Roman Owens, M.S.
Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Roman Owens, M.S., is Founder and Chief Executive Officer of OncoVanta Therapeutics, where he leads corporate strategy, translational development planning, licensing execution, and long-range commercialization strategy for the company’s precision oncology platform focused on mutant TP53-targeted T cell receptor therapies for solid tumors.
He holds a Master of Science in International Financial Management and a Bachelor of Science in Applied Physics, combining technical training with financial and strategic leadership across complex development environments. His background includes multidisciplinary work spanning engineering systems, institutional operations, and financial analysis, supporting a structured approach to early-stage therapeutic company building.
Prior to founding OncoVanta, Mr. Owens worked in control systems engineering at Bechtel, supporting advanced nuclear infrastructure programs within NRC-regulated environments. He also held roles at Howard University, Morgan Stanley, and GEICO, bringing together technical systems discipline, institutional execution, and financial planning in support of long-term biotechnology development.
Tamaro Hudson, Ph.D., M.P.H., M.S.
Chief Scientific Officer | Board Member
Tamaro Hudson, Ph.D., M.P.H., M.S., is a translational oncology scientist and Associate Professor at Howard University College of Medicine with expertise spanning biomarker development, cancer biology, and translational research strategy. His scientific career has focused on molecular mechanisms of cancer progression and the development of biomarker-guided therapeutic approaches.
Dr. Hudson completed a Cancer Prevention Fellowship at the National Cancer Institute and has served as Principal Investigator on federally supported research programs. His laboratory work includes investigation of molecular pathways in prostate cancer, translational biomarker research, and preclinical cancer model development supporting therapeutic evaluation.
At OncoVanta Therapeutics, he provides scientific oversight for preclinical validation studies, translational research planning, and experimental strategy supporting the TP53-targeted TCR-T platform. As a Board Member, he also contributes scientific governance aligned with responsible stewardship of licensed technology and long-term therapeutic development.
Caimei Zhang, Ph.D.
Lead Principal Investigator | Cell Therapy Development
Caimei Zhang, Ph.D., is a cell therapy scientist with more than fifteen years of experience in cancer immunotherapy, cellular engineering, and translational immune platform development. Her work has focused extensively on engineered immune cell therapies, including CAR-T, NK cell systems, and advanced functional immune assays.
Prior to joining OncoVanta, Dr. Zhang served as Senior Research Investigator at the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Cellular Immunotherapies, where she led cell therapy programs involving NK cell expansion, checkpoint-modified CAR-T systems, viral vector optimization, and xenograft efficacy studies. She also served as Principal Scientist at BlueWhale Bio, leading development of novel T cell activation technologies for therapeutic manufacturing platforms.
At OncoVanta Therapeutics, she leads TCR engineering, immune assay development, and preclinical execution of the TP53 R175H TCR-T program. Her responsibilities include experimental design, in vitro functional testing, translational data interpretation, and generation of preclinical datasets supporting progression toward IND-enabling studies.
Emmanuel O. Akala, R.Ph., Ph.D.
Vice President, Drug Delivery & Nanomedicine
Emmanuel O. Akala, R.Ph., Ph.D., is Professor of Pharmaceutics at Howard University and an internationally recognized expert in nanomedicine, drug delivery systems, and translational pharmaceutical sciences. His research focuses on controlled therapeutic delivery, biodegradable polymer systems, and pharmaceutical product design for advanced biomedical applications.
Dr. Akala serves as Director of the Laboratory for Nanomedicine, Drug Delivery, and Pharmaceutical Product Design and Development at Howard University and has led extensive NIH-funded research in therapeutic delivery technologies. He is also a named inventor on patented biodegradable polymeric delivery systems designed for therapeutic applications.
At OncoVanta Therapeutics, he advises on long-term delivery innovation strategies and future platform expansion opportunities that may strengthen therapeutic performance while remaining independent of NIH-licensed intellectual property.
Joyce Terry, M.Sc.
Senior Research Administrator
Joyce Terry, M.Sc., provides operational leadership supporting execution of OncoVanta’s development program through grant coordination, documentation systems, regulatory preparation, and administrative continuity. Her role supports integration of scientific operations with external program requirements.
She brings more than twenty-five years of experience in organizational leadership, compliance oversight, grant writing, and administrative program management. Her background includes service as Principal Investigator and grant writer on state-supported stabilization programs and oversight of complex documentation and reporting systems.
At OncoVanta Therapeutics, she supports study logistics, external communications, documentation workflows, and operational readiness across scientific and development activities, helping maintain continuity as the company advances staged translational milestones.
