Dr. Justin Ernst joined Belharra Therapeutics in 2021 as Vice President, Head of Chemistry. Justin has over 20 years of leadership experience in the pharmaceutical industry, working for both small and large biotech companies in the areas of inflammation, virology, neurodegeneration and oncology. Most recently he was Vice President, Head of Chemistry for Inception Therapeutics, where he helped to launch several biotech companies including Belharra. Prior to Inception he was Head of Chemistry for Effector Therapeutics, leading chemistry efforts that contributed to delivering several first in class development candidates targeting dysregulated translation. Before Effector, Justin held senior chemistry positions at Vertex and Kemia Pharmaceuticals, advancing multiple preclinical and clinical assets. Justin received a BS in Chemistry from Pennsylvania State University and a PhD in Organic Chemistry from Yale University. He is the author or inventor on over 40 publications and patents.