Michael Crackower

Dr. Crackower is the head of Research and Development at Ventus Therapeutics. He brings to Ventus more than 18 years of drug discovery leadership experience, which includes deep expertise in the fields of respiratory, immunology, and fibrotic disease drug discovery.

Prior to Ventus, Michael was an entrepreneur-in-residence at Versant Ventures where he played an instrumental role in the formation of Ventus. Prior to joining Versant, Michael held the position of Executive Director and head of late immunology drug discovery and fibrosis research at Celgene where he led preclinical drug discovery in Immunology and Inflammation. Prior to Celgene, Michael was Director of research for tissue injury and fibrosis at Biogen. Michael spent much of his early career working at Merck & Co as a Director in the respiratory and immunology department.

Michael has a BSc in biochemistry from the University of Western Ontario and a Ph.D. in molecular and medical genetics from the University of Toronto, working in the lab of Dr. Lap-Chee Tsui and the Hospital for Sick Children. Michael conducted his postdoctoral studies at the Amgen Institute (PMH), where he made seminal discoveries in cardiovascular and reproductive biology.