Therna Biosciences Appoints Biotech Veteran Devyn Smith, Ph.D., to Board of Directors and Expands Strategic and Scientific Advisory Leadership

Appointments expand leadership across AI, RNA biology, and delivery innovation with additions of Ron Philip, Brian Hie, Ph.D., Bo Wang, Ph.D., and Hamideh Parhiz, Pharm.D., Ph.D.

Initiates Scientific Collaboration with Dr. Parhiz's lab at the University of Pennsylvania to advance mRNA delivery technologies

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Therna Biosciences, a biotechnology company pioneering programmable RNA medicines, today announced the appointment of Devyn Smith, Ph.D., as an independent member of its Board of Directors, along with the addition of new strategic and scientific advisors. These appointments strengthen Therna's leadership across RNA biology, artificial intelligence, delivery technology, and therapeutic development as the company advances its AI-enabled RNA platform and pipeline.

Devyn Smith, Ph.D., Independent Board Member
Dr. Smith joins Therna's Board of Directors as an independent member. He currently serves as Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Arbor Bio, a clinical stage gene editing company, since April 2021. He is a longtime board member and former Chairman of the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine (ARM) and advises multiple biotechnology companies, serving on several boards.

"Devyn brings a rare combination of scientific depth, operational leadership, and strategic perspective," said Nazli Azimi, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Therna. "His experience across genetic medicine and company building will help guide Therna as we translate programmable RNA design into disciplined therapeutic development."

Previously, Dr. Smith was Chief Operating Officer and Head of Strategy at Sigilon Therapeutics and held senior strategy and operations roles in Research & Development at Pfizer in both the U.S. and U.K., including leadership positions supporting regenerative medicine and neuroscience programs. Earlier in his career, he worked in management consulting, advising pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies across a range of therapeutic areas and technologies, with a strong focus on regenerative medicine.

Dr. Smith holds a Ph.D. in Genetics from Harvard Medical School, where his research resulted in multiple publications in leading scientific journals.

"Therna is building a thoughtful and differentiated approach to programmable RNA design by integrating computational modeling with rigorous experimental biology," said Dr. Smith. "The company's commitment to disciplined development and scientific depth positions it well to translate innovation into meaningful therapeutic programs. I look forward to supporting the team as it advances its strategy."

Strategic Advisory Appointment

Therna also appointed Ron Philip as Strategic Advisor. Mr. Philip brings extensive leadership experience across biotechnology strategy, corporate development, and operational execution. In this role, he will provide guidance on long-term strategy, partnerships, and organizational growth as Therna expands its platform capabilities and therapeutic programs.

Mr. Philip currently serves as a Board Member for City Therapeutics and Harmony Biosciences. He previously served as Chief Executive Officer and Board Member of Orbital Therapeutics, until it was acquired by Bristol Myers Squibb, and was previously Chief Executive Officer of Spark Therapeutics, which was acquired by Roche.

Scientific Advisory Board Expansion

Therna has expanded its Scientific Advisory Board with the addition of:

Brian Hie, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering, a Data Science Faculty Fellow at Stanford University and a leader in machine learning for biological sequence modeling. He leads the Laboratory of Evolutionary Design conducting research at the intersection of biology and machine learning. His work focuses on developing advanced computational models that bridge AI and biological sequence design, and he previously served as a Stanford Science Fellow and researcher at Meta AI.

Bo Wang, Ph.D., Senior Vice President and Head of Biomedical AI at Xaira Therapeutics and an expert in artificial intelligence and computational biology. He also serves as serving as Chief AI Scientist at the University Health Network and holding a Canada CIFAR AI Chair at the Vector Institute. With a Ph.D. in computer science from Stanford University, his research focuses on machine learning and integrative computational methods to advance biological understanding and predictive models that bridge data and clinical insight.

Drs. Hie and Wang will provide strategic guidance on advancing Therna's AI-enabled RNA language models and computational platform.

Hamideh Parhiz, Pharm.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Pennsylvania and a specialist in RNA delivery technologies. Her research focuses on RNA therapeutics and advanced drug delivery systems. She leads work on developing and optimizing delivery technologies critical to the safe and effective distribution of RNA-based medicines. Dr. Parhiz was a scientific co-founder of Capstan Therapeutics that was acquired by AbbVie.

In addition, Therna has initiated a scientific collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania and Dr. Parhiz's laboratory to advance mRNA delivery technologies, further strengthening the company's capabilities across design, evaluation, and translational development.

"The addition of these advisors enhances our ability to integrate advanced AI modeling with experimental RNA biology and delivery innovation," said Dr. Azimi. "Together, this expanded leadership team reinforces our commitment to rigorous science and the advancement of programmable RNA medicines."

About Therna Biosciences
Therna is a biotechnology company redefining RNA therapeutics by uniting deep RNA biology with state-of-the-art RNA foundation models and generative AI. Its biology-guided platform enables rapid, end-to-end design of precisely engineered mRNA molecules that are optimized for enhanced translation, stability, immune evasion, and tissue-specific expression. The platform also efficiently identifies optimal target sites within mRNA for maximally effective ASO/siRNA design. Therna's technology allows gene expression to be upregulated, downregulated, or finely tuned, enabling broad applications across a range of therapeutic areas, including genetic, metabolic, immunological, and cardiovascular diseases in addition to ultra-rare, individualized treatments. Headquartered in San Francisco, Therna is backed by leading investors and scientific advisors at the forefront of RNA and AI innovation. Please visit therna.com for more information and follow us on LinkedIn.

SOURCE Therna Biosciences