Erik Wilker

Erik Wilker has a diverse work experience spanning over two decades. Erik currently holds the position of Head of Translational Pharmacology at Exo Therapeutics since July 2022. Prior to this, they served as the Head of Pharmacology (Sr Director) at Blueprint Medicines from September 2021 to July 2022 and at Tango Therapeutics from December 2019 to September 2021.

In 2019, Erik was also the Head of Pharmacology (Director) at Casma Therapeutics and played a crucial role in designing and managing in vivo/ex vivo studies in various indications including metabolism, fibrosis, inflammation, liver disease, neurodegenerative, and muscle disorders, with a major focus on autophagy targets in liver disease, neurodegenerative disorders, muscle disorders, and rare diseases.

From 2015 to 2019, Erik worked at FORMA Therapeutics, Inc. as the Head of Translational Pharmacology (Director), where they established and trained an in vivo pharmacology team to support translational efforts. Erik was responsible for designing and managing studies that helped determine relationships between exposure, target engagement, and activity in multiple indications, including oncology, metabolism, fibrosis, inflammation, and immuno-oncology.

Before joining FORMA Therapeutics, Erik worked as a Senior Scientist at EMD Serono from 2011 to 2015. In this role, they were the In Vivo Pharmacology Representative and played a crucial role in evaluating small molecule kinase inhibitors for cancer treatment. Erik also supported early drug candidates through various milestones into clinical phases and presented results in team meetings.

Erik's earlier experiences include working as a Research Scientist and Postdoctoral Fellow at MIT, where they contributed to the discovery and understanding of the role of 14-3-3 sigma as a tumor suppressor protein in human breast cancer. Erik also optimized a chemical/proteomics screen for identifying newly translated proteins.

At Novartis, Erik worked as a Research Investigator in 2006, leading a research team focused on murine models of bone metastases. They implemented xenograft models of breast cancer and utilized microCT to assess treatment effectiveness in saving bone or inhibiting metastases.

Erik's career began as a Graduate Student Researcher at MD Anderson Cancer Center, where they conducted research on inflammation and tumor promotion in transgenic cancer mouse models.

Overall, Erik Wilker's work experience demonstrates their expertise in translational pharmacology, in vivo/ex vivo studies, and various therapeutic areas such as oncology, metabolism, fibrosis, inflammation, liver disease, neurodegenerative disorders, muscle disorders, and rare diseases.

From 1992 to 1996, Erik Wilker attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where they pursued a Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmacology and Toxicology. Continuing their education, they then enrolled at The University of Texas at Austin from 1997 to 2001. During this time, they acquired a Ph.D. in Pharmacology.