The Team
Scientific Leadership
Our team includes world-renowned neuroscientists and psychiatrists specialising in OCD research and drug development
Clinical Expertise
Experienced clinical researchers with proven track records in bringing therapeutics through regulatory approval
Patient Advocates
Incorporating the lived experience of OCD patients to ensure our approach addresses real-world needs
Together, we bring decades of combined experience in neuropharmacology, clinical psychiatry, and biotech innovation to address one of mental health's most challenging conditions.
Nick Sireau, PhD
CEO & Co-founder
Nick Sireau is an OCD advocate and also co-founder and Chair of Orchard OCD, a medical charity that funds academic research into OCD. Nick runs a support group for people with severe OCD where he lives in Cambridge, UK.
Nick is Chair of Trustees at the AKU Society, a patient group that helps people with AKU, a rare genetic disease affecting two of his children. Nick co-led an international consortium that successfully ran clinical studies and obtained regulatory approval for the first ever treatment for Alkaptonuria. Nick is co-founder and former Chair of Beacon for Rare Diseases. He is the editor of the 'Patient Group Handbook: A Practical Guide for Research and Drug Development'.
Nick has a PhD in social psychology. He is a fellow of the Ashoka Fellowship of Social Entrepreneurs.
David Cavalla, PhD
Executive Chairman & Co-founder
David Cavalla has 35 years experience in various senior scientific and commercial roles within the pharmaceutical industry. Previously he was founder and CEO of Arachnova Ltd, a company focused on therapeutic switching; previous affiliations included Glaxo Group Research Ltd and Napp Research Centre.
He is author of 'Modern Strategy for Pharmaceutical R&D — Towards the Virtual Research Centre', and 'Off-Label Prescribing: Justifying Unapproved Medicine' and editor of Drug Repurposing (RSC). He is on the editorial board of Drug Discovery Today. Formerly he was Chairman of the Society for Medicines Research. He obtained a first degree and PhD at Cambridge University and spent two years as a visiting Fellow at the the National Institute of Mental Health, Washington, DC. He is author/inventor of over 80 published papers and patents.
Julia Jones
CFO
After graduating from Loughborough University in 1997, Julia joined PriceWaterhouseCoopers and qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 2001. For the last 15 years, as the founder and Managing Director of Archangel Accounting Ltd, Julia has provided tailor-made services to many companies, including IPO and fundraising support.
Julia has 24 years of experience as a finance professional with an established record of supporting biotech companies from start up through to exit, assisting in securing and then the management of £200m of venture capital funds.
Natalie Pankova
Board Director
Dr Natalie Pankova manages healthcare investments and portfolio at Zinc VC, which is an investor in Serenatis Bio. She is an experienced operator and investor in life science and healthcare, having led teams and built technologies across biotech, medtech and digital health on a global scale. She holds a PhD from the Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, and has advised organisations such as the WHO, EIC and UK Parliament.
Prof Jon Grant
Clinical Advisor
Prof Jon Grant is Professor of Psychiatry at University of Chicago and director of a clinic and research lab on addictive, compulsive and impulsive disorders.
Jon is a psychiatrist and expert on addictive behaviors and compulsive and impulsive disorders. His research focuses on the neurobiology and treatment of impulse control disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder and drug addictions. He is an editorial board member of nine scientific journals.
Prof Trevor Robbins
Scientific Advisor
Prof Trevor Robbins is Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience and Director of the Behavioural and Clinical Neurosciences Institute, University of Cambridge. He is a fellow of the Royal Society.
Trevor Robbins is a renowned neuroscientist who has made significant contributions to our knowledge of how chemical neurotransmitter messengers influence brain function. His work has been crucial in advancing our understanding of numerous neurological and psychiatric disorders, including OCD, addiction and dementia.
Ekaterina Malievskaia
Advisor
Ekaterina is Co-Founder of Compass Pathways. She received her medical degree from St Petersburg Medical Academy in St Petersburg, Russia, and then moved to the US where she completed her internal medicine residency training. She was a Clinical Instructor of Medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, as well as a Research Professor at City University of New York.
She founded Compass Pathways - working on psilocybin for depression - with her husband George Goldsmith in 2016, having experienced at first hand the challenges in accessing evidence-based and effective mental health care for a family member.
