Our Team
Dana Larocca, PhD
Founder and CEO
Dana Larocca is a biogerontologist and biotech entrepreneur with a passion for research aimed at increasing health human lifespan. Prior to founding Further Bio, Dana previously served as Vice President of Discovery at AgeX Therapeutics and BioTime, Inc. and was founder and CEO of Mandala Biosciences. She has led teams developing regenerative therapies for age-related diseases using stem cells, exosomes, and reprogramming factors to induce tissue regeneration. Her patents include therapeutic exosomes for cardiovascular disease, bacteriophage mediated gene delivery, molecular evolution of gene therapy vectors, novel drug targets for cancer therapy, and retroviral anti-sense RNA. She is author of 48 scientific publications and holds 23 issued patents. Dr. Larocca holds a Ph.D. in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Southern California and a B.S. in Biology from Ithaca College. She did her post-doctoral training at Harvard University.
Jieun Lee, PhD
Vice President – Research
Jieun Lee, PhD, is a highly accomplished stem cell biologist in regenerative medicine research with over 20 years of experience in academia and biotech. Her main scientific research goal has been to apply knowledge gained from both basic and translational research to develop functional regenerative therapies for various conditions such as cardiovascular disease, neurodegenerative disease, diabetes, osteoarthritis, and aging. Previously, at Serina Therapeutics (formerly AgeX), Dr. Lee took a lead role in increasing knowledge of mechanisms related to stem cells’ regenerative capacity in age-related disease. She demonstrated the preclinical feasibility of exosomes derived from highly scalable and human clonal embryonic progenitor cell lines. As the PI of NIH STTR grants focused on the therapeutic application of exosomes in cardiovascular disease and stroke, she developed purification methodologies to achieve robust and scalable exosome production compatible with GMP for clinical grade exosomes and demonstrated safety and efficacy in animal models of stroke and peripheral artery disease. Dr. Lee was a research professor at Mount Sinai Ichan School of Medicine in New York City, trained at Stanford University as a postdoctoral fellow, and obtained her PhD at Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea.
Hal Sternberg, PhD
Vice President – Cell Biology
Prior to joining Further Biotechnologies, Dr. Sternberg was AgeX’s Vice President of Research for over 25 years and was one of the company’s co-founders. Before that, Dr. Sternberg held various positions at the University of California at Berkeley from 1982 to 1988, where he worked on Alzheimer’s Disease. Dr. Sternberg was instrumental in the development of the medical product Hextend, bringing it through regulatory approval as a blood plasma volume expander for treating blood loss. Dr. Sternberg received his M.S. in Chemistry (1979) and Ph.D. in Biochemistry (1982) from the University of Maryland.
Evan Snyder, MD, PhD
Scientific Advisor
Evan Snyder is a board-certified pediatrician, neonatologist, child neurologist; stem cell biologist & developmental neuroscientist. Regarded as one of the “fathers” of the stem cell field, he introduced the concept that neural plasticity, as mediated by neural stem cells (NSCs), might be harnessed therapeutically, having demonstrated the existence of isolatable & engraftable NSCs (arguably the first solid organ stem cell discovered). Snyder earned his MD & PhD jointly at Penn (an NIH MSTP grantee) & studied psychology, philosophy, & linguistics at Oxford. He completed residencies in pediatrics & neurology & a fellowship in Neonatology at Harvard (where he served as Chief Resident in Medicine & then Neurology). Concurrently he completed a research postdoc in Genetics at Harvard. He joined Harvard’s clinical & tenure-track research faculties, launching his independent lab. He was recruited to Sanford Burnham Prebys Institute (and UCSD) as a Professor to found a Center for Stem Cells & Regenerative Medicine & help build California’s stem cell infrastructure. He’s been elected to the Association of American Physicians & to the American Institute of Medical & Biological Engineering (holding ~40 patents), as well as recently elected a Fellow of the Child Neurology Society. He helped start & chaired the FDA’s Cell, Tissue, & Gene Therapy Advisory Committee for 2-terms, & presently chairs the SAB of NIH’s Human Genetic Disease Biobank. He previously served as president of the American Society for Neural Therapy & Repair & was a recipient of its Sanberg Award for Lifetime Achievement. His biography was chosen for inclusion in Ashwal’s textbook “Child Neurology: Its Origins, Founders, Growth & Evolution” (Elsevier, 2021).
