Frank Tufaro
Senior Advisor

As a Senior Advisor of Tungsten, Frank brings experience from academia, start-ups, and public companies.
Frank was previously the COO of Theriva Biologics (NASDAQ: TOVX) and has had several executive roles in other biotech start-ups as well as public companies.
Frank started his career as a full professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver, Canada prior to moving into industry.
Frank’s work at UBC focused on cancer gene therapy, where he discovered the function of key members of the Exostosin (EXT) gene family involved in hereditary bone tumors in children as well as certain cancers.
Frank left UBC to start and serve as CSO and then CEO of an oncolytic virus company, which was the first to clinic with herpes simplex virus for treating brain tumors.
After a successful sale of the company, Frank continued as founder/CEO of several virus-based companies and was instrumental in their sale to corporates.
Frank also serves as a Director on the Board of several biotech companies in the areas of oncolytic viruses and vaccines and continues to advise companies on business and product development strategy.

EDUCATION + CERTIFICATION

BSc in Cell and Molecular Biology from McGill University.
Ph.D. in Development Biology, McGill University.
Postdoctoral fellowship: Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center (Seattle) and Carnegie Institution of Washington (Baltimore) with Dr. Steve McKnight.

Frank TufaroSenior Advisor