Cygnal Therapeutics Appoints Two New Members to Scientific Advisory Board

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Oct. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Cygnal Therapeutics, the first company to build a platform to develop drugs in the new field of exoneural biology, today announced the expansion of the company's Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) with two new members: John B. Furness, Ph.D., a well-known researcher focused on enteric and inflammatory disease and nutrition; and Clifford Woolf, M.B., B.Ch., Ph.D., a leading neurobiology researcher. Announced in early 2020, Cygnal's SAB includes world-class academics, researchers, and experts across multiple diseases, including cancer. Drs. Furness and Woolf are the most recent additions to the SAB and offer unique perspectives about exoneural biology, cell-nerve interactions, and neuroscience in new fields, highlighting the broad reach of exoneural biology and Cygnal's Exoneural Medicine Platform™ (EMP).

"Exoneural biology is an exciting and promising area of science, because it is a fundamental part of human biology. Cygnal's unique insights happen at the intersection of cancer, immunology, and neurology, and our SAB reflects this multidisciplinary approach. I am delighted to convene an august and cutting-edge group of experts to develop our new field of exoneural biology," said Pearl Huang, Ph.D., president and CEO of Cygnal Therapeutics. "John and Clifford are both visionaries in their own fields, and they bring new perspectives and areas of scientific expertise to our SAB. We look forward to their contributions as we continue to expand and deepen our understanding of exoneural biology and Cygnal's Exoneural Medicine Platform."

Joining the board in the fall of 2020, the new members' decades of experience will enhance and expand the SAB's multidisciplinary expertise:

John B. Furness, Ph.D.
Dr. Furness is an expert on the relationship between neuroscience, nerves, and the gut. He is a professor and researcher at the Florey Institute of Neuroscience at the University of Melbourne in Australia. He also holds appointments in the university's departments of anatomy and neuroscience and agriculture. Dr. Furness' research has focused on digestion, nerves, and nutrition. He is the recipient of multiple awards and fellowships, and he is a fellow of the Australian Academy of Science. Dr. Furness received both his M.S. and Ph.D. from University of Melbourne.

Clifford Woolf, M.B., B.Ch., Ph.D.
Dr. Woolf is an award-winning researcher at Boston Children's Hospital and a professor of neurobiology and neurology at Harvard Medical School. He serves as director of the F.M. Kirby Neurobiology Center, and much of his work centers on understanding the relationship between pain and the nervous system. Dr. Woolf received his medical degrees and Ph.D. from University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa.

To learn more about Cygnal, exoneural biology, and the SAB, please visit Cygnal's website.

About Cygnal Therapeutics
Founded by Flagship Pioneering in 2017, Cygnal Therapeutics is the first company to build a platform to develop drugs in the new field of exoneural biology, an unprecedented way of thinking about nerves and peripheral neural pathways outside of traditional neurobiology. Fueled by its proprietary Exoneural Medicine Platform™, Cygnal has generated evidence showing exoneurogenesis is a hallmark of cancer, playing a critical role in the invasion, proliferation, and migration of tumors. Cygnal data also suggests that neuroimmune crosstalk plays a role in antitumor immunity, inflammatory diseases, and gastrointestinal (GI) disorders, as well as a host of other diseases. Learn more at www.cygnaltx.com.

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SOURCE Cygnal Therapeutics