Scientific Advisory Board (SAB)

Aurinia's Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) is comprised of five leading academic and industry experts across multiple disciplines, including nephrology, rheumatology, immunology and clinical pharmacology. The SAB provides expert insight and recommendations around Aurinia’s research and development, scientific collaboration and data generation strategies.

Dr. Jayne has served on Aurinia’s Board of Directors since 2014. He is a professor of clinical autoimmunity at the University of Cambridge and a certified nephrologist, an honorary consultant physician at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, United Kingdom, and a fellow of the Academy of Medical Science and the Royal Colleges of Physicians of London and Edinburgh. He has published more than 450 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters and reviews, and was elected the first president of the European Vasculitis Society in 2011. Dr. Jayne received his B.S. in surgery and medicine from Cambridge University and his postgraduate training at Harvard University and several hospitals in London.

Dr. Wells is Director, ​​Department of Rheumatology at Advocate Aurora Medical Group in Wisconsin. He also serves as an assistant clinical professor at the Medical College of Wisconsin and an adjunct assistant professor at Duke University Medical Center. Dr. Wells has over 25 years of research experience, and is a previous recipient of the prestigious Fogarty Biomedical Research Award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). He received his M.D. from the University of South Florida, Tampa and his Ph.D. in immunology from the University of South Carolina. He completed his training in internal medicine and rheumatology at Duke University and a two-year postdoctoral fellowship at Uppsala University in Sweden.

Dr. Diamond is Director of the Institute of Molecular Medicine at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research and Director of the Ph.D. and M.D. programs at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell. She previously headed the rheumatology divisions at the Albert Einstein School of Medicine and Columbia University Medical Center, and is a former president of the American Association of Immunology. Dr. Diamond has served on the Board of Directors of the American College of Rheumatology and the Scientific Council of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS). She is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and a member of the National Academy of Medicine. Dr. Diamond received her B.A. from Harvard University and M.D. from Harvard Medical School. She completed her residency in internal medicine at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center and postdoctoral training in immunology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Dr. Kiener has deep experience in drug development and has served in executive leadership roles at Cereius, Inc., Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Ambrx Inc., and MedImmune LLC, the global biologics arm of AstraZeneca, and worked in biologics for Bristol-Myers Squibb. He also previously served as president and co-founder of Zyngenia Inc., an early-stage biopharmaceutical company. Dr. Kiener serves on the Board of Directors and Science and Technology committees of Pieris Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Cue Biopharma, Inc. Dr. Kiener earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Lancaster and a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Oxford. He has published more than 120 papers in peer-reviewed journals and is an inventor on more than 40 patents and patent applications.

Dr. Lesko is Professor Emeritus and Founding Director of the Center for Pharmacometrics and Systems Pharmacology at the University of Florida College of Pharmacy. He previously served for nearly 20 years as the Director of the Office of Clinical Pharmacology at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. Dr. Lesko has published more than 200 peer-reviewed scientific publications and is the 2011 recipient of the Gary Neil Prize for Innovation in Drug Development from the American Society of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (ASCPT).