Discover Climb
Request a demo

About
RockStep Solutions

RockStep’s Leadership Team is driven by their passion for saving lives through helping streamline pharmaceutical research, bringing treatments to market faster.

Meet the people who make Climb rock.

RockStep Solutions leaders

Board of Directors and Advisors

Our Scientific Advisory Board

Our Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) provides strategic guidance and direction for Climb, guiding and prioritizing ongoing R&D investments into the solution. The SAB is comprised of leaders across the life sciences industry who have made significant contributions to the ways in which technology can transform early-stage research.  

Amy Salem, Ph.D

Associate Director Animal Welfare Operations and Training at Merck

Previous: Associate Director Regulatory Affairs, University of Pennsylvania.
Board Member: Amy’s scientific career and experience in research animal welfare bring the unique perspective of how lab software systems need to work with animal care workflows, and regulatory compliance.

Nick Ventresca

SVP, Information Technology and Chief Information Officer at Seres Therapeutics

Previous: Sr. VP IT & CIO Charles River, VP Pfizer, CTO Life Biosciences
Board Member: With his experience in CROs, big Pharma, and Biotech, Nick has deep experience in IT infrastructure across all industry segments.

Tushar Menon, Ph.D

Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Program and Portfolio Management | Genetic / Nucleic Acid Therapies

Previous: Postdoctoral Fellow, Salk Institute for Biomedical Studies
Board Member: Tushar brings a deep scientific background, extensive experience in managing a portfolio of assets at Vertex, and advisory experience in the startup community to RockStep’s advisory board. His current work with the Nex3 accelerator in San Diego ensures that he has his fingers on the pulse of the startup community.

Arthur Hubbs

Corporate Sr. VP, IT, and CIO of Charles River Laboratories

Previous: VP R&D Informatics, Pfizer.
Board Member: Arthurs extensive background in biopharmaceutical companies and CROs provides a unique understanding how both sides of the CRO/customer relationship work. As an IT visionary, Arthur helps guide RockStep’s product direction and business focus.

Rainer Fuchs, Ph.D.

Chief Information Officer, Harvard Medical School

Previous: President, Provasculon.
Board Member: Rainer is a visionary and often invited keynote speaker industry conferences. Rainer’s experience in biopharma and academia brings dual perspectives to RockStep’s strategic planning sessions.

Jeff Warhaft

Head of IT at Zealand Pharma

Previous: Director of IT, Biogen, Boston Biomedical.
Board Member: Jeff has deep knowledge of how IT systems and business value intersect to transform research. Jeff brings the perspective how software systems, like Climb, fit into the informatics ecosystems of high throughput drug discovery workflows.

Szczepan W. Baran, MS, VMD

Chief Barks & Purrs Officer at Tech4Pets  Founder & CEO of the Veterinary Innovation Center (VIC) 

Research Associate at KU Leuven

Previous: Head of Emerging Technologies at Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research; Chief Scientific Officer at VeriSIM Life; President, Veterinary Bioscience Institute
Board Member: Dr. Baran brings rare end-to-end expertise across nonclinical and clinical development, blending veterinary science, AI innovation, and regulatory strategy. As a founder and digital transformation leader, he offers deep insight into translational research, biosimulation, and how technology can accelerate and streamline R&D across the life sciences.

Originally funded by the NIH, RockStep works in collaboration with industry leaders to design and develop Climb – an innovative, cloud software solution that streamlines in vivo workflows and ensures robust, high-integrity preclinical study data to accelerate time to clinical trial.

Linkedin-in Youtube
Quick links
Resources
CONTACT

844.800.7625

48 Free Street
Portland, ME
04101

On the path to modernizing your in vivo lab?

TAKE THE CLIMB

(c) Copyright RockstepTM 2025 - All Rights Reserved