Vigil Neuroscience, Inc. announced the appointment of Petra Kaufmann, M.D., M.S., F.A.A.N, as Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Kaufmann succeeds Christopher J. Silber, M.D. Dr. Kaufmann is an accomplished biotech executive joining Vigil Neuroscience from Affinia Therapeutics where she served as Chief Medical Officer leading medical, clinical, patient advocacy and regulatory strategy. Prior to Affinia Therapeutics, Dr. Kaufmann held the position of Senior Vice President, Clinical Development, Translational Medicine & Analytics at Novartis Gene Therapies where she led the company?s global clinical development strategy including global approvals of Zolgensma®.

She has also served as Vice President, Translational Medicine at AveXis (acquired by Novartis), and Head, Office of Rare Diseases Research at the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Kaufmann holds an M.S. in biostatistics from Columbia University and an M.D. from the University of Bonn.