Management and Board of Directors
Leadership
Ramin Valian
Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Valian is a leader in global biopharmaceutical development in eye care. He has extensive experience across corneal disease, surgical and interventional glaucoma, retina, and consumer eye care, with a consistent record of building high-performing teams, executing strategic product launches, and advancing patient-centric innovation. Prior to joining Emmecell, Ramin held senior leadership roles at Allergan and AbbVie, where he played key roles in global strategy, clinical development, and commercialization of multiple high-impact ophthalmic products.
Noelia J. Kunzevitzky, PhD
Chief Development Officer
Dr. Kunzevitzky has more than 20 years of experience in ophthalmology with a focus on innovation and regenerative medicine. She has played a key role in building and scaling the company’s operations and infrastructure. Noelia leads execution across pre-clinical development, cell manufacturing, regulatory strategy, and clinical development. She plays a central role in advancing Emmecell’s magnetic cell delivery platform toward pivotal clinical development and commercialization.
.jpg)
Jill Tierney
VP of Finance
Jill Tierney serves as the Vice President of Finance at Emmecell, bringing over 15 years of expertise in corporate finance and operational strategy for the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors. She oversees the company’s financial strategy, including planning, budgeting, capital management, and reporting to the Board. Previously, Jill was Vice President of Finance at AsclepiX Therapeutics, where she secured over $45 million in funding and facilitated the company's growth into clinical-stage operations.
Roger A. Goldberg, MD, MBA
Co-founder and Chief Medical Advisor
Dr. Roger Goldberg is a vitreoretinal surgeon with expertise in clinical trial design and implementation. He did his clinical training in ophthalmology at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute and vitreoretinal fellowship at Tufts University. Previously, Roger worked for McKinsey & Co. in healthcare consulting. He received his BA, MD, and MBA from Yale.
Jeffrey L. Goldberg, MD, PhD
Co-founder and Chair, Board of Directors
Dr. Jeffrey Goldberg is Professor and Chair of Ophthalmology and Director of the Byers Eye Institute at Stanford University. His focus is on regenerative medicine in eye and vision research, and on developing novel molecular, stem cell, and nanotherapeutics approaches for eye repair. Jeff completed his clinical training in ophthalmology and glaucoma at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute. He received his BS magna cum laude from Yale, and his MD and PhD from Stanford.
James V. Mazzo
Board of Directors
Mr. Mazzo is Executive Chair of Neurotech, a private clinical-stage biotechnology company developing therapies for chronic eye diseases. A highly respected ophthalmic industry leader with more than 40 years of experience in medical devices, Mr. Mazzo is internationally recognized for building and leading world-class organizations. His leadership roles include CEO of Allergan’s North American and European eye care businesses; chairman, president, and CEO of Advanced Medical Optics; EVP of Abbott’s global ophthalmology business; executive chair and CEO of AcuFocus; and global president of ophthalmic devices at Carl Zeiss Meditec.
James W. Donaghy, MBA
Board of Directors
Mr. Donaghy has over thirty years experience in private equity investing. He serves as the President and is on the Board of Holding Capital Groups' principal investment entities. He also serves (or has served) on the Boards of portfolio companies in precision injection molding, building materials, men's apparel, wire and cable, concrete products, and metal and rubber manufacturing industries amongst others. Mr. Donaghy holds a BS in Business Administration from the University of Nebraska and an MBA from Pace University.
Medical Advisory Board
Sumit (Sam) Garg, MD
Vice-chair of Clinical Ophthalmology and Medical Director, Gavin Herbert Eye Institute
Winston Chamberlain, MD, PhD
Cornea and Cataract Specialist
Kaiser Permanente
Jennifer Rose-Nussbaumer, MD
Associate Professor of Ophthalmology
Byers Eye Institute
Preeya Gupta, MD
Cornea and Cataract Specialist
Triangle Eye Consultants
David Hardten, MD, FACS
Cornea Surgeon and Managing Partner
Minnesota Eye Consultants
​
Julie Schallhorn, MD, MS
Associate Professor and Rose B. Williams Endowed Chair of Ophthalmology - UCSF
Vance Thompson, MD
Director of Refractive Surgery
Founder, Vance Thompson Vision
Dean Eliott, MD
Director, Emeritus, Retina Service
Mass Eye and Ear, Harvard University
Jeffrey Heier, MD
Director of Vitreoretinal Service and Retina Research, Ophthalmics Consultants of Boston
Allen Ho, MD, FACS
Co-Director, Retina Service and Director of Research, Wills Eye Hospital
Eleonora Lad, MD, PhD
Professor of Ophthalmology, Vitroretinal Disease and Surgery, Duke University
Charles Wykoff, MD, PhD
Director of Research
Retina Consultants of Texas
Steering and Scientific Advisory Panels
Ellen Koo, MD
Associate Professor of Clinical Ophthalmology, Cornea, Cataract and Refractive Surgery, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami
W. Barry Lee, MD, FACS
Cornea, External Eye Disease, Refractive, and Cataract Specialist
Eye Consultants of Atlanta
Parag Majmudar, MD
Associate Professor Rush University Medical Center and Chief Executive Officer, Chicago Cornea Consultants
David Verdier, MD
Corneal and External Eye Disease Specialist, Verdier Eye Center
William W. Culbertson, IV, MD
Professor and Lou Higgins Chair of Ophthalmology, Director of Cornea,
Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami
Victor Perez, MD
Professor of Ophthalmology, Director of Cornea Research,
Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami
Sanjay V. Patel, MD
Professor and Emeritus Chair of Ophthalmology, Mayo Clinic
​
Christopher Rapuano, MD
Professor of Ophthalmology and Chief of Cornea Service, Wills Eye Hospital, Thomas Jefferson University
​