Alison Long
About Alison Long
Alison Long, M.D., Ph.D., age 62, has served as an independent director of Taysha Gene Therapies since November 2023. She is a physician-scientist with extensive gene therapy clinical development leadership, currently serving on a consulting basis as Chief Medical Officer of Flightpath Biosciences (since Jan 2023) and Clinical Lead at Enigma Biomedical Group (since Feb 2023). She holds a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery from the University of the Witwatersrand and a Ph.D. in Biodefense from George Mason University .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spark Therapeutics, Inc. | Head of Clinical R&D | Oct 2019 – Jun 2020 | Led clinical R&D for gene therapy programs |
| Freeline Therapeutics, Inc. | SVP, Head of Clinical Development | Jun 2020 – Aug 2021 | Clinical development leadership in gene therapy |
| Freeline Therapeutics, Inc. | Interim Chief Medical Officer | Sep 2021 – Nov 2021 | Interim CMO oversight |
| Kaleido Biosciences | Chief Medical Officer | Dec 2021 – Apr 2022 | Public biotech; company ceased operations Apr 2022 |
| Anokion SA | Chief Medical Officer | Jun 2022 – Jan 2023 | Clinical leadership |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flightpath Biosciences, Inc. | Chief Medical Officer (consulting) | Jan 2023 – present | Consulting basis |
| Enigma Biomedical Group | Clinical Lead (consulting) | Feb 2023 – present | Consulting basis |
Board Governance
- Independence: Board affirmatively determined Alison Long is independent under Nasdaq standards; no disqualifying relationships noted .
- Board leadership: CEO Sean Nolan serves as Chair; the company views combined CEO/Chair as beneficial for strategy execution and information flow .
- Attendance: The Board met five times in 2024; each director attended at least 75% of Board and applicable committee meetings .
- Committees (2024):
- Clinical & Scientific Committee – Chair; met 4 times
- Compensation Committee – Member; met 1 time; committee is fully independent and meets in executive session regularly
- Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee – Member; did not formally meet in 2024, acted twice by unanimous written consent; composed of Alison Long and Sean Stalfort .
| Committee | Role | 2024 Meetings | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clinical & Scientific | Chair | 4 | Pipeline and R&D oversight; no charter adopted |
| Compensation | Member | 1 | Uses Aon as compensation consultant; independent composition |
| Nominating & Corporate Governance | Member | 0 (2 written consents) | Oversees director nominations and governance principles |
Fixed Compensation
| Component | Amount (USD) | Period | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fees Earned or Paid in Cash | $54,083 | FY2024 | Board/committee retainers |
| Stock Awards (RSUs) – Grant-date fair value | $156,027 | FY2024 | ASC 718 fair value |
| Option Awards – Grant-date fair value | $231,334 | FY2024 | ASC 718 Black-Scholes |
| Total | $441,444 | FY2024 | Sum of components |
Director cash retainer policy (effective Apr 9, 2024): annual board retainer $35,000; committee chairs: Audit/Clinical & Scientific/Special Litigation $15,000; Compensation chair $10,000; Nominating chair $8,000; members: Audit/Clinical & Scientific $7,500; Compensation $5,000; Nominating $4,000; independent Board chair additional $30,000 .
Performance Compensation
- No performance-based metrics disclosed for director compensation; equity awards (options and RSUs) vest based on service rather than operational or TSR metrics .
Other Directorships & Interlocks
- No current public company directorships disclosed for Alison Long. Her external roles are consulting appointments; no related-party transactions or board interlocks disclosed involving those entities .
Expertise & Qualifications
- Physician-scientist with extensive gene therapy program experience across Spark, Freeline, Kaleido, and Anokion; current CMO/Clinical Lead roles reinforce translational expertise in rare disease therapeutics .
- Education: MBBS (University of the Witwatersrand); Ph.D. in Biodefense (George Mason University) .
- Board value: Clinical and scientific oversight as chair, complementing financial and operational expertise of other directors .
Equity Ownership
| Metric | Amount | As-of Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Beneficial Ownership (shares) | 167,126 | Mar 31, 2025 | <1% of outstanding |
| Ownership % of Shares Outstanding | <1% | Mar 31, 2025 | Outstanding shares: 205,054,570 |
| Options – Exercisable within 60 days | 117,906 | Mar 31, 2025 | Beneficial ownership footnote (options) |
| RSUs – Vesting within 60 days | 49,220 | Mar 31, 2025 | Beneficial ownership footnote (RSUs) |
| Outstanding Options (total) | 142,240 | Dec 31, 2024 | Director awards outstanding |
| Outstanding Stock Awards (RSUs) | 49,220 | Dec 31, 2024 | Director awards outstanding |
| Hedging/Margin Prohibition | Prohibited | Policy current | Short sales, options, hedging, margin accounts prohibited for non-employee directors |
Governance Assessment
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Strengths:
- Independent director with deep gene therapy clinical expertise; chairs Clinical & Scientific Committee that met four times in 2024, indicating active oversight of R&D pipeline .
- Member of Compensation Committee that meets in executive session and engages an external consultant (Aon), supporting pay governance rigor .
- Attendance threshold met (≥75%) across Board and committee service in 2024, supporting engagement .
-
Compensation & alignment:
- Mix skewed toward equity (options and RSUs), aligning director incentives with shareholder outcomes; 2024 equity grant-date fair values totaled $387,361 versus $54,083 cash .
- Hedging and margin prohibitions enhance alignment and reduce misalignment risk .
-
Potential concerns and monitoring items:
- The Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee did not formally meet in 2024 (acted twice by unanimous written consent); sustained reliance on written consent may be perceived as lower engagement on director refresh and governance topics. Monitor 2025 cadence .
- Board leadership is combined CEO/Chair, which some investors view as weaker independent oversight; compensating controls should include robust committee independence and executive sessions, which are present in Compensation but not explicitly described for full Board .
- No disclosed ownership guidelines for directors; absence of explicit guidelines may be viewed as a gap by some governance-focused investors, though equity-heavy pay structure partially mitigates this .
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Conflicts/related parties:
- No related-party transactions disclosed involving Alison Long; company-level related party items involve financing participants and CEO family employment, not Dr. Long .
RED FLAGS: None directly tied to Alison Long. Structural considerations include combined CEO/Chair and limited formal meetings of Nominating & Corporate Governance in 2024 .