Core Management & Advisory Team
Stephen Naylor, PhD Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer & Board Chairperson
Read MoreStephen Naylor, PhD Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer & Board Chairperson
Dr. Stephen Naylor is the Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Board Chairperson of rngen, where he defines and directs the company’s strategic vision and leadership initiatives. Under his guidance, rngen has advanced a pipeline of innovative drug candidates, including KYC, which target the underlying drivers of oxidative stress and inflammation while promoting repair and regeneration. These advancements, achieved in collaboration with the management team, reflect rngen’s pioneering approach to therapy development.
Steve brings an extensive background in biotechnology, drug discovery, and executive leadership to rngen. Before co-founding rngen, he was a serial entrepreneur, founding and leading six companies to successful sale or IPO events, including the 2011 IPO of BG Medicine (NASDAQ: BGMD). He has held numerous C-level roles, where he established and expanded companies focused on drug discovery and development, diagnostics, systems pharmacology, and precision medicine. Over the course of his entrepreneurial career, Steve has raised over $100 million in funding through grants and private investments to drive innovation, accelerate product development, and deliver transformative solutions to market.
Steve earned his PhD from the University of Cambridge (UK) and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He has held leadership and faculty positions at world-class institutions such as Mayo Clinic, where he held professorial appointments in multiple disciplines. As an accomplished scientist, he has authored more than 300 science and technology publications and contributed to over 20 patent applications. He has delivered more than 750 presentations globally, focusing on fields such as systems pharmacology. His contributions to precision medicine therapies have significantly shaped the development of innovative solutions in drug discovery and translational medicine.
As part of his vision for rngen, Steve developed and implemented the virtual pharmaceutical () company model, a streamlined and adaptive approach to drug development. This model leverages a lean organizational structure and strategic partnerships with academic institutions, CROs, and CMOs to optimize resources and accelerate timelines. He is also committed to fostering a collaborative environment that drives innovation and accelerates the development of impactful therapies. His unique combination of scientific expertise, business acumen, and strategic insight ensures rngen’s continued success in addressing unmet medical needs and delivering transformative treatments to patients worldwide.
Billy W. Day, PhD Chief Operating Officer & Board Director
Read MoreBilly W. Day, PhD Chief Operating Officer & Board Director
Dr. Billy W. Day joined rngen in 2019 as Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Board Director, bringing extensive expertise in drug discovery drug development, and organizational leadership to the company. He has led efforts in establishing rngen’s preclinical research pipeline and oversaw the development of the company’s critical strategic partnership program.
At rngen, Billy plays a pivotal role in the design, discovery, and development of innovative systems pharmacology agents, addressing a wide range of diseases associated with inflammation and oxidative stress. He oversees collaborations with contract research organizations (CROs), contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs), and academic partners, ensuring the efficient execution of preclinical programs. Additionally, he leads rngen’s grant funding strategy, spearheading the preparation of successful SBIR grant proposals to secure non-dilutive funding for the company’s programs.
A seasoned researcher and innovator, Billy has raised over $30 million for academic and corporate initiatives. He has coauthored more than 180 peer-reviewed publications and delivered numerous invited presentations at leading national and international conferences. Before joining rngen, he served as a professor in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chemistry, and Computational & Systems Biology at the University of Pittsburgh. He also served as Chief Science Consultant for Immunetrics, Inc., a disease modeling company and helped transition academic discoveries into commercially viable therapeutic programs.
Billy earned his PhD in Medicinal Chemistry from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and completed postdoctoral training in Toxicology and Chemistry at MIT. His broad background in chemistry, pharmacology, and toxicology uniquely aligns with rngen’s mission to accelerate drug discovery and development through an efficient, virtual pharmaceutical () company model.
Billy’s decision to join rngen reflects his enthusiasm for the company’s innovative approach to drug development. The virtual pharmaceutical company model, which emphasizes efficiency and adaptability, allows rngen to focus on rapid development rather than traditional commercialization models. This approach leverages a lean structure, therapeutic expertise, and complementary partnerships to adapt to shifting priorities and deliver impactful solutions with relatively small-scale financing. This model aligns with Billy’s vision for advancing affordable and effective treatments while driving innovation in drug discovery and development.
Kirkwood A. Pritchard Jr., PhD Co-Founder, Chief Scientific Officer & Board Director
Read MoreKirkwood A. Pritchard Jr., PhD Co-Founder, Chief Scientific Officer & Board Director
Dr. Kirkwood A. Pritchard Jr. serves as Co-Founder, Chief Scientific Officer (CSO), and Board Director of rngen. He brings extensive expertise in disease mechanisms, therapeutic drug discovery, and translational research. As the inventor of rngen’s lead therapeutic drug candidate, KYC, he has been instrumental in shaping the company’s scientific vision and advancing its mission to develop transformative treatments for diseases caused by inflammation and oxidative stress.
Kirk’s unique ability to design pharmacological agents targeting complex disease conditions, including sickle cell disease, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, and ischemic stroke, led to the bioengineered creation of KYC. At rngen, he oversees scientific efforts to elucidate the mechanisms of action of KYC and spearheads the development of next-generation drug candidates targeting inflammation and oxidative stress-based diseases. Alongside Dr. Billy Day (COO), Kirk has also been a key driver in securing substantial non-dilutive funding through federal grants.
A seasoned researcher and innovator, Kirk has been continuously funded by the NIH for over 20 years, receiving more than $20 million in competitive grants. He has coauthored over 170 peer-reviewed publications and delivered numerous invited presentations at national and international conferences. Dr. Pritchard earned his PhD in Physiology/Pathology from Ohio State University and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He currently serves as a research professor in the Department of Surgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW), contributing to significant advancements in understanding vaso-occlusive crises and pain in sickle cell disease—key foci of rngen’s preclinical studies.
Kirk’s entrepreneurial endeavors include founding HDL-Dx, a diagnostics company, and serving as an advisor to CMX-20, a drug discovery and development company with a lead candidate in Phase II clinical trials for pain treatment. At rngen, he leverages his extensive experience to direct preclinical research programs and provide strategic oversight of data interpretation in collaboration with academic and industry partners.
As CSO, Kirk is responsible for guiding rngen’s scientific strategy and ensuring the rigorous execution of its research programs. His collaborative approach and deep expertise in disease mechanisms make him an invaluable leader in advancing rngen’s pipeline of innovative systems pharmacology agent.
Meghann Sytsma Director of Operations & Business Advisory Board Member
Read MoreMeghann Sytsma Director of Operations & Business Advisory Board Member
Ms. Meghann Sytsma joined rngen in the summer of 2024 as Director of Operations and a Member of the Business Advisory Board. She brings a unique combination of organizational expertise, strategic planning, and business acumen to the company. Her leadership ensures that rngen operates efficiently and effectively, enabling the scientific and clinical teams to focus on innovation and discovery.
Meghann’s background in biology and chemistry laid the foundation for her career in research operations. After initially pursuing a path in secondary education, she transitioned to research administration at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW). In her role as Clinical Research Manager for Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Meghann demonstrated exceptional skill in managing complex research programs. Under her guidance, the department doubled its annual grant submissions and achieved a remarkable growth in research revenue from $500K to $2.2M within three years.
She is a believer in the transformative power of translational medicine and its partnership with the drug development industry. At rngen, she applies her extensive experience in research operations and program management to optimize the company’s internal workflows, foster strategic collaborations, and ensure that rngen’s mission to deliver innovative therapies remains on track.
Meghann’s exceptional organizational skills and ability to navigate the intricate dynamics of research and development make her an invaluable member of the rngen team. Her contributions go beyond traditional operational roles; she excels in creating structures and systems that allow the company to adapt to evolving priorities and achieve ambitious goals. Meghann’s collaborative approach and commitment to excellence ensure that rngen operates at its highest potential. She ensures that the operational complexities of a virtual pharmaceutical () company are constantly monitored, evaluated and optimized.
Ru-Jeng Teng, MD Clinical Advisor and Academic Collaborator
Read MoreRu-Jeng Teng, MD Clinical Advisor and Academic Collaborator
Dr. Ru-Jeng Teng is a clinician-scientist and longstanding academic collaborator with rngen. His collaboration with the company began in 2018 and has developed through joint scientific publications, research programs, and grant initiatives focused on neonatal disease, inflammation, oxidative stress, and translational drug development. Dr. Teng currently serves as the Medical College of Wisconsin site Principal Investigator on an NIH-funded rngen SBIR research collaboration.
Dr. Teng is an internationally recognized neonatologist with extensive clinical experience in the care of premature infants and particular expertise in bronchopulmonary dysplasia and other pulmonary disorders of prematurity. His research has complemented this clinical work through studies of neonatal lung disease, pulmonary pathophysiology, inflammation, oxidative stress, and preclinical disease models. This combination of clinical and experimental expertise provides an important translational perspective to rngen’s research. He contributes to the design and interpretation of preclinical studies and to the evaluation of drug candidates, helping connect mechanistic research and experimental disease models with clinically relevant therapeutic questions.
Dr. Teng earned his MD from the National Taiwan University School of Medicine. After completing two years as a medical officer in Taiwan, he pursued Pediatric residency and Neonatology fellowship training at National Taiwan University Hospital. He subsequently served on the Neonatology faculty for six years, during which he co-founded the Taiwan Premature Neonate Foundation and served as Associate Secretary-General. Dr. Teng later moved to the United States, undertook additional training at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and became board certified in Neonatology. He has held faculty positions at the University of Florida and the Medical College of Wisconsin, where his work integrates neonatal clinical care with scientific research.
Dr. Teng’s clinical and scientific contributions have been recognized through numerous awards, including six research awards from the Taiwan Pediatric Association, the Exemplary Teacher Award from the University of Florida, and the Teaching Award at the Medical College of Wisconsin. He has authored more than 135 peer-reviewed publications and has served extensively as an editorial board member and reviewer for biomedical journals. His research has received support from the National Institutes of Health and other sources.