C-Path’s Commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Respect

Cole Ayasse, Ph.D., is a Clinical Outcome Assessment Scientist at Critical Path Institute with four years of experience in patient-centered outcomes and 14 years of experience in research and analysis. He is active in disability advocacy and in patient-led community networks. They work to bring all their relevant experience to the table when planning or discussing research, and to promote research practices that center living experiences.

Alex is the Assistant Director of Communications at C-Path. With a diverse background that includes to startups and an association, he brings a wide array or marketing and communications skills to the team, with specialties in writing, website management, and event marketing. Outside of C-Path he can be found with his wife, two kids, three dogs and cat, or on the rugby pitch.

Dr. Sorin Fedeles is Executive Director of the Polycystic Kidney Disease Outcomes Consortium (PKDOC) at the Critical Path Institute. Prior to C-Path, Sorin was a scientist and faculty member at Yale University School of Medicine where he led a program focused on identifying new targets and pharmacological avenues for the treatment of Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease, the most common genetic cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD). His previous work has led to publications as first/senior author in Nature Genetics, Journal of Clinical Investigation, JASN, etc., multiple grants from DoD, NIH, and the PKD Foundation (~$7.2+ million out of which ~$5 million as Principal Investigator), and two method-of-use patents. His academic responsibilities included leading research staff, writing grants/manuscripts, budget oversight, teaching, serving as a peer-reviewer on grants and journal submissions, and disseminating research via national/international conferences.

Sorin brings with him understanding of the drug development process, including preclinical research and clinical trials, cross-functional leadership, and expert knowledge of genetic kidney disorders, as well as a passion for identifying new drug development tools that can improve medical care for those living with PKD. Finally, as part of his business training,  Sorin worked in academic technology transfer (as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence/Blavatnik Fellow; co-founded an academic start-up, TargetSite Therapeutics), pharma business development (Boehringer-Ingelheim), and venture capital (Vida Ventures Fellow).

Sorin obtained his undergraduate degree at Hampshire College, followed by a Masters, PhD, and MBA from Yale University. He remains affiliated with Yale University as an Assistant Professor (Adjunct).

Dr. Smith Heavner, PhD, RN (he/they) serves as Senior Scientific Director of the CURE Drug Repurposing Collaboratory. He earned his PhD in Applied Health Research and Evaluation from Clemson University in 2021 and completed a one-year post-graduate training in clinical trial design and analysis at Harvard Medical School in 2023. As a nurse, Dr. Heavner specializes in critical care and emergency medicine with more than ten years of clinical experience and is an active member of the Society for Critical Care Medicine including serving on the core committee of the Discovery Network VIRUS COVID-19 Registry and the Data Outcomes and Definitions Workgroup. Dr. Heavner is a mixed methods evaluation scientist with expertise in dissemination and implementation science, informatics, real world data, and regulatory science. They hold two adjunct faculty appoints in the Department of Public Health Sciences at Clemson University and the Department of Biomedical Sciences at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville.

Mr. King has held several roles during his tenure at C-Path. In 2010, he joined C-Path as a project manager for the Predictive Safety Testing Consortium (PSTC). As project manager and senior project manager, Mr. King managed projects within PSTC for several working groups, including the Hepatotoxicity, Pancreatic Injury, Skeletal Muscle Injury and Vascular Injury. He was promoted to scientific program manager and associate director for the Translational and Safety Sciences Program. In these roles, Mr. King provided input on regulatory science and analytical considerations for drug development tools and operations and logistics across the program. Since joining C-Path, Mr. King has contributed to more than 10 Letters of Support for safety biomarkers; co-chaired sessions at the PSTC Annual Workshop, the Society of Toxicology Annual Meeting, and the PSTC Japan Safety Biomarker Conference; and published articles on safety biomarkers. Mr. King’s graduate studies comprised research on cardiac and skeletal muscle physiology and mechanics. Prior to graduate school, Mr. King served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in West African country Cape Verde.

Julie is the Director of Human Resources at C-Path. Julie is a performance-driven Senior HR Strategist with over 15 years’ experience and substantial success in directing large-scale HR operations in public and private sector environments. She applies clear direction, develops, and manages HR systems and programs, and recruits and retains key talent. Julie streamlines operations to cut costs and enhance efficiency, designs, and delivers customized programs, and uses a data-driven approach to support sound decision-making. She leverages innovative thinking to solve problems and manage conflict, promotes fairness, and develops collaboration at team and organizational level. Julie inspires teams to success and is committed to enhancing the capabilities of organizations and employees.

Kristen Swingle is responsible for the daily operations of the organization as well as developing and implementing C-Path’s strategy and goals. She manages the organization’s finances, human resources, facilities, communications, information technology, and personnel.

Before joining C-Path, Mrs. Swingle served as Vice President of Operations for CBR, a part of California Cryobank Life Sciences, where she oversaw stem cell manufacturing and quality operations and served as the site head for the Tucson facility which houses a stem cell laboratory, cryobank, and call center operations. She brings nearly two decades’ worth of experience in the medical and molecular sciences industry to bear in her role as Chief Operating Officer and President. Additionally, she has served as AZ Bio Board of Directors Chairwoman for nearly five years and is a member of Women Business Leaders of the U.S. Health Care Industry Foundation.

Swingle holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Northern Arizona University and a Master of Science, Medical Sciences from Texas A&M University.

Tora is C-Path’s SharePoint and Teams Administrator, and possesses a proven ability to collaborate with upper management, communicating, planning, developing, and implementing strategic direction. She is recognized for digitizing processes and procedures, is an articulate and refined communicator, is proficient in forging and nurturing professional relationships with clients and customers, as well as colleagues. Tora possesses a proven success in planning, setting, managing, and controlling project deliverables and operational objectives.

Rebecca “Becky” Yuan is C-Path’s Chief of Staff. Becky is an entrepreneurial and proactive senior professional with strengths in Investor Relations, Operational Management, Team Leadership, and Process Improvement. Known for an ability to lead small to large scale projects while executing sound strategic decisions. Excellent interpersonal skills and proven ability to build relationships and achieve consensus. Possessing a noted track record of driving efficiency and aligning people, processes and resources to unlock excellence throughout the organization, Becky is a valued member of the C-Path team.