Dr. Mandalam, age 61, became a member of our Board of Directors in June 2014 and serves as Lead Director, Chair of the Compensation Committee and member of the Nomination and Governance Committee, Audit Committee and the Science and Technology Committee of our Board of Directors. Dr. Mandalam is currently the Founder and CEO of Citra BioConsulting Inc., a consulting firm providing services to the cell and gene therapy industry. Prior to founding Citra BioConsulting in 2021, he was the CEO, President and board member of Cellerant Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical stage biotechnology company developing novel cell-based and antibody therapies for cancer treatment and blood-related disorders. Under his leadership, Cellerant developed a pipeline of candidates for treatment of hematological malignancies and rapidly expanded from an early-stage to an advanced clinical-stage company. Prior to joining Cellerant in 2005, he was the Executive Director of Product Development at Geron Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company where he managed the development and manufacturing of cell-based therapies for treatment of degenerative diseases and cancer. From 1994 to 2000, he held various positions in research and development at Aastrom Biosciences, where he was responsible for programs involving ex vivo expansion of human bone marrow stem cells and dendritic cells. In addition to serving on the Board, Dr. Mandalam serves on the Commercial advisory board of NSF center for Cell Manufacturing Technologies (CMaT). Dr. Mandalam received his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Dr. Mandalam is the author or co-author of several publications, patent applications, and abstracts. We believe Dr. Mandalam s training as a scientist, extensive background in biotechnology and management expertise makes him well-qualified to serve as a member of our Board of Directors and Lead Director.