Our Company

Mr. Willard was previously CEO of ICAPATH, Inc., CEO of NRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc., CEO of Cellphire, Inc., and CEO of Flamel Technologies, S.A., a NASDAQ-traded biotech company for seven years and served as CFO prior to becoming CEO. He formerly served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Flamel and formerly served on the Board of Directors of E*Trade Financial Corporation. He was a member of the National Science Board for a six year term.  Mr. Willard received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Williams College and a Juris Doctorate from Yale Law School.

Dr. Hare co-founded Longeveron in 2014 and serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors, and Chief Science Officer. Dr. Hare is a double board-certified cardiologist (Cardiology and Advanced Heart Failure and Transplantation) and is the founding director of the Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute at the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine. He has obtained in excess of $25 Million in funding from the National Institutes of Health over the past 15 years to support basic research of cell therapy strategies. He is also a recipient of the Paul Beeson Physician Faculty Scholar in Aging Research Award, and is an elected member of the American Association of Physicians, The American Society for Clinical Investigation, and is an elected Fellow of the American Heart Association. Dr. Hare has also served in numerous leadership roles at the American Heart Association and at the Center for Scientific Review of the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Hare is also a co-founder of Vestion, Inc., and Heart Genomics, LLC, companies that hold cardio-related intellectual property. He received a BA from the University of Pennsylvania, and his MD from The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and completed fellowships at Johns Hopkins and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and was a Research Fellow at Harvard Medical School. 

Ms. Washburn, age 51, has served as the Company’s Vice President and Corporate Controller since November 2025. Before joining the Company, Ms. Washburn spent over 20 years in the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors in leadership roles, most recently serving as the Vice President of Finance at Fore Biotherapeutics, Inc., a precision oncology company developing cancer therapies from January 2025 to June 2025 as well as serving from December 2019 to June 2024 in multiple roles at Axcella Health, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company targeting treatment of complex diseases using endogenous metabolic modulator (EMM) compositions, including as Executive Director, Accounting and Corporate Controller, Vice President of Finance, Acting Chief Accounting Officer, and a consultant. Prior to that time, Ms. Washburn was the Senior Director of Finance and Corporate Controller from July 2018 to October 2019 at Generation Bio (acquired by XOMA Royalty Corporation in February 2026), a biotechnology company developing therapeutics for people living with T cell-driven autoimmune diseases; and before that, Ms. Washburn served in several roles for Momenta Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Johnson & Johnson in October 2020), a biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing novel therapeutics to treat rare, immune-mediated diseases, from November 2005 to June 2018, including a stint as Corporate Controller from June 2012 to June 2018. Ms. Washburn received a B.S. in Business Administration from Bryant University in 1997.

Dr. Agafonova joined Longeveron in the role of CMO on July 1, 2023. Before Longeveron, she served as Clinical Development Lead, Senior Medical Director, and Product Development Chair at Otsuka Pharmaceuticals. Previously, she was the Clinical Development Lead and Senior Medical Director at Bristol-Myers Squibb. Dr. Agafonova previously held several senior leadership positions in clinical development and pharmacovigilance at Ardea Bioscience, Biogen, Amgen, and Genzyme Corporation. Dr. Agafonova has extensive experience in therapeutic areas such as autoimmune, hematology, neuroscience, and oncology. Her cross-therapeutic expertise in drug development helped to bring several products to the U.S. and EU markets. Prior to her industry experience, Dr. Agafonova served as a physician at the Ukrainian Research Institute of Oncology and Radiology. Dr. Agafonova earned an M.D. from the Ukrainian National Medical University and completed her internal medicine residency at Kharkov State University Hospital in Ukraine.

Paul Lehr (General Counsel and Secretary) joined Longeveron in 2016 and serves as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. Over the past 20 years, Mr. Lehr has held senior legal and executive positions in corporate, non-profit, and research settings. Mr. Lehr started his legal career as a law clerk for a United States Federal Judge and thereafter practiced law at a leading Miami law firm for 5 years, with experience in healthcare and business. Thereafter, Mr. Lehr focused his efforts in the cardiac rehabilitation field as President and General Counsel of a non-profit research foundation and for-profit cardiac rehabilitation program. With the research serving as the foundation of the for-profit arm of the cardiac rehabilitation program, Mr. Lehr negotiated a master franchise agreement with a leading Indian healthcare operator with 100+ facilities across India and the Middle East, then co-lead negotiations with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to successfully secure CMS reimbursement of their intensive cardiac rehabilitation program. Mr. Lehr has also served since 2011 as CEO and co-founder of HeartGenomics, a biotech firm based on intellectual property Mr. Lehr licensed from the UM Miller School of Medicine. Mr. Lehr earned his B.A. from Brown University, and his J.D. with honors from University of Florida College of Law. 

Devin Blass joined Longeveron in the role of CTO on December 2nd , 2024,  with over 15 years of distinguished experience in the development and manufacture of advanced therapies. Prior to Longeveron, Mr. Blass served as the Senior Vice President of Comprehensive Cell Solutions, the contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) of New York Blood Center Enterprises (NYBCe). There, he oversaw the CDMO business unit, encompassing Technical Operations, Business Development, and Cell Sourcing.

Before his tenure at NYBC, Mr. Blass was the Vice President of Technical Operations and Site Head at Talaris Therapeutics, where he managed Technical Operations and Supply Chain. His career also includes directing cell manufacturing operations at Bellicum Pharmaceuticals and serving as the Director of Commercial Program Manufacturing at Mesoblast. Mr. Blass’s industry experience is complemented by his significant contributions at MD Anderson Cancer Center, where he advanced through roles of increasing responsibility. There, he played a pivotal role in developing the infrastructure and systems necessary to obtain licensure for HPC and Cord Blood. Mr. Blass holds a B.S. In Biochemistry from Texas State University.

Brian G Rash, PhD is a stem cell biologist and neuroscientist with broad expertise in cell type characterization, drug development, and neurodevelopmental disorders.  He received his PhD from the University of Chicago in 2007, with a dissertation on early brain development focusing on how the dorsal and ventral brain regions are specified through morphogen signaling systems.  He then studied as a post-doctoral fellow and early faculty member at Yale University, working with both mouse and monkey models of stem cell biology, where he elucidated key mechanisms of brain morphogenesis. For the past few years, Brian has driven iPSC technology, organoid research, and drug development at Herophilus, a biotech in the San Francisco Bay Area, discovering a novel small molecule that has disease-modifying potential for Rett syndrome.  Through biomarker and assay development and thorough research of the mechanism of action of this hit molecule, Brian successfully brought this compound to pre-IND studies; with luck, this compound may go on to provide hope for thousands of young patients and their families.  Brian is passionate about therapeutic development and utilizes rigorous scientific methods to gain a greater understanding of biological processes that can be harnessed to improve patients’ lives. 

Dr. Hare co-founded Longeveron in 2014 and serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors, and Chief Science Officer. Dr. Hare is a double board-certified cardiologist (Cardiology and Advanced Heart Failure and Transplantation) and is the founding director of the Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute at the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine. He has obtained in excess of $25 Million in funding from the National Institutes of Health over the past 15 years to support basic research of cell therapy strategies. He is also a recipient of the Paul Beeson Physician Faculty Scholar in Aging Research Award, and is an elected member of the American Association of Physicians, The American Society for Clinical Investigation, and is an elected Fellow of the American Heart Association. Dr. Hare has also served in numerous leadership roles at the American Heart Association and at the Center for Scientific Review of the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Hare is also a co-founder of Vestion, Inc., and Heart Genomics, LLC, companies that hold cardio-related intellectual property. He received a BA from the University of Pennsylvania, and his MD from The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and completed fellowships at Johns Hopkins and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and was a Research Fellow at Harvard Medical School. 

Deborah Ascheim, MD is a physician-executive and independent board director with over 30 years of clinical and executive experience advancing breakthrough therapies, including gene, cell, and biologics, for rare, ultra-rare, and common diseases across multiple indications.  She brings deep expertise in clinical and regulatory strategy, drug, gene and cell therapy development, and trial design.  She currently serves as the Fractional Chief Medical Officer at Rejuvenate Bio, Inc., a clinical stage biotech company developing gene therapies to treat age related diseases in humans and dogs.  She is also the founder and president of d2a Ltd., through which she provides strategic clinical and product development consulting across gene and cell therapies, small molecules, pharmaceuticals, and diagnostic and therapeutic devices. Prior to founding d2a Ltd., Dr. Ascheim served as Chief Medical Officer for StrideBio, Inc., a gene therapy company developing innovative genetic medicines for patients with devastating conditions.  Dr. Ascheim previously served as the Chief Medical Officer for Capricor Therapeutics Inc., a NASDAQ-listed company, where she led all clinical development, regulatory affairs, clinical operations, and pharmacovigilance functions, overseeing multiple randomized controlled trials across cardiovascular and Duchenne muscular dystrophy indications and driving the company’s successful pivot to a rare disease focus.  Dr. Ascheim’s clinical career was focused on heart failure cardiology.  She trained and practiced at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center, where she was a faculty member in the Heart Failure Center for almost 15 years. She subsequently joined the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai as a Professor of Medicine and Vice-Chair of the Department of Population Health Science & Policy.  She has three decades of experience as a clinical researcher and trialist, serving either as the Principal Investigator or other leadership role on NIH funded and industry trials totaling more than $140 million.  She has served on multiple Data Safety Monitoring Boards, Clinical Events Committees, and trial Steering Committees, and has co-authored publications in leading journals including the New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet, and Circulation.  Dr. Ascheim has served on the Board of Directors for Physicians for Human Rights for many years including serving as the Vice Chair and subsequently Chair of the Board of Directors, the Chair of its Nominating & Governance Committee, and a longstanding member of the Executive Committee.  She also served for a decade on the Board of Trustees of the Brearley School, where she chaired the Trusteeship & Governance Committee and the Education Committee and served on the Executive Committee.  Dr. Ascheim earned her B.A. from Wellesley College and her M.D. from NYU Grossman School of Medicine.

Arjun (JJ) Desai, MD is the Chief Executive Officer of Lotus Neuro, a clinical stage biotechnology company advancing the next generation of brain‑targeted therapeutics through precision, low frequency focused ultrasound. Prior to Lotus Neuro, Dr. Desai was the Chief Strategic Innovation Officer at INSIGHTEC where he led the strategy for future platforms, luminary ecosystem development, clinical and economic data analytics and modeling, and Medical Advisory Board operational support. Prior to INSIGHTEC, Dr. Desai was Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Johnson & Johnson Innovation, where he was responsible for delivering on the goals and objectives across the global JLABS organization and the Center for Device Innovation. Dr. Desai completed his advanced medical training at Stanford University where he sits on both clinical and Biodesign faculty. He holds an MD from University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, and a B.S. in Economics from The University of Oklahoma.  

Roger Hajjar is the director of the Gene and Cell Therapy Institute at Mass General Brigham. 

He received his BS in Biomedical Engineering from the Johns Hopkins University in and his MD from Harvard Medical School and the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences & Technology. He completed his training in internal medicine, cardiology, heart failure/cardiac transplantation, and research fellowships at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, where he then directed the Cardiology Laboratory of Integrative Physiology and Imaging. From 2007 to 2018, Dr. Hajjar was the Director of the Cardiovascular Research Center, and the Arthur & Janet C. Ross Professor of Medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. From 2019 to 2022, Dr. Hajjar was involved in the creation of a number of gene therapy companies at Flagship Pioneering, Cambridge, MA, and he was the head of R&D at Ring Therapeutics. Dr. Hajjar is an internationally renowned scientific leader in the field of cardiac gene therapy. His laboratory had validated a number of cardiac targets that led to the initiation and completion under his guidance of First-in-Human gene therapy trials in patients with heart failure. He has initiated multiple clinical trials in gene therapy for a variety of cardiovascular diseases. He has authored over 500 publications and has received numerous awards for his achievements in the field cardiac gene therapy including the Young Investigator Award of the American Heart Association, the Doris Duke Clinical Scientist award, the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Johns Hopkins University, the American Heart Association Distinguished Achievement Award and the Thomas W. Smith Award of the American Heart Association.

He is the founder of multiple gene therapy companies some of which have had successful exits.

Dr. Paletta holds multiple patents, in both orthopedic and cardiovascular arenas. He led the founding and development of Preston Worldwide, a medical device company built around the sling and pillow technology. He has been a frequent early phase investor in multiple start-up ventures across a wide range of industries and technologies, serving in both formal and informal advisory roles. Dr. Paletta received his Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry from the College of Holy Cross and his Doctor of Medicine from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. His orthopedic residency was completed at the world-renowned Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. His training included 3 post-graduate fellowships at Hospital for Special Surgery, The Cleveland Clinic and Children’s Hospital of Michigan. His professional career has included both academic and private practice at Hospital for Special Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine Department of Orthopedic Surgery and, most recently, The Orthopedic Center of St. Louis. He completed his MBA from the Olin School of Business at Washington University in St Louis.

Rock Soffer joined Longeveron’s Board of Directors in March 2020. Mr. Soffer is President, Special Project Division at Turnberry Associates, where he oversees leasing, asset acquisitions, zoning and site approvals, as well as the development of other specialty projects. He has experience in managing and securing financing for complex projects, as well as overseeing a number of developments in Florida, such as the redevelopment of an almost 200,000 square-foot open-air lifestyle shopping center in Aventura. In addition, Mr. Rock Soffer was tasked with overseeing the referendum for the new 800-key Miami Beach Convention Center luxury hotel. Upon completion, the privately-funded property will be the cornerstone of the Convention Center District in Miami Beach. Mr. Rock Soffer is an advocate for responsible, environmentally sustainable development. He is actively involved in his local community and sits on the boards of AYITI Community Trust, and the Institute of Contemporary Art Miami. 

Ursula Ungaro joined Longeveron’s Board of Directors in June 2021. Ms. Ungaro served 29 years as a federal judge. Ms. Ungaro was appointed to serve on the federal U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in 1992 after being nominated by President George H.W. Bush and being confirmed by the U.S. Senate. In her time on the federal bench, she presided over and ruled in numerous major civil and criminal cases in legal domains ranging from constitutional principles, equal rights, securities issues, and the use of non-embryonic stem cell therapies, amongst many others. Following her graduation with honors from the University of Florida School of Law in 1975 (one of just 17 women in a class of about 250), Ms. Ungaro practiced law in Miami, Florida where in 1981 she became a partner in Tew, Critchlow, Sonberg, Traum & Friedbauer, P.A. (later merged into Finley, Kumble, Wagner, Heine, Underberg, Manley, Myerson & Casey, a national law firm). She subsequently joined Sparber, Shevin, Shapo & Heilbronner, a prestigious local law firm. She practiced law mainly in the area of complex commercial litigation, including in the areas of securities, corporate and tax law. From 1987 to 1992, Ms. Ungaro served as a trial judge on the Eleventh Judicial Circuit of the State of Florida. She has authored published articles in the areas of administrative law, legal ethics, and civil procedure. She is the recipient of the ORT Jurisprudence Award and has been recognized on several occasions by other organizations for her achievements in the law and service to the community. 

Mr. Willard was previously CEO of ICAPATH, Inc., CEO of NRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc., CEO of Cellphire, Inc., and CEO of Flamel Technologies, S.A., a NASDAQ-traded biotech company for seven years and served as CFO prior to becoming CEO. He formerly served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Flamel and formerly served on the Board of Directors of E*Trade Financial Corporation. He was a member of the National Science Board for a six year term.  Mr. Willard received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Williams College and a Juris Doctorate from Yale Law School.