Company Advisors

Jay Birnbaum, PhD, Co-founder
Jay Birnbaum, PhD, is a co-founder of KYTHERA and served as the initial Chief Medical Officer at KYTHERA while maintaining an active consulting practice. Prior to consulting, he was Vice President, Global Project Management, at Novartis/Sandoz, where he had global responsibilities for strategic planning and development of the company’s dermatology portfolio.

His management and product development experience includes ethical and OTC drugs, devices, cosmetics and toiletries, and spans the areas of drug discovery, formulations, clinical, regulatory, and marketing. He has developed and commercialized products and brands in all facets of dermatology, including Lamisil^®, the world’s largest dermatology brand of antifungal products, and Skin Caviar, the centerpiece of the upscale LaPrairie Skin Care brand, for over 20 years.

Jay holds a BS in Biology from Trinity College and a PhD in Pharmacology from the University of Wisconsin. He has published extensively on his work in drug development and is on the Science Advisory Board of NanoBio Corporation and on the Board of Directors of Oculus Innovative Sciences, Inc.

Nathaniel “Ned” David, PhD, Co-founder
Nathaniel “Ned” David, PhD was formerly the co-founder of Syrrx (acquired by Takeda for $270 million in 2005) and Achaogen. He has experience creating and growing innovative biotechnology companies. Ned is also the recent co-founder of Sapphire Energy, a company at the forefront of Green Crude Production with the potential to profoundly change America’s energy and petrochemical landscape. Ned was named one of the Top 100 innovators in the world under 35 (2002) by the MIT Technology Review.

Ned holds numerous pending and issued patents in fields such as nanovolume crystallography, antibiotic resistance, energy production, and aesthetic medicine. He sits on the board of trustees of the UC Foundation and on the board of directors of Sapphire Energy. He holds a PhD from UC Berkeley in Molecular and Cellular Biology and an AB in Biology from Harvard College.

Jennifer Elisseeff, PhD
A native of South Florida, Dr. Elisseeff attended Carnegie Mellon University (BS Chemistry, 1994) and received her PhD in Medical Engineering from the Division of Health Sciences and Technology (1999). Her doctoral research at the MIT with Robert Langer investigated new technologies for biomaterial implantation and cell encapsulation for tissue engineering. Dr. Elisseeff was then a fellow in the Pharmacology Research Associate Program working in the developmental biology laboratory of Yoshi Yamada at the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research at NIH. In 2001, Dr. Elisseeff went to the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University as Assistant Professor. Her laboratory studies new synthetic-biological biomaterials, adult and embryonic stem cells, and tissue engineering applications in the musculoskeletal system and ophthalmology. In 2004, Elisseeff cofounded Cartilix, Inc. a startup that is translating adhesive and biomaterial technologies for cartilage repair. Dr. Elisseeff is now an Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Orthopedic Surgery and directs the Cell and Tissue Engineering Program in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Johns Hopkins. She serves on the Scientific Advisory Board of Bausch and Lomb and Cellular Bioengineering Inc. Dr. Elisseeff has received awards including the Carnegie Mellon Young Alumni Award, Arthritis Investigator Award from the Arthritis Foundation, Yasuda Award from the Society of Physical Regulation in Medicine and Biology, and was named by Technology Review magazine as a top innovator under 35 in 2002 and top 10 technologies to change the future. She has published over 70 articles, book chapters and patents and given over 100 national and international invited lectures.

Derek Jones, MD
Derek H. Jones, MD is a Board-Certified Dermatologist and Asst. Clinical Professor of Medicine at UCLA. He has been in private practice in Los Angeles since 1997, and is the founder and Medical Director of Skin Care and Laser Physicians of Beverly Hills. Dr. Jones has published 25 medical journal articles and textbook chapters, and has delivered over 100 scholarly lectures. His research has contributed substantially to the world of cosmetic dermatology, particularly in the area of injectable fillers. In the cosmetic dermatology arena, Dr. Jones has developed a reputation among his patients and industry leaders alike for rejuvenating faces with Botox, fillers and lasers with results that are natural-appearing and not “overdone”. He is responsible for giving the natural look to the faces of the Botox Cosmetic “Expressions” national television and print ad campaign, and is constantly sought after to rejuvenate the faces of leading actors and actresses. He is regularly featured as a dermatologist-expert on several local and national television networks including ABC, NBC CBS, Fox and Lifetime television. He has appeared in interviews in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, InStyle and Vogue magazine.

Dr. Jones completed his Dermatology Residency in 1997 at Columbia University in New York City, where he served as Chief Resident. He received his medical degree and completed his internship in Internal Medicine from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston Texas. He received his Bachelor of Science Degree with high honors from Tufts University in Boston.

Michael S. Kolodney, MD, PhD
Michael Kolodney, MD, PhD, co-inventor of ATX-101, is Dermatology Division Chief and Residency Program Director at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. Dr. Kolodney studied physics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology before completing his MD-PhD at Washington University in St. Louis. He completed his dermatology and internal medicine residencies at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and subsequently joined the esteemed teaching faculty there. He is certified by the American Board of Dermatology and the American Board of Internal Medicine and is an active member of the American Academy of Dermatology and Society for Investigative Dermatology. Dr. Kolodney has co-authored over 20 peer-reviewed papers in highly respected medical journals and has received several honors and awards recognizing excellence in teaching. He is currently an Associate Professor of Medicine (Dermatology) at UCLA and an investigator at the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute in Torrance, CA.

Jean-Paul Ortonne, MD
Jean-Paul Ortonne is Professor of Dermatology and Chairman, Department of Dermatology, University of Nice-Sophia Antipolis, and scientific director of the Clinical Pharmacology Centre Applied to Dermatology. Between 1990 and 2004 he was head of a research laboratory appointed by INSERM, which examined skin biology and physiopathology.

Professor Ortonne’s major medical interests are clinical pharmacology in dermatology and psoriasis melanin pigmentary disorders (in particular, vitiligo and pigmentary genodermatoses) and the dermo-epidermal junction. He is best known for his work on vitiligo and his group described a new component of the epidermal basement membrane, known as laminin-5, which is involved in the pathogenesis of junctional epidermolysis bullosa (JEB).

Professor Ortonne is a founding member of the French Society for Dermatological Research and was President of this organisation between 1984 and 1985. He was a member of the board of directors of the Société Française de Dermatologie et de Vénéréologie (President in 1996). During 1996–1998 Professor Ortonne was President of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology, and he was the Secretary General of the World Congress of Dermatology in 2002. He was a member of the International Committee of Dermatology (1998-2007) and is member of the International Psoriasis Council.

Professor Ortonne has written over 560 clinical/research papers as well as monographs entitled ‘Vitiligo and other hypomelanoses of hair and skin’, and ‘Photo-damaged skin’ monograph. He is co-editor and co-author of the textbooks ‘The pigmentary system: Physiology and pathophysiology’ and ‘Mechanisms of sun-tanning’.

Adam M. Rotunda, MD
Adam M. Rotunda, MD, is a co-inventor of ATX-101 and specialist in Mohs skin cancer surgery and injectable fat loss therapies. He is a Board Certified Dermatologist and Fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology, a Fellowship trained Mohs micrographic surgeon in the American College of Mohs Surgery, and Assistant Clinical Professor of Dermatology at the David Geffen School of Medicine (UCLA). Dr. Rotunda graduated from Cornell University summa cum laude with Honors in Nutritional Sciences and was Valedictorian at his medical school, the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center, in Brooklyn, NY. He specialized in Dermatology at UCLA and subsequently completed a fellowship in skin cancer and dermatologic surgery under the tutelage of renown Mohs surgeon, Richard G. Bennett, M.D., in Santa Monica, CA. Dr. Rotunda is the former Medical Director of Dermatology Research and Development at Allergan, Inc. and is a Trustee of the American Society of Cosmetic Dermatology and Aesthetic Surgery (ASCDAS). He has lectured at over 60 national and international physician conferences about injectable fat-loss therapies and has authored over 40 original and review scientific papers as well as book chapters. Dr. Rotunda has a thriving private practice in Newport Beach, CA – Newport Beach Skin Cancer and is frequently sought after as a consultant to the dermatologic pharmaceutical industry.

Steven Teitelbaum, MD, FACS
Dr. Teitelbaum is recognized as one of the top aesthetic surgeons in the United States not only because of his rigorous academic training, but also for his highest-possible standards of patient care. In addition to running a thriving private practice in Santa Monica, he is actively involved in independent medical research, and maintains a personal commitment to public service through such activities as charity work and testimony before the FDA about safety issues related to aesthetic surgery.

Dr. Teitelbaum studied anatomy and physiology as an undergraduate at UC Berkeley, where he was valedictorian, before going on to obtain his medical degree at UCLA. Unlike many aesthetic surgeons, he completed a full residency as a general surgeon (at Harvard Medical School’s Beth Israel Hospital, where he served as Chief Resident) before moving on to specialized training through a plastic surgery residency at the University of Southern California.

Dr. Teitelbaum is certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, the only board recognized to credential plastic surgeons, and is an active member of many professional societies, including the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, and the California Society of Plastic Surgeons. He is part of the esteemed teaching faculty at UCLA Medical School, where he is Assistant Clinical Professor of Plastic Surgery.

Susan H. Weinkle, MD
Susan H. Weinkle, M.D. is board-certified in Dermatology. She is a Fellow of the American College of Mohs Micrographic Surgery and Cutaneous Oncology and a Diplomat of the American Board of Dermatology. Dr. Weinkle graduated summa cum laude from the University of Florida in 1974 and completed her residency in Dermatology at Stanford University Medical Center in 1982, where she held the position of Chief Resident. Dr. Weinkle has been in solo private practice since 1984, specializing in Mohs Micrographic Surgery and Cosmetic Dermatology. She has held academic appointments at Stanford University Hospital, the University of California Irvine Medical Center, and most recently at the University of South Florida.

Dr. Weinkle is affiliated with numerous professional societies. She currently serves on the board of directors of the American Academy of Dermatology. She was recently elected to the board of directors of the American Society of Dermatologic Surgery. She has also served as past President of the Women’s Dermatologic Society. Dr. Weinkle serves as vice chairperson of the Dermatologic Foundation and is also a board trustee.

Dr. Weinkle is a medical editor for Drugs in Dermatology and is on the editorial board of Practical Dermatology. She has published over a dozen articles on skin carcinoma, surgical techniques, and cosmetic therapies. She frequently lectures on behalf of the American Academy and other leading dermatology societies, both nationally and internationally. She has been voted one of the “Best Doctors “for the past seven years.

Dr. Weinkle is passionate about all aspects of dermatology: mentoring, scientific innovation, and building enduring relationships within the dermatology community. She lives in Bradenton, Florida, with her husband, an ophthalmologist, and their two children, ages 18 and 21.