Meet Our Key Team Members
Tyler Martin – President and CEO
Dr. Martin is Iaso’s President and CEO. He brings more than 30 years of experience leading vaccine development teams and biotechnology companies and is responsible for developing and executing Iaso’s corporate strategy. He led teams that developed two FDA-approved vaccines and led both private and publicly traded biotechnology companies, raising more than $400 million.
Before joining Iaso in September 2026, Dr. Martin worked at Chiron, Novartis, and Dynavax, as well as privately held biotechnology companies Humabs, Adjuvance, and Aeolian.
Dr. Martin earned his B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Nebraska–Kearney and his M.D. from the University of Nebraska Medical Center, where he also completed a pediatrics residency. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship in infectious diseases and molecular microbiology at Washington University in St. Louis.”
Robert Forgey – Chief Operating Officer
Mr. Forgey is Iaso’s Chief Operating Officer and previously served as its founding CEO. He brings experience founding, managing, and financing early-stage biotechnology companies, with expertise in drug discovery, drug development, and scientific operations.
Before joining Iaso, Mr. Forgey served as Vice President of Operations at ONL. He previously co-founded and served as President of ProNAi Therapeutics, an oncology therapeutics company, and held research scientist and scientific operations management positions at Searle, Pharmacia, and Pfizer. Iaso is his fourth life science startup.
Mr. Forgey received his B.S. in Biology and M.S. in Genetics from the University of North Dakota and his MBA from the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis.
Shawn O’Brien – Chief Financial Officer
As the Chief Financial Officer at Iaso, Shawn O’Brien brings over 25 years of experience in financial strategy, operations, and management. With a proven track record of driving financial growth and operational efficiency, Mr. O’Brien is responsible for overseeing all financial functions at Iaso, including accounting, budgeting, forecasting, financial reporting, and risk management.
Prior to joining Iaso, Shawn held senior leadership roles at Delphinus Medical Technologies and CytoPherx (now SeaStar Medical), where he successfully navigated complex financial challenges, led cross-functional teams, and implemented data-driven financial strategies to enhance profitability and sustainable growth.
Mr. O’Brien received his BBA and MBA from the University of Michigan – Flint.
Herbert Wanjala Kavunja, Ph.D. – Chief Scientist
Dr. Herbert Wanjala Kavunja is Iaso’s Chief Scientist. He is responsible for the overall lab operation and specific lab administrative duties. As a lead scientist, he has worked to validate the commercial potential of Iaso’s mutant-bacteriophage Qβ vaccine platform technology by demonstrating its superiority to commercially available carrier platforms. Dr. Kavunja has expertise in synthetic organic chemistry, chemical biology, vaccinology, and nanotechnology.
He received his B.Sc. degree in chemistry from the University of Nairobi – Kenya. He earned his M.Sc. degree in Chemistry from the University of Nairobi – Kenya and his Ph.D. in Chemistry from Michigan State University. He was a Postdoctoral research associate at Central Michigan University from 2015 – 2018 and at Michigan State University from 2018 – 2019. He joined Iaso Therapeutic Inc in 2019.
Soham Maity – Research Scientist
Dr. Maity has been a research scientist at IASO Therapeutics since 2022, where he specializes in developing conjugate vaccines for infectious diseases. With a strong background in bioorganic chemistry, he plays a crucial role in the design, characterization, and immunogenicity assessment of conjugate vaccines.
He earned his Ph.D. from Michigan State University, where his research focused on the development of novel photo-switchable proteins. Dr. Maity also holds a bachelor’s degree from Jadavpur University and a master’s degree from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, both in Chemistry. Prior to his current role, he gained valuable experience as an intern at IASO Therapeutics during the final six months of his graduate studies.
Outside of work, Dr. Maity enjoys traveling, trying new cuisines, and playing the guitar.
Dr. Rachel Moszyk – Preclinical Project Manager
Dr. Rachel Moszyk is Iaso’s Preclinical Project Manager. Dr. Moszyk has expertise in life science, immunology, biology, and project management. She is excited to continue the work of translating the mQβ bacteriophage platform into novel vaccines in the clinic.
Dr. Moszyk received her B.Sc. in Cellular and Molecular Biology from the University of Michigan. She then went on to complete her Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from Washington University in St. Louis studying the role of the DNA damage response in developing B cells.
