Bahram Valamehr, Ph.D., MBA has served as our President, Chief Executive Officer and a director since January 2025. From August 2024 to December 2024, Dr. Valamehr served as our President of Research and Development. Prior to that and from March 2021 to August 2024, Dr. Valamehr served as our Chief Research and Development Officer, overseeing all of our research and development activities. From January 2010 to March 2021, Dr. Valamehr served in roles of increasing responsibility with the Company, most recently from August 2018 to March 2021 as our Chief Development Officer, where he overseeing our early development activities including off-the-shelf cell therapy product candidates derived from our induced pluripotent stem cell platform. Prior to that, Dr. Valamehr played key scientific roles at Amgen Inc., the Center for Cell Control, and the Broad Stem Cell Research Center developing novel methods to control pluripotency, to modulate stem cell fate including hematopoiesis and to better understand cellular signaling pathways associated with cancer. Dr. Valamehr received his Ph.D. in molecular and medical pharmacology from the University of California, Los Angeles, his MBA from Pepperdine University, and his B.S. in biochemistry from the University of California, Los Angeles. The Board of Directors has determined that Dr. Valamehr is qualified to serve on our Board of Directors due to his extensive leadership and scientific experience in the biotechnology industry. In addition, Dr. Valamehr s day-to-day management and intimate knowledge of our business and operations provide our Board of Directors with an in-depth understanding of the Company.