Nicholas T. Hertz, Ph.D.
Founder and CEO at Montara Therapeutics

Nicholas T. Hertz, Ph.D., is the Founder and CEO at Montara Therapeutics, a seed stage biotechnology company. At Montara, he is working with an experienced team to create innovative therapies for diseases of the brain with a focus on genetically validated targets to leverage a platform from the Shokat lab that allows CNS specific targeting to enhance drug safety and efficacy. Dr. Hertz completed a B.S. in Biochemistry from UCLA (magna cum laude) and then pursued a Ph.D. in Chemistry and Chemical Biology at UCSF under Dr. Kevan Shokat where they discovered the first class of PINK1 activating molecules and co-founded Mitokinin. Following postdoctoral research in neuroscience with Dr. Marc Tessier-Lavigne at Stanford University he served as CSO of Mitokinin, taking the research from discovery to the clinic. At Mitokinin, Dr. Hertz’s team developed novel small molecule PINK1 activators that could represent the first disease-modifying therapy for Parkinson’s Disease. Mitokinin was acquired in October, 2023.

Dr. Hertz’s has published over 20 publications in leading journals such as Cell, Neuron, and Nature, and he holds more than 12 patents. His work emphasizes the importance of rigorous science, innovative therapeutic development, and the dynamics of collaborative leadership in advancing our understanding and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.

Kevan M. Shokat, Ph.D.
Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute,
Professor in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology at the UCSF
Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the UC Berkeley

Kevan M. Shokat is currently an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Professor in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology at the University of California at San Francisco and Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of California at Berkeley. He received his B.A. in Chemistry from Reed College in 1986, his Ph.D. in organic chemistry at UC Berkeley with Professor Peter Schultz and carried out post-doctoral work in cellular immunology at Stanford University with Professor Chris Goodnow. Kevan’s research group is focused on the discovery of new small molecule tools and drug candidates targeting protein/lipid kinases, GTPases, and RNA helicases. His laboratory utilizes the tools of synthetic organic chemistry, protein engineering, structural biology, biochemistry and cell biology. He was inducted into the National Academy of Sciences (2010), the National Academy of Medicine (2011), and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2011). In 2023 he was awarded the Vollum Prize from Reed College, the National Academy of Sciences Award for Scientific Discovery and the Sjöberg Prize from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for ‘discoveries that enable the inhibition of mutated K-Ras in cancer treatment’ and the Heath Memorial Award Lecture, from MD Anderson Cancer Center. In 2024, he was awarded the Edward E. Smissman Award by the ACS Medicinal Chemistry division and also the Hope Funds Award of Excellence for Basic Science. He has commercialized discoveries from his laboratory through co-founding several biotechnology companies including Intellikine, Araxes, Wellspring Biosciences, Kura Oncology, eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Mitokinin, Revolution Medicines, Erasca and Kumquat Biosciences.