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EXPERIENCED VACCINE DEVELOPMENT TEAM

Ursula Bechert, DVM, PhD [Cofounder]

VP, Research and Development

Dr. Bechert worked as a veterinarian in private practice and at a free-ranging wildlife park for several years prior to earning her PhD in reproductive endocrinology. She has been conducting research for the past 30 years with interests in the reproductive

physiology of endangered species, development of novel diagnostic and population management tools, as well as nutritional and pharmacokinetic studies with wildlife. Dr. Bechert worked in academic administration for over 25 years, most recently having served as Director of Graduate Programs for the College of Liberal and Professional Studies in the School of Arts & Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania. She also served as the Research Advisor for the Bureau of Land Management’s Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board for 3 years.  LinkedIn Profile 

Dr. Bechert worked as a veterinarian in private practice and at a free-ranging wildlife park for several years prior to earning her PhD in reproductive endocrinology. She has been conducting research for the past 30 years with interests in the reproductive physiology of endangered species, development of novel diagnostic and population management tools, as well as nutritional and pharmacokinetic studies with wildlife. Dr. Bechert worked in academic administration for over 25 years, most recently having served as Director of Graduate Programs for the College of Liberal and Professional Studies in the School of Arts & Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania. She also served as the Research Advisor for the Bureau of Land Management’s Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board for 3 years.  LinkedIn Profile

Mark A. Fraker, CWB, RPBio [Cofounder]

VP, Operations

Mr. Fraker has worked for more than 40 years as a wildlife biologist in Canada and the USA. He spent much of the first half of his career researching the ecology and behavior of Arctic marine mammals, particularly bowhead and beluga whales.
Since 1998, he has focused on applications of fertility control to manage the growth of populations of large mammals. Mr. Fraker conducted the first trials of SpayVac contraceptive pZP vaccine on a terrestrial wildlife species, fallow deer, later extending this work to white-tailed and black-tailed deer, wild horses, and African elephants. Following the first trial—no treated fallow deer became pregnant over three years—he became convinced that SpayVac, as a long-lasting, single-dose contraceptive vaccine, has great potential for addressing significant wildlife management issues. His research on wild horses and African elephants has been in collaboration with Dr. Bechert.
Mr. Fraker has worked for more than 40 years as a wildlife biologist in Canada and the USA. He spent much of the first half of his career researching the ecology and behavior of Arctic marine mammals, particularly bowhead and beluga whales. Since 1998, he has focused on applications of fertility control to manage the growth of populations of large mammals. Mr. Fraker conducted the first trials of SpayVac contraceptive pZP vaccine on a terrestrial wildlife species, fallow deer, later extending this work to white-tailed and black-tailed deer, wild horses, and African elephants. Following the first trial—no treated fallow deer became pregnant over three years—he became convinced that SpayVac, as a long-lasting, single-dose contraceptive vaccine, has great potential for addressing significant wildlife management issues. His research on wild horses and African elephants has been in collaboration with Dr. Bechert.

Tom D'Orazio, MBA

Acting Director

Mr. D’Orazio has spent the last twenty-plus years in business development, sales, marketing and strategic planning. He has co-founded two pharmaceutical companies and recently led an IPO with a life sciences company.
He has cofounded two pharmaceutical companies, worked for a specialty pharma company (QLT Inc.) as well as for established companies such as Merck and Pfizer.
Mr. D’Orazio has spent the last twenty-plus years in business development, sales, marketing and strategic planning.  He has co-founded two pharmaceutical companies and recently led an IPO with a life sciences company.  He has cofounded two pharmaceutical companies, worked for a specialty pharma company (QLT Inc.) as well as  for established companies such as Merck and Pfizer.

Marc Mansour, PhD

Vaccine Manufacturing and Methods Contractor

With 20 years of experience in developing novel vaccines for cancer, fertility control and infectious diseases, Marc is one of the early developers of Spayvac and later oversaw the implementation of Spayvac in the field with multiple
collaborators. Over his career he held various positions of increasing responsibility including Chief Science Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Executive Officer at IMV, publicly traded vaccine development company. He has experience in immunology, immune therapies and vaccine development from design to preclinical testing, applying regulatory requirements and phase 1-2 clinical trials. He currently is a technical and strategic consultant for immunotherapy and vaccine companies.
With 20 years of experience in developing novel vaccines for cancer, fertility control and infectious diseases, Marc is one of the early developers of Spayvac and later oversaw the implementation of Spayvac in the field with multiple collaborators. Over his career he held various positions of increasing responsibility including Chief Science Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Executive Officer at IMV, publicly traded vaccine development company. He has experience in immunology, immune therapies and vaccine development from design to preclinical testing, applying regulatory requirements and phase 1-2 clinical trials. He currently is a technical and strategic consultant for immunotherapy and vaccine companies.

David Kroeger PhD

Consulting Director of Immunology

An immunologist, Dr. Kroeger brings expertise in vaccinology and antibody technology to SpayVac. Prior to joining Spayvac for Wildlife Inc., Dr. Kroeger directed a lab that generated monoclonal antibodies for research and commercial purposes.
He earned his Ph.D. in immunology from the University of Saskatchewan in 2012, where he focused on mechanisms of immune activation. Following this training, he received postdoctoral training in cancer immunotherapy at the BC Cancer Agency Deeley Centre in Victoria, BC.  Dr. Kroeger will be working on laboratory testing methods, release specifications for vaccines, developing new fertility-control vaccines, and different formulations of current vaccines.

An immunologist, Dr. Kroeger brings expertise in vaccinology and antibody technology to SpayVac. Prior to joining Spayvac for Wildlife Inc., Dr. Kroeger directed a lab that generated monoclonal antibodies for research and commercial purposes. He earned his Ph.D. in immunology from the University of Saskatchewan in 2012, where he focused on mechanisms of immune activation. Following this training, he received postdoctoral training in cancer immunotherapy at the BC Cancer Agency Deeley Centre in Victoria, BC.  Dr. Kroeger will be working on laboratory testing methods, release specifications for vaccines, developing new fertility-control vaccines, and different formulations of current vaccines.

Shannon Johnston

Laboratory Technician and Manager of
Ann Street Laboratory

Shannon has worked in various labs ranging from large corporations to startups.  Shannon has experience in GLP, non-GLP, and GMP lab environments running early drug development studies which she sepcialized in pharmacokinetic drug metabolism studies, creating medical devices, and writing up scientific batch records while in charge of customer cell vial inventories and locations, also working closely with cell culture lab technicians.  Shannon joined the team in May 2023.

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Creating humane fertility control vaccines for animals
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