Management Team

Joseph E. Payne, is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Arcturus Therapeutics, Inc. He serves on Arcturus’s Board since March 2013. He brings with him an exceptional track record of ushering novel therapeutics to the clinic including targeted RNA medicines utilizing lipid-mediated delivery technologies. Joseph’s background includes over 20 years of successful drug discovery experience at Merck Research Labs, DuPont Pharmaceuticals, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Kalypsys, and Nitto as evidenced by over 40 publications and patents, and several investigational new drug (IND) clinical candidates. His academic training includes a Bachelor's Degree in Chemistry, magna cum laude from Brigham Young University, a Master of Science in Synthetic Organic Chemistry from the University of Calgary and Executive Training Certification from MIT Sloan School of Management.

Dr. Pad Chivukula is the co-founder of Arcturus Therapeutics and has served as the Chief Scientific Officer and Chief Operating Officer since 2013. With a deep foundation in nanoparticle technology, Dr. Chivukula leads Arcturus in discovering and developing transformative medicines for diseases with unmet needs. Since Arcturus’ founding, he has built and advanced the company’s research competencies and pipeline in the areas of RNA therapeutics and vaccines, integrating advanced therapeutic platforms, and streamlining innovative processes. Dr. Chivukula holds over 100 publications and patents.

Prior to Arcturus, Dr. Chivukula held key roles at Nitto, including Group Leader and Chief Scientist, where he led the polymeric RNAi research department. He holds a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from the University of Utah, specializing in nanoparticle technology.

Lance Kurata has served as the Chief Legal Officer of Arcturus Therapeutics since August 2020. Prior to Arcturus, from 2006 to 2020, Mr. Kurata was a partner at Mintz Levin and Chair of the West Coast Technology Transactions Practice. From 2002 to 2006, he was a partner at Fish & Richardson, where he was a member of the corporate group and nationwide head of the technology transactions practice. From 1996 until 2002, Mr. Kurata practiced corporate law at Brobeck Phleger & Harrison, specializing in strategic collaborations, public and private financings, mergers and acquisitions and corporate governance. Mr. Kurata is licensed to practice law in the State of California. He received his Juris Doctor (JD) degree from Stanford Law School and was an editor of Stanford Law Review.

Alan H. Cohen, MD, is a board-certified Pediatric Pulmonologist with a longstanding interest in cardio-respiratory illnesses. He has been clinically active for the balance of his 35+ years of practice, with a focus on caring for people with Cystic Fibrosis, as well as previously co-directing the largest and most active pediatric lung transplantation program in North America. He has served on the faculty of many highly regarded Pulmonary Centers of Excellence, including those at the University of Colorado/National Jewish Center for Immunology & Respiratory Diseases, where he also was a resident and fellow, Washington University School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins and most recently at Stanford University School of Medicine.

In addition to his many years of clinical practice, biomedical and basic science research, and teaching, he has dedicated over 25 of his 35+ year-long professional career to drug discovery, in the Biotech & Pharma clinical/medical research space, at both small, entrepreneurial pre-IPO start-ups, as well as more well-established public companies worldwide. He has most recently worked in the fields of heart failure (amyloid-related) and pulmonary hypertension, respiratory infectious diseases (P aeruginosa, influenza and RSV), as well as gene editing/gene therapy targeting monogenetically driven conditions, including rare and more common diseases such as alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, amyloidosis, cystic fibrosis, hemophilia and Fabry Disease.

His research and drug development career have included roles of increasing responsibility and leadership at companies such as: 4D Molecular Therapeutics (SVP/TAH Pulmonary, CV & Rare Diseases), Metagenomi (SVP/CMO Clin Dev Gene Editing), Eidos/BridgeBio (VP), Bayer (GCL), Aridis Pharma (SVP), Therabron Therapeutics (SVP/CMO), Eddingpharm (CMO), Boehringer Ingelheim, InterMune (SVP - acquired by Roche / Genentech), MAP Pharma (VP - acquired by Allergan), Jazz Pharma (CMO/VP) & Medimmune (acquired Astra Zeneca).

Dr. Cohen has remained clinically active throughout his professional medical career, including direct patient care as well as teaching medical students, residents and fellows, most recently serving as adjunct clinical and teaching faculty at Stanford University School of Medicine – in the Dept. of Pediatric Pulmonology.

Ye Zhang is the Chief Regulatory Officer for Arcturus Therapeutics, where she establishes Regulatory Affairs department and oversees the Regulatory Strategy, Regulatory CMC, Regulatory Operation and Labeling to support the development of vaccines and rare disease therapeutics. Under her leadership, the team successfully supported the COVID-19 Vaccine NDA filing with the PMDA, leading to Arcturus' first drug product approval and the world's inaugural approval of a self-amplifying mRNA vaccine. Dr. Zhang has more than 20 years of experience in regulatory and drug development for vaccines, biologics and small molecules. Prior to joining Arcturus Therapeutics, Dr. Zhang held various roles of increasing responsibility at Merck, where she was responsible for more than ten vaccines in development and life-cycle management and had extensive experience in working with FDA, EMA, PMDA, MHRA, NMPA and other regulatory authorities. She also worked at FDA where she reviewed more than 60 drug applications and gained extensive regulatory experience. Dr. Zhang received a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Colorado, and an M.D. from the Medical School of Peking University. Dr. Zhang is a lifetime member of the Food and Drug Administration Alumni Association (FDAAA) and serves as a board director for Alliance for mRNA Medicine (AMM). Recognized for her achievements, she was named as one of the Top 25 Healthcare Technology Leaders of Pennsylvania for 2023.

Igor Smolenov is the Chief Development Officer of Arcturus Therapeutics. Dr. Smolenov is a recognized leader in clinical development with a proven record of accomplishment in small biotechnology and large pharmaceutical companies. He contributed to the successful development and licensure of several innovative vaccines.

Before joining Arcturus, Dr. Smolenov was the Executive Vice President at Clover Pharmaceuticals, where he built a strong team able to rapidly generate pivotal clinical data leading to COVID-19 vaccine authorization and the product launch. Before that, Dr. Smolenov served as Therapeutic Area Head, leading the development of several seasonal influenza vaccines in Seqirus (CSL), and Head of Clinical Development in Moderna Therapeutics, managing the initiation of the first clinical trials of mRNA vaccines in humans. At Novartis Vaccines, Dr. Smolenov contributed to the development and global licensure of meningococcal vaccines (Menveo®, Bexsero®, and MenABCWY) and the overall commercial success of the meningococcal vaccines franchise.

Igor Smolenov graduated from Volgograd State Medical University, Russia, and holds MD, Ph.D., and Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) (Habilitation) degrees from this university. Before starting his industry career, he passed multiple academic steps from junior researcher to professor and head of the Allergy/immunology department of the university. He is the author of more than 50 publications in peer-reviewed journals in clinical pharmacology, infectious diseases, and vaccine development.

Kevin Skol has 20 plus years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, primarily in business and corporate development, alliance management, strategy, competitive intelligence, and licensing. He previously worked at RNA based companies Ionis Pharmaceuticals and Digital Gene Technologies and at specialty pharmaceutical companies Elan Corporation and Valeant Pharmaceuticals. At Ionis he led business development and licensing efforts that resulted in major pharmaceutical partnerships with Astra Zeneca, Bayer, Roche, Janssen, Novartis, and Biogen. Most recently he led the Arcturus business development team in the closing of several vaccine collaborations with the Vingroup in Vietnam, Israel and CSL Seqirus. The combined transaction value of collaborative agreements and partnerships which he led throughout his career is estimated at over $4 billion. Mr. Skol previously served on the board of directors at Ingredient Innovations International (3i) which was subsequently acquired. Mr. Skol graduated with a B.A. from Yale University and has an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Natasha O. Bowman is the Chief Human Resources Officer at Arcturus Therapeutics, where she oversees the overall human resources function for the global late-stage clinical messenger RNA medicines and vaccines company. During her time at Arcturus Therapeutics, employee headcount has doubled and through this expansion amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, she played a vital role of supporting the rapid addition of the COVID-19 program. She has more than 25 years of experience in the field of Human Resources with robust industry and leadership experience in the pharmaceutical, medical device, manufacturing, and public sectors. Ms. Bowman most recently was the Senior Vice President of Human Resources at Synthetic Genomics for over 7 years where she served as a strategic adviser providing guidance on all HR related matters to the CEO, Board of Directors, and other members of the executive team. She previously held positions in start-up, mid-size, and Fortune 500 companies including Althea Technologies, ACADIA Pharmaceuticals and Pfizer Inc. where she played a key role in the start-up, growth, and mergers & acquisitions of those organizations. Ms. Bowman received a B.S in Business Management from San Diego State University. She was named as one of San Diego’s 500 Most Influential Business Leaders by the San Diego Business Journal in 2018, 2019, and 2020. She was also named as one of the Top HR & Diversity Professionals in 2023 by the San Diego Business Journal. She is on the Board of Directors for the non-profit organizations San Diego Girl Scouts, San Diego HR Forum, and Friends of Music.