Management Team
The TVAX® management team consists of experienced executives with proven track records of success, who together possess the expertise required to conduct clinical studies as well as direct the related scientific and business operations. Additionally, the team possesses critical manufacturing expertise which will be essential in the scale-up required for ultimate commercialization of the TVAX platform.
Wayne O. Carter, D.V.M., Ph.D., Diplomate ACVIM, TVAX's Chief Executive Officer joined TVAX Biomedical in 2019 and serves as a member of the Board of Directors. Prior to that, he served as the President and CEO of BioNexus KC leading the transformation of the Kansas City region into a nationally recognized center of excellence in human and animal health research, development and commercialization. Dr. Carter has more than 18 years of Fortune 500 experience in pharmaceutical and nutrition R&D, and in his role at Pfizer as Executive Director of Global Clinical Development, he accelerated the development of many drugs using novel clinical technologies. His board appointments include MRI Global and Acenxion Biosystems. Dr. Carter received his B.S., D.V.M., and Ph.D. in Immunology from Purdue University.
Gary W. Wood, Ph.D., founded TVAX Biomedical in 2004 and currently serves as Chief Scientific Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors. He served as President and CEO of the company from the company’s inception until December 2012. Dr. Wood is the inventor and principal developer of the TVAX Immunotherapy® technology. Dr. Wood guided the development of TVAX Immunotherapy from concept through its most recent human clinical trials. Dr. Wood organized and coordinated the Phase 1 / 2 clinical trials performed at University of Kansas Medical Center and at Wayne State University and managed the scientific/clinical teams that performed the trials. Dr. Wood was Professor of Pathology, Director of the Diagnostic Immunology Laboratory and Director of the Cancer Immunotherapy Laboratory at KU Medical Center. Dr. Wood also was Professor of Medicine and Director of the Cancer Immunotherapy Laboratory at Wayne State University. Dr. Wood has a B.A. from Kalamazoo College and a Ph.D. from the State University of New York at Buffalo.
Tammie A. Wahaus, CPA, CGMA, joined TVAX Biomedical in 2012 and serves as our Chief Financial Officer and prior to that provided services as a consultant to the company. Ms. Wahaus is also Chief Executive Officer of Elias Animal Health, a subsidiary of the company. Ms. Wahaus has more than 25 years of experience in both public accounting and private business. She has served as Vice President-Finance for Epiq Systems, Inc., as an audit partner with Ernst & Young LLP providing services to public and private companies and as Controller and Principal Accounting Officer for GE Global Insurance Holding Corporation, a public company. She has a B.S. in Business Administration from Kansas State University.
Barry S. Skikne, M.D. has served as Chief Medical Officer since 2017, board member since 2011 and scientific advisor since the company's inception. Dr. Skikne is Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Hematology/Oncology. Prior to re-joining KUMC in 2016, Dr. Skikne served as the Executive Director of Clinical Research at Celgene Pharmaceuticals from 2008 to 2016. At Celgene, Dr. Skikne oversaw several large international Phase III clinical trials. Dr. Skikne is the author of more than ninety journal articles and book chapters. He has a B.S. (M.B.B.Ch.,) from the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, SA and an M.D. and residency in Hematology and Oncology from the College of Physicians of South Africa.