Abla Creasey, PhD

Vice President of Therapeutics Development at CIRM

Abla Creasey is the CIRM Vice President of Therapeutics Development. In this capacity, she leads all programs in Translational and Clinical development, with a focus on advancing these therapies to marketing approval. Abla has been instrumental in building and managing CIRM’S clinical portfolio of diverse therapeutic areas including oncology, neurology, ophthalmology, and others. She has led the CIRM Therapeutics Team since 2018 and delivered on a key strategic goal to identify, recruit, and develop fifty innovative clinical stage projects and manage them to success. Ten of the current 70 FDA approved and in the public domain projects with Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapies Designation are among the Therapeutics grants portfolio. Abla also oversees Translation, Clinical and Marketing Approval Advisory Panels that work with grantees on all aspects of product development including preclinical, clinical, regulatory, manufacturing, project management, and strategic topics.

Abla has extensive experience in research and development, including clinical trial strategy and operations, as well as biologics process development & manufacturing, regulatory, and overall strategic product development. Prior to joining CIRM in 2016, she was at Johnson & Johnson for 12 years. While there, Abla held multiple senior level positions, including Senior Scientific Director in Pharmaceutical Development & Manufacturing Sciences (PDMS) at Janssen Therapeutics. Prior to that, she was an Executive Director, heading drug delivery, pharmacology, analytical characterization, clinical & quality at Advanced Technologies & Regenerative Medicine (ATRM), another J&J company. Prior to ATRM, Abla was Vice President of Biological Sciences at ALZA Corporation, where she headed discovery efforts in formulation, preclinical and oral drug delivery. Before joining ALZA in 2004, Abla held senior level positions in R&D, clinical development, and regulatory affairs within the biotechnology industry, including Chiron Corporation and Cetus Corporation. Abla received in 2008 the Ellis Island Medal of Honor for her biotechnology contributions. She served on the Mills College Board, Oakland, Ca, and the Dean of UC Berkeley School of Public Health Advisory Board. She has 23 patents and authored over 50 publications.

Abla received a B.S. in biology from the College of Notre Dame in Belmont, California, and earned her Ph.D. in medical microbiology from the University of California, Berkeley. She completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the Stanford University School of Medicine in infectious disease, biochemistry, and immunology.