Eduardo Muñoz, PhD, MD
Scientific Advisor

Dr. Muñoz is a Professor of Immunology in the Department of Cell Biology, Physiology and Immunology of the University of Córdoba (Spain) and Director of the inflammation and cancer research group at the Institute Maimonides for Biomedical Research of Córdoba. Dr. Muñoz has more than 30 years of experience in biomedical research, and is the author of nearly 200 articles, patents, and book chapters with more than 6.000 citations. He is an expert in the mechanism of actions of cannabinoids and endocannabinoids as well as the development of cannabinoid-based new chemical entities. Dr. Muñoz belongs to the editorial board of several scientific journals and is a co-founder of three biotech companies, VivaCell Biotechnology (Spain), InnoHealth Group (Spain) and Glactone Pharma AB (Sweden). He received a PhD in Medicine and Surgery at the University of Córdoba and was an associate researcher at Tufts University in Boston, and at the Institute Pasteur in Paris.
Giovanni Appendino, PhD
Scientific Advisor
Dr. Appendino is a Professor of Organic Chemistry at the Università del Piemonte Orientale, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Novara (Italy), since 2000. Research activity in his laboratories takes inspiration from plant natural products to address problems in various realms of biomedical investigation, from pharmacology and nutrition (new drug leads and health-promoting dietary ingredients) to organic/medicinal chemistry (new synthetic methodologies and optimization of natural product drug leads) and cell biology (novel mechanisms of action). Author of over 350 peer-reviewed articles and 15 book chapters on the chemistry and bioactivity of plant natural products. Editor-in-Chief of the journal Fitoterapia and member of the Advisory Board of the PharmaNutrition, Natural Products Reports, Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B, and Progress in the Chemistry of Organic Natural Products. Recipient of the Rhône-Poulenc Rorer Award of the Phytochemical Society of Europe (1991), the Medaglia Quilico of the Società Chimica Italiana (2009) and the Bruker Prize of the Phytochemical Society of Europe in 2014 for his studies on bioactive natural products.
Rao Movva, PhD
Scientific Advisor

Dr. Movva brings broad experience from the biotech and large pharmaceutical industry, having worked since the very early years of biotechnology at Biogen and at Novartis as Executive Director. Dr. Movva and his collaborators have uncovered the mechanism of action of many natural compounds to advance them as leads for drug discovery. Dr. Movva was recognized in 2012 as a Novartis Distinguished Scientist for his significant contributions to drug discovery. Dr. Movva had initiated and pioneered the chemical biology efforts that led to the discovery and the understanding of the biological targets of rapamycin, the TOR pathways, in collaboration with Drs. Joseph Heitman and Mike Hall at Biozentrum, Basel. This significant milestone lead to advancing the currently marketed drugs and highlighted novel therapeutic opportunities that are actively pursued by many biotech companies. Dr. Movva received his PhD in Molecular Biology from SUNY at Stony Brook, New York.

Eduardo Candelario-Jalil, Ph.D.
Scientific Advisor

Dr. Eduardo Candelario-Jalil is a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Neuroscience, McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida. His research spans nineteen years of work in neuropharmacology, biochemistry, and molecular biology. His current research activities are focused on identifying novel molecular targets to reduce blood-brain barrier damage following ischemic stroke. Additionally, Dr. Candelario-Jalil directs an active research program with great translational potential, funded by two National Institute of Health (NIH) grants, with research focused on understanding neuroinflammatory mechanisms following ischemic stroke utilizing biochemical, cellular, genetic, pharmacological, and MRI multimodal approaches. Dr. Candelario-Jalil has made significant contributions to the understanding of neuroinflammatory mechanisms in ischemic stroke and has authored 69 original peer-reviewed publications, 11 invited review articles, and 3 book chapters.