Dr. Grek currently serves as Vice President, Research and Development Ophthalmology at Xequel Bio. Christina is responsible for leading the research and development initiatives of the company’s key platforms from basic research through clinical trials – defining and implementing the vision and development strategy for Xequel Bio’s portfolio while working cross-functionally with the Research, Clinical, and Quality Control teams.

Christina is an accomplished biomedical scientist and industry R&D leader who has successfully led multiple therapeutics from the early product concept through to clinical proof of concept and clinical development in preparation for commercial product launch. With foundations in both industry and academia, her previous expertise includes drug discovery research at Scios Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing novel drugs for the potential treatment of cardiovascular and inflammatory diseases, acquired by Johnson and Johnson. Christina also worked on the drug discovery team at SUGEN, a pioneering drug discovery company focused on the development of small-molecule protein kinase inhibitors as cancer therapeutics that was acquired by Pfizer.

Dr. Christina Grek has a PhD in Biomedical Sciences from the Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, and completed her undergraduate studies in biology and chemistry at the Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Additionally, she serves as an adjunct professor at the Medical University of South Carolina in the Department of Cell and Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.

Her favorite thing about Xequel is the collaborative team environment. The Xequel team is made up of an intensely motivated, highly intelligent, hard-working, driven, and adaptable group of people that are not only passionate about their jobs, but are real, genuine, caring individuals. Christina truly believes Xequel has built a company with people who are destined to be a success– failure is not an option.

Christina’s personal interests include teaching and learning from her three beautiful daughters, who motivate her to be a better person, ask better questions, and learn from her mistakes. Christina loves spending time with her girls at the barn watching them blossom into young equestrians in the hunter/jumper show circuit. When not at the barn, she can be found cooking gourmet meals and traveling with her family.