aTyr Pharma, Inc. announced the appointments of Jane Gross, Ph.D. and Svetlana Lucas, Ph.D. to the company’s Board of Directors. Dr. Jane Gross is an accomplished executive with more than 28 years of experience leading research and development in the design and development of therapeutics for the treatment of autoimmune, inflammatory diseases and cancer. Dr. Gross has deep experience in research and development, partnering and alliance management of multiple internal and co-development programs. She currently serves as Chief Scientific Officer, Senior Vice President, Research and Development of Aptevo Therapeutics Inc., a position she has held since September 2016. In this role, Dr. Gross led the discovery of novel protein therapeutics based on the ADAPTIR platform in immuno-oncology, leading research efforts in molecular biology and protein engineering, immunology, protein and cell sciences, pharmacology and translational research. Prior to joining Aptevo, Dr. Gross served as Vice President, Applied Research and Non-Clinical Development at Emergent BioSolutions Inc. and Vice President, Immunology Research at ZymoGenetics, Inc., where she led efforts in discovery and development of therapeutics from novel genes. Dr. Gross holds a Ph.D. in Immunology from the University of California, Berkeley under Jim Allison (2018 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine) and a Post-Doctoral Fellowship from the University of Washington in Immunology. Dr. Svetlana Lucas has 18 years of experience in strategy, commercialization, and business development leadership, with a particular expertise in oncology and immunology. She currently serves as a Chief Business Officer at a newly formed biotechnology company. Prior to her current role, she served as Senior Vice President, Business Development at Tizona Therapeutics, Inc. Before joining Tizona, Dr. Lucas was Head of Oncology and Inflammation at Amgen Inc., where she oversaw business development activities, including Amgen’s strategic cancer immunotherapy research collaboration and licensing agreement with Kite Pharma, and collaborated with Amgen Ventures on several investments in oncology and inflammation.
aTyr Pharma, Inc. is a clinical-stage biotechnology company. The Company is leveraging intelligence to translate tRNA synthetase biology into new therapies for fibrosis and inflammation. Its lead therapeutic candidate is efzofitimod, a biologic immunomodulator in clinical development for the treatment of interstitial lung disease (ILD), a group of immune-mediated disorders that can cause inflammation and fibrosis, or scarring, of the lungs. Efzofitimod is a tRNA synthetase derived therapy that selectively modulates activated myeloid cells through neuropilin-2 (NRP2) to resolve aberrant inflammation without immune suppression and prevent the progression of fibrosis. ATYR0101 is a fusion protein derived from a domain of aspartyl-tRNA synthetase (DARS). ATYR0101 binds directly to latent-transforming growth factor beta-binding protein 1 (LTBP1), which regulates transforming growth factor beta (TGFb). Its ATYR0750 is a fusion protein derived from a domain of alanyl-tRNA synthetase (AARS).
ATYR PHARMA, INC. 
