Precision Therapeutics
for Brain Diseases

Kees is the chief executive officer of Kynexis. He was formerly in executive leadership positions as CEO at BIAL Biotech and Lysosomal Therapeutics (acquired by BIAL), companies focused on the discovery of new classes of drugs for Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases. He also served as president and CEO of EnVivo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (which became Forum Pharmaceuticals) and as executive chair of Paros Bio. He successfully built and led these companies from early-stage research to drug development for patients with genetic forms of Alzheimer’s (PS-1 mutation carriers) and Parkinson’s (GBA1 mutation carriers) and cognitive impairment associated with schizophrenia (CIAS). Prior to that, Kees was senior vice president of business development at Biogen, where he led all deal-making efforts and portfolio management activities. He began his career as a scientist at Biogen in Geneva, Switzerland, after earning his Master of Molecular Biology and Process Engineering from the University of Agriculture, Wageningen, the Netherlands. He has a Master of Business Administration from the INSEAD Business School in France.

Dr. Jens R. Wendland is the chief medical officer at Kynexis and is based in Boston, MA. He was trained as a physician in Germany. Following an internship in adult psychiatry, he worked as a post-doctoral fellow with Drs. Dennis Murphy and Francis McMahon at the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, MD, on the genetics of psychiatric disorders. Before Kynexis, Jens held various pharmaceutical industry positions of increasing responsibility at Roche, Pfizer, Nestlé Health Science, and Takeda. His focus is on neuroscience, rare diseases, drug development, and translational medicine, with particular emphasis on using human genetics to identify compelling drug targets and responder sub-populations.

With over 25 years of experience in finance and operations, Amy Archambault has played a critical role in scaling startups from small teams to thriving organizations of more than 100 employees. As Head of Finance at Kynexis, she brings deep expertise in strategic planning, financial modeling, and operational growth, helping to build strong financial foundations for sustainable expansion. Amy’s track record spans multiple high-growth companies, where she has consistently aligned financial strategy with long-term vision. 

As Head of HR and Operations at Kynexis, Lauren Cortellessa leads strategic initiatives that strengthen employee engagement and drive organizational effectiveness. From recruitment and performance management to executive leadership support and global team events, she ensures that internal operations, culture, and people programs align with the company’s mission. Lauren also supports the company’s public relations, legal, and contracting efforts by working closely with external partners to ensure seamless coordination and compliance. With a strong commitment to collaboration and employee well-being, she plays a key role in fostering a connected, mission-driven workplace.

Nick brings extensive clinical experience across various psychiatric disorders, as well as over 20 years of experience in clinical research and drug development, both in academia and industry, to Kynexis. Nick graduated with a degree in Chemical Engineering from Georgia Tech and an M.D. from the Medical College of Georgia, then completed a Medicine Internship, a psychiatry residency, and a psychopharmacology fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania. Nick was an academic investigator many years, conducting numerous Phase 2, 3 and 4 industry clinical trials across 10 psychiatric indications, Nick has focused exclusively on novel mechanism drug development in Psychiatry/CNS, for many years as a Clinical Lead and Program Lead in Early Development at Pfizer and subsequently in roles of increasing responsibility at Takeda, Praxis Precision Medicines, and most recently as Head of Clinical Research Psychiatry at Sunovion/Sumitomo Pharma America. Nick has served in Project and Clinical Lead roles, leading development strategy and designing and conducting clinical trials for assets in adjunctive treatment of cognition and negative symptoms, as well as monotherapy in schizophrenia, MDD, anxiety disorders, translational medicine & and domain-focused therapy of cognitive impairment and anhedonia. Nick has also been an active contributor to clinical trial methodology development initiatives for subject eligibility confirmation, cognitive & negative symptoms of schizophrenia, biomarkers, translational cognitive neuroscience tasks, digital health assessments, therapeutics, and as an Industry and volunteer contributor to the Accelerating Medicines Partnership® Program for Schizophrenia (AMP® SCZ).

As a neuroscientist with extensive experience in translational neuroscience, Heramb has deep expertise in psychiatric and rare CNS disorders. He obtained a Ph.D. in Neuroscience in Finland and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Tufts University, where he studied epilepsy and neural circuit dysfunction. He has led translational programs and functional units at Novartis and Alkermes, driving preclinical strategy and early clinical development efforts. His work emphasizes the use of biomarkers, especially electroencephalogram (EEG) and cognitive measures, to inform CNS drug development and support clinical decision-making. He has played a key role in guiding cross-functional teams and advancing compounds through critical translational milestones, bringing a strong commitment to integrating scientific insight with clinical relevance in the development of novel therapies for serious brain disorders.

Elisa is the Head of Clinical Operations at Kynexis, bringing more than 10 years of experience in clinical operations. She has successfully led global Phase 1-3 studies for rare diseases and diagnostics, with a strong focus on operational excellence and a patient-centric approach. Elisa holds a B.S. in Biology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

A pharmacist by training with a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Antwerp, Tessa brings over a decade of expertise in small molecule oral drug development, in both oral liquids and solids. After completing her doctorate at the University of Antwerp, she gained industrial experience at Janssen and Galapagos, where she honed her skills in CMC (Chemistry, Manufacturing & Controls) and led multidisciplinary international teams. Prior to that, she was at 2 Bridge as R&D Director, serving as a small molecule CMC expert and mentoring junior scientists. 

With over 20 years of experience in manufacturing, global clinical operations, quality systems, and inspection preparedness, Sandra brings not just technical know-how—but deep strategic insight to her work. She is the founder of HQ Vector, which specializes in helping biotech and pharma companies navigate the complex world of vendor oversight, audit readiness, and regulatory compliance.

As Quality Expert Sandra isn’t just focus on SOPs and systems—she sees the human side of quality. Sandra trains teams to think, act, and lead differently. And she’s passionate about helping companies, especially smaller biotech’s, build smart, scalable processes that work in the real world.