Joanna Stanicka, Ph.D., is scientific co-founder, IP inventor and CEO of Axonis Therapeutics, Inc., a pioneering biotech company developing first-in-class therapies to treat unmet neurological needs. A Harvard-trained expert with 15+ years in biochemistry and neuroscience, she has multidisciplinary training in genetics, biochemistry, cell biology and neuroscience and is passionate about inventing and developing breakthrough therapies for incurable neurological diseases. She leads Axonis with a laser-focused vision to make KC22 drugs a reality for patients.  

Since Joanna took on the CEO role at Axonis in 2019, the company has received non-dilutive funding of ~$8.7M, including grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)  the Department of Defense (DoD). She raised $34M+ in dilutive seed funding and in 2024 led the company to a $115M Series A raise co-led by Cormorant Asset Management and venBio Partners. She also established the company’s operations, R&D strategy and co-invented its 5 patents.

Joanna initially joined Axonis as Chief Scientific Officer, following twelve years studying cell growth, cell death and repair signaling pathways in various disease models, including cancer and CNS. Prior to Axonis, she did postdoctoral research in the lab of Prof. Zhigang He at Harvard Medical School, where she applied her prior cancer/growth signaling knowledge to develop novel strategies for neuroregeneration and neuroprotection after CNS injury.

Six months after joining Axonis, Joanna was promoted to CEO to fulfill her vision of building a neuro-focused company to transform the therapeutic landscape and improve the quality of lives for people living with chronic neurological disorders. She established a new R&D program developing a small molecule treatment that potentiates KCC2 function. She expanded the company’s portfolio by adding her own inventions from Dr. Zhigang’s lab, a library of disease targets that includes novel inhibitors of neurodegeneration.

Joanna completed her undergraduate studies at University College Cork, and was the recipient of the Irish Cancer Society Research Scholarship to support her graduate work. Three years later she earned a Ph.D. degree in Cancer Biology at University College Cork and then undertook postdoctoral research work in Cell Biology. She has also been awarded the Golden Tickets/Innovation Prizes from Boehringer Ingelheim and Astellas Pharma and the Massachusetts Next Generation Award for woman-CEO in life sciences.