Nkarta, Inc. announced changes to its leadership team. Nadir Mahmood, Ph.D., will join Nkarta as President this month, sharing executive leadership responsibilities with Paul J. Hastings, who continues in his role as Chief Executive Officer. Additionally, Nkarta has broadened the role of David R. Shook, M.D., to Chief Medical Officer, Head of Research & Development.

Drs. Mahmood and Shook will both report to Mr. Hastings. Nadir Mahmood, Ph.D., was previously the Chief Executive Officer of Rezo Therapeutics, a private-stage drug-discovery company.

Prior to joining Rezo, he served as Chief Financial and Business Officer at Nkarta, where he played a direct role in corporate strategy, including the company?s private and public financings as well as the formation of its in-house manufacturing capabilities. In this newly created role of President, Dr. Mahmood will be responsible for driving the strategic focus, operational excellence and overall business and technical success at Nkarta. He will lead cross-functional activities to guide company-wide strategic alignment and value creation across pipeline programs, technical and business operations and lifecycle planning.

Earlier in his career, Dr. Mahmood led corporate development at Second Genome, where he was responsible for establishing the company?s strategy and partnerships. Previously, he was a staff scientist at Kythera Biopharmaceuticals, where he oversaw preclinical research for the company?s lead molecule, Kybella®. Dr. Mahmood has also worked in equity research at Goldman Sachs and consulted for early-stage companies in the life sciences and clean energy sectors.

He earned a B.S. in biochemistry from the University of Texas at Austin and a Ph.D. in cell regulation from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, and completed postdoctoral research at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, CA. In addition to Dr. Mahmood?s appointment, David R. Shook, M.D., has been promoted to Chief Medical Officer, Head of Research and Development to reflect his newly-designated oversight of the R&D organization ? in addition to his prior responsibilities leading the clinical development, regulatory and translational science functions.

James Trager, Ph.D., Nkarta?s former Chief Scientific Officer, recently transitioned to a special advisory role for the company due to personal family and health reasons.