NAI Sig - Oligos - Steering Committee

Claire MacLeod

Chief Technologist & Grand Challenge Lead
Medicines Manufacturing Innovations Centre, CPI

Claire graduated with an MEng in Chemical Engineering and went on to complete a PhD on the topic of heterogeneous catalysis for Biodiesel production. She then spent 13 years working in various process development roles at AstraZeneca including specialisations in filtration and continuous processing. From there, Claire moved to CPI’s Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre where she is now the Chief Technologist for Oligonucleotides, managing a portfolio of projects including Grand Challenge 3 – Sustainable and Scalable Oligonucleotide Manufacturing.

Sritama Bose

Associate Director of Chemistry
Orfonyx Bio

Sritama is the Associate Director of Chemistry at Orfonyx Bio, where she leads multiple projects on nucleic acid therapeutic development. Previously, she was Head of Chemistry Research & Innovation at the Medical Research Council's Nucleic Acid Therapy Accelerator. She holds a PhD in synthetic organic chemistry from Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, with international postdoctoral experiences including a specialization in nucleic acid chemistry at Durham University. With a strong drive for translational research, Sritama transitioned to Sygnature Discovery, a leading drug discovery CRO. As a Senior Scientist, she applied her organic synthesis expertise to drug development, gaining valuable medicinal chemistry insights that she now brings to her leadership role at Orfonyx Bio.

Kathleen Campau

Senior Director, Operations & Site Lead
Axolabs

Kathleen leads strategic operations and ensures excellence in oligonucleotide development and GMP manufacturing at Axolabs, an LGC company. She brings 20 years of experience in biotechnology and oligonucleotide chemistry. Before joining Axolabs, Kathleen held senior leadership roles at LGC Biosearch Technologies. She most recently served as Senior Director of Technology Development, driving innovation in nucleic acid chemistry and delivering custom oligonucleotide manufacturing workflows for applications in IVD, applied and therapeutics markets.  Kathleen holds a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan and completed postdoctoral work at the Buck Institute, where her research focused on metabolic regulation and early drug discovery. She is passionate about building high-performing teams that deliver transformative solutions for innovators and patients worldwide.

Jeske Smink

Senior Director CMC
AiCuris Anti-infective Cures AG

Jeske is a biologist with over 20 years’ experience in the biotech industry and academic research. She has expertise in CMC aspects in different areas, including cell therapies, biologics and RNA therapies. After 7 years in academic research focussing on molecular mechanisms in bone development and diseases, she moved to co.don AG as Head of Scientific Affairs in 2012. Here her work focused on preclinical development and quality aspects of cartilage cell transplants, contributing to the EMA central market authorization of a cartilage cell therapy. Following, she joined ProBioGen as CMC project leader, where she was overseeing customer projects, focusing on process and analytical development, scale-up and large scale GMP manufacturing of biologics for clinical phase 1 studies. In 2020, Jeske joined Silence Therapeutics as Senior Director, Head of Drug Substance overseeing CMC development of early stage development projects, including process and analytical development, scale-up and clinical product manufacturing of siRNA compounds and contributing to quality sections of regulatory documentation. Her work included managing a team consisting of several CMC project leaders, a starting material lead and analytical chemists. Subsequently, she joined AiCuris as Senior Director CMC, where she is currently leading the CMC development of different therapeutic modalities throughout the different clinical phases, including an antisense oligonucleotide. She is responsible for the strategic and operational oversight of the different activities including manufacturing, but also CMC regulatory activities, with a main focus on the oligonucleotide program.

Naim Nazef

Vice President of Oligonucleotide Tx & Chemistry
Denali Therapeutics

Naim Nazef brings over 20 years of experience in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries, including 14 years focused on oligonucleotide-based drug discovery and development. Passionate about unlocking their therapeutic potential, he has a track record of translating innovative oligonucleotide-based platforms into clinical applications and leading multidisciplinary teams. Naim now heads oligonucleotide therapeutics at Denali, where he leads the discovery and optimization of novel Oligonucleotide Transport Vehicle (OTV) therapeutics.
Prior to joining Denali, Naim led oligonucleotide discovery research at Takeda as Head of Oligonucleotide Chemistry and Delivery Platforms, where he developed multiple oligonucleotide-based delivery platforms and advanced programs across Gastroenterology, Oncology, and Neuroscience. Before Takeda, Naim served as Director of Oligonucleotide Delivery Platform Development and Bio-/Analytical Sciences at Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, advancing RNAi-based therapeutics for liver, cancer, cardiovascular, and neurological diseases. He industrialized siRNA chemical designs that underpinned delivery platforms such as Dicerna’s EnCore™ lipid nanoparticle (LNP) for tumor targeting, the GalXC™ GalNAc-siRNA liver-targeted platform, and the GalXC-Plus™ extrahepatic platform, enabling delivery to a wide range of tissues, including the CNS. His contributions supported several clinical-stage programs and the NDA approval of Rivfloza® (nedosiran) a treatment for primary hyperoxaluria type 1, a rare genetic disorder. Ultimately, his work contributed to Dicerna's $3.3B acquisition by Novo Nordisk, the largest acquisition in the oligonucleotide field to date. Naim holds a Ph.D. in Natural Product Synthetic Organic Chemistry from The University of Edinburgh, a MS in Chemistry from Northeastern University and a B.Sc. in Biochemistry from The University of Manchester.

30 Dec

UPCOMING EVENT
WEBINAR
Charting a greener future for oligo manufacturing - Nucleic Acids Insights SIG 2026

Learn more

Join a hand-picked group of industry leaders at the inaugural Nucleic Acids Insights Special Interest Group.

The Nucleic Acid Insights Special Interest Group (SIG) brings together leading experts from across the oligonucleotides community to address one of the sector’s most urgent challenges: improving the sustainability and efficiency of oligo manufacturing. This invitation-only initiative provides a trusted, collaborative space for open discussion and actionable problem-solving - driving meaningful change through expert insight, strategic thinking, and shared commitment.

Steering Committee & Participants

Claire MacLeod

Sritama Bose

Kathleen Campau

Jeske Smink

Naim Nazef