Our Team
We are scientists, with medical, drug development, and legal expertise supported by an experienced operations team.
Roderick Wong, MD
Managing Partner
Roderick Wong, MD, serves as Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer of RTW. Rod is responsible for managing the firm’s investments focused on innovative drug development. Prior to forming RTW, he was a Managing Director and sole Portfolio Manager for the Davidson Kempner Healthcare Funds. Before joining Davidson Kempner, Rod held various healthcare investment and research roles at Sigma Capital Partners and Cowen & Company.
Rod simultaneously received an MD from the University of Pennsylvania Medical School and an MBA from Harvard Business School, and graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a BS in Economics from Duke University.
Rod has a keen interest in educating the next generation of life science entrepreneurs. He regularly sits on a variety of corporate boards. In addition, he serves as an Adjunct Associate Professor of Finance at NYU Stern and as an Advisor to the University of Pennsylvania Medical School’s PennHealthX Program. Rod also serves as Chairman of the RTW Charitable Foundation.
Roderick Wong, MD
Managing Partner
Sabera Loughran
Chief Operations and Financial Officer
Sabera Loughran, serves as Partner, Chief Operations and Chief Financial Officer at RTW. Sabera is responsible for oversight of the firm’s financial and operational activities.
Sabera has more than twenty years of operational, financial, and compliance experience. She has extensive experience working at both buy and sell side firms. Before joining RTW, Sabera served as Director of Finance and Chief Compliance officer at Prime Logic Capital. Prior to joining Prime Logic, Sabera spent several years at Buckingham Capital Management as an operations and client service executive. She began her sell-side career in the Asset Management Division of Goldman Sachs, serving as a team leader of the Client Reporting Team of Private Wealth Management, and as a fixed income portfolio administrator and performance analyst. Sabera started her career as an auditor at the Unit Investment Trust internship program of Deloitte and Touche. Sabera received a BBA in Accounting, Summa Cum Laude, from Baruch College.
Sabera Loughran
Chief Operations and Financial Officer
Naveen Yalamanchi, MD
Portfolio Manager
Naveen Yalamanchi, MD, serves as a Partner and Portfolio Manager at RTW. Naveen is responsible for the firm’s medical technology investments. He has more than 15 years of healthcare investment and research experience. Prior to RTW, Naveen was Vice-President and Co-Portfolio Manager at Calamos Arista Partners, a position he held from 2012 to 2015. Before joining Calamos, he held various healthcare investment roles at Millennium Management and Davidson Kempner Capital Management, where he worked with Rod.
Naveen serves on the board of directors of Rocket Pharmaceuticals, and also as a board observer for Dermtech, Ancora Heart, and Magnolia Medical Technologies.
Naveen graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a BS in Biology from MIT, and received his MD from Stanford University. He completed his surgical internship at UCLA Medical Center.
Naveen Yalamanchi, MD
Portfolio Manager
Stephanie Sirota
Chief Business Officer
Stephanie A. Sirota, serves as a Partner and Chief Business Officer at RTW. Stephanie is responsible for strategy and oversight of the firm’s business development and strategic partnerships with counterparties including banks and academic institutions. She is also responsible for shaping the firm’s governance policies related to impact and sustainability.
Stephanie has fifteen years of deal experience in financial services. Prior to joining RTW, she served as Director at Valhalla Capital Advisors, a macro and commodity investment manager. Stephanie also worked in the New York and London offices of Lehman Brothers, where she advised on various Merger & Acquisitions, IPOs, and capital market financing transactions with a focus on cross-border transactions for the firm’s global corporate clients.
Stephanie graduated with honors from Columbia University and also received a Master’s Degree from the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism. She has contributed to Fortune Magazine and ABCNews.com.
Stephanie is a supporter of the Arts, science, and children’s initiatives. She serves as Co-Chairman of the Council of the Philharmonic. She also serves as President of the RTW Charitable Foundation.
Stephanie Sirota
Chief Business Officer
Alice Lee, JD
Senior Counsel
Alice Lee, JD, serves as Senior Counsel at RTW and has nearly a decade of experience advising life sciences companies in corporate and transactional matters. Prior to joining RTW, she most recently served as a senior associate in the Life Sciences practice at Ropes & Gray LLP. Prior to that, she worked in the Intellectual Property Transactions and Technology practice at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, and she began her legal career in the Mergers & Acquisitions practice at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP.
Alice received her law degree from Columbia Law School, where she served as a Senior Editor of Columbia Law Review and was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar. She earned an MS from Stanford University in Computer Science (with an emphasis in Bioinformatics), completed two years of pre-clinical coursework at Stanford Medical School, where she as an M.D. candidate, and graduated Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude with a BA in Philosophy from Columbia University. Prior to law school, Ms. Lee worked as a computational biologist at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute at the University of South Florida and co-authored “The promise of gene signatures in cancer diagnosis and prognosis” included in the Encyclopedia of Genetics, Genomics, Proteomics and Bioinformatics and “Fundamentals of Cancer Genomics and Proteomics” included in Surgery: Basic Science and Clinical Evidence. She also worked as a software development engineer intern at Amazon.com.
Alice Lee, JD
Senior Counsel
Joshua Kennedy-Smith, PhD
Analyst
Joshua Kennedy-Smith, PhD, serves as an Analyst at RTW, where he specializes in the chemistry of small and large molecules, intellectual property, as well as leads our efforts in particular disease and technology areas. Josh also leads RTW’s internship and outreach programs.
Josh has more than a decade of professional experience in the pharmaceutical industry as both a research scientist and manager. Prior to joining RTW, he served as Principal Scientist and Head of Externalization at Schrodinger. Josh has experience in the area of inflammation and autoimmune disease, and served as a key contributor on a number of kinase inhibitor programs still in development. He began his career at Roche as a medicinal chemist working on the team that discovered the drug Elpida (elsulfavirine) for HIV.
Josh received a PhD in Chemistry from University of California, Berkeley and a BS in Chemistry from University of California, Santa Cruz and appears as an author and inventor on over 35 publications and patents. He has worked globally at sites in the US, Switzerland and India.
Joshua Kennedy-Smith, PhD
Analyst
Piratip Pratumsuwan
Analyst
Piratip Pratumsuwan, serves as an Analyst at RTW, where he is responsible for conducting research in specific technology areas for the firm. In particular, Piratip leads RTW’s comprehensive effort in gene therapy and gene editing, which spans across public and private companies as well as within academic institutions.
Piratip joined RTW directly from academia in 2014. He received an MA in Biotechnology from Columbia University, and a BS in Biochemistry from McGill University.
Piratip Pratumsuwan
Analyst
Tony Nguyen
Analyst
Tony Nguyen, serves as an Analyst at RTW, where he leads commercial analysis of biopharma and medical technology assets. He is also the founding member of the firm’s internal Valuation Committee.
Tony’s focus on the commercial viability of new drugs and technologies is a critical component of RTW’s work. We are living in an age where diseases are being redefined based on their genetic causes, and it is of paramount importance to understand the changing opportunity set of addressable patients across diseases.
Tony received a BS in Electrical Engineering from the National University of Singapore and an MBA from St. John’s University, both on full academic scholarship.
Tony Nguyen
Analyst
Steven B. Saland, MD
Research Manager
Steven B. Saland, MD, serves as Research Manager at RTW, where he is responsible for enhancing the RTW research process related to the collection, organization, and analysis of data.
Steve graduated with a BS in Archaeology from Columbia University, and has traveled extensively throughout Western Europe, Central America, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East to visit old excavation sites and sometimes participate in active archaeological digs. Steve received his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and has trained in Anesthesiology and Critical Care.
Steven B. Saland, MD
Research Manager
Chris Liu, PhD
Analyst
Chris Liu, PhD, serves as an Analyst at RTW, where he is responsible for oncology research as well as coverage of life sciences companies in China. Prior to joining RTW, Chris spent 5 years in Business Development at GenScript, where he primarily worked on antibody drug discovery and development including novel immuno-oncology targets. He also worked on the design and optimization of CAR constructs for CAR-T companies such as Kite, Juno, and Bellicum. Chris received a PhD in Biochemistry from SUNY Stony Brook and a BS in Chemistry from Fudan University. He also received his MBA in Finance and Management from NYU Stern School of Business.
Chris Liu, PhD
Analyst
Connor Williams
Analyst
Connor Williams, serves as an Analyst at RTW, where he is responsible for research in neurological disease. Connor is also actively involved in RTW’s efforts to better understand genetic drivers of disease more generally. Connor has experience as a lab researcher at The University of Hong Kong and contributed to a published work during his tenure at HKU. Connor received a BA in Biology and Psychology from NYU, and in May 2019, Connor expects to receive an MA in Psychology with a focus on Biopsychology.
Connor Williams
Analyst
Michelle Krinke
Director of Trading and Technology
Michelle Krinke, serves as the Director of Trading and Technology at RTW. Michelle has ten years of experience in financial services. Prior to joining, she worked at Sio Capital as the Director of Marketing.
Earlier in her career, Michelle worked as a fund accountant at Meridian Fund Services and in a sales role at Bloomberg LP. Michelle received a BA from the University of Texas at Austin and was awarded a full athletic scholarship for tennis.
Michelle Krinke
Director of Trading and Technology
Mike Christman
Senior Director of Operations
Mike Christman, serves as Senior Director of Operations at RTW. Mike has more than a decade of accounting and operations experience in financial services. Prior to joining RTW, he worked at Atlantic Investment Management, Inc., serving as Assistant Controller. Before joining Atlantic, he served as senior fund accountant at Bellman Walter Capital, LLC. Mike began his career as an auditor at Pricewaterhouse Coopers. Mike received a BBA from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
Mike Christman
Senior Director of Operations
David Moore
Controller
David Moore, serves as Controller at RTW. David has over fifteen years of accounting, audit and fund administration experience. He previously worked at SS&C Technologies, Inc., as Director in their Fund Services division. Earlier in his career, David worked as a senior financial analyst at The Blackstone Group, L.P. and as a financial services associate at Arthur Andersen LLP. David is a licensed CPA in the State of New York, received an MBA from New York University and graduated summa cum laude with a BS in Accounting from CUNY Brooklyn College.
David Moore
Controller
Krisha McCune
Operations Manager
Krisha McCune, serves as Operations Manager at RTW. Prior to joining, Krisha was an auditor in public accounting at RubinBrown, LLP. Krisha is a licensed CPA, received an MBA from Lindenwood University, and graduated with a BA in Chinese from Duke University.
Krisha McCune
Operations Manager
Julia Enright
Business Development Associate
Julia Enright, serves as a Business Development Associate at RTW. Julia serves on RTW’s business team and contributes to various efforts, including capital raising, counterparty relationships, impact initiatives, and content production. Prior to joining RTW, Julia spent three years as a healthcare investment banking analyst at Canaccord Genuity Group and Janney Montgomery Scott. Julia received her BBA from Villanova University.
Julia received her BBA from Villanova University.
Julia Enright
Business Development Associate
Jamie Sullivan
Executive Assistant
Jamie Sullivan, serves as Office Manager and Executive Assistant to the Partners at RTW. Prior to joining RTW, Jamie spent one year working as Executive Assistant for a software focused technology startup company. Prior to her move to a more corporate role, Jamie spent a decade working as a theatrical stage manager and on various film and television projects in New York City and Cincinnati, OH. Jamie graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Western Kentucky University.
Jamie Sullivan
Executive Assistant
ADVISOR
Edward Ndopu
Special Advisor on Impact and Corporate Sustainability
Edward Ndopu, is an internationally acclaimed, award-winning activist and humanitarian from South Africa. He serves as Special Advisor on Impact and Corporate Sustainability to the Partners of RTW Investments.
Diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy at birth, Eddie’s doctors predicated that he wouldn’t live beyond the age of five. Not only has he defied his prognosis, he has gone on to become one of the most powerful disability rights advocates on the planet.
In recognition of Eddie’s advocacy career, which spans more than a decade, the United Nations Secretary-General recently appointed him as a member of the UN Sustainable Development Goals Advocacy Group. In this role, Eddie is leading a campaign in partnership with MTV to address the UN General Assembly from the edge of the planet, as the first wheelchair-user in Space. Through a live broadcast from outer space to the UN Headquarters, Eddie seeks to push for concerted action around disability justice and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development under the rallying cry to leave no one behind.
Eddie is also a Global Ambassador for Inclusive Education with the Nobel Peace Prize Winning Organization, Humanity and Inclusion (previously known as Handicap International), and serves in this role alongside Brazilian footballer, Neymar Jr.
Eddie holds a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from Oxford University, the first African living with Spinal Muscular Atrophy to graduate from Oxford. He also holds a Bachelor’s Degree with High Distinction from Carelton University in Canada, and is a graduate of the prestigious African Leadership Academy in South Africa.
Edward Ndopu
Special Advisor on Impact and Corporate Sustainability
LET’S TALK
We believe biotech will be a key value creator over the next decade.
Contact us to learn more about RTW’s expertise, insight and experience in identifying and working with companies focused in areas of breakthrough innovation.