Mike West, PhD

Mike West is the CEO of AgeX Therapeutics. AgeX is a subsidiary of BioTime that is focused on the development and commercialization of novel therapeutics targeting human aging. Dr. West has been on the Board of Directors at BioTime since 2002 and is now co-CEO of this company too. Were this not enough, he is a Director of Asterias Biotherapeutics, another of BioTime’s subsidiary companies.

Dr. West’s current work builds on several decades of experience in biotechnology research. After graduating with a Ph.D. in the biology of cellular aging from Baylor College of Medicine in 1989, he founded Geron in 1990. At Geron, Dr. West coordinated the first collaborative effort to isolate human embryonic stem cells for use in regenerative medicine. Geron also did research on telomerase, working with Thomas Cech (winner of the 1989 Nobel Prize in Chemistry) to clone a part of the telomerase enzyme. And Cech wasn’t the only of Dr. West’s decorated recruits, for Geron’s Scientific and Clinical Advisory Board included three (!) Nobel Laureates including James Watson, co-discoverer of the structure of DNA.

Dr. West’s work in this space continued as he transitioned to a role as CEO, President, and Chief Scientific Officer of Advanced Cell Technology (now the Astellas Institute for Regenerative Medicine), where he dedicated his time to developing cutting-edge human stem cell technologies for use in regenerative medicine.