Kenneth Chahine, Ph.D., J.D., was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer and a Director of Avigen, Inc. in March 2004.  Dr. Chahine joined Avigen in 1998, and served first as Avigen's Vice President, Business Development and Intellectual Property, and then as Chief Operating Officer.  Prior to joining Avigen, he worked at the patent law firm of Madson & Metcalf, P.C. in Salt Lake City from 1994 to 1998.  Between 1992 and 1993, Dr. Chahine worked as a research scientist at Parke-Davis Pharmaceuticals and held a research scientist post at the University of Utah Department of Human Genetics from 1994 to 1996.  Dr. Chahine also served as the western regional news and legal correspondent for Nature Biotechnology for many years.  Dr. Chahine serves on the board of directors of the Lassonde New Venture Development Center at the University of Utah School of Business, and he is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Utah College of Law.  Dr. Chahine holds a J.D. from the University of Utah and a Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology from the University of Michigan.

Andrew A. Sauter was appointed Chief Financial Officer in February 2008, after having served as Vice President, Finance since January 2006. Mr. Sauter joined Avigen as Controller in November 1999. Mr. Sauter oversees the financial reporting obligations of Avigen and its information technology needs. From 1992 to 1999, Mr. Sauter worked for BankAmerica Corporation in a variety of positions, including most recently as a Vice President in the Capital Markets Finance organization. From 1989 to 1992, he worked for Ernst & Young LLP. Mr. Sauter is a certified public accountant and holds a B.A. degree in economics from Claremont McKenna College.

Michael D. Coffee is Chief Business Officer for Avigen. Prior to joining Avigen, Mr. Coffee co-founded the Alekta Group LLC to provide a comprehensive range of pharmaceutical development consulting services to emerging pharmaceutical companies. Previously, Mr. Coffee was president and chief operating officer of Amarin Corporation PLC and Amarin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Prior to that, Mr. Coffee held the position of president and chief operating officer of Elan Pharmaceuticals, North America. Formerly, he was president and chief operating officer of Athena Neurosciences, Inc., and prior to that was executive vice president of commercial operations for Athena. Mr. Coffee received a BS in biology from Siena College and is a board member of Salu, Inc

Christina Thomson, J.D., joined Avigen in February 2000 and was appointed Vice President, Corporate Counsel in June 2004. She has also served as our Chief Compliance Officer since March 2004 and Corporate Secretary since January 2005. Ms. Thomson is a registered patent attorney, and has managed significant growth in Avigen's patent portfolio over the last five years. Ms. Thomson also oversees the company's litigation and administrative patent proceedings, as well as contract administration. Prior to joining Avigen, Ms. Thomson worked as a patent attorney with the law firm Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear LLP in Newport Beach, California, as a patent agent with Madson & Metcalf, P.C. in Salt Lake City, Utah, and as a scientist for Myriad Genetic Laboratories. Ms. Thomson holds a J.D. from the University of Utah College of Law and an M.S. in biology from the University of Utah.

Kirk W. Johnson, Ph.D., is Vice President, Research and Development. Prior to joining Avigen in early 2004, he was senior director, pharmacology and preclinical development and a member of the executive management team of Genesoft Pharmaceuticals. From 1991 through 2001, Dr. Johnson was employed in both protein and small molecule therapeutic R&D at Chiron Corporation and eventually served as director, pharmacology and preclinical research. Dr. Johnson was involved in creating IND-enabling programs and contributing to successful IND and NDA filings at Chiron and Genesoft. Aside from general pharmacology and other preclinical development responsibilities, he has led research and clinical development projects for diverse indications including neuropathic pain, hemophilia, antibacterials, diabetes, obesity, acute inflammation, and cardiovascular disease. Dr. Johnson earned a B.S. in toxicology from the University of California, Davis, and a Ph.D. in pharmacology and toxicology from the Medical College of Virginia. He did postdoctoral fellowships studying the mechanism of action of IL-2 from 1986 to1989 with Dr. Kendall Smith at Dartmouth and from 1990 to 1991 with Dr. Marian Koshland at the University of California, Berkeley. He has published nearly 60 manuscripts and four U.S. patents.