Our Company
Zentalis develops small molecule therapeutics with differentiated product profiles for a broad range of cancers.
Utilizing our Integrated Discovery Engine, the Company is developing a focused pipeline of potentially best-in-class oncology candidates, which include azenosertib, a WEE1 inhibitor for advanced solid tumors, ZN-d5, a BCL-2 inhibitor for hematologic malignancies and related disorders, and a heterobifunctional degrader of BCL-xL for solid and hematological malignancies. The Company is also leveraging its extensive experience and capabilities across cancer biology and medicinal chemistry to advance its research on protein degraders. Zentalis has operations in both New York and San Diego.

Kimberly Blackwell, MD
Chief Executive Officer

Kimberly Blackwell, MD
Chief Executive Officer
Management Team
Kimberly is the Chief Executive Officer at Zentalis Pharmaceuticals. Prior to joining Zentalis, she served as Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President, Oncology Clinical Development, at Tempus Labs. In this role, she oversaw precision medicine initiatives to improve cancer care and guide therapeutic drug development and discovery. Prior to joining Tempus, Kim was VP of Early Phase Oncology and Immunology-oncology at Eli Lilly and Company, where she worked on early stage cancer therapeutics. During her time at Lilly, she was named as one of “Twenty extraordinary women in biopharma R&D who worked their way to the top” by Endpoints News. For 18 years, Kim was a faculty member at the Duke University Cancer Institute. While at Duke, she served as the principal or co-principal investigator for over 50 cancer clinical trials, co-founded the radiotherapeutics company-Cereius, and co-directed the Woman’s Cancer Program and Precision Medicine Initiative. As one of the nation’s leading breast cancer researchers, she played a role in developing therapies that represent revolutionary non-chemotherapy-based approaches for treating cancer. This work led to Kim’s inclusion in TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World for 2013, recognizing her accomplishments contributing to the development of lapatinib and T-DM1 for the treatment of HER2+ breast cancer. She holds a BA degree in Bioethics from Duke University and a MD degree from Mayo Clinic Medical School.

Cam Gallagher, MBA
Cofounder, President and Director

Cam Gallagher, MBA
Cofounder, President and Director
Management Team
Cam is a cofounder and President at Zentalis Pharmaceuticals and has served as a member of the Board of Directors since the Company’s founding. He has 30 years of experience in the life sciences, with a focus on corporate development, marketing and company formation, and financing. In addition to Zentalis, Cam currently serves on the Board of Directors of Ocuphire, SelectION and Immusoft. He was also a founding Board member of VelosBio until its acquisition by Merck. From April 2016 to May 2022, he was the Chief Business Officer of Immusoft, a private company developing gene modified cell therapies for orphan diseases. Previously, Cam was a board member and Chief Business Officer at Retrosense Therapeutics, which was acquired by Allergan. He was also the Managing Director of Nerveda, LLC, a life science seed fund he co-founded in June 2007. Prior to these roles, he held leadership positions at Oncternal, Zavante, Verus Pharma, CV Therapeutics and Dura Pharma. Cam holds an MBA from the University of San Diego and a BS in Business Administration from Ohio University.
Interesting Fact: Cam attended the coldest game in NFL history, the Freezer Bowl (-59 degrees wind chill).

Kevin Bunker, PhD
Cofounder, Chief Scientific Officer

Kevin Bunker, PhD
Cofounder, Chief Scientific Officer
Management Team
Kevin is a co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer at Zentalis Pharmaceuticals. Previously, he served as Chief Operating Officer and has been leading R&D at Zentalis since the Company’s formation. Prior to joining Zentalis, Kevin was a co-founder of Kalyra Pharmaceuticals and currently serves on the board of directors of Kalyra and as its Chief Scientific/Operations Officer. Prior, he was in Pfizer’s drug discovery research group in La Jolla as part of the Medicinal Chemistry Department. He specialized in multiple therapeutic areas including Oncology, Diabetes, Antivirals, and Ophthalmology. Prior to Pfizer, Kevin carried out postdoctoral research at The Scripps Research Institute under the direction of Professor Dale Boger. He received his PhD in Organic Chemistry from the University of California, San Diego under the direction of Joseph O’Connor and his BS in Chemistry from Arizona State University. Kevin is the inventor on multiple patents and an author of multiple articles in peer-reviewed journals.
Interesting Fact: Kevin sold precious metals from his late grandfather (Dr. Duane Brown) that were refined from eyeglass frames, circuit boards, and dental scraps to help kick-off Kalyra.

Carrie Brownstein, MD
Chief Medical Officer

Carrie Brownstein, MD
Chief Medical Officer
Management Team
Carrie Brownstein, M.D. joined Zentalis in October 2022 as Chief Medical Officer. Prior to joining Zentalis, Dr. Brownstein served as the Chief Medical Officer of Cellectis, where she built and led the global clinical development organization and oversaw multiple early-stage clinical programs in the cell therapy space. Previously, she held roles of increasing responsibility at Celgene, culminating in the role of VP of Global Clinical Research and Development. During her tenure at Celgene, Dr. Brownstein managed a team of physicians and scientists across multiple global sites and was responsible for the development strategy and clinical execution of several late-stage assets, resulting in the approval of four novel products in myeloid diseases. Prior to Celgene, she served as the Executive Director of Clinical Sciences, Oncology at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and implemented first-in-human studies for various malignant hematology and oncology indications including bispecific T-cell engagers in lymphoma. Dr. Brownstein started her industry career at Hoffmann-La Roche, as a Senior Medical Director, where her accomplishments were highlighted by the EMA approval of Xeloda in adjuvant colon cancer. She currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Shattuck Labs. Prior to her career in industry, Dr. Brownstein practiced medicine as a pediatric oncologist within notable institutions, including New York Presbyterian Columbia University, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Mount Sinai Medical Center. She received her BA from the University of Michigan and her MD from Tufts University School of Medicine.

Melissa Epperly, MBA
Chief Financial Officer

Melissa Epperly, MBA
Chief Financial Officer
Management Team
Melissa is Chief Financial Officer at Zentalis Pharmaceuticals. She brings extensive experience as a senior financial executive in the life sciences industry. She most recently served as CFO at PsiOxus Therapeutics, a clinical-stage gene therapy cancer company, and prior to that, CFO and Head of Business Development at R-Pharm US, a commercial-stage oncology company. Previously, Melissa was a Director at Anchorage Capital Group, a credit-focused hedge fund; a Vice President at Goldman Sachs in equity research in New York and London where she built GS SUSTAIN; and a management consultant with Bain & Company focused on international and US based pharmaceutical clients and private equity. She began her career at Morgan Stanley in New York in healthcare investment banking. Melissa earned her MBA from Harvard Business School and BA in Biochemistry and Economics from the University of Virginia, where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa.
Interesting Fact: Melissa logged six hours towards her pilot’s license and twice attended NASA’s Space Camp before the age of 12.

Mark Lackner, PhD
Chief Translational Officer, Head of Biomarker Strategy

Mark Lackner, PhD
Chief Translational Officer, Head of Biomarker Strategy
Management Team
Mark is Chief Translational Officer and Head of Biomarker Strategy. He has over 20 years of experience in oncology drug development with broad experience ranging from target identification through biomarker development in registrational clinical trials. Prior to joining Zentalis, Mark served as SVP and Head of Biology and Translational Sciences at Ideaya Biosciences from 2018 to October 2022. At Ideaya Mark’s group led clinical translational efforts for the PKC inhibitor darovasertib and the MAT2A inhibitor IDE397 and contributed to three development candidate nominations and one IND. Prior to joining IDEAYA, Mark worked at Genentech for 14 years in positions of increasing responsibility in the Oncology Biomarker Development group, most recently as a Director and Principal Scientist. At Genentech his group was accountable for predictive and pharmacodynamic strategies for candidate therapeutics spanning cancer signaling through immuno-oncology, and was accountable for clinical biomarker strategies for over 20 development stage small molecule and antibody agents. His group developed clinical biomarker strategies for immune doublet combinations with the anti-PDL1 antibody Tecentriq, as well as phase III companion diagnostic strategies for the AKT inhibitor Ipatasertib and the MEK and BRAF inhibitors Cobimetinib and Vemurafenib. Mark also provided strategic leadership for the overall breast cancer biomarker strategy within the broader Roche organization. Prior to joining Genentech, Mark worked at Exelixis from 1999 through 2004 in oncology target identification and validation, including the identification of synthetic lethal interactions with the tumor suppressor gene p53. Mark received his PhD from Stanford University in 1997 for studies on genetic analysis of RAS/MAP kinase signaling. He completed postdoctoral studies at UC Berkeley in the laboratory of Joshua Kaplan. He has authored over 60 peer reviewed scientific manuscripts in journals including Nature Medicine, Nature Communications, Journal of Clinical Oncology, Cancer Cell and Clinical Cancer Research.
Interesting Fact: Mark is an avid hiker and has backpacked over 2000 miles through California's High Sierra mountains.

Kimberly Freeman
Chief Strategy Officer

Kimberly Freeman
Chief Strategy Officer
Management Team
Kimberly is Chief Strategy Officer at Zentalis Pharmaceuticals. Prior to joining Zentalis, Kimberly was Vice President, US Head of DDR Franchise, Oncology at AstraZeneca. She was responsible for overseeing the strategic direction and cross-functional efforts for LYNPARZA® (olaparib) and other therapies targeting the DDR pathway, which is an important hallmark in ovarian and other cancers. Previously, she held various leadership roles at biopharmaceutical companies including Adaptimmune, Boehringer Ingelheim and GlaxoSmithKline. Kimberly has also served on the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine (ARM) Cell Therapy Advisory Committee and has been recognized by Women in Bio as a Female Pioneer in the Life Sciences. After receiving her Bachelor of Science in Biology from Cornell University, she was a Research Scientist in the Department of Hematology/Medical Oncology at Weill Cornell Medical Center and later pursued Microbiology Graduate Studies at SUNY Upstate Medical Center. Kimberly also received Finance and Marketing Certificates from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Interesting Fact: Kimberly is an avid runner, having completed 5 marathons including New York and Boston!

Andrea Paul, JD
General Counsel and Corporate Secretary

Andrea Paul, JD
General Counsel and Corporate Secretary
Management Team
Andrea Paul joined Zentalis in August 2022 as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. Previously, Ms. Paul served as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of LogicBio Therapeutics, Inc., where she led the company’s legal team and served as a key strategic legal partner in the company’s finance, business development and contractual decision-making matters. Before that, she held positions of increasing responsibility at Akebia Therapeutics, Inc., culminating in the role of Vice President, Legal. While at Akebia, Ms. Paul was a key strategic legal partner in the company’s merger with Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. as well as in the company’s financing and business development transactions. Prior to Akebia, she served as Senior Corporate Counsel at Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. She began her legal career working as an associate at Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C. and Sullivan and Cromwell LLP. Ms. Paul currently chairs the Securities Law Committee of the Boston Bar Association. She received her J.D. from Harvard Law School and her B.A. in Art History from Columbia University.
Interesting Fact: Andrea is a dedicated Michael Schumacher fan and still watches replays of his F1 races.
Board of Directors
Dave Johnson
Chairperson
Dave Johnson
Chairperson
Board of Directors
Dave has more than 25 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry. Most recently, he was chairman of the preclinical precision oncology-focused company, Lengo Therapeutics, which was acquired by Blueprint Medicines in December 2021 in a transaction valued at up to $465M. Prior to Lengo, Dave was CEO of VelosBio an oncology-focused biopharmaceutical company that he founded in December 2017. VelosBio created novel monoclonal antibody-based therapeutics, rapidly moving its lead ROR1-directed antibody-drug-conjugate zilovertamab vedotin from pre-IND through Phase 1 clinical validation leading to the company’s acquisition by Merck in December 2020 for $2.75B. Before Velos, Dave was with Acerta Pharma, an oncology-focused pharmaceutical company focused on covalent small-molecule technology, where he rose to CEO. At Acerta, he built out all facets of the corporation to accelerate the development of Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitor, acalabrutinib (Calquence™), rapidly moving from early- to late-stage clinical development and launching four global registration-directed trials, including the accelerated approval study that led to acalabrutinib’s first regulatory approval. Dave’s tenure at Acerta culminated in the execution of a strategic transaction with AstraZeneca valued at $7B. He qualifies as an “independent” director in accordance with the listing requirements of Nasdaq.
Kimberly Blackwell, MD
Chief Executive Officer
Kimberly Blackwell, MD
Chief Executive Officer
Board of Directors
Kimberly is the Chief Executive Officer at Zentalis Pharmaceuticals. Prior to joining Zentalis, she served as Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President, Oncology Clinical Development, at Tempus Labs. In this role, she oversaw precision medicine initiatives to improve cancer care and guide therapeutic drug development and discovery. Prior to joining Tempus, Kim was VP of Early Phase Oncology and Immunology-oncology at Eli Lilly and Company, where she worked on early stage cancer therapeutics. During her time at Lilly, she was named as one of “Twenty extraordinary women in biopharma R&D who worked their way to the top” by Endpoints News. For 18 years, Kim was a faculty member at the Duke University Cancer Institute. While at Duke, she served as the principal or co-principal investigator for over 50 cancer clinical trials, co-founded the radiotherapeutics company-Cereius, and co-directed the Woman’s Cancer Program and Precision Medicine Initiative. As one of the nation’s leading breast cancer researchers, she played a role in developing therapies that represent revolutionary non-chemotherapy-based approaches for treating cancer. This work led to Kim’s inclusion in TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World for 2013, recognizing her accomplishments contributing to the development of lapatinib and T-DM1 for the treatment of HER2+ breast cancer. She holds a BA degree in Bioethics from Duke University and a MD degree from Mayo Clinic Medical School.
Cam Gallagher, MBA
Cofounder, President and Director
Cam Gallagher, MBA
Cofounder, President and Director
Board of Directors
Cam is a cofounder and President at Zentalis Pharmaceuticals and has served as a member of the Board of Directors since the Company’s founding. He has 30 years of experience in the life sciences, with a focus on corporate development, marketing and company formation, and financing. In addition to Zentalis, Cam currently serves on the Board of Directors of Ocuphire, Helios, SelectION and Ray Therapeutics. He was also a founding Board member of VelosBio until its acquisition by Merck. From April 2016 to May 2022, he was the Chief Business Officer of Immusoft, a private company developing gene modified cell therapies for orphan diseases. Previously, Cam was a board member and Chief Business Officer at Retrosense Therapeutics, which was acquired by Allergan. He was also the Managing Director of Nerveda, LLC, a life science seed fund he co-founded in June 2007. Prior to these roles, he held leadership positions at Oncternal, Zavante, Verus Pharma, CV Therapeutics and Dura Pharma. Cam holds an MBA from the University of San Diego and a BS in Business Administration from Ohio University.
Interesting Fact: Cam attended the coldest game in NFL history, the Freezer Bowl (-59 degrees wind chill).
Diana Hausman, MD
Director
Diana Hausman, MD
Director
Board of Directors
Diana served as Chief Medical Officer of Link Immunotherapeutics, Inc., a cancer therapies biotechnology company, from March 2022 to October 2023. Before that, Diana served as Chief Medical Officer of Lengo Therapeutics, Inc., a precision oncology company that was acquired by Blueprint Medicines Corporation. Prior to joining Lengo, Diana served as Chief Medical Officer of Zymeworks Inc. and Oncothyreon, Inc. (now known as Cascadian Therapeutics, Inc.), and she held positions of increasing responsibility at ZymoGenetics, Inc., Berlex Laboratories, Inc. and Immunex Corporation. Diana has served as a member of the Board of Directors of Immuneering Corporation since January 2022. Diana received her internal medicine and specialty training in hematology and medical oncology at the University of Washington, Seattle, WA. She received an M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania and an A.B in biology from Princeton University. Diana qualifies as an “independent” director in accordance with the listing requirements of Nasdaq.
Enoch Kariuki, PharmD
Director
Enoch Kariuki, PharmD
Director
Board of Directors
Enoch is an accomplished finance executive with over a decade of experience in healthcare strategy, life sciences investment banking, venture capital and business development. He most recently served as the Chief Financial Officer of VelosBio (acquired by Merck for $2.75 billion) where he led all finance-related and investor relations functions. Prior to VelosBio, he served as Senior Vice President, Corporate Development at Synthorx, where he led the company’s $151 million IPO, managed relationships with bankers, sell-side equity analysts and investors, and headed the business development process that concluded with the sale of Synthorx to Sanofi for $2.5 billion. Before Synthorx, Enoch was Vice President at H.I.G. Capital, a $40 billion private equity firm, where he invested in and served on the boards of multiple life sciences companies. His other previous roles include Senior Associate at Leerink Partners and Associate Director at UBS Investment Bank. At Leerink and UBS, Enoch advised healthcare companies on equity capital financings, mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, and recapitalizations. Enoch has served as a member of the Board of Directors of Endeavor Biomedicines since December 2023.
Enoch completed a Post-Doctoral Fellowship in R&D Strategy and Analytics at Bristol Myers Squibb and was a Pharmacist at CVS Caremark. He holds an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and a PharmD from Texas Southern University. Enoch qualifies as an “independent” director in accordance with the listing requirements of Nasdaq.
Jan Skvarka, PhD, MBA
Director
Jan Skvarka, PhD, MBA
Director
Board of Directors
Jan is an Executive Chairman at DEM Biopharma, and a member of the Board of Directors at Monte Rosa Therapeutics (Nasdaq:GLUE). Previously, he was the CEO of Trillium Therapeutics (Nasdaq:TRIL), a clinical stage immuno-oncology company, where he led a highly successful, 360-degree turn-around that produced a leading CD47 drug candidate, while taking the company from a $16M valuation to a $2.3B buy-out by Pfizer in two years. Prior to that, Jan was the CEO of Tal Medical, a private, clinical stage neuroscience company; a partner in the life sciences practice at Bain & Company, Boston; and a manager at Price Waterhouse Corporate Finance in London, UK and Vienna, Austria. He holds a PhD in economics from the University of Economics in Slovakia, and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Jan qualifies as an “independent” director in accordance with the listing requirements of Nasdaq.
Karan Takhar
Director
Karan Takhar
Director
Board of Directors
Karan is a Managing Director and the head of Life Sciences investing at Matrix Capital Management, an investment fund focused on technology and life sciences. He received a Bachelor of Science in Economics and Mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Karan qualifies as an “independent” director in accordance with the listing requirements of Nasdaq.
Scientific Advisory Board
Anthony Letai, MD, PhD
Harvard Medical School
Anthony Letai, MD, PhD
Harvard Medical School
Scientific Advisory Board
Dr. Anthony Letai is Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. His research focuses on the mechanisms by which cancer cells evade death, and on the application of that knowledge to the selective killing of cancer cells. He joined the faculty of DFCI and Harvard Medical School in 2004. He received his MD and PhD from the University of Chicago. He completed his residency in internal medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and a fellowship in hematology and oncology at DFCI. He did his postdoctoral research training in the laboratory of Dr. Stanley Korsmeyer.
Ross Levine, MD
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Ross Levine, MD
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Scientific Advisory Board
Dr. Ross Levine is the Director of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Center for Hematologic Malignancies, Laurence Joseph Dineen Chair in Leukemia Research, Member of the Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program, and Attending Physician at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Dr. Levine’s pioneering research has illuminated the genetic basis of myeloid malignancies, including studies that delineated the role of the JAK-STAT pathway and other oncogenic drivers in the pathogenesis of myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML). His current efforts focus on the role of mutations in epigenetic modifiers in MPN and AML pathogenesis and therapeutic response, investigation of the role of different signaling pathways in hematopoietic transformation, and mechanisms of resistance to targeted therapies in MPN/AML. He received his MD degree from Johns Hopkins University and his BS from Harvard University.
Funda Meric-Bernstam, MD
MD Anderson Cancer Center
Funda Meric-Bernstam, MD
MD Anderson Cancer Center
Scientific Advisory Board
Funda Meric-Bernstam, M.D., is the Chair of the Department of Investigational Cancer Therapeutics — the Phase 1 Program at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. She is a widely recognized Phase 1 trial expert and experimental therapeutics researcher in oncology. Dr. Meric-Bernstam’s clinical research is focused on novel therapeutics, combination therapies, and biomarkers to predict and monitor drug response. Dr. Meric-Bernstam received her MD from the Yale University School of Medicine.
Adam Schayowitz, PhD, MBA
Pfizer
Adam Schayowitz, PhD, MBA
Pfizer
Scientific Advisory Board
Dr. Adam Schayowitz is the Vice President and Group Lead for the Breast Cancer and Precision Therapeutics Franchise at Pfizer Oncology, responsible for the Global Development programs and Medicine Teams within this group. Prior to this role, Dr. Schayowitz was responsible for the Prostate Cancer Franchise at Pfizer. Before joining Pfizer, Dr. Schayowitz led the global development of niraparib (Zejula) across ovarian, breast, prostate and lung cancer at TESARO.
Dr. Schayowitz received his Ph.D. from the University of Maryland and MBA from Johns Hopkins. He also sits on the Scientific Advisory Board of Cardiff Oncology and the Board of Directors of Prostate Cancer Research.
Kwok-Kin Wong, MD, PhD
NYU Langone Health
Kwok-Kin Wong, MD, PhD
NYU Langone Health
Scientific Advisory Board
Dr. Kwok-Kin Wong is a Director, Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Anne Murnick Cogan and David H. Cogan Professor of Oncology, Department of Medicine at Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center, NYU Langone Health. Dr. Wong obtained his MD, PhD degree at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. He was trained in internal medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital, and hematology and oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, both at Harvard Medical School. He was previously the Scientific Director of the Belfer Institute for Applied Cancer Science at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI)/ Harvard Medical School. He has authored more than 250 papers and has various patents on the molecular biology of cancer and aging. He is a member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation Association of American Physicians, the nation’s oldest honor society for physician-scientists. He also co-founded G1 Therapeutics.