Our Team

Nate Stasko, PH.D.
Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Stasko is a leader in the development of drug and therapeutic devices that target immunomodulation and the elimination of pathogens on epithelial surfaces.  He is an inventor on over 100 international patent filings, leading to the realization of two commercial therapies. Previously Dr. Stasko served as President & CEO of Novan, Inc. from inception through a successful initial public offering to become a NASDAQ listed company in 2016. His decade of leadership in the development of the berdazimer drug substance ultimately led to the FDA approval of the first Nitric Oxide-based drug in dermatology (Zelsuvmi™ – 2024).   He served as the Principal Investigator on 10 federally funded projects under which Novan successfully scaled berdazimer from academic bench top experiment to commercial scale and was nationally recognized as a Tibbetts Award Winner for Excellence in Small Business Innovation Research.

Paul Bruinenberg, M.D., MBA
Chief Medical Officer

Dr. Bruinenberg has over 30 years’ experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. He brings a wealth of respiratory infectious disease experience researching rare diseases like cystic fibrosis (CF), non-CF bronchiectasis (NCFB), tuberculosis (TB) and non-tuberculosis mycobacteria (NTM).  His career includes development of several inhaled therapies including the approval of Pulmozyme® as the first mucolytic for CF as well as the early development of inhaled liposomal ciprofloxacin for the treatment of chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections.  Most recently, Dr. Bruinenberg served as the Senior Medical Officer of the TB Alliance leading clinical development against mycobacterial infections. Previously, he held medical leadership roles at Eagle Pharmaceuticals, Aradigm Corporation, Astellas and Roche, having a key role in the development and approval of 12 new drugs (Pulmozyme®, Pretomanid®, Globocef®, Rocephin®, Quinodis® Bosentan®, Xolair®, CellCept®, Zenapax®, Belrapzo®, Bendeka®, and Ryanodex®). Dr. Bruinenberg is a graduate of the medical school of the University of the Stellenbosch, South Africa and obtained two MBAs from the University of Nijenrode in the Netherlands and Rochester University in the USA.

Stan Hollenbach
Vice President of Translational Science

Stan Hollenbach has over 30 years of experience in biotechnology industry, entirely focused on nonclinical development activities required to get compounds into the clinic and support FDA approval. He has built and established multiple programs with extensive capacity to evaluate the pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, toxicology, and efficacy profile of new therapeutic agents in multiple large and small animal species. Most recently at Ambys Medicines, he served as Senior Vice President of Pharmacology. Stan previously held positions at Novan, Portola Pharmaceuticals, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, COR Therapeutics, and Genentech, where he has participated in the advancement of seven successful development programs that have reached NDA status (including Bevyxxa®, Integrilin®, Zelsuvmi™, Acova™, kinase inhibitors, and thrombolytic agents).

John Simons, PH.D.
Vice President of Product Development

​John Simons is an accomplished, quality-oriented product development scientist with a history of leadership and achievement in the pharmaceutical industry. Dr. Simons has extensive experience with project/laboratory leadership in GMP-compliant laboratories and working on new drugs for local pulmonary delivery. His efforts have seen 5 products come to market (Proventil HFA, QVAR®, Dulera®, AirDuo RespiClick®, and ArmonAir RespiClick®).  He is passionate about improving operational and process efficiencies within cross-functional teams and laboratories to ensure quality drug products are developed which meet both regulatory standards and business objectives.

Stephen DeCherney, M.D., M.P.H.
Board of Directors

Stephen DeCherney is the Co-Founder and Chairman of Helios Clinical Research and a Professor of Medicine in the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Prior to his faculty clinical appointment, Dr. DeCherney served in a number of positions at Quintiles Transnational Corp (now IQVIA) including President of Global Clinical Research and Chief Innovation Officer. Prior to Quintiles, he held research positions at the National Institute of Health as well as management roles in the Christiana Care Health Systems in Wilmington, Delaware. In addition, he serves on the board of KNOW Bio, LLC, Pharm-Olam CRO, and as an advisor to Grant Avenue Capital.

Mark Scheonfisch, PH.D.
Board of Directors

​Dr. Schoenfisch, Board Member and Founder of Vast, is the Peter A. Ornstein Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) where he has led a dynamic research program in the field of nitric oxide for over 20 years. He is jointly appointed in the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy (Division of Pharmacoengineering and Molecular Pharmaceutics) and UNC School of Medicine. He previously co-founded Novan, Inc., a dermatology company pioneering nitric oxide-releasing treatments containing berdazimer, the active pharmaceutical ingredient he invented at UNC.  His chemistry led to the FDA approval of ZELSUVMI™ as a first-in-class medication for the treatment of molluscum contagiosum (January 2024).  Dr. Schoenfisch has published over 150 peer-reviewed articles on nitric oxide-related technologies and continues to develop small and large molecule scaffolds that store and release nitric oxide for drug delivery and disease management applications.

Chuck Swoboda
Board of Directors

Chuck Swoboda joined Vast in January 2021 after more than 25 years at Cree, Inc, where he helped lead the company from $6 million in revenue to over $1.6 billion. During his 16 years as CEO, Chuck was named Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year for the Carolinas while Cree was recognized as MIT Technology Review’s 50 Smartest Companies for 2014 and as one of Fast Company’s World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies in 2015. Chuck currently serves on the board of KnowBio LLC, Equity Distribution Acquisition Corp, Vesper Technologies, and Lonerider Brewing Company.