The Team

Craig A. Dionne, PhD
President, CEO and Director
Craig A. Dionne, PhD has over 23 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, including direct experience in identifying promising oncology treatments and bringing them through the clinic. He served for several years as VP Discovery Research at Cephalon, Inc., where he was responsible for its oncology and neurobiology drug discovery and development programs. Dr. Dionne has also recently served as Executive Vice President at the Prostate Cancer Research Foundation. In addition to extensive executive experience, Dr. Dionne's productive scientific career has led to six issued patents and co-authorship of many scientific papers.

Nancy Jean Barnabei, CPA
Vice President Finance and Treasurer
Ms. Barnabei has more than 20 years’ experience with both public and private companies in the biotechnology industry. From 2010 − 2011, Ms. Barnabei served as Chief Financial Officer of Corridor Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a drug development company, which acquired Immune Control Inc., where she served as Chief Financial Officer from 2008 − 2010. She founded Talkeetna Advisors, LLC in 2005, a consulting and advisory firm specializing in biotechnology companies. From 2000 − 2004, she was Vice President Finance, Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer at Locus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Her previous experience includes eight years at Cephalon, Inc., concluding as Corporate Controller. Ms. Barnabei earned a BS in business administration in 1986 from Northeastern University, Boston, and is a certified public accountant. 

Peter E. Grebow, PhD
Director
Peter E. Grebow, PhD joined the board in May 2012. He is President and founder of P.E. Grebow Consulting, Inc., which he formed in 2011. From 1991 to 2011, Dr. Grebow held several key positions with Cephalon, Inc. (now Teva Pharmaceuticals), a biopharmaceutical company, including Executive Vice President, Cephalon Ventures, Executive Vice President, Technical Operations, Senior Vice President, Worldwide Business Development and Senior Vice President, Drug Development. Prior to joining Cephalon, Dr. Grebow served as the Vice President, Drug Development for Rorer Central Research, a division of Rhone-Poulenc Rorer Pharmaceuticals Inc., a pharmaceutical company, from 1988 to 1990. Dr. Grebow currently serves as director of Optimer Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: OPTR) since February 2009 and as director of Q Holdings, Inc. since December 2011. 

Bo Jesper Hansen, MD, PhD
Director
Bo Jesper Hansen, MD, PhD joined the GenSpera board in August 2010. He is currently the Executive Chairman of the Board of Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB (STO: SOBI), an international growth company specializing in the development, registration, marketing and distribution of pharmaceutical drugs for rare and life-threatening diseases. Dr. Hansen has held this position since January 2010, as a result of the merger of Swedish Orphan International AB Group and Biovitrum. Prior to the merger, Dr. Hansen served from 1998 to 2010 in numerous positions with Swedish Orphan International AB Group, including CEO, President, and Director of the Board, where his responsibilities included establishment, development and expansion of the company's operations in Europe, Japan, the Americas, and Australia. Dr. Hansen holds a Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Copenhagen with a specialty in urology. Dr. Hansen also serves on the boards of CMC AB, MipSalus ApS, Incentive AB (Gambro), Orphazyme ApS, Novagali SAS, TopoTarget A/S (NASDAQ OMX: TOPO), Hyperion Therapeutics, Inc. and Zymenex A/S. 

Scott Ogilvie
Director
Scott V. Ogilvie is President of AFIN International, Inc., a private equity/business advisory firm, which he founded in 2006. From August 2006 to December 2009, he was President and CEO of Gulf Enterprises International, Ltd., a company that brings strategic partners, expertise and investment capital to the Middle East and North Africa. Mr. Ogilvie previously served as Chief Operating Officer of CIC Group, Inc., an investment management firm. He began his career as a corporate and securities lawyer with Hill, Farrer & Burrill, and has extensive public and private corporate board experience in finance, real estate and technology companies. Mr. Ogilvie currently serves on the board of directors of Neuralstem, Inc. (NYSE AMEX:CUR), Preferred Voice Inc. (OTCBB:PRFV) and Derycz Scientific, Inc. (OTCBB: DYSC).

Russell Richerson, PhD
COO and Secretary
Russell B. Richerson, PhD has over 25 years of experience in the Biotechnology/Diagnostics industry, including 11 years at Abbott Laboratories in numerous management roles. He also has extensive experience in senior research and development positions at companies such as Boehringer Mannheim, Du Pont, Prometheus Laboratories, Ventana Medical Systems, and the Molecular Profiling Institute. Dr. Richerson serves on the board of the International Genomics Consortium (IGC), a non-profit medical research organization located in Phoenix, Arizona.

John T. Isaacs, PhD
Chief Scientific Advisor, Chairman of the Science Advisory Board and Co-Founder
John T. Isaacs, PhD, is Professor of Oncology at the Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center and a Professor in the Department of Urology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the journal The Prostate and is on the editorial board of Clinical Cancer Research, as well as Cancer Research. He previously served as president of Society for Basic Urological Research and on the Experimental Therapeutics Study Section for NIH.

Samuel R. Denmeade, MD
Chief Clinical Advisor and Co-Founder
Samuel R. Denmeade, MD, is Professor of Oncology, Urology and Pharmacology at the Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, and a member of the Anti-Cancer Drug Development Training Program. His laboratory focuses on the development of targeted therapies for the treatment of prostate cancer. He has developed several prodrug therapies that are activated by prostate cancer specific proteases and has published over 40 papers in this area. Dr. Denmeade is a Board Certified Medical Oncologist and has been the Principal Investigator on a number of prostate cancer clinical trials. He is on the Editorial Board of the journal The Prostate.

Søren Brøgger Christensen, PhD
Scientific Advisory Board Member
Søren Brøgger Christensen, PhD, is Professor, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, The Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark and is internationally recognized for his work in the isolation and identification of natural products with significant biological activities. He was the first to elucidate the chemical structure of thapsigargin and his lab is productively engaged in exploring further derivatives of this bioactive compound. Dr. Christensen has co-authored over 150 scientific publications and is co-inventor on several key patents in GenSpera's intellectual property portfolio.