Leadership

Thomas Duke, PhD, JD
Thomas Duke, PhD, JD
Interim Chief Executive Officer

Tom is Interim CEO at Xilis. He has extensive experience as an executive leader, attorney, and board member, guiding strategy for life sciences companies ranging from startups to multi-billion-dollar pharma companies. Tom received his B.S. in Microbiology from the University of California, Santa Barbara, his Ph.D. in Molecular Biochemistry and Biophysics from Illinois Institute of Technology, and his J.D. from Loyola University Chicago School of Law.

Elena Helman, PhD
Elena Helman, PhD
Vice President of Technology Platform

Elena is Vice President of Technology Platform at Xilis. She has over 10 years of experience in the cancer genomics and diagnostic space, bringing together data analytics and computational tools with a deep knowledge of cancer biology. She has developed diagnostic products across the regulatory landscape, led algorithm design, and biopharma partnerships. Elena was previously Director of Bioinformatics at Guardant Health. She received her PhD in Bioinformatics and Integrative Genomics from the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology.

Ryan T. Jones, PhD
Ryan T. Jones, PhD
Vice President of Strategy & Business Development

Ryan is Vice President of Strategy and Business Development. A serial company builder, Ryan has operated in multiple strategy and business development roles at both startups and large Pharma companies. Prior to joining Xilis, Ryan lead strategy and business development at Herophilus, a neuroscience drug discovery startup that built a patient-derived brain organoid drug discovery platform and was acquired by Genentech in 2023. Ryan also coordinated ADC search and evaluation at Stemcentrx following its acquisition by AbbVie, and lead post-acquisition integration of Stemcentrx' partnering activities into AbbVie's corporate strategy office. Ryan has a PhD in neuroscience from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

Carlton Barnett, Jr., MD, FACS
Carlton Barnett, Jr., MD, FACS
Fractional Chief Medical Officer

Carlton is the Fractional Chief Medical Officer at Xilis. He has over 25 years of experience in clinical cancer care operating upon and treating patients with pancreatic cancer, liver metastases, melanoma, and soft tissue malignancies. His research addresses immune-mediated tumor progression and metastases specifically targeting novel mechanisms to mitigate tumor growth in cancers that have traditionally not responded to standard chemotherapies. He brings a wealth of clinical experience and translational science to the diagnostic space. He received his MD from the University of Colorado and Fellowship training at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Kendra Hightower
Kendra Hightower
VP of Assay Development

Kendra is Vice President of Assay Development at Xilis. She has over 20 years of pharmaceutical industry experience that spans research and development to manufacturing and small biotech to large pharma companies. Her broad foundation in the biological and chemical sciences, capabilities as a scientific and business leader, and enthusiasm for drug discovery have enabled her to make significant contributions to a wide range of assets, technologies, targets, modalities, and therapeutic areas. Kendra was previously Vice President of Lead Discovery at Ribometrix and Vice President of Lead Generation at Enveda Biosciences. She received her PhD in biology from Johns Hopkins University.

Hans Smith
Hans Smith
General Counsel & Head of Intellectual Property

Hans is General Counsel at Xilis. As a registered patent attorney, he has developed intellectual-property portfolios and counseled research institutions and companies on legal strategy across the medical-device and pharmaceutical industries. Hans received his B.S. in Engineering & Applied Science from the California Institute of Technology, his Master of Business & Science (MBS) from the Keck Graduate Institute Henry E. Riggs School of Applied Life Sciences, his J.D. from the Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law, and a Certified Information Privacy Professional/United States (CIPP/US) certification from the International Association of Privacy Professionals.