Meet Our Team.
Meet our team of world-class scientists, researchers, and game-changers.
We are based in Carlsbad, California, with partners worldwide.
Sher Butt, CEO / Founder
Sher co-founded CB Therapeutics with a vision for developing scientific thought leadership in fermentation science and cellular agriculture.
His scientific background is supported by his work in pharmaceutical and wellness product companies. Sher holds a BSc in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology from UC Davis and an MBA from the Rady School of Management, UC San Diego.
Thanos Karavokiris, COO
As operations executive, Thanos oversees all of CB Therapeutics’ non-scientific operations. His experience spans over 25 successful years of seeing companies through their mergers, acquisitions, and initial public offerings. Thanos has held high-visibility executive positions in finance and operations for startups, multinationals, and Fortune 500 technology companies.
Jacob Vogan, CSO / Founder
Jacob Vogan is a founder, board member, and the Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) of CB Therapeutics (CBT). Jacob founded the company with Sher to create ethical, sustainable biotechnology products which improve the human condition by addressing mental health, increasing healthspan, and promoting longevity.
Aaron Cantu
Fermentation & Downstream Scientist
Aaron Cantu is a Fermentation and Downstream Scientist at CB Therapeutics. One of Aaron’s professional accomplishments is being a part of the design and development of CB Therapeutics’ current downstream process. As a result, he can utilize his experience with recovering fermentations alongside his industry knowledge.
Erin Scott
Associate Director of Microbiology
Erin has a B.A. in Molecular and Cell Biology and a minor in Spanish from UC Berkeley and a Ph.D. from UC San Diego. As Associate Director of Microbiology, she provides technical leadership in multiple project areas.
She explores the untapped diversity of nature to create new molecules benefitting mental health.
Laura Peiffer
Associate Director of Strain Engineering
Laura Peiffer, Ph.D., is the Associate Director of strain engineering at CB Therapeutics. In her role, she helps advance cellular engineering projects, developing microbial factories to make valuable compounds from low-cost feedstocks. Laura has over ten years of industry experience, engineering a variety of yeasts and bacteria.
Diana Castillo
Laboratory Manager
Diana handles all the details of running our laboratory facility. In her prior laboratory experience, she worked her way from an inexperienced lab assistant to the Laboratory Manager in less than five years. She has molecular biology experience and several professional biotechnology certifications.
Joseph Nunley
Fermentation Technician
Joseph is a fermentation tech at CB Therapeutics, with job duties including setting up, running, and ensuring the completion of the company’s fermentation runs. Joseph is currently majoring in Biology and has previous experience as a student researcher studying microorganisms on ocean plastics.
Phu Khat Nwe
Scientist I - Strain Engineering
Phu Khat received her BA in Chemistry from Albion College and her PhD in Chemical Biology from Yale University. As a scientist I in synthetic biology and strain development, she engineers yeast to produce high value compounds in an efficient and sustainable fashion.