Company

People

Led by Science. Inspired by People

neDNA: We believe TAAV’s manufactured enzymatic DNA is paving the way to a new era of gene therapy development. This innovation can only be made possible through the power of science. However, science needs great minds and dedicated hands; science needs passionate people committed to change. 

We aim to change patients’ lives. This is what inspires us.

Leadership

TAAV’s Leadership team is composed of strong, dedicated and qualified professionals focused on driving your rAAV driving your rAAV programs to success. Get to know our global management team who guides and inspires our people to deliver exceptional results for our customers bringing a wealth of development, manufacturing and commercial experience from leading life sciences companies.

Dolores Baksh, PhD

CEO

Dolores Baksh, PhD

Dolores joins TAAV as CEO, from Akron Biomanufacturing where she served as the company’s Business Unit Head and Vice President of Commercial Biomanufacturing, leading its growth strategy for the production of cGMP plasmids and gene editing nucleases. She also held various leadership positions at GE Healthcare Life Sciences; GE Venture start-up, Vineti, Inc.; Organogenesis; and others. In these roles, Dolores established innovative cell and gene therapy product development strategies through organic and inorganic approaches, brought to market software to scale and digitize cell manufacturing systems and played a leading role in the approval of the first FDA approved allogeneic cell-based product.

Dolores received her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at the University of Toronto. She will split her time between Boston, Massachusetts, and TAAV’s manufacturing facility in San Sebastian, Spain.

Alfredo Martínez

COO

Alfredo Martínez

Graduated in Biological Sciences and Master in Industrial Microbiology from the University of Alcalá de Henares, he has extensive international experience in management and direction of biotechnology companies. He has been COO of Menarini Biotech; Responsible for Operations at Chemo; Director of Production at Vivalis and 3P Biopharmaceuticals; Cell Culture Development Manager at Amgen Technologies and Genzyme Flander and Production Manager Serono Spain. He is an expert in manufacturing unit management, cell culture, and protein purification. He has extensive knowledge of GMP regulations, as well as process engineering and development and commercial production of recombinant proteins and monoclonal antibodies.

Sarah Beaumont

Head of Business Development

Sarah Beaumont

Sarah graduated with a degree in Microbiology from the University of Massachusetts. She brings more than 10 years of experience in Business Development working with companies providing services from viral vector manufacturing to biologic safety testing. She joined TAAV in August 2019 where she now heads the business development efforts.

Félix Bastida, PhD

Scientific Director

Félix Bastida, PhD

Graduated in Veterinary Medicine from the University of Zaragoza and Doctor in Veterinary Medicine from Cornell University (USA), he is an expert in the management of research and development projects and the implementation of biotechnological start-ups. He has specialized in molecular biology, development and commercial production of diagnostic kits (PCR, ELISA), immunology, and virulence factors and pathogenesis of microorganisms. Throughout his career, he has held various positions as a researcher at US universities -Cornell, California-San Diego and Los Angeles- and senior executive and managerial responsibilities in biotechnology companies. He has been Development Director of ArtiVent Innovative Therapies S.L., Research Director of Vacunek S.L. and General Director of the UTE Vacunek-CZV Veterinaria.

Lara Pascual

Financial Director

Lara Pascual

Graduate in Economy and Business Management, Master in International Management, Financial Audit and Management Development by Universidad de Deusto (Spain). With wide experience in financial auditing in different industrial sectors and several years in Financial Department of a multi-national firm, Lara has joined TAAV in 2019 where she currently works as responsible of company financial management.

Jaime Vaquerizo

Director of Quality

Jaime Vaquerizo

Degree in Biochemistry from the University of the Basque Country and Master's Degree in Research, Development and Innovation of Medicines from the University of Navarra. He has been a Quality Assurance Technician at the Center for Research in Applied Pharmacobiology (CIFA) and Director of Quality Assurance and Quality Control at 3P Biopharmaceuticals. He is an expert in quality management, GMP regulations and the design, construction and qualification of biotechnology companies, as well as in the implementation of GXP quality systems and regulatory standards.

María Dolores Gálvez, PhD

Supply Chain Director

María Dolores Gálvez, PhD

Graduated in Biology from the University of Navarra (Spain) and Doctor in Biology from the Public University of Navarra (Spain) with research stay at the Utrecht University (The Netherlands) and pre-doctoral stay at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (USA). PMP® certified by the Project Management Institute. As a researcher, she focused on the study of genetic markers for the differential diagnosis of mental disorders in the Clinic University of Navarra (Spain), funded by the Alicia Koplowitz Foundation. She has worked for 12 years at 3P Biopharmaceuticals holding responsibility positions in Upstream, Planning and Logistics and Project Management. She has extensive experience in recombinant proteins and monoclonal antibodies.

Sergio Martín

Director of Engineering

Sergio Martín

Graduated in Industrial Engineering by the University of Navarra (Spain). He has more than 20 years of experience designing, building and maintenance of facilities for different industrial sectors, especially in healthcare. Also with experience as Industrial Plant Efficiency Auditor and BIM MEP design. Since 2013 Associate Professor of Industrial Facilities on the Master of Industrial Engineering of the University of Navarra (Tecnun). Sergio has joined TAAV in March 2020 where he currently works as Director of Engineering.

Leticia Agúndez, PhD

R&D Senior Manager

Leticia Agúndez

Leticia graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry from the University of the Basque Country (Spain) and obtained a PhD in Molecular Microbiology from the University of Cantabria (Spain). During her post-doctoral research work at King’s College London (KCL), she focused her studies on AAV biology. Later, at University College London (UCL), she worked on gene editing and gene and cell therapies for the treatment of retinal disorders. With more than 15 years of experience in basic and translational research, she is an expert in the fields of molecular biology, AAV and gene therapies. Since August 2019, Leticia leads the R&D department at TAAV.

Sergio Cuesta

Manufacturing Senior Manager

Sergio Cuesta

Graduated in Biotechnology from the Valencia Polytechnic University (Spain) and Master’s degree in Health Science Research from the Public University of Navarre (Spain). Throughout his career, Sergio has specialized in the biomedical field and specifically in molecular biology and genetic engineering of human pathogens and the study of virulence factors and pathogenesis. He has worked as a researcher at different groups at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) where he developed strong organizational and leadership skills. Sergio joined TAAV in 2020 and currently leads the areas of neDNA™ production and manufacturing process improvements.

Lucía San Miguel

Quality Senior Manager

               

Lucía San Miguel

Graduated in Pharmacy and Master's Degree in Research, Development and Innovation of Medicines from the University of Navarra (Spain). She has served in TAAV as Quality Senior Manager since 2019. She worked for 11 years in Quality Assurance and Quality Control fields in the CDMO biotech industry, including positions as Analytical Services Director and Qualified Person. She has expertise in the implementation and maintenance of Quality Management Systems, in GMP regulations, in the design, construction and qualification of biotechnology companies, as well as in the management of human teams and resources.

 

Shalom Pérez

Human Resources Senior Manager & Head of Compliance

                

Shalom Pérez

Bachelor’s degree in business administration from the Steinbeis Hoschule in Berlin (Germany). Shalom brings more than 20 years in Human Resources working with companies in different industries and countries, such as Siemens in Mexico, Latin-American and Germany and Woco Automotive Group in Germany and Spain. She joined TAAV in June 2022 where she now heads the implementation and standardization of all human resources matters and compliance system aligning them to AskBio Inc. and Bayer Group Policies.

 

Cecilia Folio, PhD

Senior Project Manager

Cecilia Folio, PhD

Graduated in Pharmacy and Doctor in Cellular and Molecular Biology from the University of Navarra (Spain) with a pre-doctoral internship at King's College London-Guys Hospital (UK). The main focus of her post-doctoral research work at the University of Oxford was to gain a greater understanding of how homologous recombination (HR) helps prevent genomic instability, the underlying mechanism of many cancers. Analytical and highly qualified medical sciences professional with extensive experience in research and development, program management, and clinical analysis. She has also an International MBA from the EAE Business School and large experience in Project Management in biotechnological companies. Cecilia joint TAAV in 2021 and since then she has occupied the role of Project Manager. In April 2023 she was promoted to Senior Project Manager leading the PM team

Join Us

If you are passionate about innovation, science and improving people’s lives, you will be a perfect fit to our team of more than 80 enthusiastic and brilliant minds.

Come join our team of experts. Together, we have the power to make it happen.