About Us

Dr. Waldman is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Veradermics. Under his stewardship, he has positioned Veradermics for rapid growth by implementing a differentiated strategy centered on advancing first-in-class therapeutics for under-innovated markets in aesthetics and dermatology. He has also successfully led the company through four equity financings, raising proceeds of more than $113M, and has advanced Veradermics lead asset, VDPHL, a non-hormonal oral therapeutic for androgenetic alopecia into Phase 3 trials.

Dr. Waldman is a board-certified dermatologist with more than 10 years of clinical experience. Prior to founding Veradermics, Dr. Waldman was a prolific researcher authoring more than 100 publications including a textbook titled, “Dermatology for the Primary Care Provider.” He has been the recipient of numerous accolades including the American Academy of Dermatology’s “Excellence in Patient Care” award. He earned his BA and his MD degrees from the University of Missouri-Kansas City 6 Year BA/MD Program and completed his dermatology residency with a “Distinction in Clinical Trials” at the University of Connecticut.

Dr. Durso is the President of Veradermics heading research and development for the company. Dr. Durso is a board-certified dermatologist by training with more than 10 years of clinical experience.

In four years of development, he has successfully advanced the company from ideas on paper into clinical testing for two assets: VDPHL, a non-hormonal oral therapeutic for the treatment of pattern hair loss in a first-in-human trial, and VDMN, an immunostimulatory dissolvable microarray for the treatment of warts in a 150-subject Phase 2 clinical trial. In the same time span, he has also led advancement of the remainder of the company’s portfolio, three additional programs, to a near-clinical stage of pre-clinical development.

Dr. Durso is a recognized expert in innovation for both drug and device domains within the field of dermatology having authored a number of peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on a variety of subjects. He has also been awarded national recognition for his work including being named a Resident of Distinction by the DermMentors Foundation and a past Grand Prize Winner of MIT Hacking Dermatology. His educational background includes a BS degree magna cum laude from the University of Notre Dame and his MD degree summa cum laude from Loyola University Chicago.

Dominic Carrano is the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Veradermics, with over 15 years of experience in financial leadership, technical accounting, and strategic planning in the life sciences sector. He leads the company’s financial strategy and operations to support growth and execution.

Prior to becoming CFO, Mr. Carrano served as Vice President of Finance at Veradermics, where he oversaw financial operations and financing activities. Before that, he was Vice President of Finance and Controller at Rallybio Corporation, where he led financial operations and played a key role in the company’s IPO execution, follow-on offering, and ongoing SEC compliance.

Mr. Carrano began his career at Deloitte & Touche LLP and later held financial leadership roles at Alexion Pharmaceuticals, focusing on SEC reporting and technical accounting.

He holds both a MS and a BS in Accounting from the University of Connecticut and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Michael Murphy is Vice President of Project and Program Management, Business Technology and Chief of Staff to the Chief Executive Officer at Veradermics.​

Mr. Murphy has over 25 years of experience encompassing nearly every element of the drug development process. At Pfizer he started in the Clinical organization, working in several therapeutic areas overseeing clinical studies, before moving to Project Management, controlling multiple programs and managing project managers. He designed and implemented the portfolio and operations processes for the out-licensing function before returning to clinical operations, governance, and development optimization efforts as Head of Governance Management. During his tenure, he has worked on programs from lead development to sNDA, and has worked on multiple regulatory filings in the U.S. and abroad.

​​Mr. Murphy was Vice President, Project Management Lead for the Complement program and Head of Business Technology at Rallybio, among other duties. He has provided development-enabling consulting services as Principal/Managing Director of P3M U.S., LLC, serving small and mid-size biopharmaceutical organizations.

​Mr. Murphy is a pharmacist by training and holds a Master’s in Pharmacy Administration from the University of Rhode Island.

Aron Shapiro is the Vice President of Clinical Development and Regulatory Affairs at Veradermics. Mr. Shapiro has over 25 years of clinical development, clinical operations, and global regulatory strategy experience providing oversight across small and large molecule, as well as medical device programs. In his most recent roles at Ora, a leading ophthalmology CRO, Mr. Shapiro served as Therapeutic Area Head, leading clinical development and regulatory strategy, Chief Commercial Officer, overseeing all business development and sales activities, and managed the company’s investments and strategic partnerships.

Mr. Shapiro currently serves on the Board of Directors for Kiora Pharmaceuticals, an ophthalmic specialty pharmaceutical company. He received his BS degree in Biochemistry from Bates College.

Dr. Smolinski is the Vice President of Development and Scientific Operations of Veradermics. He has more than 15 years of experience in drug discovery and pharmaceutical development primarily in the topical and oral space.

Dr. Smolinski served as Chief Scientific Officer at Athenex where he managed drug discovery, nonclinical operations, CMC, and intellectual property. During his time there he was involved in advancing over 10 investigational drugs into clinical studies, primarily in the oncology space. Several of these products had proceeded to NDA for which he was responsible for all nonclinical, CMC, and intellectual property matters. Klisyri (tirbanibulin), a compound he had participated in the discovery of and worked on developing throughout his career at Athenex, was approved by the FDA and EMA for the topical treatment of actinic keratosis.

Dr. Smolinski received his BS magna cum laude in Medicinal Chemistry and PhD in Chemistry from the University at Buffalo. He completed a postdoc at The Scripps Research Institute where he focused on drug discovery for kinases and GPCRs.

Brian Cudney is the Vice President of Quality at Veradermics. Mr. Cudney has over 25 years of product development, quality operations, and global regulatory strategy experience across several application types and product classes, as well as medical device and combination programs.

Mr. Cudney was previously Director of Regulatory Affairs for Cardinal Health, where he focused on CMC development and worked with companies from early phases of development through the execution of global post-approval change management strategies.

​Mr. Cudney received his BS degree in Chemistry from Ball State University and MBA from the University of Connecticut.

Karl Pruss is the Senior Director of Manufacturing Sciences and Technology of Veradermics. He brings over 30 years of pharmaceutical expertise encompassing analytical, formulation development, technical operations, and project management with an emphasis on early clinical to commercial manufacturing and outsourcing.

​Mr. Pruss has worked at large industry leaders such as Johnson & Johnson, GlaxoSmithKline, and Sanofi as well as smaller innovative companies such as Elan, Athenex, and NeuroTrauma Sciences and is skilled with a variety of pharmaceutical processes and equipment.

​Mr. Pruss received his BS in Chemistry from DeSales University and an MS in Pharmaceutical Manufacturing from Stevens Institute of Technology.

Barbara Szymaszek is the Director, Clinical Operations at Veradermics and brings over 30 years of clinical operations experience in the pharmaceutical industry and academia. She is highly experienced in the execution of Phase 1-4 clinical trials, with extensive focus on large global Phase 2/3 programs.
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Prior to joining Veradermics, Ms. Szymaszek held a variety of leadership roles including Asset Lead in Immunology and Inflammation at Pfizer, where she supervised vendors and oversaw clinical trial execution in key assets for indications such as eczema, alopecia, psoriatic arthritis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, Crohn’s disease, and colitis. She also led various clinical operations teams and process enhancements at Bristol-Myers Squibb in a variety of roles including Protocol Manager, Lead Site Manager, Recruitment and Analytics Lead, and Advocacy Lead. She has managed clinical trials across many therapeutic areas, including dermatology, CNS, oncology, virology, and rare diseases such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Prior to joining the pharmaceutical industry, Ms. Szymaszek worked as a Study Coordinator and Recruitment Lead at UC Irvine, and the Veteran’s Administration hospital in Brecksville, OH. As a Study Coordinator, she managed clinical research projects and clinical trials for serious and persistent psychiatric indications such as schizophrenia and bipolar disease. She holds a BSW degree from University of Texas, Austin.

Erika Sipperly, the Controller at Veradermics, is a seasoned accounting professional specializing in the life sciences industry. With a strong foundation in financial reporting, budgeting, and compliance, she has supported the growth and operational excellence of biotech and pharmaceutical companies.

Prior to joining Veradermics, Ms. Sipperly spent over 10 years at Alexion Pharmaceuticals, now an AstraZeneca company. She held expanding roles in the corporate accounting function including management of close processes, gross to net revenue recognition, research and development, employee compensation, and SEC reporting.

​Ms. Sipperly holds a BS in Accounting from Bryant University and is a licensed Certified Public Accountant in the state of Connecticut.

Brian Trautman is Director, Program Management at Veradermics and has more than 15 years of industry experience in the drug development space spanning scientific, management, and consulting roles. He brings an engineering-based approach to program and project management that relies on adaptability and collaboration when planning, managing risk, making decisions, and solving problems.

​Prior to joining Veradermics, Mr. Trautman built his career advancing and managing the development of innovative dry powder and liquid inhalation therapies at Pulmatrix and Moderna, and leading CMC and global clinical supply initiatives on oral drug products at Athenex. He is a recognized leader accomplished in managing multidisciplinary teams and activities on highly visible, fast-paced programs.

​Mr. Trautman holds a BS in Biomedical Engineering from Boston University.

Dr. Lindemann is a Senior Clinical Trial Project Manager at Veradermics, and has several years of experience in clinical development and clinical operations across multiple therapeutic areas and phases of clinical development.

Dr. Lindemann is a pharmacist by training and prior to joining the industry worked in the ambulatory care setting and drove innovative academic research at her alma mater. She has built her career in the pharmaceutical industry through a cross-functional post-doctoral fellowship followed by building her expertise in clinical operations as a trial manager. She is a recognized project manager and is accomplished in managing multidisciplinary teams and driving the achievement of critical milestones on high visibility projects.

Dr. Lindemann received her PharmD from University of the Pacific, Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy and her BS in Animal Science with a minor in Human Physiology from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

Ali Khan is the Manager of Clinical Trial Recruitment at Veradermics, where he oversees subject recruitment and site engagement initiatives across multiple clinical trials. Mr. Khan is responsible for developing and implementing robust training programs, optimizing screening processes, and maintaining close collaboration with clinical sites to ensure efficient, compliant enrollment processes.

​Since joining Veradermics, Mr. Khan has helped streamline recruitment workflows and has played a key role in implementing process improvements that enhance candidate quality and site satisfaction.

Prior to Veradermics, Mr. Khan has had forays into renewable energy, veterinary medicine, children’s education, and healthcare data analytics. He is a proud graduate of the University of Connecticut.