About us

Why Work With Spirovation?

A non-profit affiliated with the Marsico Lung Institute, Spirovation offers its partners access to world class academic leadership and unique research capabilities. We accelerate drug development in respiratory medicine, providing an efficient integration of academic expertise and industry business objectives. 

Spirovation understands capital efficiency. We work with our partners to identify, design and execute joint research activities more efficiently and more strategically so that milestones are met as quickly and efficiently as possible. Our standard and proprietary assays support customized drug discovery and translational medicine to meet the unique needs of small, medium, and large biopharmaceutical companies.

Commitment to Customers

- Alignment of goals, incentives, processes and working practices
- Fast and easy contracting
- Integrated project management across labs
- High quality deliverables
- Cost effective

Scientific Leadership

– State-of-the-art research models, many unique      
– Unrivaled expertise and resources in respiratory medicine
– Full cascade of mechanistic and functional studies from early    screening through Phase 2a clinical trials
– Publication record impacting respiratory science 

Contact us to learn more about working with Spirovation.

Our team

Spirovation's unique model enables our partners to work with world-class academic investigators at UNC's Marsico Lung Institute. This broad-based biomedical research team is organized to provide maximum technical and intellectual support, with a common focus on the rapid “translation” of basic science insights into the clinical patient care arena.

management

Justin T. Brown, PhD

Interim CEO

Justin has spent his career at the intersection of academic institutions and startup companies. Prior to Spirovation, he was responsible for business development and strategic alliances at Sphaera Pharma, a venture-backed biotech. Previously, Justin was a Visiting Scholar of Innovation & Entrepreneurship at UNC, where he was responsible for technology scouting and developing new startup companies.

Justin holds a PhD in Pharmacology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He completed training as an Innovation Fellow in Technology Commercialization & Entrepreneurship at Washington University in St. Louis.

Ray Pickles, PHD

Chief Scientific Officer

Ray is an associate professor of microbiology and immunology at the UNC School of Medicine.  With over 20 years of experience, Ray has deep expertise in respiratory research. His academic lab focuses on respiratory virus infection of the lung.

Ray received his PhD in Pharmacology from the University of Cambridge and conducted postdoctoral work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Board of Advisors

Ric Boucher, MD

Kenan Professor of Medicine, UNC – Chapel Hill 

Director of the UNC Marsico Lung Institute

DAVID B. PEDEN, MD, MS

Professor of Pediatrics, Medicine & Microbiology/Immunology, UNC – Chapel Hill 

Director of UNC’s Center for Environmental Medicine, Asthma, and Lung Biology