As Chief Technology Officer, Dr. Christopher Rohde leads Factor’s efforts to develop new applications of its mRNA, gene editing, and cell reprogramming technologies.
Chris co-founded and served as President and CEO of Novellus Therapeutics from its founding in 2014 until its acquisition by Brooklyn ImmunoTherapeutics (Nasdaq: BTX) in 2021. As President and CEO of Novellus, Chris led multiple successful out-licenses of its induced mesenchymal stem cells (“iMSCs”), including for COVID-19 related Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (“ARDS”), other acute respiratory conditions, and cancer. Chris serves on the Scientific Advisory Boards of Brooklyn ImmunoTherapeutics and Exacis Biotherapeutics.
Chris received his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he studied nerve regeneration in C. elegans. Chris has served as Principal Investigator on programs sponsored by the National Institutes of Health to generate new models for the study and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. Chris’s work is described in numerous peer-reviewed publications and has been covered by Technology Review, Nature, Bioscience Magazine, Analytical Chemistry, The Economist, and many others.