Martin Jefson, Ph.D., is the Executive Vice President, Corporate Strategy and chairs the Clinical Advisory Board for Arialys Therapeutics. Prior to Arialys, he was the CEO of Pinteon Therapeutics, a clinical-stage CNS company focused on tauopathies. Prior to Pinteon, he worked as a pharmaceutical research consultant, supporting the efforts of several venture capital partnerships and more than 20 biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. He was the founding Chief Scientific Officer of Rodin Therapeutics and Ataxion (now Cadent Therapeutics), two Atlas Venture portfolio companies focused on the discovery and development of novel therapeutics for neurological disorders. Martin began his career at Pfizer Central Research in 1982, where he spent 27 years, ultimately becoming head of CNS research. Between 1994 and 2009, teams he led or managed discovered more than 40 development candidates, including many prototype molecules with novel mechanisms of action. One of these candidates, the nicotinic receptor partial agonist varenicline (Chantix™), is approved worldwide as an aid to smoking cessation. Martin received his Ph.D. in chemistry from Cornell University.