Who we are
Eun Jung (EJ) Choi
Chief Executive Officer, MD, Ph.D, MBA
EJ Choi is the Chief Executive Officer and a founder of Spave Science. As the CEO, she leads Spave Science in its purpose as a pioneer in neuroscience, paving the road through science to change the lives of patients who desperately await solutions, with a focus on translating science into better solutions for patients. She is a neurologist and a veteran pharmaceutical executive. She has 20 years of pharmaceutical experience across numerous early- and late-stage developments and commercial launches, regulatory approvals, and business partnerships in neurology and multiple therapeutics at global pharmaceutical companies including Novartis and UCB. Together with her unique scientific and business expertise, she brings extensive global market experience, including Asia, Europe, and the US. She received MD and PhD in South Korea and is a certified Board of Neurology and holds an MBA, majoring in finance and management from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
Iris Loew-Friedrich, MD, Ph.D
Scientific Advisor
Chief Medical Officer at UCB S.A
Dr. Iris Loew-Friedrich is the Chief Medical Officer at UCB. She provides strategic global leadership for clinical development, regulatory affairs, and medical affairs for UCB’s pipeline projects and product portfolio. During her tenure, she has spearheaded global clinical development of UCB’s products, including key neurology and immunology products. Prior to UCB, Dr. Loew-Friedrich served as the head of Global Research and Development for Schwarz Pharma, which UCB acquired in 2006. She was also on the Schwarz Pharma Executive Board. Dr. Loew-Friedrich held several medical and R&D roles, including Vice-President and Head of Global Projects at BASF Pharma, Ludwigshafen, Germany; Vice-President, Head of Global Clinical Management, HMR/Aventis, and Therapeutic Area Head Rheumatology and Bone Diseases, Hoechst/HMR, Bridgewater, New Jersey.
John Renger, Ph.D
Scientific Advisor
Former Chief Scientific Officer at Cerevel Therapeutics
Dr. John Renger served as Chief Scientific Officer of Cerevel from May 2019 until the company's acquisition in 2024 by Abbvie for $8.7 billion dollars. Dr. Renger joined Cerevel Therapeutics from Imbrium Therapeutics L.P., where he served as vice president of research and development and regulatory affairs, leading the company’s overall scientific direction and clinical development strategy. Previously, Dr. Renger held roles of increasing responsibility at Merck & Co. over a 15-year tenure, most recently serving as associate vice president. Dr. Renger was a postdoctoral fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Center for Learning and Memory and previously worked at the RIKEN Brain Science Institute in Japan. Dr. Renger earned his Ph.D. in biological sciences with a focus on neurogenetics at the University of Iowa where he also completed his B.S. in biology.
P. Michael Iuvone, Ph.D, FARVO
Scientific Advisor
Professor of Ophthalmology, Pharmacology & Chemical Biology at Emory University School of Medicine
Dr. Iuvone is the Sylvia M. and Frank W. Ferst Professor of Ophthalmology and Professor of Pharmacology & Chemical Biology at Emory University School of Medicine and Vice-director of Vision Research, Emory Eye Center. His long-standing research collaboration on the tropomyosin-related kinase B (TrkB) pathway with Professor Frank E. McDonald and other researchers at Emory University led to the invention of a novel TrkB agonist. Dr. Iuvone is a neuropharmacologist and has ~50 years of experience researching the actions of drugs, neurotransmitters, hormones, and growth factors on the physiology and pathology of the retina and brain. He has been an editorial board member of several distinguished journals and has published more than 200 articles in peer-reviewed literature.
Lisa M. Monteggia, Ph.D
Scientific Advisor
Professor of Pharmacology and Barlow Family Director of the Vanderbilt Brain Institute
Dr. Lisa Monteggia is the Barlow Family Director of the Vanderbilt Brain Institute and Professor of Pharmacology at Vanderbilt University. She has extensively researched the molecular mechanisms underlying psychiatric disorders. She has made critical discoveries about the role of the Brain-derived Neurotrophic Factor and tropomyosin-related kinase B (TrkB) pathway in antidepressant efficacy as well as the epigenetic regulation of synaptic transmission by Methyl-CpG-binding protein 2 (MeCP2) in neurodevelopment disorders such as Rett syndrome. Dr. Monteggia is currently the Co-Principal Editor for Neuropsychopharmacology and a member of the editorial boards of Biological Psychiatry, Hippocampus, and eLife.
Frank E. McDonald, Ph.D
Technical Advisor
Professor of Chemistry at Emory University
Dr. McDonald is a Professor of Chemistry at Emory University. He designed and synthesized novel chemical structures of SPV-400 and analogs as a co-inventor. He has extensive experience in synthetic chemistry and drug discovery projects, as noted by his many academic collaborations and research programs.
Ray Forslund, Ph.D., MBA
Head of CMC
Consultant, SVP, Head of CMC development at Syner-G Biopharma Group
Dr. Ray Forslund has 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry working for both pharmaceutical and CRO/CMO companies. In his current role as Senior Vice President at Syner-G BioPharma Group, Ray leads the CMC Development, Project Management, and Quality Assurance business units. Ray’s team is made of a diverse group of scientists who follow his lead in providing practical scientific solutions for drug development programs including identifying and managing CRO/CMO/CDMOs for clients to support drug substance, drug product and analytical development activities in biologics, small molecules and peptides. Previously, Ray was part of the Senior Leadership team at Laurus Synthesis Inc., a Boston based CRO/CMO. He began his pharmaceutical career as a process chemist at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, and then moved on to Ironwood Pharmaceuticals holding several scientific positions of increasing responsibility.
Jong Sung Kim, MD, Ph.D.
Clinical Advisor, Stroke
Professor of University of Ulsan
Dr. Jong Sung Kim is an Honorary Professor of University of Ulsan, Asan Medical Center, South Korea. He was the former president of Korean Neurological Association, Korean Stroke Society, and the director of Asan Stroke Center. He published 30 books or book chapters including `Intracranial Atherosclerosis’ (Karger, 2016), and `Posterior Circulation Stroke’ (Springer, 2021), and approximately 600 peer-reviewed scientific articles. His main academic interests include sensory manifestation of stroke, intracranial atherosclerosis, posterior circulation stroke, stroke treatment, and mood/emotional disturbances after stroke. He is the founding editor of Journal of Clinical Neurology, and the chief editor of the Journal of Stroke.