Heat Biologics
Heat Biologics
Heat Biologics
Heat Biologics
Executive Management
Heat Biologics

Heat Biologics has assembled a core team with great experience in developing biotechnology compounds and moving them into the market. Together, Heat's team is guiding the development of each of its platform technologies in both existing and new disease indications.

Heat BiologicsJeff Wolf
Chairman and CEO
Jeff founded Heat Biologics in 2008 based upon breakthrough technology developed by Dr. Eckhard Podack, Chairman of Immunology at the University of Miami. Jeff was formerly founder and managing director at Seed-One Ventures, focused on identifying and acquiring cutting-edge technologies and the systematic formation and management of early-stage, high-growth companies based on these breakthroughs.  Prior to that, Jeff was managing director at The Castle Group, a New York City-based biotechnology venture capital firm.

Since founding Seed-One, Jeff has started and run several medical and biotech companies. Jeff's start-ups include Avigen (co-founder and director), a San Francisco-based gene therapy company; TyRx (Chairman and co-founder)  focused on the development of bio-compatible polymers; EluSys Therapeutics (Chairman, CEO and founder), focused on the development of a novel technology to remove blood-borne pathogens; and GenerationOne (Chairman, CEO and founder), focused on the development of mobile-based health solutions.  

Jeff received his M.B.A. from Stanford Business School, his J.D. from New York University School of Law and his B.A. from the University of Chicago, where he graduated with honors in Economics.

Heat BiologicsTaffy Williams Ph.D.
President
Prior to becoming President of Heat, Dr. Williams served as president and Chief Executive Officer of Photogen Technologies Inc., IMCOR Pharmaceutical Co. and he was president and founder of InKine Pharmaceutical Company. Prior to that, he was president, CEO and Chairman of Panax. Dr. Williams has raised more than $100 million. In addition to executive management skills, the ability to grow companies and new business development experience, Dr. Williams is the author of eight patents, one invention registration, seven patent applications and 53 published articles. He also has been the recipient of several prestigious awards, including a postdoctoral fellowship from the National Institutes of Health, ``Most Significant Scientific Publication'' awards from the Naval Medical Research Institute in 1985 and 1986, and the Civil Service Special Achievement Award for restructuring research activities in 1986.

Sandra Silberman, MD, Ph.D.
Chief Medical Advisor
Dr. Silberman began her career in clinical development at Pfizer, Inc., where she initiated the Company's first program in clinical oncology and oversaw the introduction of Tarceva(TM) into clinical trials. She then served as Senior Director for Novartis Clinical Research, where she led the global development of Gleevec(TM), a highly innovative drug and the first targeted therapy for chronic myelogenous leukemia. Dr. Silberman then joined Eisai Medical Research as Global Therapeutic Area Head (Oncology), a role in which she advanced six novel compounds into Phases I through III in clinical development. As an independent industry consultant over the years, Dr. Silberman has advised Bristol-Myers Squibb, AstraZeneca, Imclone, Roche and GPC-Biotech in their various oncology programs. 

Dr. Silberman earned her Ph.D. in Tumor Immunology from Johns Hopkins University and her M.D. from Cornell University Medical College. She completed a fellowship in hematology/oncology at the Brigham & Women's and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. She has numerous publications and is named on several patents in the cancer drug development field, including novel anti-tubulin agents for advanced solid tumors. She is board certified in Internal Medicine and Hematology. Dr. Williams holds a bachelor's degree in chemistry from the University of Notre Dame, a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of South Carolina, and did postdoctoral training at the University of South Carolina and the University of Michigan.

Heat BiologicsEckhard R. Podack M.D.,Ph.D.

Chief Scientific Officer
Dr. Podack is the inventor of the technology and will serve as Chairman of its Scientific Advisory Board. Dr. Podack received his medical degree from the Johan Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt in 1968 and his Medical License in 1970. Following service in the German Army as Captain and Battalion Physician, he completed his Ph.D. in the field of Biochemistry at the Georg August University in Gottingen. From 1974-1984 he studied Immunology at the Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation in La Jolla CA where he received an Established Investigatorship from the American Heart Association. Dr. Podack is the discoverer of Perforin and well recognized as the "Father" of the field of pore forming proteins.

Dr. Podack is the Sylvester Distinguished Professor of Microbiology & Immunology andMedicine and Chairman of the Department of Microbiology at the University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine. Dr. Podack currently is directing three investigator initiated clinical vaccine trials; he has published extensively and currently is the principal investigator over $13 million in grant funding, primarily from the NIH.

Heat BiologicsVadim Deyev, M.D., Ph.D.
Director of Applied Research
Dr. Deyev joined Heat Biologics in January 2009 as Director of Research. Prior to joining Heat Biologics, Dr. Deyev worked as Associate Scientist of Microbiology and Immunology and Hybridoma and Fusion Protein Core Director at the University of Miami School of Medicine. Dr. Deyev joined the UM in 1996. Working with Dr. Eckhard Podack, Heat Biologics’ Scientific Advisor and Chairman of its Scientific Advisory Board, Dr. Deyev made major contributions to the development of technologies later licensed by the Company. Dr Deyev received his Ph.D. in Immunology/Oncology from Cancer Research Center in Moscow, Russia and his M.D. from Russian State Medical University.


Heat BiologicsJennifer Harris, PharmD 
Sr. Director of Clinical Development

Dr. Harris is responsible for coordinating the clinical development and operational efforts at Heat Biologics.  Dr. Harris has over 20 years of oncology-focused clinical trial experience within the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries and academic clinical research settings.  Prior to joining Heat Biologics, Dr. Harris served as a Medical Science Liaison for Dendreon Corporation where she was instrumental in coordinating Phase IV clinical trials with sipuleucel-T (Provenge), the first approved autologous cellular immune therapy to treat prostate cancer.  While at GlaxoSmithKline and Novaquest, Dr. Harris lead international, multi-disciplinary teams providing operational trial oversight of early-stage compounds, including protocol development, study report preparation, investigator brochure preparation, regulatory submissions, recruitment of investigator sites and establishment of clinical trial budgets.  Dr. Harris has also held positions at Celgene Corporation, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Duke University and the National Institutes of Health where she was involved with the conduct of multiple clinical trials.  She has worked on over 20 IND programs from Phase I-III as well as several NDAs.   Dr. Harris earned her Bachelor of Science degree and her Doctor of Pharmacy degrees at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and has multiple clinical publications and meeting abstracts to her credit. 

Heat BiologicsFiroz Mistry, Ph.D.
Vice President of Manufacturing
Dr. Mistry has 20+ years of experience in process development and cGMP manufacturing  derived from work with a number of small and large pharma/biotech companies (Baxter, Khepri, Arris/Celera) and contract development and contract manufacturing companies (Covance, Diosynth, KBI BioPharma).  Most recently Dr. Mistry was Vice President Cell Culture & Fermentation Operations at KBI BioPharma, where he was instrumental in setting up their process development and manufacturing facilities and also lead the effort to commercialize their Centrifugal BioReactor technology. Dr. Mistry has an extensive career leading fermentation and cell culture development and manufacturing teams. Prior to KBI, Dr. Mistry served as the Director, Cell Culture and Fermentation Development and Small Scale cGMP Manufacturing, for Diosynth Biotechnology (formerly Covance Biotechnology Services). Prior to Diosynth, Dr. Mistry was the Cell Culture and Fermentation Group Leader for Arris Pharmaceutical Corporation and the Manager, Cell Culture for Baxter Biotech.  Dr. Mistry received his Ph.D. in Biochemical Engineering from MIT under Dr. Charles Cooney.

Heat BiologicsStanley Kim Ph.D., J.D.
General Counsel
Dr. Kim has 14 years experience providing legal advice to biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. Prior to joining Heat, he was a partner at a large Florida law firm where he led the firm's patent and life sciences practices. A registered patent attorney, Dr. Kim has extensive experience in procuring domestic and foreign patents, licensing and joint ventures, intellectual property opinions and due diligence, strategic patent portfolio development, and intellectual property litigation matters. Dr. Kim is an inventor of several patents, has published several legal articles, and has been an inviter speaker in numerous forums. He has been named among Florida Trend's Legal Elite for 2008 and 2009.

Dr. Kim holds a bachelor's degree in Biology from Bowdoin College, a Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of Miami, and a law degree from Suffolk University where he graduated at the top of his class.


Heat Biologics