Moonwalk Team

John Liles is VP of Biology and Translational Science at Moonwalk Biosciences, Inc. He has been a drug discovery biologist for more than 17 years and has held research leadership positions across several therapeutic areas. John has experience advancing novel therapeutics from target validation through late-stage development. Prior to joining Moonwalk, John was the Executive Director of Kidney Disease Research Strategy at Chinook Therapeutics (acquired by Novartis in 2023). John also served as Director of Biology at Gilead Sciences, Inc. where he was lead biologist and cross-functional project team leader for research programs into Phase 2/3 development, and significantly contributed to 5 INDs for liver, kidney, lung and cardiovascular diseases. He also delivered key scientific support for approved cardiovascular and anti-inflammatory drugs.

John earned his Ph.D. in pharmacology from Tulane University, where he studied pathways related to cardiovascular function and regulation. He later completed post-doctoral training at the National Research Council focused on pulmonary mechanics and real-time in vivo measurements. He has published >25 research papers focused on pharmacology, pathophysiology and novel therapeutics, and is co-author on 3 patents related to the treatment of liver and cardiovascular diseases.