Michael Howell, PhD

Michael Howell, PhD, is an accomplished immunologist and biotechnology leader with over 25 years of experience driving innovation in drug discovery, precision medicine, and clinical development. He is the Founder and President of Mountaineer Biosciences, Inc., Co-Founder of Galileo Biosystems, and a trusted scientific advisor to multiple biotechnology startups and venture firms.

Dr. Howell began his career on the faculty at National Jewish Health and went on to hold senior R&D leadership roles at Boehringer Ingelheim, the Immune Tolerance Network, MedImmune/AstraZeneca, and Incyte.  Additionally, Dr. Howell was the Chief Scientific Officer at DermTech and ZuraBio. Throughout his career, he has built and led high-performing teams responsible for advancing groundbreaking therapies and diagnostics, with a consistent focus on translating immunologic insights into transformative patient care.

His leadership has contributed directly to the approval of multiple therapies—including Opzelura® (ruxolitinib), Jakafi® (ruxolitinib), Adbry®/Adtralza® (tralokinumab), Tezspire® (tezepelumab), and Spevigo® (spesolimab)—as well as to novel biomarker and precision medicine strategies. He is the author of more than 65 peer-reviewed publications and inventor on recent patents for therapeutic interventions and biomarker approaches in inflammatory diseases.

Dr. Howell earned his PhD in Immunology from West Virginia University School of Medicine and completed his postdoctoral training at National Jewish Health.