Dr. Gaitanaris joined Omeros as our vice president of science in August 2006 and has served as our chief scientific officer since January 2012. From August 2003 to our acquisition of nura in August 2006, Dr. Gaitanaris served as the chief scientific officer of nura, a company that he co-founded and that developed treatments for central nervous system disorders. From 2000 to 2003, he served as president and chief scientific officer of Primal, a biotechnology company that was acquired by nura in 2003. Prior to co-founding Primal, he served as staff scientist at the National Cancer Institute. Dr. Gaitanaris received his Ph.D. in cellular, molecular and biophysical studies and his M.Ph. and M.A. from Columbia University and his M.D. from the Aristotelian University of Greece.