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Who We Are
Nora D. Mineva, PhD
Co-founder, CEO & Chief Scientist
Dr. Nora Mineva holds a PhD in Pathology from Boston University School of Medicine. She has extensive expertise in the pathology and biology of cancer. Her research experience spans histological and molecular analyses of driver pathways in multiple cancer types (breast, prostate, colon, hematopoietic), and the use of animal models to study disease and test treatments. As Chief Scientist, since Adecto's founding, she has led product development efforts. Dr. Mineva is a graduate of the 2017 NIH I-Corps Business Training Program and the 2018 MassConnect Entrepreneur Mentorship Program. In addition to R&D and board member responsibilities, she has been integral to our fund raising and BD efforts. In March 2023, she became CEO of Adecto Pharmaceuticals.
Gail E. Sonenshein, PhD
Co-founder & President
Dr. Gail Sonenshein holds a PhD in Biology from MIT and is an internationally recognized breast cancer expert. She is Professor of Developmental, Molecular & Chemical Biology at Tufts University School of Medicine. Her groundbreaking work on the c-MYC oncogene and NF-κB transcription factor pathways is critical to our understanding of cancer development, progression, and resistance to treatment. It has led to the identification and validation of numerous therapeutic targets. Dr. Sonenshein has led productive laboratories at both Boston University and Tufts University, and authored over 170 papers in peer reviewed journals. She co-founded and directed the Women’s Health Interdisciplinary Research Center at Boston University School of Medicine and has extensive management, and private donor/government fund raising experience. She is PI on Adecto's SBIR grants.
Stefania Pianetti, PhD
Dr. Pianetti received her PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Milan. With a research interest in oncology, she did her postdoctoral training at the National Cancer Institute and then at Boston University School of Medicine, where she made important contributions to our understanding of the roles of the c-MYC oncogene in immune cell malignancies and of the HER2 growth factor receptor in breast cancer. In 2016, she was recruited to Adecto as a R&D Scientist and applied her extensive expertise in cancer studies to ADAM8 biology, assuming control of in vitro and in vivo model development. Dr. Pianetti is currently Head of Preclinical and Translational Development.
Head, Preclinical & Translational Development
John Tagliamonte, MBA
Corporate Development Lead
Mr. John Tagliamonte graduated with a BS in Molecular Biology from Tufts University and began his career as a Research Scientist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. He transitioned to a career in business after receiving an MBA from Boston College. He has over 30 years of experience in executive positions with responsibility for finance, BD, commercial and business operations, strategic planning and legal functions with both established and start-up companies. He was CEO of diabetes start-up Mellitus and CBO of biopharma company Oxyrane where he played a key role in financings and strategic partnerships. Other high impact roles include Officer and VP of BD at ImmunoGen, and Director Worldwide of BD & Licensing at Johnson & Johnson. He has been responsible for licensing both therapeutic and diagnostic products in the oncology space. Mr. Tagliamonte is a longtime Adecto business advisor and currently leads our corporate development efforts part-time.
Kathy Miller, MD
Advisor - Breast Cancer Management & Clinical Research
Dr. Kathy Miller received her medical degree from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine where she also carried out her residency in Internal Medicine. She completed a fellowship in Hematology/Oncology at the Indiana University School of Medicine. Dr. Miller is an internationally known expert in breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. She was co-chair of the ECOG-ACRIN Breast Committee from 2014-2017, and is now co-chair of the NCI Breast Cancer Steering Committee. She is Ballvé-Lantero Professor, Associate Director for Clinical Research and Co-Director of Breast Cancer Program at the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center. She has extensive experience in translational clinical trials, ranging from 1st-in-human Phase I studies to Phase III trials with registration intent.
Philippe Billiald, PhD
Advisor - Antibody Engineering
Dr. Philippe Billiald received his PhD in Biochemistry from Université Pierre et Marie Curie (Paris, France). He is Professor of Biochemistry at Université Paris-Saclay, School of Pharmacy. Dr. Billiald is an expert in the field of antibody structure, function and engineering, with a specific focus on diagnostic and therapeutic antibodies. He is an inventor on several international patents and has published over 40 papers in peer reviewed scientific journals, books and magazines in his area of expertise. He co-founded the pharmaceutical company Acticor Biotech to develop antibody-based treatments for acute ischemic stroke and other thrombotic diseases.
Walter Carney, PhD
Advisor - Diagnostic Development
Dr. Walt Carney holds a PhD in Microbiology from the Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University. He gained extensive IHC experience during his nearly 20-year tenure in the Department of Pathology at the Tufts Medical Center. As President and CSO for Oncogene Science, he was responsible for the discovery, development, manufacture and commercialization of numerous IHC and blood-based tests. He was involved in the development of biomarkers for 3 drugs, Tarceva (OSI Pharma), Nexavar (Bayer) and Rencarex (Wilex) and the development, validation and FDA clearance of an immunoassay that measures levels of the soluble form of HER-2 in the serum of breast cancer patients. He has published extensively and spoken frequently on cancer biomarkers such as HER-2, EGFR and CAIX.
Ann Marshak-Rothstein, PhD
Advisor - Target Immunobiology
Dr. Ann Marshak-Rothstein holds a PhD in Immunology from the University of Pennsylvania. She is Professor of Medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Dr. Marshak-Rothstein is world renowned for her work in immune cell activation, longevity and function. Her pioneering work implicated Toll-like receptors, which are typically involved in the detection of bacterial and viral infections, in the development of chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Her laboratory focuses on understanding the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus and advancing more effective and less debilitating treatments for cutaneous lupus and related rheumatologic diseases.
​Mathilde Romagnoli, PhD
Co-founder & Advisor - Strategic Planning & Scientific Approach
Dr. Mathilde Romagnoli holds a PhD in Haematology/Oncology from the Comprehensive Cancer Center of Nantes, France. She is an expert in the pathophysiology of cancer, including mechanisms of oncogenesis and chemoresistance and the identification of new targets for treatment. Dr. Romagnoli had a leadership role in the discovery and validation of ADAM8 for antibody-based targeting in triple-negative breast cancer. She is currently Oncology Biomarker Strategy Leader at Servier.
Petter Veiby, PhD
Advisor - Biotherapeutics Development
Dr. Veiby holds a PhD from the University of Oslo. His scientific expertise spans cancer biology and immunology with a focus on biotherapeutics (e.g., antibody-drug conjugates and bispecific immune cell engagers). He has authored over 50 papers in peer reviewed journals. Dr. Veiby has over 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry with roles in drug discovery, early development, and Search & Evaluation. He held various leadership roles in the Oncology Drug Discovery Unit at Millennium/Takeda. As Global Head of Biotherapeutics, he was responsible for growing Takeda’s capabilities and biologics pipeline via internal and strategic partnerships. Earlier, at Millenium, he led the validation of novel targets and oversaw numerous projects delivering IND-ready development candidates. He is a co-founder and currently serves as Chief Scientific Officer of Attovia Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing bispecific and multispecific biologic treatments for inflammatory and immune diseases.
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