Scientific Advisory Board
Xhale is building a world-class Scientific Advisory Board. The Board is led by Dr. Donn Dennis, Xhale co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer.
Donn Dennis, M.D., F.A.H.A., CSO
Dr. Dennis serves as CSO at Xhale. He is a board certified anesthesiologist, and previously served as VP of Pharmacology at ARYx Therapeutics in Fremont, CA.. In addition to his work with Xhale, Dr. Dennis is a professor in the Departments of Anesthesiology, Psychiatry and Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics in the College of Medicine at the University of Florida (U.F.), where he also holds the Joachim S. Gravenstein M.D. Endowed Chair in Anesthesiology. He is also the Director of Nanomedicine at the University of Florida.
Dr. Dennis’ research interests focus on translating fundamental science findings in the areas of cardiovascular biology and nanotechnology into medically useful, commercially viable products (e.g., new chemical entities, nano-based drug delivery systems and sensors). He has a long track record of R&D experience, including co-developing drugs and consulting with several small, medium and large pharmaceutical companies and large biotech and health care venture capital funds. Dr. Dennis has been the recipient or co-recipient of several federal grants in the areas of bionanotechnology and cardiovascular pharmacology, and is a co-inventor on several drug- and bio-nano patent applications. Dr. Dennis has published over 150 full length manuscripts and abstracts in peer reviewed journals and has edited two textbooks. He is also a regular member of NSF Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center (NSEC) site visit teams. Dr. Dennis was recently elected to the Board of Directors of the Foundation for Anesthesia Education & Research FAER). He received his medical degree during 1986 from the University of Michigan.
Hartmut Derendorf, Ph.D.
Dr. Derendorf is Distinguished Professor and Chairman of the Department of Pharmaceutics at the University of Florida College of Pharmacy. Throughout his academic career, Dr. Derendorf has published over 330 scientific publications and given over 650 presentations at national or international meetings. He holds many positions, including as a Fellow, former Secretary, Honorary Regent and past President of ACCP, past President of ISAP, a Fellow of AAPS, and member of APhA, FPA, DPhG, ASCPT, AACP and the FDA Clinical Pharmacology Advisory Committee. He is also one of the editors of the International Journal of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics and Die Pharmazie, and Associate Editor for The Journal of Clinical Pharmacology and the European Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences.
Michael Widlitz, M.D.
Dr. Widlitz served as Vice President of U.S. Medical-Specialty Markets at Pfizer Global Pharmaceuticals, where he managed a product portfolio of 27 brands with annual US product sales of $6.6 billion. He brings world class expertise in the areas of pharmaceutical R&D, regulatory law, CMC issues, biotechnology, and reimbursement issues. Dr. Widlitz is currently a board member of National Board of CancerCare and the American Academy of Pharmaceutical Physicians. He earned his B.A. with distinction from the University of Michigan, and an M.D. from George Washington University of School of Medicine. He later completed a residency in otolaryngology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and became Board Certified by the American Board of Otolaryngology.