Delta4’s team includes senior leaders and industry professionals with expertise in computational biology, bioinformatics, pharmaceuticals and finance.
Kurt Herpel, MBA
CEO, Ex-Merck, Takeda
Senior pharma executive with 20+ years of experience in leading organisations. Multifaced leadership roles in start-ups and smaller enterprises beyond pharmaceuticals.
Klaus Kratochwill, PhD
CSO
Translational researcher with 15 years of experience in omics data generation and analysis. Lead for the company’s scientific activities. Visiting researcher at Harvard Medical School.
Alfred Steininger, MBA
CFO, Ex-Raiffeisen, St. Galler
Kantonalbank
Financial professional with 20+ years of experience in banking and capital markets.
Previous experience in multiple international organizations, including large and small size firms.
Paul Perco, PhD
Computational Biology Lead
Kinga Keska-Izworska, PhD
Application Scientist, Computational Biologist
Andreas Heinzel, MSc
ML/AI Specialist, Hyper-C inventor, lecturer MedUni Wien
Matthias Ley, MSc
Lead Software Engineer
Lucas Fillinger, PhD
Application Scientist, Computational Biologist
Samuel Walter, MSc
Application Scientist, Computational Biologist
Dorota Wojenska
Executive Assistant, Communication Manager
Lisa Daniel-Fischer
Clinical Coordinator
Walter Heindl
Financial Council, Ex-Nomura
Christoph Aufricht
Top KOL & Medical council
Hans Lehrach
Systems Biology Expert & Pioneer in NGS data
Kurt Herpel
CEO
Kurt Herpel (CEO) is a pharma executive with vast experience in leading organisations. Besides big pharma, he is experienced in start-up situations and smaller enterprises.
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He was/is country CEO of a pharma company as well as a biotech-startup, and was the head of the global respiratory business with Takeda Pharma, and also CMO and board-member of a pharma-tech company. He lived in the US, Germany, Switzerland, Spain and Austria. Kurt Herpel is an out-of-the-box and structured thinker, who walks the talk. His track record as people manager is flawless. Kurt holds two business degrees, one from the Emory Business School (Atlanta, GA) and one from Austria.
Klaus Kratochwill
CSO
Klaus Kratochwill (CSO) is a translational researcher, biochemist by training. He is an expert for omics data generation and analysis. In Delta4, he is responsible for coordinating all scientific activities.
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Dr. Klaus Kratochwill is a translational biomedical researcher in Vienna. He obtained his MSc in chemistry at the Vienna University of Technology and then received his PhD in 2009 at the Medical University of Vienna (MUV) at the Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. He was head of the research laboratory of the spin-off company Zytoprotec, where he and his colleagues successfully developed a novel fluid for peritoneal dialysis from in-vitro discovery to clinical application. Using a systems biology approach previous work yielded insight into intracellular events and functional pathways in models of experimental peritoneal dialysis and thereby identified inadequate or suppressed cellular stress responses (CSR) in mesothelial cells exposed to peritoneal dialysis fluids as a novel pathomechanism. Klaus Kratochwill is member of the board of the Austrian Proteomics Association (AuPA). He also was one of the principal investigators of an EU funded project including research institutes and industry throughout 8 EU member states. In 2014 Klaus Kratochwill was a visiting researcher at Harvard Medical School. Since 2016, Klaus Kratochwill heads the “Christian Doppler Laboratory for Molecular Stress Research in Peritoneal Dialysis (CDL-MSRPD)” which aims to identify molecular stress signatures as surrogate markers of clinical outcome in peritoneal dialysis, and to identify novel cytoprotective additives and characterize their molecular mode of action.
Alfred Steininger
CFO
Alfred Steininger (CFO) is a financial professional with a deep knowledge in banking and capital markets. He has worked in a couple of different countries and for both large and small organizations.
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More recently Alfred has had a lot of exposure to start-ups and young enterprises, both from an investor angle (business angel) and from an operational perspective (CFO of an Austrian mobility start-up). Alfred Steininger graduated from the Vienna University of Business and Economics with a master’s degree in commerce / business administration.
Dorota Wojenska
Executive Assistant, Communication Manager
Dorota Wojenska (Executive Assistant) has been active in the pharmaceutical trade for more than 10 years. Furthermore, she has experience in Sales, Quality Management, Administrative Support and the coordination of audiovisual / multimedia projects.
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She holds a master’s degree in audiovisual media design and has expertise in the coordination and administration of complex multimedia projects, as well as quality management and business operations.
Paul Perco
Computational
Biology Lead
Paul Perco is an expert in computational biology, bioinformatics and biostatistics for digital drug discovery.
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Dr. Paul Perco has authored over 100 publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals in the area of nephrology, oncology and bioinformatics methods development and application with a current H-index of 33.
Christoph Gebeshuber
Application Scientist, Principal Molecular Biologist
Christoph Gebeshuber has a long-standing research experience in the fields of FSGS, tumor biology, cell signalling and miRNAs.
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Christoph Gebeshuber has authored several publications in international top journals. In the last years he has focused on characterizing both master regulators and general gene expression changes in the exciting and heterogeneous field of glomerulosclerosis. One of his favourite ways to reset his mind after completing a project is travelling and hiking through the world’s fascinating high altitude mountain ranges.
Samuel Walter
Application Scientist, Computational Biologist
Samuel Walter is a bioinformatician experienced in working with various omics data, data integration and data analysis.
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After his studies, he started his PhD in 2016 at the University of Vienna, working on urban metagenomics in collaboration with the FH Campus Wien, as well as on host-pathogen interactions of Neisseria meningitidis, utilizing transcriptomic and proteomic data. Beside his research, Samuel has also been active as a lecturer at the University of Applied Sciences Wiener Neustadt, teaching “Comparative Genomics” and “Transcriptomics” in the Master of Science program Bio Data Science.
Lucas Fillinger
Application Scientist, Computational Biologist
Lucas Fillinger is a molecular biologist versed in the analysis of heterogeneous multivariate datasets and biostatistics.
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Kinga Keska-Izworska
Application Scientist, Computational Biologist
Kinga Keska-Izworska is a bioinformatics researcher with a solid background in omics data analysis and experience in international academic and industry research settings.
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Later in her career, Kinga joined Ryvu Therapeutics as a bioinformatician where she was mostly in charge of the computational analyses of a wide range of NGS data to reveal mechanisms of action of selected compounds in various cancer indications. Kinga has co-authored several conference reports and peer-reviewed scientific publications.
Matthias Ley
Lead Software Developer
Matthias Ley is a full stack software developer with a strong background in biosignal analysis.
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He studied Biomedical Engineering (BSc, 2017) and Rehabilitation Engineering (MSc, 2019) at the University of Applied Sciences FH Technikum Wien. During his studies he worked on several projects, including the development of a photoplethysmographic module for a mobile garment, various software-driven solutions for rehabilitative purposes, and emotion recognition from multimodal biosignal data. After graduation he worked as a software engineer focusing on serial interfaces, UI development, customer success, operations and project management for the development of a novel laser beam scanner as a display for augmented reality applications.
Andreas Heinzel
Bio-IT Specialist
Andreas Heinzel is an experienced IT specialist with a focus on bioinformatics.
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Veronika Clarici-Fanfule
Council Member
Veronika Clarici-Fanfule is an M&A expert and experienced technology investor.
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Since the start of 2019, Veronika has been developing a platform for direct investments for the Flick family with a focus on innovative technologies, located in Vienna.
She has been active in international business for 20 years, predominantly the industrial sector. In addition to overseeing M&A activities and post-merger integrations for global corporate groups, Veronika has also held responsibility for the management of equity investments for international investment groups.
In the course of her career, Veronika has held operational management positions as well as strategic board roles in various countries.
Walter Heindl
Council Member
Walter Heindl is a financial expert with more than 25 years of experience in Investment Banking / Capital Markets, combined with a strong background in leadership and strategy.
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Prior to his role in Frankfurt he was the Global Head of Wholesale Strategy for Nomura (i.e. the global Investment Bank), based out of the firm’s global headquarters in Tokyo / Japan. The scope of this role was very broad, including the development of long-term strategic plans, country and product strategies, market and competitor analyses, acquisitions/JVs/alliances, etc. He managed a global team of strategists across Tokyo, Hong Kong, Mumbai, London, and New York. Walter joined Nomura in 2008 through the acquisition of Lehman Brothers Asia, and was part of the senior executive team which negotiated and closed the historic sale of Lehman Brothers’ international businesses to Nomura. At Lehman Brothers he held two roles, on one hand Head of APAC Strategy, and on the other hand CAO for Asia Ex-Japan. In his latter responsibility he oversaw all Support & Control functions outside of Japan and Korea, with approximately 500 staff across 6 offices, and covering areas like Product & Financial Control, Tax, Market & Credit Risk Management, Information Technology, Operations, Compliance, Legal, and Human Resources. Earlier roles included Strategy Consulting at Booz Allen & Hamilton (Senior Engagement Manager & member of the Financial Services group) and Corporate Banking at Citibank in London. Walter holds a master’s degree from the University of Business and Economics in Vienna, graduating summa cum laude. He is fully fluent in English and German, and has good working knowledge of Japanese.
Urs Breitenstein
Council Member
Urs Breitenstein is an advisor, Board member and C-level manager with deep expertise in Corporate Finance, especially also in Life Sciences.
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Before co-founding Hoffmann & Partner, Dr. Breitenstein worked for Basler Kantonalbank, PricewaterhouseCoopers and, most recently, for Deloitte in Zurich, where he was a partner and team leader. He developed the valuation and business modelling team in Switzerland and was simultaneously responsible for the mergers and acquisitions department. Dr. Urs Breitenstein studied at the graduate school of the Swiss National Bank in Gerzensee and holds a doctorate in economics (Dr. rer. pol.) from the University of Basel.
Christoph Aufricht
Council Member
Christoph Aufricht is a translational medical researcher and an expert for drug development in nephrology and rare diseases.
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Christoph Aufricht teaches medicine at the Medical University of Vienna and has conducted many years of clinical and translational research, also at Yale and UCLA. He is member of the European Pediatric Dialysis Working Group, board member of the Austrian Society for Nephrology and past-president of the Austrian Pediatric Nephrology Working Group. Prof. Aufricht is author of more than 130 peer-reviewed publications in scientific journals, holder of two patents, scientific founder and CSO of Zytoprotec and recipient of several national and international awards. Prof. Aufricht is Principal Investigator in the Horizon 2020 Programme “Identification and Management of Patients at Risk – Outcome and Vascular Events in Peritoneal Dialysis (IMPROVE-PD)”. He is a funded investigator of peer reviewed research support such as EU FP7, FWF or OeNB and conducts translational and clinical research in different areas of pediatric nephrology.
Hans Lehrach
Systems Biology Expert & Entrepreneur
Hans Lehrach was among the initiators of the Human Genome Project and is a pioneer in the application of next generation sequencing techniques and systems medicine for the development of personalized therapies.
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His expertise lies in genetics, genomics, systems biology and personalized medicine. He has been a pioneer in the application of next generation sequencing techniques and systems medicine for the development of personalized therapies in cancer (Virtual Patient Model). The main focus of his research is the development of methods for predicting the behavior of the complex biological systems, through a combination of genetics, genomics, bioinformatics and systems biology techniques. This makes it possible, on the basis of a detailed molecular examination of tumor patients, to develop computer models of the individual patient, i.e. ‘virtual patient models’, which can systematically test all theoretically possible therapies. Thus, the optimal therapy for the individual patient, with a possible reduction of side effects, can be identified and made available to the patient. These techniques can also be used for drug development, testing the many steps involved first on a computer model. Thus, ‘virtual clinical trials’ can reduce the risks of developing new drugs at an early stage, reducing costs and accelerate timelines.
Doron Lancet
Pioneer of Systems Biology
Doron Lancet is one of the pioneers of systems biology in the context of human disease. He is head of the Crown Human Genome Center at the Weizmann Institute of Science and is well-known for creating the widely-used GeneCards® system.
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Doron Lancet, Ph.D., is professor of Human Genomics at the Weizmann Institute of Science, who established and then headed for 20 years the Crown Human Genome Center at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. In his genomic research Doron Lancet focused on the identification of disease genes as well as on the detailed identification and analysis of human odorant receptor genes. In parallel, he developed a suite of bioinformatic databases and systems biology tools for the analysis of human genomic data. In this realm, his team developed the GeneCards suite, a world-renowned web-based compendium of human genes, with affiliated software tools for the phenotype interpretation of genome sequences. Key database within the GeneCards suite are MalaCards, a compendium of human diseases and their annotations, PathCards, an integrated database of human biological pathways, and VarElect, a tool for rapid prioritization of genes based on disease phenotypes of interest. Doron Lancet also pioneered research on the biochemistry, genetics and evolution of olfaction, including computer models for analyzing affinity distributions in molecular receptor repertoires, later used for developing a new model for the Origin of life. Lancet has published over 300 research articles, with an H-index of 92.
Larry Greenbaum
Medical Expert
Larry Greenbaum is a leading pediatric nephrologist and a well-known international expert for kidney disease.
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Dr. Greenbaum has served as president of the American Society of Pediatric Nephrology, chair of the Executive Committee of the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Nephrology, and on the nephrology section of the American Board of Pediatrics. He is currently on the steering committees of the Pediatric Nephrology Research Consortium, the CKiD NIH study of children with chronic kidney disease, and the CureGN NIH study of patients with glomerular disease.
Dr. Greenbaum is an NIH-funded investigator and conducts clinical research in a variety of areas in pediatric nephrology, including aHUS, cystinosis, RTA, urinary tract infections, chronic kidney disease, and nephrotic syndrome. He co-edited the textbooks Practical Strategies in Pediatric Diagnosis and Therapy and Clinical Pediatric Nephrology. He is a major contributor to Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. He has received multiple awards for teaching residents and medical students.