Mathew Pletcher currently serves as the Chief Scientific Officer for Weaver Biosciences. Weaver is building a platform of heterobifunctional molecules that enable targeted epigenetic editing. Over his roughly two-decade career in drug develop, Mathew has held a variety of roles across academia, non-profit organizations, and industry. Most recently, he was the Chief Scientific Officer for Kisbee Therapeutics, a biotechnology company focused on Apolipoprotein biology. He was previously the SVP and Division Head for Gene Therapy Research and Technical Operations at Astellas Gene Therapies. Overseeing a group of approximately 350 individuals spread across North Carolina, California, and Japan, his team was responsible for leading the Astellas' pre-clinical gene therapy portfolio and all gene therapy manufacturing activities from project initiation through commercialization. Prior to arriving at Astellas Gene Therapies, he served as the Head of Rare Disease for Roche, directing early development and research activities for rare neuromuscular, neurodevelopmental, ophthalmological, neurodegenerative, and hematopoietic diseases and helped support the approval of Risdiplam (Evrysdi) for Spinal Muscular Atrophy. Mathew began his career in industry at Pfizer, taking on a variety of roles across the company and eventually serving as Director of Medical Genetics for Pfizer's Rare Disease Research Unit. He transitioned to Pfizer from Scripps Research Institute in Florida where he established a lab focused on the genetics of antidepressant efficacy and mouse models of autism as well as building and directing Genetics and Genomics Core Facility. Mathew received a Ph.D. in human genetics from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and conducted a post-doctoral fellowship at the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation, publishing the first haplotype map of mouse inbred strains. He has also founded the RDH12 Fund for Sight, a non-profit organization devoted to the development of a gene therapy for a genetic form of Leber Congenital Amaurosis, a congenital blinding disorder, is a board member of Odylia Therapeutics, a non-profit enterprise focused on developing gene therapies for ultra-rare diseases, is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board 64x Bio and holds an adjunct faculty appointment with the University of North Carolina.