About Us
Vala Discovery, a subsidiary of Vala Sciences, utilizes its clinically predictive drug safety screening platform,
ValaDATE.AI™, to identify and replace harmful medicines with safer, more effective therapies.
Our vision is to transform healthcare by pioneering innovative drug discovery solutions that accelerate breakthroughs, reduce risks, and enhance patient outcomes worldwide.
Our mission is to revolutionize drug discovery by developing safer, more effective therapies through our patented imaging and AI platform,
ValaDATE.AI™.
Our Three Pillars
We are building a future where treatments are not only more effective but also safer for every patient.
Clinically Predictive Technology
ValaDATE.AI™ with proph𝔼CG™ accurately predicts key cardiac effects, reducing the risks of drug-induced harm and accelerating safer drug development.
Patient-Centric Approach
We are dedicated to improving patients' lives by creating treatments that are effective and free from harmful side effects.
Collaborative Innovation
Through partnerships with innovators and leaders in drug discovery, we are driving the development of best-in-class drugs.
"We transform patient care to achieve a previously unavailable drug safety standard using our ValaDATE.AI™ platform."
Meet Our Leadership Team
Dedicated professionals with deep expertise driving our success.
Jeffrey Price, M.D., Ph.D.
Founder, Board Chair & CEO
Founded Vala Sciences in 2004. Inventor of the Kinetic Image Cytometer (KIC®), the imaging technology engine for the ValaDATE.AI™ platform and holder of over 30 patents. He has 200+ publications and helped establish the Conrad Prebys Center for Chemical Genomics. LinkedIn
Pablo Lapuerta, M.D.
Discovery Advisory Board Chair
CEO at 4M Therapeutics with 28 years of drug development experience. He previously held senior leadership positions at Lexicon Pharmaceuticals and Bristol-Myers Squibb, contributing to successful FDA drug approvals for multiple drugs. LinkedIn
Mark Mercola, Ph.D.
Board Member, Professor of Medicine
Professor of Medicine at the Stanford Cardiovascular Institute. Known for key discoveries in heart development, he has pioneered applications of KIC® with patient-derived iPSC-cardiomyocytes for disease modeling and developing safer candidate drugs. LinkedIn
Paul J. Dostart, J.D., LL.M., C.P.A.
Co-Founder, Board Member
Co-founded Vala Sciences. He leads the highly rated law firm, Dostart Hannink LLP, which provides counsel to public and private entities, including many of San Diego’s leading technology companies, several of which have appeared on the Inc. 500 list. LinkedIn
Heather Pelton, M.S.
Director of Finance & Operations, Board Member
Oversees finance and operations for Vala. She has over a decade of business management experience plus extensive accounting and finance training, with a specialization in accounting information systems. LinkedIn
Mike Hancock, Ph.D.
Chief Discovery Officer
Leads Vala’s early drug discovery and partnering activities, bringing 23 years of experience from top biotech and pharmaceutical companies. Formerly at Recursion, he led discovery teams that supported the advancement of multiple AI-enabled drug discovery programs. LinkedIn
Babu L. Tekwani, Ph.D.
Vice President of Research & Development
Leads Vala’s research and development activities via securing grants and contracts. His expertise spans biochemistry, molecular biology and preclinical drug screening across infectious diseases, neurobiology, oncology, and immunology. LinkedIn
Ranor Basa, M.S.
Director of Assay Development & Screening
Guides cardiotoxicity assay development and drug screening at Vala. His team is advancing drug safety testing via the highly predictive ValaDATE.AI™ with proph𝔼CG™ platform application, which accurately predicts key cardiac effects. LinkedIn
Randall Ingermanson, Ph.D.
Director of Software Engineering
Software architect of CyteSeer®, Vala’s advanced computer vision AI-enabled cellular image analysis platform for drug screening. With over 30 years of experience, he is an expert in object-oriented programming, mathematics, and computer vision algorithms. LinkedIn
Ramses Agustin, Ph.D.
Director of Applications & Support
Oversees Kinetic Image Cytometer (KIC®) instrument manufacturing, quality control, and technical support, bridging the gap between biologists and engineers. He is an expert in image processing for high-throughput microscopy and high-content screening. LinkedIn
Kara Gordon, Ph.D.
Director of Neurobiology
Leads a team developing advanced hiPSC-derived cell models and drug screening neuro-relevant applications for the ValaDATE.AI™ platform. Her team focuses on creating alternative methods to animal testing for neurotoxicity safety assessment. LinkedIn