Management Team

Dr. Milton Werner is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Inhibikase Therapeutics, a company developing novel protein kinase inhibitor therapeutics to treat neurodegenerative disease and viral infections inside and outside of the brain. Previously, Dr. Werner served as Vice President of Research at Celtaxsys, a cell-free immunotherapeutics company. From September 1996 until June 2007, Dr. Werner was a Head of the Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics at The Rockefeller University in New York City. Throughout his scientific career, Dr. Werner has been an innovator integrating chemistry, physics, and biology into a comprehensive approach to solving problems in medicine, including an explanation of the origin of “maleness” in humans, the mechanistic basis of several forms of leukemia and lymphoma and, more recently, the development of therapeutics that can halt and potentially reverse functional loss in neurodegenerative disease.

Dr. Werner is the author or co-author of more than 70 research articles, reviews, and book chapters and has given lectures on his research work throughout the world. He is the recipient of numerous private and public research grants totaling more than $30 million. He is the recipient of several awards, including the Naito Memorial Foundation Prize, the Young Investigator Award from the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Foundation, the Research Chair from the Brain Tumor Society, and a $1 million Distinguished Young Scholars in Medical Research Award from the W. M. Keck Foundation. Dr. Werner received his Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley, and his Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from the University of Southern California, and he was an NIH intramural postdoctoral fellow prior to his tenure at the Rockefeller University.

Karl Kieburtz MD MPH is a neurologist and clinical researcher. After an undergraduate degree in Neuroscience at Amherst College, he completed MD and MPH degrees, and neurology residency, at the University of Rochester. He was the initial Robert J Joynt Professor in the Department of Neurology, and is currently Professor of Neurology, at the University of Rochester. He was the founding Director of the Center of Health & Technology (CHET), and served as the Director of the Clinical and Translational Science Institute and Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Research at the University of Rochester. Dr Kieburtz was the past Chair of the Parkinson Study Group Executive Committee, and a past member of the Huntington Study Group Executive Committee. He has been global Principal Investigator for more than 50 multi-center and multi-national NIH, industry, and Foundation sponsored clinical trials, including the large NIH-sponsored multi-center NET-PD study. He was elected as a Fellow in the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences in 2014. He co-founded Clintrex Research Corporation in 2008, providing scientific and regulatory advisory services to companies developing CNS therapies. He serves on the scientific advisory boards of biotech and pharma companies, as well as for emerging therapeutic and data technology companies.

Garth Lees-Rolfe, has served as our Chief Financial Officer since April 2024 and previously as our Vice President of Finance since November 2022. Mr. Lees-Rolfe previously served as the Vice-President, Finance for F-Star, Inc., a publicly traded global clinical-stage biotech company. Prior to that, Mr. Lees-Rolfe worked for 16 years in public practice, most of which was with Ernst & Young, most recently as Senior Manager. Mr. Lees-Rolfe earned a Bachelor of Business from the Queensland University of Technology and a Graduate Certificate in Applied Finance from Kaplan Professional. He is a licensed Certified Public Accountant in the state of Massachusetts and a licensed Chartered Accountant of Australia and New Zealand.

Dan Williams acts as the Company’s controller through his own company Startup Personnel, LLC.

Dr. Terence Kelly is a 30-year pharmaceutical industry veteran and has served as a member of the board of directors of Cardax since June 2014. He is a founder of Kelly Pharma Research Consulting, LLC, and has served as its President since January 2010. From June 2010 to July 2017, he held several positions at CoMentis, including most recently President and CEO. From July 2002 to December 2009, he served as Vice President of Medicinal Chemistry at Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, where he, developed processes for the RAMP drug discovery program.

Dr. Surendra Singh is an expert in chemical process research and development from lead optimization to launch, technology transfer, and API manufacturing. From 2001 to 2011, he served various roles at Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc. and its predecessor, Sepracor Inc., including as a director of chemical process research, and has served as a chemistry, manufacturing, and control consultant for AVEO Oncology, RestorGenex Corporation, Verastem Oncology, and Syner-G Pharma Consulting, LLC. Dr. Singh received his doctoral degree from the Indian Institute of Technology in 1991 and was a postdoctoral fellow at The Ohio State University. Dr. Singh establishes and manages the commercial process, global outsourcing, and global vendor management as well as participates in all aspects of the drafting and review of regulatory documents, from IND to NDA.

Merrill M. Kraines is a partner in the Health Sciences practice of McDermott, Will and Emery LLP, resident in the New York office. Mr. Kraines is primarily engaged in corporate, securities, and mergers and acquisitions matters. He leads the life sciences, technology, and emerging growth practices in New York. Mr. Kraines represents many life sciences companies, including biotechnology, therapeutic, diagnostic, and medical device companies.

He has also represented or been involved in transactions concerning a variety of other growth companies in all phases of business and finance in many industries, including software, Internet, health care, IT, alternative energy, financial services, IT consulting, educational publishing, entertainment, office products, advertising, telecommunications, paper, and many other companies. These companies have ranged from start-ups to large public concerns.

Voisin Life Science Consulting is a regulatory affairs consultancy with extensive regulatory experience, representing pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies at the U.S. FDA and EMA. The company has helped to guide development programs for small molecules and biologics through all phases of regulatory review.