Leadership Team

Douglas Falk, MS

Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder

Douglas Falk, MS, co-founded and joined Vita Therapeutics, Inc. as Chief Executive Officer in 2019. Prior he spent 6 years in the investment world with a particular focus in biotechnology at Brown Advisory, where he was a principal, Merrill Lynch, and Lazard. Mr. Falk was also involved in the formation of OptoStem and currently sits on the board of directors. In addition, Mr. Falk currently sits on the Board of Directors for the Johns Hopkins Biotechnology Investment Group. Mr. Falk received his M.S. from Johns Hopkins University in biotechnology and his BA from Goucher College in Economics and Business Management.

Peter Andersen, MS, PhD

Co-Founder

Peter Andersen, PhD, co-founded Vita Therapeutics, Inc. in 2019. He currently serves as the head of the Andersen Research Group at Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Andersen has studied stem cell biology for more than a decade during which time he has published several novel discoveries contributing to the field of stem cell and development biology. Dr. Andersen has an MS in molecular biology from Copenhagen University, where he also received a PhD in developmental biology.

Michael Kuo, MT (ASCP)

Senior Vice President of Manufacturing

Michael Kuo, MT (ASCP) has more than 24 years of experience in developing novel cell, gene and regenerative medicine therapies to support early-to-late-stage clinical trials. He previously served as MANA Therapeutics’ senior vice president of technical operations and vice president of quality and operations at MaxCyte. Mr. Kuo also served as senior director of quality assurance at Mesoblast and held various CMC leadership positions throughout his career. He has established and directed numerous GMP manufacturing, quality assurance and analytical testing operations; and provided oversight of clinical manufacturing, process development, translational scale-up, technology transfer and analytical testing at major global contract manufacturing and development organizations and contract testing laboratories. Mr. Kuo received his BS degrees in medical technology and microbiology as well as his biomedical regulatory affairs certification from the University of Washington.

Alexandra Capela, PhD

SVP of Regulatory and IND Strategy

Alexandra Capela, PhD is a neurobiologist with more than 20 years of post-doctoral and industry experience in the development of cell-based therapies for neurodegenerative disorders, most recently as a preclinical and regulatory consultant. Previously, she served as a member of the management team of StemCells, Inc. for 15 years. Dr. Capela received her doctorate in biomedical sciences from Albany Medical College/University of Oporto.

Amy Wesa, PhD

SVP of Translational Research

Amy Wesa, PhD has 20 years of post-PhD experience in immuno-oncology and cell and gene therapy and has led research and development strategy for clinical translation from discovery to product development to Phase I clinical trials. Dr. Wesa is the former vice president of research and development at Champions Oncology and has held leadership roles at Intrexon and Celsense. She is a former faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and holds a PhD in cancer biology from Wayne State University’s School of Medicine.

Steven S. Brooks, MD, MBA

SVP of Medical Sciences & Regulatory Affairs

Steven S. Brooks, MD, MBA, FACC, joined Vita Therapeutics, Inc. as SVP of medical sciences and regulatory affairs in 2019. He is an interventional cardiologist and previously served as a medical officer at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the Office of Device Evaluation. Since leaving the FDA he has served as a consultant and officer at multiple medical technology companies with a concentration in clinical and regulatory commercialization of drugs, biologics, medical devices and combination products. Dr. Brooks received his BA from Duke University, MD, from University of Pittsburgh and MBA from Johns Hopkins Carey School of Business in the business of medicine program.

Join our team

Join us as we re-engineer cellular medicine.

Browse opportunities