in the manufacturing of pre-clinical and clinical-grade AAV vectors for more than 10 years. Prior to joining Forge, David was the Vice President of Manufacturing at StrideBio where he directed the development of manufacturing and analytical processes for AAV vectors that utilize novel capsids. In addition, he led the design of therapeutic and reporter transgenes and innovative molecular enhancements to improve AAV production and therapeutic function. He was also previously the Head of Vector Production at Voyager Therapeutics where he led teams in the manufacturing and analytical testing of AAV using the baculovirus/Sf9 production system. Prior to Voyager, David was the Director of the UNC Vector Core, where he oversaw GMP operations as well as the production of research-grade vectors. He earned his PhD from Vanderbilt University, focusing on the molecular biology and lifecycle of HIV-1, and then performed his postdoctoral research at UNC Chapel Hill.

Christina Perry

Vice President of Finance and Operations

Christina Perry joins Forge Biologics as the Vice President of Finance and Operations. She spent the last several years as the CFO of Drive Capital where she built out all accounting and finance operations, back-office needs, and investor relations and reporting. Christina managed complex entity legal structures and has had extensive exposure to equity and debt financings. Over the last 15+ years Christina has worked with public and private companies and startups across varying industries, developing operational processes to scale with high growth. She spent the onset of her career at Deloitte, is a licensed CPA in the state of Ohio, earned her Bachelor of Business Administration at the University of Notre Dame and a Master of Accountancy from Miami University.

Chris Shilling

Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance

Christopher Shilling joins Forge as Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and Quality. He has over 15 years’ experience in development of novel gene therapies for rare and significant disorders. Chris is an experienced leader in gene therapy regulatory affairs, pharmacology, toxicology, and project management focused on developing strategies for early phase clinical trials in support of a variety of transformative therapeutics for pediatric and rare diseases. Prior to joining Forge, Chris started the Drug and Device Development program at Nationwide Children’s Hospital which was instrumental in gaining acceptance from regulators for over twenty first-in-human gene therapy clinical trials of novel biologic products, a dozen orphan drug designations, and two fast track designations. This body of work contributed to over fifteen successful licenses with industry partners for technologies discovered while at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and The Ohio State University. He has provided regulatory guidance and strategy to patient-focused foundations and industry ranging from angel invested startups to late stage and commercial staged biopharma. He received his Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in biology and a Masters of Science (M.S.) degree in Pathology from the Ohio State University.

Dan Salvo

Director of Communications and Community Development

After graduating college with a B.S. in Business Administration, Dan created DP Studios Productions, an award winning photography, film production, and live streaming company. Over the past 15 years, he has captured millions of photographs, created hundreds of films, and consulted for dozens of businesses from around the world to develop their creative vision and content for media communications.

Coupled with strong attention to detail and a wealth of technical knowledge, Dan’s storytelling and communication skills stand paramount in each of his projects. Clients rely on his ability to absorb large, amorphous concepts and goals, and convert those into actionable projects, effortlessly and creatively bridging the gaps between businesses, technology, and the people that bring them together.

Dan brings an innate ability to navigate within delicate and nuanced spaces, an invaluable mandate when working in the rare disease space. This capacity for capturing and communicating arcs of emotion is preeminent in his two documentary films, The Weight of a Mountain and At the Edge of Hope. These films required thousands of hours of filming and editing as well as the indelible trust of those featured. In return, these powerful projects provided viewers with an intimate glimpse into the world of rare disease, gene therapy, and the resilience of the human spirit.

Meghan Leonard

Senior Director of Quality Management

Meghan brings to the Forge team 16 years of experience in FDA-regulated industries, including drugs and medical devices, as well as pharmaceutical excipient manufacturing experience. Meghan Joins Forge after working in quality management at Abeona Therapeutics, where she gained experience in cell and gene therapy. She started her career in industry at Ben Venue Laboratories (a Boehringer Ingelheim Company) in 2004 after graduating from Case Western Reserve University with a BA in Biology. Meghan and her husband, Lance, have two daughters and a pug named Esmeralda.

Adam S. Davis, Ph.D.

Senior Director, Analytics

Adam Davis joins Forge Biologics with more than 15 years of experience in recombinant adeno-associated viral vector product development, process development, and manufacturing. He has led various teams in the scalability of multiple platforms for the production, purification, and characterization of both pre-clinical and clinical recombinant gene therapy vectors. Prior to joining Forge Biologics, Adam was the Director of Manufacturing and Contract Manufacturing at Abeona Therapeutics, where he established manufacturing capabilities to supply early pre-clinical development in adherent cell culture. Adam also developed suspension culture capabilities, both in-house and through contract development and manufacturing partners. Prior to his work at Abeona Therapeutics, Adam was a scientist at BioMarin Pharmaceutical where he led a team optimizing yield in the Sf9/baculovirus system to produce Valoctogene Roxaparvovec, the company’s first gene therapy product. Prior to BioMarin, Adam contributed to the development and manufacturing of clinical gene therapy vectors at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. He earned his Ph.D. from Ohio State University, focusing on the rational design of recombinant AAV vector capsid for targeted delivery.

Steve Goden

Senior Vice President of Finance and Operations

Steve Goden joins Forge with over 35 years of financial and administrative management expertise in a wide range of organizations in all stages of development, from start‐up through rapid growth and maturity. Prior to joining Forge, Steve was Senior Director of Finance & Operations at Abeona Therapeutics, a rare disease NASDAQ gene/cell therapy company. He previously served as Chief Financial Officer of Red5 Pharmaceuticals, a biotech start-up that developed novel diagnostic assays, and SironRx Therapeutics, another biotech start-up that developed dermal wound therapies to reduce scarring. Prior to his biotech experience, Steve served as Executive Vice President for Cohesant Inc., an investment holding company that acquired, grew and divested of a variety of companies, including GlasCraft Inc., CuraFlo, and Raven Lining Systems. Earlier in his career, Steve served in senior financial roles at Cole National Corporation (e.g. Pearle Vision, Target Optical, Things Remembered) and Progressive Insurance. When not watching his Alabama Crimson Tide football teams win national championships, you will find Steve, his wife Amy, and their two sons volunteering on various Boy Scout and Kiwanis projects in their community.

Laura Carfagna

Director of Sales and Client Development

Laura Carfagna is the Director of Sales and Client Development at Forge Biologics. Laura has 11 years of sales and management experience in the Life Science Industry. Prior to joining Forge Biologics, Laura held sales and sales management roles with Corning Life Sciences, VWR, and Life Technologies. She graduated with a BS in microbiology from Bowling Green State University in 2009. Laura and her husband, Luciano, enjoy spending their free time hiking and cooking new recipes.

Hannah Munizza

Director of Marketing

Before joining Forge Biologics, Hannah spent the last 7 years as the Senior Director of Business Development and Marketing at the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), the venture capital industry’s preeminent trade group, leading business development, programming, industry relations, and marketing. In this role Hannah helped create and market benefits, resources, and programs for NVCA’s 300+ members. Prior to joining NVCA, Hannah worked at CTIA – The Wireless Association. There, she served as the marketing, public relations, and partnerships coordinator for CTIA’s conventions department. She began her career in CTIA’s Regulatory Affairs Department, where she was a member of the association’s regulatory policy advocacy team. Hannah received her BSBA cum laude in marketing and management from Robert Morris University, where she played for the university’s Division I volleyball team.