State Treasurer Fiona Ma appointed Judy Chou, Ph.D., to the CIRM Board. Dr. Chou will serve as the Executive Officer of a Commercial Life Science entity, replacing Dave Martin.

Dr. Chou is President and CEO of AltruBio, a clinical‑stage biotech company. AltruBio develops antibody therapeutics for immune inflammatory diseases. She also serves on its Board of Directors.

“I am excited to join (CIRM) and use my experience as a scientist and executive to support the development of life‑changing medicines,” Dr. Chou said.

Dr. Chou brings more than 20 years of drug development experience. Before joining AltruBio, she led Bayer Pharmaceuticals’ global Biotech organization. In that role, she oversaw development, manufacturing, and distribution of a product portfolio valued at more than $3 billion. She managed more than 2,000 employees, guided the biologics pipeline, and served as head of Bayer’s Berkeley manufacturing site.

“We are honored to welcome Dr. Chou to the Board,” said Jonathan Thomas, Ph.D., J.D., Chair of the CIRM Board. “Her remarkable career in academia and industry, and her commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, make her an invaluable addition to the ICOC.”

Dr. Chou has also held leadership roles at Pfizer, Medivation, Genentech, and Wyeth. She received the Most Influential Women in Business award from the San Francisco Business Times in 2018. She advises the UC Berkeley College of Engineering and supports diversity and inclusion through her work with Silicon Valley Women in Engineering.

She earned her Ph.D. at Yale, completed postdoctoral training at the Max Planck Institute, and served as research faculty at Harvard Medical School, focusing on cell biology and neuroscience.