FOUNDERS
David A. Baker, Ph.D.
Co-Founder
David Baker cofounded Promentis Pharmaceuticals in 2007 and currently serves on the Scientific Advisory Board. Dr. Baker is also Professor and Associate Chair in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at Marquette University. He previously served as a postdoctoral fellow at the Medical University of South Carolina in the laboratory of Peter Kalivas, Ph.D. Dr. Baker earned his Ph.D. at Arizona State University and his B.S. at Montana State University, working in the laboratories of Dr. Janet Neisewander and Dr. Michael Babcock, respectively. He has had an active research career examining the neurobiological basis of diseases of the brain. Since 2001, his research has focused on identifying novel therapeutic targets capable of normalizing brain circuitry that underlies compulsive disorders. During this time, Dr. Baker pioneered research implicating System XC– as a key component of pathological glutamate signaling; work that served as the scientific basis for Promentis Pharmaceuticals. His achievements have been featured in the Marquette Magazine cover story (Winter 2009 issue) “Searching for a Cure for the Brain’s Darkest Diseases” and earned him the 2010 Daniel X. Freedman Award from NARSAD for outstanding basic research achievement. In addition, he has been the recipient of the Milwaukee Health Care Award in 2012 and The Business Journal’s Forty under 40 Award in 2010, honoring Milwaukee’s up-and-coming leaders.
John Mantsch, Ph.D.
Co-Founder
Dr. Mantsch co-founded Promentis Pharmaceuticals in 2007. He is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Biomedical Sciences at Marquette University. Dr. Mantsch earned his Ph.D. in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center with a specialization in neuropharmacology and his B.S. in Psychology at Allegheny College. He received his postdoctoral training in the Laboratory of the Biology of Addictive Diseases at the Rockefeller University. Dr. Mantsch has received more than $3 million in funding from NIH.