Dr. Zalevsky is the chief research & development officer of Nektar Therapeutics, leading all aspects of the R&D organization including research, clinical development, regulatory affairs and biologics process development. During his tenure at Nektar, Dr. Zalevsky’s expertise in immunology, as well as his experience across biological modalities and therapeutic areas, have helped fuel the growth of the company’s immuno-oncology and immunology pipeline. Prior to joining Nektar, Dr. Zalevsky was global vice president and head of the inflammation drug discovery unit at Takeda Pharmaceuticals. As the leading immunologist for Takeda, he was responsible for an immunology pipeline that spanned from early target discovery to late-stage development and approved products. Prior to Takeda, Dr. Zalevsky held a number of R&D positions at Xencor, where he was responsible for the discovery and development of the company’s first four clinical-stage assets. Dr. Zalevsky received his Ph.D. in biochemistry from the Tetrad Program at the University of California, San Francisco. He received dual bachelor degrees in biochemistry and molecular, cellular and developmental biology from the University of Colorado at Boulder.