Explorers at heart: Our team
At Snow Canyon Therapeutics, we’re focused on discovering new frontiers that have yet to be explored. We build on the work of previous scientists and researchers, acknowledging their contributions to our field.
Located in the southwestern corner of Utah, “Snow Canyon” is a region where three distinct geological areas converge: the Colorado Plateau, the Great Basin, and the Mojave Desert. Like this convergence, our team is composed of researchers and thought leaders from various sectors, such as science, healthcare, and industry. Inspired by the unique beauty of Snow Canyon, we chose its name to symbolize the power of diverse environments coming together to create something remarkable.
MANAGING TEAM
David Blackwell
CEO
David Kooyman, PhD
CSO, Inventor of Technology
BOARD MEMBERS
Don Watkins
Chair
Robert Mitchell
Michael Wiley
ADVISORS
David Bearss
Jason Hansen
Merritt Andrus
Dave Thomson
William Smith
David Blackwell III
CEO and Co-founder of Snow Canyon Therapeutics
Mr. Blackwell has served as CEO since the inception of Snow Canyon Therapeutics. He has sixteen years of experience in product development, product management, manufacturing, and marketing. He began in outdoor athletic equipment and was co-creator of a brand line of outdoor gear that has procured several million in sales since 2010. He has worked as Product Director for two companies and was CEO of three successful startups. He has a BS in Manufacturing Engineering and an MBA in Marketing and Strategy from Brigham Young University.
David Kooyman, PhD
CSO and Inventor of Technology
Dr. Kooyman has been a Professor at Brigham Young University in the Physiology and Developmental Biology Department since 1997. His research focuses on identifying and characterizing molecular activities common to pathways of osteoarthritis cartilage degeneration. He has been honored with multiple awards from Brigham Young, including the Outstanding Faculty Award 2013-14, the Faculty Distinguished Service Award 2015 College of Life Sciences, the Abraham O. Smoot University Citizenship Award 2016, and the Thomas S. Martin Professorship 2020 (the highest award given by the BYU College of Life Sciences).
Dr. Kooyman has over 60 peer-reviewed publications. He served as Department Chair of the Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences from 2000-2001 and as Associate Dean from 2001-2003 for the College of Biology and Agriculture. Before Brigham Young University, he worked as Scientist and Senior Scientist at DNX and Nextran, companies operating in organ transplant technology. He received his BS and MS from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, in Animal Science, and his PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Ohio.
Don Watkins
Chairman
Dixie State Faculty, Hand-Stands, Operation Smile Chairman
Robert Mitchell
N8 Medical, Vesteck Chairman, American Holdings Chairman
Michael Wiley
Culmination Bio, Guardant Health, Voyage Medical
Jason Hansen, PhD
Dr. Hansen is a Cell Biology and Physiology Professor. His research focuses on better understanding the role of oxidative stress in congenital disabilities utilizing various experimental methods. He has over a hundred peer-reviewed articles and has authored multiple book chapters on the mechanisms of oxidative damage, protection from reactive oxygen species, and related topics.
Dr. Hansen’s background as an expert on NRF-2 and redox regulation will be a valuable resource aiding Snow Canyon Therapeutics in product development. He earned a BS from BYU in 1994, an MS in Zoology-Physiology and Developmental Biology from BYU in 1997, and a PhD in toxicology from the University of Michigan in 2001.
Merritt B. Andrus, PhD
Dr. Andrus is a Professor of Organic Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Brigham Young University. He is also affiliated with the Simmons Center for Cancer Research at BYU. Previously he worked as an assistant professor at Purdue University.
Dr. Andrus’s research focuses on organic chemistry, intending to treat disastrous prevalent diseases. He has developed methods for synthesizing biologically active natural products with unique structures and the potential for combinatorial library construction and screening. His proficiency in producing organic and metallo-organic compounds will be a considerable asset in advising Snow Canyon Therapeutics’ pharmaceutical portfolio production.
He earned a BS from BYU in 1986, completed his Ph.D. at the University of Utah in 1991, and worked from 1991-1993 at Harvard University as a postdoctoral fellow for the National Institute of Health.
William Smith, JD
Mr. Smith has been the VIP of IP for Guardant Health for the last six years. Guardant Health is working in cancer research, emphasizing immunology, molecular biology, pharmaceuticals, and diagnostics. Mr. Smith’s skills in patent prosecution, licensing, and strategic portfolio planning have been widely sought and have benefitted a diverse roster of clients, including Protein Design Labs, Affymax, Affymetrix, GenPharm, Pharming, and Geron, as well as several multi-national healthcare companies.
Previously, He was VP of Legal Affairs and General Counsel at Fluidigm Corporation (now Standard BioTools). He has served as corporate counsel for DNAX Research Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology and as co-chairman of the Biotechnology Transfer Committee of the Licensing Executives Society. Mr. Smith received a JD and an MPA from the University of Southern California and a BA in biology from the University of California, San Diego.
