Bruce W. Kovacs, MD
Chief Executive Officer & Chief Scientific Officer
Co-founder of Afecta, inventor on 11 issued U.S. patents for our core technologies, and a nationally recognized expert in human pharmacogenetics. Dr. Kovacs previously co-founded GenePrints, a company that pioneered the use of DNA for purposes of human identification and disease diagnosis. He has received board certification in several medical specialties, including Clinical Molecular Genetics and OB/GYN. Dr. Kovacs received his M.D. from the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California and was a Clinical Professor and Director of the Molecular & Cytogenetics Laboratory at USC for over 20 years.
Hal Lieberman, MHA
Chief Financial Officer
Former CEO of HemaCare Inc. with more than thirty years of experience in healthcare management, finance, and pharmaceutical development. Mr. Lieberman’s pharma management experience includes the development of an immune therapy for AIDS and partnerships with Squibb, Novartis and GlaxoSmithKline. He has served on the board of directors of HemaCare Corporation (Van Nuys, CA), Atopix Pharmaceuticals (Carlsbad, CA), BioDiscovery, Inc. (El Segundo, CA), ALine, Inc. (Rancho Dominguez, CA), and the Pacific Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (Los Angeles, CA). Mr. Lieberman earned a master’s degree in healthcare administration from The George Washington University, and is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives.
Shep Bentley, RAC
Chief Regulatory Officer
With more than 30 years of experience in regulatory affairs, Mr. Bentley oversees all regulatory and clinical activities at Afecta. Shep has been responsible for regulatory strategies leading to FDA and foreign approvals for several biotech companies. He has achieved market entry for numerous innovative medical technologies and applications within the European Union, Canada, Brazil and across Asia. He is an active member of the American Society for Quality – Biomedical Section (ASQ), the Regulatory Affairs Professional Society (RAPS), and The Organization for Professional Regulatory Affairs (TOPRA).
Kamron Shahbahrami, BSc
BD/L, Commercial Operations & Analytics
Mr. Shahbahrami oversees business development & licensing at Afecta, in addition to commercial operations and analytics. Previously, he was responsible for commercial operations and analytics functions at several notable pharmaceutical companies such as Horizon Therapeutics and Heron Therapeutics, with additional sales & marketing experience in medical devices and clinical diagnostics. Earlier in his career, Kamron led R&D programs in neurology for Afecta and became a co-inventor on one of our key technologies. Mr. Shahbahrami has earned a Bachelor of Science in microbiology at UC Berkeley and an Eagle Scout Award.
Jonathan T. Megerian, MD, PhD
Chief Medical Officer - Neurology
Dr. Megerian is a board-certified pediatric neurologist specializing in autism spectrum and other neurodevelopmental disorders. He serves as the clinical director of the Thompson Autism and Neurodevelopmental Center at CHOC as well as medical director of neurodevelopmental medicine at CHOC. Previously, Dr. Megerian served as VP of Medical Affairs at Avanir Pharmaceuticals and Worldwide Director of Clinical Research and Medical Affairs at Johnson & Johnson.
Peter Pallai, PhD
Sr. VP of Medicinal Chemistry
Dr. Pallai oversees all drug discovery programs at Afecta with extensive experience as a scientific leader in medicinal chemistry. He previously co-founded and led BioBlocks Inc. in San Diego, CA, a drug discovery chemistry company that was acquired by the Genesis Biotechnology Group in 2021. Prior to BioBlocks, he held senior management and scientific roles at Arqule, Procept, and Boehringer Ingelheim. Dr. Pallai holds a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of Szeged, Hungary, and has published numerous scientific papers and co-authored patents on compounds of therapeutic significance.