CIRM Team Leads
Janie Byrum, Senior Science Officer, R&D Data Infrastructure
Denise D’Angel, Director, Human Resources
Geoffrey Lomax, DrPH, Associate Director of Patient Access Team
Geoffrey Lomax, DrPH, joined the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine in 2005. He is the Associate Director for CIRM’s Patient Access Team. The team manages CIRM’s Clinical Infrastructure Programs designed to accelerate the delivery of treatments to patients with unmet medical needs. Programs include CIRM’s Alpha Clinics Network, Community Care Centers of Excellence, and Patient Support Program. CIRM’s Clinical Infrastructure provides a platform to deliver high-quality FDA-authorized regenerative medicine (cell- and gene-therapy) clinical trials. In addition, the team coordinates CIRM’s Access and Affordability and Medical and Ethical Standards Working Groups. These working groups are dedicated to providing access to CIRM-funded treatments under the highest medical standards.
Dr. Lomax formerly served as the Research Director with the California Environmental Health Investigations Branch to publish and implement a strategic plan for the development of an Environmental Health Surveillance System in California. Throughout his professional career, Dr. Lomax has continually worked to bridge issues of scientific, policy, and ethics in the development of state-based public health programs and research.
Shyam Patel, PhD, Associate Vice President of Preclinical Development
Shyam Patel, PhD, is the Associate Vice President of Preclinical Development. Shyam is responsible for bridging the gap between research and clinical application by supporting key preclinical programs and infrastructure initiatives. During his time at CIRM, Shyam led business development that included the expansion of CIRM’s Industry Alliance Program to establish a collaborative network of venture investors, biotech companies, large biopharma partners, and resource providers to accelerate the development of regenerative medicine therapies. Shyam was also responsible for the establishment of CIRM’s Cell and Gene Therapy Manufacturing Network, launch of CIRM’s Patient Support Program, coordination of CIRM’s 2022 Strategic Plan, and management of CIRM’s partnerships with NHLBI on Cure Sickle Cell Initiative and FNIH on AMP Bespoke Gene Therapy Consortium.
Shyam joined CIRM in late 2016, initially as part of Dr. Sambrano’s Portfolio Development & Review team, where he managed the review and approval processes for CIRM’s Discovery, Translational, and Clinical Programs. Prior to CIRM, Shyam led NanoNerve, Inc., where he and the team developed tissue-engineered medical devices for tissue regeneration. He was also on the teaching faculty in Bioengineering at the University of California, Berkeley, where he taught undergraduate and graduate courses in biomaterials, stem cells and tissue engineering, and medical device development.
Shyam received a BS in Bioengineering from the University of California, Berkeley, and a PhD in Bioengineering from the Universities of California, Berkeley, and San Francisco.
Kelly Shepard, PhD, Director, Discovery & Education
Koren Temple-Perry, Senior Director, Marketing & Communications
Koren joins CIRM after spending the last 15 years translating complex scientific information into compelling content for diverse audiences. As a former journalist, she has worked extensively in the areas of patient and community health education, health advocacy, and scientific communications for hospitals, research institutes, and healthcare organizations.
Prior to joining CIRM, she founded Temple Communications LLC, which specializes in scientific copywriting and marketing communications for public health organizations. She served as consulting communications director for March for Science, where she led the media and communications campaign for the global marches. She spent many years as a communications writer and digital marketing manager at academic medical centers throughout New York.
Koren earned her master’s degree in journalism from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and a bachelor’s degree in communications from Santa Clara University. Her passion for improving health equity led to her appointment as District 5 Commissioner to the Alameda County Public Health Commission and to the Board of Directors for Jamal’s Helping Hands, a non-profit dedicated to helping families of color navigate rare diseases.