BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Expansion Therapeutics., a biotechnology company advancing transformative medicines to patients with RNA-mediated diseases, today announced the appointment of Valerie Cullen, Ph.D., to Senior Vice President of Research.

“Valerie’s depth and breadth of research experience in drug development for neurological diseases, including leading complex programs at the intersection of research, translation and clinical development, will be tremendously valuable to our company,” said Renato Skerlj, Chief Executive Officer and President of Expansion Therapeutics. “We are fortunate to have her leadership as we advance our portfolio of small molecule medicines to treat RNA-mediated diseases in patients who currently have limited or no treatment options.”

“I am excited to join Expansion and look forward to making significant and meaningful contributions to helping the company deliver upon an unmet need for medicines to treat RNA-mediated diseases,” said Dr. Cullen. “I look forward to the opportunity to come aboard at this pivotal moment of growth.”

In her role at Expansion, Dr. Cullen will lead research efforts from target identification to genotypic patient identification and direct all internal and external research activities. She will also oversee the development of primary and pharmacologically relevant secondary assays in support of medicinal chemistry and translational research to first in human studies.

Dr. Cullen has over 20 years of operational and leadership experience in academia and biotech, with particular emphasis on drug discovery for neurodegenerative disorders. She formerly served as Vice President, Translation and Development at Generian where she led a research effort in several neurodegenerative diseases. Prior to her position with Generian, she was Vice President and Program Lead at Lysosomal Therapeutics, Inc., where she was instrumental in advancing a novel small molecule GCase activator, LTI-291 through early development and into clinical testing for Parkinson’s disease. Dr. Cullen began her biotech career at Link Medicine, and held roles of increasing responsibility at Proclara Biosciences and Aldeyra Therapeutics. She holds a Ph.D. in pharmacology from University College Dublin, and completed postdoctoral fellowships at King’s College London and Harvard Medical School.

About Expansion Therapeutics

Expansion Therapeutics is a drug discovery and development company pursuing the vast potential of small molecule medicines for RNA-mediated diseases. Based on exclusive worldwide rights to groundbreaking research from the laboratory of Matthew D. Disney, Ph.D., at The Scripps Research Institute, Expansion has assembled the intellectual property, know-how, and proprietary enabling technologies and tools necessary to facilitate the creation of potent and specific small molecule binders of RNA. Through this unique platform, Expansion is building a portfolio of novel RNA-targeted drug candidates with activity across a broad number of disease indications. Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, Expansion’s research facility is located in Jupiter, Florida. For more information, visit www.expansionrx.com.

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