Chris joined Regulus in February 2011 and serves as senior vice president and general counsel. Prior to joining Regulus, he served as the senior director, administration and senior corporate counsel for Phenomix Corporation, a privately held biopharmaceutical company, and was responsible for operational and legal oversight. Prior to Phenomix, Chris was senior corporate counsel at SUGEN, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Pharmacia, until its acquisition by Pfizer. Prior to SUGEN, Mr. Aker was in private practice with various law firms. He received his B.A. in international relations from the University of California, Davis and his J.D. from the Santa Clara University.