MLSC Scientific Advisory Board Members

Chair:
Harvey F. Lodish, Ph.D., Member, Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research; Professor of Biology and Professor of Bioengineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Members:
James Barry, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, Corporate Technology Development, Boston Scientific Corporation
James J. Collins, Ph.D., Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University
George Q. Daley, M.D., PH.D., Associate Professor of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology and of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital Boston, Harvard Medical School, Harvard Stem Cell Institute
Patricia K. Donahoe, M.D., Director of the Pediatric Surgical Research Laboratories and Chief Emerita of Pediatric Surgical Services, Massachusetts General Hospital; Marshall K. Bartlett Professor of Surgery, Harvard Medical School
Lila Gierasch, Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Chemistry, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Richard A. Goldsby, Ph.D., John Woodruff Simpson Lecturer and Professor of Biology, Amherst College
David M. Lederman, Ph.D., Founder and former Chairman of the Board, Abiomed, Inc.
Jeffrey Leiden, M.D., Ph.D., Managing Director, Clarus Ventures
David T. Scadden, M.D., Professor of Medicine, Harvard University; Co-Chair, Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, Harvard University; Co-Director, Harvard Stem Cell Institute; Director, MGH Center for Regenerative Medicine
Alan E. Smith, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer, Genzyme Corp.
Lydia Villa-Komaroff, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer, Cytonome, Inc.
Phillip Zamore, Ph.D., Professor, Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, University of Massachusetts Medical School

Chair:
Harvey F. Lodish, Ph.D., Member, Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Professor of Biology and Professor of Bioengineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

A leader in the field of membrane biology, Harvey F. Lodish has isolated and cloned numerous proteins that reside on the surface of cells and play a role in cell growth, glucose transport, and fatty acid transport. His results have important implications for the treatment of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and obesity. A Founding Member of the Whitehead Institute, Lodish joined the MIT faculty in 1968 and has been a professor of biology since 1976 and professor of bioengineering since 1999. He earned his PhD at Rockefeller University in 1966. He was elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1986, a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 1987, and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1999.

Members:
James Barry, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, Corporate Technology Development, Boston Scientific Corporation
James Barry leads the company’s efforts in the identification and early development of drug, device and biological systems for potential application in implantable and catheter-based delivery systems. Dr. Barry joined Boston Scientific in 1992 and was the initiator and champion of the company’s drug eluting stent program. This effort resulted in the TAXUS™ coronary stent which was developed under Dr Barry’s leadership; a paclitaxel-eluting polymeric stent that became the most successful medical device launched with annual sales exceeding $3 billion. Prior to joining Boston Scientific, Dr. Barry held positions at the Howmedica Division of Pfizer where he initiated their bio-resorbable fracture fixation program. Dr. Barry is the author of multiple articles in peer reviewed publications, including the journals of Controlled Release, Biomaterials and several clinical journals in the cardiovascular field and holds in excess of 35 national and international patents. Dr. Barry also represents Boston Scientific’s interests on the boards of a number of emerging technology companies. Dr. Barry holds a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Massachusetts-Lowell and a B.A. degree in chemistry from Saint Anselm College.

James J. Collins, Ph.D., Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University

James J. Collins is a Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Boston University. He is one of the founders of the emerging field of synthetic biology, and a pioneering researcher in systems biology, stochastic resonance, biological dynamics and neurostimulation. Collins has invented a number of novel devices and techniques, including vibrating insoles for enhancing balance, bistable genetic toggle switches for biotechnology and bioenergy applications, and systems biology techniques for identifying drug targets and disease mediators.

Dr. Collins has co-founded two companies based on his technologies: Afferent Corporation, a medical device company, and Cellicon Biotechnologies, a drug discovery company. Dr. Collins is also a member of the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) of Codon Devices, Inc., and has served on the SAB of Mannkind Corporation (Nasdaq: MNKD) and Bios Group Inc.
Collins' has received numerous awards including the 2007 NIH Director's Pioneer Award and the Ellison Medical Foundation Senior Scholar Award in Aging. From 1987 to 1990, he was a Rhodes Scholar, since which he has been a faculty member in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Boston University and currently serves as Co-Director of the Center for BioDynamics at Boston University, in addition to performing his duties as a professor.

George Q. Daley, M.D., PH.D., Associate Professor of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology and of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital Boston, Harvard Medical School, Harvard Stem Cell Institute

George Q. Daley, M.D., Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Hematology/Oncology at Children’s Hospital Boston and Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology at Harvard Medical School, and an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He is currently President of the International Society for Stem Cell Research, Associate Director of the Stem Cell Program at Children’s Hospital, and a member of the Executive Committee of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute. Dr. Daley received his bachelor's degree magna cum laude from Harvard University, a Ph.D. in biology from MIT, and his M.D. summa cum laude from Harvard Medical School. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, and has received the NIH Director’s Pioneer Award, the Judson Daland Prize from the American Philosophical Society, and research awards from Harvard Medical School, the National Institutes of Health, the New England Cancer Society, the Burroughs-Wellcome Fund, the Edward Mallinckrodt, Jr. Foundation, and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of America.

Patricia K. Donahoe, M.D., Director of the Pediatric Surgical Research Laboratories and Chief Emerita of Pediatric Surgical Services, Massachusetts General Hospital; Marshall K. Bartlett Professor of Surgery, Harvard Medical School

Dr. Donahoe received her M.D. from Columbia University and BS from Boston University where she currently serves on the Board of Trustees. She is a member and past Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board at St. Judes Medical Center and has been a member of the Scientific Advisory Board at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and of the NICHD National Advisory Council. She has published over 230 peer-reviewed publications in developmental biology concentrating on Mullerian Inhibiting Substance (MIS) as a potential anticancer agent against human ovarian carcinomas, as well as the genetics of sex differentiation and a number of other congenital anomalies for which she has been steadily funded by the NIH.

She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, and American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Donahoe served as President of the Boston Surgical Society and is President-elect of the American Pediatric Surgical Association. Dr. Donahoe is also an associate member of the Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University and a principal faculty member of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute. She has received many research prizes and honorary degrees for her work on MIS, but her fondest dream is to see it developed as a therapeutic for ovarian and other reproductive cancers.

Lila Gierasch, Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Professor Gierasch is working on the protein folding problem or how the amino acid sequence determines the three-dimensional structure of a protein. The systems under development in her lab will help to examine the origins and mechanisms of protein aggregation in vivo, with a goal of better understanding misfolding-based diseases such as the many neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s, Parkinson’s).
Professor Gierasch received her Ph.D. in Physics at Harvard University and her B.A. at Mount Holyoke College. She is the recipient of numerous awards including the A.P. Sloan Fellowship, the Vincent du Vigneaud Award for Young Investigators in Peptide Chemistry, a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Garvan-Olin Medal from the American Chemical Society, NIH Director’s Pioneer Award, and she is a Fellow in the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Richard A. Goldsby, Ph.D., John Woodruff Simpson Lecturer and Professor of Biology, Amherst College

Dr. Goldsby has been a professor at Amherst College since 1982 and also teaches at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He is the author of many scientific papers and with Thomas Kindt and Barbara Osborne, the author of the 4th edition of Kuby Immunology (2000), a widely used textbook. Other works include Cells and Energy (1977) and Race and Races (1977), Thinking AIDS, with Mary Catherine Bateson (1989), and many scientific papers.

Professor Goldsby and his colleagues at Hematech, a company he founded, have produced four cloned calves that make human antibodies. The research is the first step in developing a system for producing human polyclonal antibodies that could be used to prevent or treat antibiotic-resistant infections, autoimmune diseases, cancer and diseases resulting from bioterrorism.

David M. Lederman, Ph.D., Founder and Former Chairman of the Board, Abiomed, Inc.

Dr. Lederman founded Abiomed, Inc. in 1981 and was the Chairman of the Board until June, 2005. In April 2004, Dr. Lederman stepped down as both Abiomed’s Chief Executive Officer, a position held continuously since the company's founding, and President, a position he held for most of the company's existence. Prior to 1981, Dr. Lederman was Chairman of the Medical Research Group at the Everett subsidiary of Avco Corporation, which he joined in 1972. Dr. Lederman is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and serves on Engineering Advisory Boards at Cornell University and at the University of California (San Diego). He is also a Vice-Chairman and Director of the New England Healthcare Institute (NEHI). Dr. Lederman holds various degrees in Physics and Engineering, including a Ph.D. degree in Aerospace Engineering from Cornell University.

Jeffrey Leiden, M.D., Ph.D., Managing Director, Clarus Ventures

Jeffrey Leiden has more than 20 years of experience in the biomedical and pharmaceutical sectors. Dr. Leiden was President and COO of Abbott Laboratories, Pharmaceuticals Products Group, and a member of the Abbott Board of Directors and the TAP Board of Directors from 2000-2006. From 1987-2000 Dr. Leiden held several academic appointments including Chief of Cardiology and Director of the Cardiovascular Research Institute at the University of Chicago, the Elkan R. Blout Professor of Biological Sciences at the Harvard School of Public Health, and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.

During his academic career, Dr. Leiden was involved in starting several biotechnology companies including Vical and Cardiogene. He is an elected member of both the American
Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences.

Dr. Leiden represents Clarus on the Board of Directors of TyRx Pharma, Inc. and is Chairman of the Board of Variation Biotechnologies, Inc. Dr. Leiden is also a member of the Board of Directors of Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (MLNM), a non-executive director of Shire plc and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Ravinia Festival and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

David T. Scadden, M.D., Professor of Medicine, Harvard University; Co-Chair, Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, Harvard University; Co-Director, Harvard Stem Cell Institute; Director, MGH Center for Regenerative Medicine

In addition to his work as a Professor of Medicine at Harvard University and director positions currently held at both the Harvard Stem Cell Institute and MGH Center for Regenerative Medicine, Dr. David Scadden has pioneered research in stem cell biology application.

Dr. Scadden’s lab has focused on hematopoietic stem cell biology, particularly the problems that limit the ability of stem cells to be used more effectively as therapy. Emphasis of the research has been placed on the application of basic research to the clinical care of patients with blood diseases (including AIDS) and cancer.

Alan E. Smith, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer, Genzyme Corp.

Alan E. Smith has been Chief Scientific Officer of Genzyme Molecular Oncology, Genzyme Corp. and Genzyme Biosurgery since September 1996. Dr. Smith has also been Senior Vice President of Research of Genzyme Molecular Oncology, Genzyme Corp., and Genzyme Biosurgery since August 1989.

Prior to joining Genzyme, Dr. Smith served as Vice President and Scientific Director of Integrated Genetics, Inc., from November 1984 to its acquisition by Genzyme in August 1989. From October 1980 to October 1984, Dr. Smith served as Head of The Biochemistry Division of the National Institute for Medical Research, Mill Hill, London, England and from 1972 to October 1980, he served as Member of the scientific staff for The Imperial Cancer Research Fund in London, England.

Lydia Villa-Komaroff, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer, Cytonome, Inc.

Lydia Villa-Komaroff is the Chief Executive Officer at Cytonome. During her 20 year research career, Dr. Villa-Komaroff has held positions at MIT, Harvard University, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Harvard Medical School, Cold Spring Harbor, and Children's Hospital in Boston. She has a Ph.D. in cell biology.

As a science administrator, she has been VP for Research at Northwestern University in Illinois and the Vice President for Research and Chief Operating Officer of Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research in Cambridge. She also served as Chair of the Board of Directors of Transkaryotic Therapies (TKT), a biopharmaceutical company that developed products for the treatment of rare diseases.

Among other activities and honors, Dr. Villa-Komaroff is a member of the Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Hall of Fame and a fellow of the Association for Women in Science. She has served on review committees for the National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation in addition to chairing the National Science Foundation Advisory Committee for the Biology Directorate from 1997 to 1998.

Phillip D. Zamore, Ph.D., Professor, Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, University of Massachusetts Medical School

Phillip D. Zamore is the Gretchen Stone Cook Professor of Biomedical Sciences and an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He received his A.B. (1986) and his Ph.D. (1992) from the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Harvard University. After post-doctoral studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he joined the faculty of the University of Massachusetts Medical School in 1999.

A 2000 Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences and a 2002 W.M. Keck Foundation Young Scholar in Medical Research, he is also an honorary member of Alpha Omega Alpha. Dr. Zamore studies the biochemical mechanisms and biological functions of small silencing RNAs, including those that act in the RNA interference (RNAi) pathway. He is especially interested in the intersection of RNA silencing pathways and animal development and in the application of RNAi as a therapy for human diseases, especially Huntington’s disease.

Dr. Zamore is a co-founder of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a company that seeks to develop RNAi-based therapies for human diseases. He serves on the scientific advisory boards of Alnylam and of Regulus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a microRNA-therapeutics company.