Maria T. Millan, M.D., President and CEO

Maria T. Millan is the President and CEO of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM). Under her leadership, CIRM has generated a robust and growing portfolio as a patient-centric funder, partner, accelerator, and de-risker for over 1,000 projects in basic, translational, and clinical research, as well as infrastructure and education programs.

After completing her education and training at Duke, NJ Medical School, Harvard and Stanford, Dr. Millan served as an Associate Professor and Director of Pediatric Organ Transplantation at Stanford. She then joined the private sector where she helped to launch the first in-human neural stem cell clinical trial performed in children afflicted with a devastating and fatal neurodegenerative disease.

In 2012, Dr. Millan joined CIRM where she led the implementation of CIRM’s unique acceleration model, the formation of infrastructure to support translational and clinical research, and the growth of CIRM’s clinical stage portfolio. In 2017, she took on the role of President and CEO and successfully led  the Agency to accomplish all of its goals under the 5-year Strategic Plan including the discovery of 50 new drug candidates, the growth of its clinical portfolio to 76 predominantly first in-human trials, and the training of hundreds of students and scholars in regenerative medicine. In 2020, with CIRM funding running out, its future uncertain, and at the height of the pandemic, she led the Agency to continue its commitment to funding and supporting important scientific and clinical programs. In November 2020, with the reauthorization of CIRM through the passage of a $5.5 billion bond initiative (Prop 14), she led the CIRM team to immediately relaunch its programs, expand its highly skilled team, and develop and implement a bold Strategic Plan to accelerate world class science to deliver transformative regenerative medicine therapies to a diverse California and world. 

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Vito Imbasciani, Ph.D., M.D., Chair, Independent Citizens’ Oversight Committee (ICOC)

Dr. Vito Imbasciani was sworn in as Board Chair of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) on March 28, 2023.  

Before joining CIRM, Imbasciani served as the Secretary of the California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet) since 2015. As Secretary, he created several new programs within the department, including forging eight independent California veteran homes into a unified system, establishing programs for veterans in state prisons, and supporting the 58 county veteran service offices.  

In addition, Imbasciani has been a practicing urologic surgeon for 30 years, treating a mostly older population suffering from congenital and acquired conditions.   

Imbasciani completed medical school at the University of Vermont College of Medicine, and his surgical and urologic residencies at Yale-New Haven Hospital and the West Haven VA Hospital in Connecticut. At the University of Vermont, he worked in the laboratory assisting in studies of neurodegenerative diseases.   

He earned MA and PhD degrees from Cornell University, and was a Fulbright Scholar to Rome, Italy in 1973. He held academic teaching positions at the University of Florida, Cornell University and Middlebury College in Vermont.  

He also served for 27 years as a surgeon in the United States Army Medical Corps, with four wartime deployments that exposed him to battlefield medicine and post-acute care. 

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Maria Gonzalez Bonneville, Vice Chair, Independent Citizens’ Oversight Committee (ICOC)

Maria Bonneville is the Vice Chair of the Independent Citizens’ Oversight Committee (ICOC) at CIRM and has been with the agency since 2011. She works directly with the CIRM Board to advance CIRM’s mission and to lead the development and coordination of Board policies and procedures. She also works with California state legislators and staff members to keep the public up to date on the full scope of CIRM’s activities.

Before joining CIRM, Maria was the Special Assistant to former Treasurer Bill Lockyer at the California State Treasurer’s office where she represented the Treasurer in state business matters with the state and local government and the business community in the Bay Area. She was also the Northern California Finance Director for the Lockyer Committee and was responsible for fundraising programs for the re-election of California Attorney General Bill Lockyer for Treasurer. Maria also has extensive experience with product development, product marketing, E-commerce, and public relations.

She received a Bachelor of Arts in political sciences from the University of California, Berkeley.

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Rafael Aguirre-Sacasa, General Counsel

Rafael has over 25 years of experience in corporate law and joins CIRM after seven years at Standard BioTools (formerly Fluidigm Corp). There, he provided worldwide commercial, strategic and transaction legal support for all functions of the NASDAQ-listed life science company.     

Prior to this role, he held a variety of management positions and provided legal support for a wide range of commercial, intellectual property and corporate matters at Teradici Corporation, PMC-Sierra, Inc., Autodesk, Hyperion solutions, Grupo Financiero and Xilinx Inc.  

 Rafael received his bachelor’s degree in history and government from Dartmouth College and law degree from the University of California-Hastings. As CIRM’s new General Counsel, Rafael will support the President, Board (ICOC), management and working groups on all legal matters affecting the agency.  

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Rosa Canet-Avilés, Vice President of Scientific Programs

Rosa Canet-Avilés is the Vice President of Scientific Programs at CIRM and leads a team that actively works towards identifying the most promising basic and early stage research in stem cells and other areas related to regenerative medicine and enabling their success. Under her leadership, the Scientific Programs team manages a portfolio of hundreds of active programs that include basic mechanistic research, discovery, exploratory research, and identification of potential candidates for translational development. Rosa is also responsible for the internal and external collaborative networks and consortia that will result from the early-stage scientific programs managed by this group. Together with the rest of the leadership team, Rosa is responsible for the strategic alignment and connectivity with other CIRM programs (e.g., clinical networks, knowledge and data networks, registries, educational and communication portals) with the ultimate goal of translating all these efforts into cures.

Rosa is a familiar face at the agency, serving as a Science Officer with CIRM from 2008 to 2014. During that time, she helped oversee the development of CIRM’s Translational program, managed a broad portfolio of projects and organized workshops on Parkinson’s Disease and Autism amongst other. She brings nearly two decades of experience developing and leading multi-stakeholder initiatives across biopharma, government and nonprofit organizations. In her recent role as the Director of Strategic Alliances at the Eisai Center for Genetics Guided Dementia Discovery (G2D2), as part of the leadership team at G2D2, Rosa was responsible amongst other for the strategic planning of alliances and external innovation partnerships in the neurobiology business unit. As such, Rosa was instrumental in driving growth to the organization through the identification and management of external innovation opportunities. During the previous 7 years, Rosa was the Director of Neuroscience Research Partnerships at the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH), Rosa was responsible for the development and management of the Neuroscience Research Partnership portfolio of projects and programs that includes: the Accelerating Medicines Partnership (AMP) for Alzheimer’s Disease (AMP-AD) 1 and 2, AMP Parkinson’s Disease (AMP-PD), AMP Schizophrenia (AMP SCZ), the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative 3 (ADNI3) and the Biomarkers Consortium Neuroscience Steering Committee (BC NSC). Rosa managed different teams in coordination with NIH, FDA, non-profit organizations and industry leaders.

Rosa earned her PhD degree in neuroscience from the School of Medicine at Leeds University, UK. She also holds a BS in organic chemistry from the Central University of Barcelona.

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Abla Creasey, Vice President of Therapeutics Development

Abla Creasey is the Vice President of Therapeutics Development. In this capacity, she leads all programs in Translational and Clinical development, with a focus on advancing these therapies to marketing approval. Abla has been instrumental in building and managing CIRM’S clinical portfolio of diverse therapeutic areas including oncology, neurology, ophthalmology, and others.  She has led the CIRM Therapeutics Team since 2018 and delivered on a key strategic goal to identify, recruit, and develop fifty innovative clinical stage projects and manage them to success. Eight of the current 64 FDA approved projects with Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapies Designation are among the Therapeutics grants portfolio. Abla also oversees Translation, Clinical and Marketing Approval Advisory Panels that work with grantees on all aspects of product development including preclinical, clinical, regulatory, manufacturing, project management, and strategic topics.

Abla has extensive experience in research and development, including clinical trial strategy and operations, as well as biologics process development & manufacturing, regulatory, and overall strategic product development.  Prior to joining CIRM in 2016, she was at Johnson & Johnson for 12 years. While there, Abla held multiple senior level positions, including Senior Scientific Director in Pharmaceutical Development & Manufacturing Sciences (PDMS) at Janssen Therapeutics. Prior to that, she was an Executive Director, heading drug delivery, pharmacology, analytical characterization, clinical & quality at Advanced Technologies & Regenerative Medicine (ATRM), another J&J company. Prior to ATRM, Abla was Vice President of Biological Sciences at ALZA Corporation, where she headed discovery efforts in formulation, preclinical and oral drug delivery. Before joining ALZA in 2004, Abla held senior level positions in R&D, clinical development, and regulatory affairs within the biotechnology industry, including Chiron Corporation and Cetus Corporation. Abla received in 2008 the Ellis Island Medal of Honor for her biotechnology contributions. She served on the Mills College Board, Oakland, Ca, and the Dean of UC Berkeley School of Public Health Advisory Board. She has 23 patents and authored over 50 publications.

Abla received a B.S. in biology from the College of Notre Dame in Belmont, California, and earned her Ph.D. in medical microbiology from the University of California, Berkeley.  She completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the Stanford University School of Medicine in infectious disease, biochemistry, and immunology.

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Jennifer Mielnicki Lewis, Director of Grants and Operations

Jennifer Lewis is the Director of Grants & Operations at CIRM leading the Grants Management and Information Technology functions for the agency.  In this role she provides strategic operational and policy direction, ensures awardee funding is monitored and in compliance with appropriate regulations, identifies opportunities to streamline processes and enhance portfolio reporting, and oversees technology solutions to enable CIRM operations to work in a collaborative and fast-paced environment.  
 
Jennifer joined the grants management team at CIRM in 2016 and during that time has contributed to the rigorous grantmaking engine through portfolio oversight and management, implementing electronic grant records, database improvements and operationalizing the grantmaking of funding partnerships. In addition, during the wind-down of Proposition 71, Jennifer oversaw the administrative and research budgets ensuring that CIRM could make the most impact with the remaining funds.  
 
Before joining CIRM, Jennifer was a senior member of the program team at the Stuart Foundation where she made funding recommendations, created grantee communications, and developed system and process enhancements. Jennifer’s experience has focused on operational roles spanning the philanthropic, nonprofit, private and government sectors. She also has had experience in organizational development, project management, and financial analysis.
 
Jennifer received a Bachelor of Hospitality Administration from Boston University and holds a Master of Public Administration from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

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Shyam Patel, Director of Business Development

Shyam Patel is Director of Business Development and is responsible for managing CIRM’s Industry Alliance Program and strategic partnerships. Shyam’s team engages with the biotech industry to create visibility for CIRM’s mission and to facilitate industry partnership and commercialization opportunities for CIRM’s portfolio. Shyam led the expansion of CIRM’s Industry Alliance Program to establish a collaborative network of venture investors, biotech companies and large biopharma partners. He also manages CIRM’s partnerships including the Cure Sickle Cell partnership with NHLBI, iPSC repository partnership with Fujifilm CDI and data sharing collaboration with Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.

Shyam joined CIRM in late 2016, initially as part of Dr. Sambrano’s Portfolio Development & Review team where he managed the application, review and approval processes for Discovery, Translational and Clinical Programs. Prior to CIRM, Shyam was CEO and Chief Science Officer for NanoNerve, Inc., where he and his team developed tissue engineered medical devices for tissue regeneration. He was also on the teaching faculty in Bioengineering at the University of California, Berkeley, where he taught undergraduate and graduate courses in biomaterials, stem cells and tissue engineering and medical device development.

Shyam received a B.S. in Bioengineering from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Ph.D. in Bioengineering from the Universities of California Berkeley & San Francisco.

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Gil Sambrano, Vice President of Portfolio Development and Review

Gil is the Vice President of Portfolio Dvelopment and Review and leads the team responsible for selecting the highest quality stem cell-based projects for CIRM funding from Discovery to Clinical programs.  His team builds and cultivates a world class team of expert reviewers and directs a rigorous review process through the governing board-appointed Grants Working Group (GWG).

Gil joined CIRM in 2005 as the first Scientific Officer. During his tenure, Gil has contributed to building the vision of CIRM by leading and advancing the scientific review process, constructing grants administration policies, guiding early development of the Grants Management System, and managing the training grant programs. He has been a key point of contact to help applicants and grantees identify appropriate partnering opportunities and navigate the CIRM solicitation and application process.  He leads the conduct of GWG review meetings and has been the primary liaison with patient advocate and scientific members of the GWG.

Prior to CIRM, he was an assistant professor in the department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology at UCSF. In 2001, Gil took on a notable position to coordinate efforts of the Alliance for Cellular Signaling, a multi-institutional and multi-disciplinary consortium of scientists led by the Nobel laureate, Alfred G. Gilman, whose goal is to understand the basic principles that regulate signal transduction in cells.

His scientific education includes a B.S. in biology from the University of Texas at El Paso and a Ph.D. in biomedical sciences from the University of California, San Diego. Gil trained as a postdoctoral fellow at the Cardiovascular Research Institute at the University of California San Francisco.

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Pouneh Simpson, Director of Finance

Pouneh Simpson is the Director of Finance and oversees CIRM’s accounting, budget, procurement, contracts and business services functions. Pouneh manages the strategic financial planning and financial forecasting of expenditures and receipts, including bond proceeds and commercial paper receipts. She reports quarterly to the ICOC and Finance Subcommittee on finance, budgeting and financial planning to ensure that the organization complies with Proposition 14 and all State of California laws and regulations. Pouneh also reports to the Citizens Financial Accountability Oversight Committee on an annual basis on the financial practices and performance of the CIRM. 

Pouneh started her state career as a Jesse Unruh Fellow in the State Assembly. Pouneh continued in the Executive Branch first at the Department of Finance and then at various state agencies in the areas of finance and administration. She was the Governor’s Appointee to the California Department of Veterans Affairs as the Chief Financial Officer of the Veterans Homes. She also served as Chief of Administration at the Office of Inspector General and State Personnel Board and Chief Financial officer of the California Prison Industry. 

She received a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Organizational Studies from the University of California Davis and Master of Public Administration from the University of Southern California.

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Sean Turbeville, PhD, Vice President of Medical Affairs and Policy

Dr. Sean Turbeville has nearly 20 years of experience in Medical Affairs, creating strategies and teams for biopharma and digital healthcare companies. He has experience supporting the development of therapies in cancer, neurology, metabolic and genetic disorders and working with Regulatory Authorities such as the FDA, EMA, MHLW, and others.    

As CIRM's VP of Medical Affairs and Policy, Dr. Turbeville will oversee a Medical Affairs Team to develop healthcare policy, reimbursement strategy, post-market activities, and medical research. He will also oversee the expansion of the Alpha Stem Cell Clinics, The Community Care Centers of Excellence initiative, and the delivery of novel therapies to patients in underserved communities.    

Dr. Turbeville has a Ph.D. in Epidemiology from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, where he later taught courses as an Adjunct Associate Professor. He owns two global regulatory resources for biopharma, "The Global Regulatory Framework for Medical Information in the Pharmaceutical Industry" and "The Global Guide to Compassionate Use Programs." Before joining CIRM, Dr. Turbeville was the President of Matanzas Group, a Medical Affairs consultancy providing a range of Medical Affairs services to over 20 small, growing biopharmaceutical companies.