Dr. Russell is a biotechnology executive with a track record of building strategic partnerships in the gene therapy drug development sector. He combines scientific training in cancer immunotherapy with extensive leadership experience across business development, corporate strategy, and operational administration of a clinical-stage biotechnology company. Dr. Russell serves as President of Vyriad, where he holds overall responsibility for driving the company’s strategic direction and leads its Executive Leadership Team. Since joining Vyriad in 2018, he has held roles of increasing responsibility across the company, leading its alliance management function from 2019 and expanding to lead business development and strategic alliances from 2022, including the negotiation and oversight of pharma partnerships with Novartis, Regeneron, and Merck KGaA. Early in his career, Dr. Russell’s research focused on oncolytic virotherapy and the antitumor immune response. He is a named inventor on patents in oncolytic virotherapy, a principal investigator on NIH SBIR awards, and an author on more than a dozen peer-reviewed publications. Dr. Russell received his PhD in Neuroscience from The Ohio State University and his MBA from Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business.

Dr. Russell is a world-renowned researcher in the field of gene and virus therapy.  He combines more than three decades of leadership as a clinician and researcher with extensive experience in all aspects of drug discovery and development.  A board-certified hematologist, Dr. Russell is a co-founder of Vyriad, the Richard O. Jacobson Professor of Molecular Medicine at Mayo Clinic and immediate past President of the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy.  Early in his career, Dr. Russell pioneered novel methods for engineering viral cancer immunotherapies.  He was a founder of Cambridge Genetics, a biotechnology company, and the European Society of Gene Therapy.  At the Mayo Clinic, Dr. Russell founded the Department of Molecular Medicine and built a comprehensive oncolytic virotherapy program.  He has authored more than 400 peer-reviewed research papers and is a frequent speaker at scientific and medical conferences.  Dr. Russell received his MD from the University of Edinburgh and a PhD from the University of London.

Dr. Peng is responsible for preclinical discovery, clinical correlatives and analytical methods in GMP virus manufacturing at Vyriad.  Internationally known for her pioneering work in virus engineering and translational sciences, she also leads a research team at Mayo Clinic as Professor of Oncology and directs the Virus and Gene Therapy Toxicology and Pharmacology Core.  Dr. Peng received her PhD in Gene Therapy at Cambridge University, UK, has published more than 100 scientific papers, holds numerous honors and awards, including the Young Investigator award from the Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy.  She is a strong advocate for the field of oncolytic virotherapy in her various roles in professional organizations.

Dr. Bexon brings to Vyriad more than 20 years of management experience in clinical development of biopharmaceuticals, including management of multi-site clinical trials and FDA approval of lead assets.  Prior to joining Vyriad, Dr. Bexon founded Bexon Clinical Consulting, which provides clinical development support to the pharma and biotech industries.  Previously, Dr. Bexon was Vice President of Clinical Development of Idera Pharmaceuticals, from 2007-2009.  From 2001-2006, she held a number of positions of increasing responsibility at Roche Oncology, including serving as a key member of the clinical development and life cycle team responsible for Xeloda®.  Dr. Bexon earned her medical degree from Bristol University Medical School in the United Kingdom and her oncology diploma at the Institut Gustave Roussy in France.

Mr. Lindahl is a senior executive with extensive financial management experience in business operations, including acquisition, divestiture and capital structuring. During his 22 years of service as Chair of Mayo Clinic’s Financial Reporting and Consolidations, he was a key leader in Mayo’s first ERP, Sarbanes Oxley implementation, and additionally migrated Mayo’s site-based accounting to an enterprise shared service structure. Prior to Mayo Clinic, Mr. Lindahl served as Vice President of Finance and Treasurer of Sweetheart Cup Company.  Recently, Mr. Lindahl served as a senior finance consultant for a biotech contract research organization and a software as a service company.   

Mr. Lindahl received a master’s degree in International Management from the University of St. Thomas and a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of Minnesota. Mr. Lindahl is a member of the Board of Regents of Concordia University, St. Paul, MN as well as the Board of Trustees of Northwestern Health Sciences University, Bloomington, MN.