Humacyte appoints new CMO: 6 things to know

Jeffrey Lawson, MD, PhD, has been appointed CMO of Raleigh, N.C.-based Humacyte, a biotechnology and vascular regenerative medicine company.

Here are six things to know about Dr. Lawson.

1. In his new role, Dr. Lawson will oversee the medical and clinical development of the company's products.

2. He recently served in various leadership roles at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C., including professor of surgery and pathology, vice chairman for research in surgery and director of clinical trials for the department of surgery.

3. Dr. Lawson has served as an investigator in Humacyte's Phase II clinical research, and as a speaker at international symposiums on the topics of regenerative medicine and vascular surgery. He has also served as an advisor on the development of the investigational human acellular vessel, which is made by cultivating donated human cells on a tubular scaffold.

4. In 2013, Humacyte founder Laura Niklason, MD, PhD, Dr. Lawson and a medical team at Duke University Medical Center, implanted Humacyte's investigational human acellular vessel for vascular access into a patient who was diagnosed with chronic renal failure, representing the first such procedure in the U.S., according to a news release.

5. After receiving his Doctorate in Medicine from the University of Vermont College of Medicine in Burlington in 1991 and his PhD in cell and molecular biology from the same institution, Dr. Lawson completed his residency in general and thoracic surgery in 1999 at Duke University Medical Center. In 2002, he completed a fellowship in vascular surgery, also at Duke University Medical Center.

6. In addition to adding Dr. Lawson as CMO, Humacyte recently announced two additions to the company's board of directors, appointing former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius and healthcare executive Dale A. Sander as directors.