Pauling Biotech Pharma Symposium Speakers MIT Faculty Club, Cambridge, MA, USA Click here to register 7th Nobel Pauling Symposium Hing Leung Sham, PhD Abbott Carlos Genardini Hong Kong Science Park John Lo, OBE, JP, PhD Hong Kong Science Park Bill Cafruny, PhD University of South Dakota Jerry Yang, PhD University of Connecticut Ming Chiu Fung, PhD CUHK Ricky K.N. Leung, PhD CUHK Mak Nai Ki, PhD, Hong Kong Baptist Univesity Benny Zee, PhD CUHK Soumyaroop Bhattacharya Harvard Paul Smaglik, PhD NatureJob Editor Dyke Hendrickson, Mass High Tech Myrna E. Watanabe, PhD Science writer Kenneth J. Dillon, PhD Spectrum Bioscience Gunther Winkler, PhD VP, Biogen-Idec Huo Li, PhD Biogen-Idec, Dennis France, VP, Arqule Steve Gullans, PhD Rx-gen Kevin Li, PhD Fountain Pharmaceuticals James Wang, PhD Hypromatrix Michael Kinch, PhD MedImmune Xinhua Li, PhD Genzyme Canwen Jiang, PhD Genzyme Seng H. Cheng, Ph.D Genzyme Huawei Qiu, PhD Genzyme Reinhard Ebner, PhD Avalon Pharmaceuticals Marsha Paul, PhD Caliper Life Science William R. Shek, PhD, Charles River Lab. Adam Bell, PhD CoGenesys (HGS)  David Merberg, PhD Cell Signaling Technology Elizabeth Abraham, PhD ViaCell Feb 23-26, 2006 Lex Van der Ploeg, PhD Merck Robert Gould, PhD Merck Laura Chavez-Noriega, PhD Merck Reid Leonard, PhD Senior Director, Merck James Leung, PhD Biomeasure Norrie Russell, PhD Invitrogen Scott Wadsworth, PhD Johnson & Johnson Bob Zivin, PhD Johnson & Johnson Sergey Ilyin, PhD Johnson & Johnson Philip J. Vickers, PhD Pfizer Ralph H. Lambalot, PhD Pfizer Ajith Kamath, PhD Associate Director, Pfizer Rajiv Shukla, PhD Pfizer Yuan-Hua Ding, PhD  Pfizer Leyu Wang, PhD Pfizer Brian Wong, PhD Roche Yong Jia, PhD Abbott David He, PhD Abbott Joanne Kamens, PhD Abbott Jun Han, PhD Novartis Chandrika Kumar, PhD Novartis Dejan Bojanic, PhD Novartis Christopher P. Miller, PhD Wyeth ZhiJian Lu, PhD  Wyeth Gangfeng Xu, PhD, MBA  Wyeth Christopher Sampson, Manager, AstraZeneca Jason A. Slusher, Site Head, Sanofi-Aventi Ben Askew, PhD Serono Timothy Wells, PhD Serono Steve Arkinstall, PhD Serono Keith Robison, PhD Millennium Frank Hsieh, PhD Millennium Grace Wong, PhD ActoKine Therapeutics Carlos Genardini Mr. Carlos Genardini CEO, Hong Kong Science Park Mr. Genardini brings over two decades of technology management and experience to the role of CEO including four years as a vice president and manager of Motorola’s Asia Pacific Group. During this time, Mr. Genardini became involved in developing the semiconductor and technology industries in Hong Kong and throughout the region. Mr. Genardini has set up and managed state-of-the-art chip design facilities in Hong Kong, Singapore and China, sat on the committees of engineering departments in the University of Hong Kong and the City University of Hong Kong , and was a founding Board member of the Provisional Hong Kong Science Park Company Ltd. , which later merged into the present Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation. Mr. Genardini has a track record as an experienced executive of a major multinational corporation, knowledge of global and regional technology industries, an extensive network of contacts, and commitment and enthusiasm in helping to promote and further develop the Science Park. He is a member of the Board of the Provisional Hong Kong Science Park Company Ltd. that began the Science Park, and was the founder and CEO of Genardini & Associates, a strategic business consultancy providing market research and support along with special development work for companies looking to business in China. Prior to that Mr. Genardini was Motorola’s president for Latin America and the Caribbean. John S.K. Lo, OBE, JP John S.K. Lo OBE, JP, Vice President, Hong Kong Science Park Seminar title: Hong Kong: Your Strategic Bridge to the Huge China Market John S.K. Lo, OBE, JP is the Vice President of Marketing & Admission, the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation. He is also a Director of several private sector companies in Hong Kong and China. He has over 30 years of senior management experience in various manufacturing fields in Asia, ranging from consumer, industrial to aerospace military specification products manufacturing. His working experience covered Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, United Kingdom, Europe, U.S.A., Japan, China, Indonesia and Vietnam. His work requires him to travel extensively in these regions. He is also the Honorary Chairman of the Hong Kong Quality Assurance Agency, the Honorary Chairman of the Hong Kong Standards & Testing Centre Ltd. and an active member of several important government appointed committees. Back to Top Lex Van der Ploeg, PhD Lex Van der Ploeg PhD, Head of Merck Research Laboratories- Boston Lex Van der Ploeg is Vice President, Basic Research, and Site Head, Merck Research Laboratories- Boston (MRL-Boston). Dr. Van der Ploeg has twenty-five years of experience in biochemistry and genetics, the larger portion of which have been focused on drug development research with Merck Research Laboratories. Prior to joining Merck Research Laboratories- Boston in December 2003, Dr. Van der Ploeg served as vice president MRL Basic research and Site Head of MRL - San Diego. Through December 2002, Dr. Van der Ploeg served as Executive Director of the Department of Obesity and Metabolic Research at Merck’s research facility in Rahway, New Jersey. Dr. Van der Ploeg joined Merck in 1991 as Director of the Department of Genetics and Molecular Biology. Prior to joining Merck, Dr. Van der Ploeg was a tenured faculty member in the Department of Genetics and Development at Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons where he currently holds an adjunct faculty position. Dr. Van der Ploeg received his M.S. degree in Biochemistry in 1980 from the University of Amsterdam and his PhD in Biochemistry/Enzymology/Genetics in 1984 from the University of Amsterdam/Netherlands Cancer Research Center. Dr. Van der Ploeg received numerous awards and grants for his research and has published over 300 research articles. He is an inventor on over 40 patents and patent applications. Scott Wadsworth, PhD Scott Wadsworth PhD, Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical R & D, L.L.C. Scott Wadsworth obtained an A.B. in Biology in 1980 from Hamilton College, and an M.S. in Agricultural Biochemistry from the University of Delaware in 1983. After working 2 years at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, he entered the graduate program in immunology at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, obtaining his PhD in 1989. His postdoc was in the Lab of Molecular Structure, NIAID, NIH, Bethesda, where he studied cell adhesion molecules involved in T cell development. Following a Staff Fellow position at the NIH from 1992-1993, he joined Johnson & Johnson. He has been at J & J Pharmaceutical Research and Development since 1995, working primarily in the areas of signal transduction and immunology. He is the biology project leader for the p38 kinase inhibitor program and has recently been involved with research into novel drug/device combinations, such as drug-coated coronary stents. Joanne Kamens, PhD Joanne Kamens PhD, Project Team Leader, Abbott Bioresearch Center Dr. Kamens is a scientist in the Molecular and Cellular Biology Department of Abbott Bioresearch Center, where her research focuses on validation of therapeutic targets using RNAi technology. Dr. Kamens received her PhD in genetics from Harvard Medical School and in 1992 began work at BASF Bioresearch Corporation in the Pharmacology Department. BASF’s Pharmaceutical division was acquired by Abbott Laboratories in 2001. Dr. Kamens’ publications include cloning of ICE-related caspases, Kamens et al. (1995) J Biol Chem 270:15250-6; development of inhibitors for the protein kinase lck, Kamens et al. (2001) Curr. Opin. Invest. Drugs 2:1213-1219; and cloning of T cell adaptor SLAP-130, Musci, MA et al. (1997) J Biol Chem 272:11674-7. Dr. Kamens is an inventor on an international patent relating to the cloning of Tpl-2/cot kinase and its utility as a therapeutic target. Andrew Marshall, PhD Andrew Marshall PhD, Editor, Nature Biotechnology Dr. Marshall is Editor of Nature Biotechnology. He has written numerous articles and editorials on science and technology for the popular media, including The Economist and Popular Science, and for trade publications. In January 2003, he launched Bioentrepreneur at www.nature.com/bioent, a free-access web portal that provides practical information and advice on the challenges facing researchers when starting a biotechnology company. As well as frequently speaking on biotechnology issues at international meetings, he also regularly organizes conferences and symposia for the Nature Publishing Group on biotechnology. He has over 12 years of experience in scientific publishing, and was previously Editor of Current Opinion in Biotechnology. He obtained his PhD and postdoctoral experience in molecular biology and microbiology at King's College London. Steve Arkinstall, PhD Steve Arkinstall PhD, Head of Discovery, Serono Dr. Arkinstall is an accomplished molecular biologist with 16 years' experience in the pharmaceutical industry. He is currently the Head of the Serono Reproductive Biology Institute where he supervises 75 scientists and oversees a $24M budget. Dr. Arkinstall has a major role at Serono in the identification and development of new drug targets. His work at Serono has included new product development and studies on the molecular and genetic basis of altered reproductive function and identification of novel mechanisms responsible for specific regulation of MAP kinases. Prior to joining Serono Dr. Arkinstall played various scientific and leadership roles at the Glaxo-Wellcome Biomedical Research Institute. His assignments at Glaxo-Wellcome included the generation of novel screening systems, new target identification, discovery of novel immunoregulators, discovery of novel blockers of neuronal apoptosis for neurodegenerative diseases and discovery of small molecule regulators of the neurotrophin/Trk receptor system for neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory diseases. Dr. Arkinstall holds a DPhil from the University of Oxford and a BSc in Biochemistry and Physiology from the University of Sheffield. He has authored over 40 publications. Soumyaroop Bhattacharya Soumyaroop Bhattacharya Bioinformatician, Harvard Soumyaroop Bhattacharya is currently working as a Bioinformatician in the Lung Biology Center at the Harvard Medical School. His research interests include algorithm development for microarray analysis, and he is currently leading a project on cross-platform data integration. He is also collaborating with investigators in numerous other bioinformatics studies. Mr. Bhattacharya maintains ‘The Lung Transcriptome’ (http://lungtranscriptome.bwh.harvard.edu), a web resource for pulmonary genomics, which provides expression microarray databases and analytical tools to the lung research community. Mr. Bhattacharya has authored multiple publications on applications of expression profiling technology in genomic-based studies. Mr. Bhattacharya has obtained B.S in Agriculture from Banaras Hindu University in India. He followed it with M.S in Biotechnology, Medical Informatics and M.Ed. in Science Education in the United States. Kenneth J. Dillon Kenneth J. Dillon President, Spectrum Bioscience Kenneth J. Dillon is president of Spectrum Bioscience, a Washington, D.C. medical device company with innovative therapies for respiratory medicine. He has a B.A. in history from Georgetown University and a Ph.D in history from Cornell University. Dillon taught history at Sydney University and served as a U.S foreign service officer. He has written three books on science and medicine as well as articles on medical subjects at www.biophoton.com and www.scientiapress.com. His scientific contributions include a proof that the red blood cells form the animal magnetoreceptor. Grace Wong, PhD Grace Wong PhD, Founder & CSO of ActoKine Therapeutics, Founder of Student Vision Dr. Grace Wong has worked for Genentech, Millennium, AstraZeneca and Serono on new drug discovery in a variety of therapeutic areas. Dr. Wong did a PhD at The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Australia. In the US, Dr. Wong did a postdoc with Dr. David Goeddel at Genentech and she advanced basic research discoveries to product development in 1993. In 1996, Dr. Wong became the Head of Apoptosis Research at Millennium Pharmaceuticals. In 1998, she joined AstraZeneca as Section Head of Molecular Genetics and identified potential genes for Alzheimer's disease. Since AstraZeneca was moving to Delaware, Dr. Wong joined Serono in 1999 as Head of Functional Genomics and Director of Cytokine Genomics. She has been awarded 13 scholarships and received 5 Recognition Awards from Genentech. She was invited to present at 139 international conferences including the Nobel Symposium (Sweden, 1994). She has published 89 papers and filed 27 patents (11 issued). Seven of her publications (3 Nature, 1 Science, and 3 Cell) have received over 500 citations. In 2003, Dr. Wong has founded Actokine Therapeutics (www.actokine.com) for drug indication switch and drug advancements for biodefense projects (radioprotection against dirty bomb and protection against a broad spectrum of virus). She has also founded Student Vision for helping the growth of students of all ages in biotech science (www.studentvision.org). Robert Zivin, PhD Robert Zivin PhD Corporate Director, Johnson & Johnson Dr. Zivin is Corporate Director in the Corporate Office of Science & Technology. He joined Johnson & Johnson in 1986 as a Senior Scientist at Ortho Diagnostic Systems, Inc. (today’s Ortho Clinical Diagnostics). He was a member of the team that brought the first DNA probe-based colorimetric assay to FDA approval. He joined the Biotech Division of the R.W. Johnson Pharmaceutical Research Institute (today’s J&J PRD) in 1989, where he led the antibody humanization project. Several of the molecules (huOKT3, huOKT4A, hu-anti-tissue factor) produced in that effort are currently, or have been, in clinical development. In 1995, Bob established the exploratory technology team at J&J PRD and was responsible for the evaluation and development of new discovery technologies. Bob joined COSAT (Corporate Office of Science & Technology) in 2003. Before Johnson & Johnson, Bob was a Senior Research Scientist at Merck, Sharpe & Dohme Research Laboratories. While there, he led the team that was the first to clone and express a cardiac atrial peptide, ANF. Bob received his PhD in Microbiology from the University of Chicago and did a postdoctoral fellowship at the National Cancer Institute. Sergey Ilyin, PhD Sergey Ilyin, PhD Johnson & Johnson Sergey Ilyin graduated with distinction from the St. Petersburg State University in Russia with a combined B.Sc. / M.Sc. degree in 1993. Following a prestigious fellowship at the Institute of Cytology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, he received an award from the Soros Foundation and accepted a full scholarship at the University of Delaware in the USA. Sergey graduated from the University of Delaware with a PhD degree in molecular biology / neuroimmunology with the mentorship of Professor Carlos R. Plata-Salaman, D.Sc., M.D., an expert in neurosciences with focus in brain cytokine research. In this research, Sergey described, for the first time, the integrative regulation of the brain interleukin-1 system under various pathophysiological conditions, and in the induction and progression of anorexia in various models. In 1999, Sergey joined the Central Nervous System Research Team at the Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research Institute as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow. Following this, Sergey incorporated as a Scientist and was promoted through positions of increasing scope and responsibility that included establishing novel targets, projects, and screening technologies, and being responsible for several key drug discovery projects. Sergey is currently a Group Leader of Bioinformatics at the Spring House facility of the Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development, L.L.C. Sergey pioneered bioinformatic approaches in drug discovery, conducted or directed projects in the areas of CNS, analgesia, vascular, metabolism, oncology and enterology, as well as developed new approaches for target identification and validation. His activities also include data management and integration, and research on biological markers for disease, drug efficacy and/or safety applications also include identification and/or analysis of mechanism(s) of action. His responsibilities were later extended to translational technologies and approaches including non-invasive imaging. Sergey has extensive experience in collaborating with different functions and teams within the company as well as with external networks and academic groups. Sergey has published over 40 peer-reviewed articles, and has editorial responsibilities for journals and books. Philip J. Vickers, PhD Philip J. Vickers, PhD Vice President and Site Head, Research Technology Center, Pfizer A native of the United Kingdom, Dr. Vickers received a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Toronto in 1986, studying the regulation of enzymes involved in the polyglutamylation of folates and antifolate drugs, such as methotrexate. Dr. Vickers then performed postdoctoral studies in molecular biology at the National Institutes of Health, elucidating the mechanisms of multidrug resistance in breast cancer with Dr. Ken Cowan. In 1988, Dr. Vickers joined the Merck Frosst Centre for Therapeutic Research in Montreal. At Merck, Dr. Vickers?s lab was responsible for a number of drug discovery programs, including the development of leukotriene antagonists for Asthma and Cox-2 inhibitors for Inflammation. Dr. Vickers joined Pfizer Global Research and Development (PGRD) at the Sandwich, U.K., site in 1994, initially leading the Cell Biology section of the Molecular Sciences department, and then heading the Molecular Pharmacology department. As part of the restructuring of Discovery Biology in 1998, Dr. Vickers was promoted to Group Director with responsibility for leading biology teams progressing drug discovery programs in three therapeutic areas: Allergy and Respiratory Disease, Anti-Infectives, and Pain. In 2001, Dr. Vickers relocated to PGRD in Groton, Connecticut, to head the Genomic and Proteomic Sciences department within Exploratory Medicinal Sciences – a department focused on supporting therapeutic areas with respect to bioinformatics, gene expression analysis, genetically modified organisms, stem cells, pharmacogenomics, and clinical biomarkers. Dr. Vickers also chaired the Global Genomics and Proteomics Council, which defined and implemented a Genomics and Proteomics strategy for Discovery. In May 2004, Dr. Vickers was promoted to Vice President and relocated to head the PGRD site in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as it transitioned from the Discovery Technology Center to the Research Technology Center (RTC). The mission of the RTC is to identify and apply new technologies to enhance the speed and productivity of drug discovery, with a particular focus on partnerships with scientific innovators in the Greater Boston area. Ralph H. Lambalot, PhD Director, Protein Biology, Pfizer Dr. Lambalot received his bachelors degree in Chemistry from Cornell University in 1987. He initiated his doctoral studies in Bio-Organic Chemistry with Prof David E. Cane at Brown University after 2 years as a research assistant at E.I. DuPont in Wilmington, DE. In 1993 he was awarded an American Chemical Society Predoctoral Fellowship for his research on the biosynthesis of the macrolide antibiotics erythromycin and methymycin. In 1994 he was awarded a NIH Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology at Harvard Medical School with Prof. Christopher T. Walsh. Dr. Lambalot’s postdoctoral work focused on the purification and cloning of the first reported phosphopantetheinyl transferase from E. coli and the subsequent identification of numerous other Ppant transferases. His research led to an issued US patent on the application of Ppant transferases to the recombinant expression of polyketide and non-ribosomal peptide synthases. This work has greatly enabled the biosynthetic study of polyketide and peptide antibiotics and has facilitated the biosynthesis of novel engineered natural products with pharmaceutical potential. The Research Technology Center’s core mission is to apply cutting edge technologies that address specific challenges at the heart of drug discovery. As part Pfizer's Kinase Center of Emphasis within the RTC the Protein Biology group has four key thrusts; (1) cloning, expression and purification of kinases, (2) kinase enzymology applying advanced biophysical and kinetic techniques, (3) kinase crystallography and structural biology, and (4) kinase selectivity screening support for Pfizer Global Research & Development. Prior to heading up Protein Biology, Dr. Lambalot had responsibility for Screening Technologies including high throughput screening technology platforms, materials management and sample logistics. Dr. Lambalot joined Pfizer in 1999 as a member of the Drug PfinderTM group where his lab applied high throughput screening to the identification of lead molecules for novel pharmaceutical targets. Before joining Pfizer Dr. Lambalot worked in the Biotherapeutics Process Development group at BASF Bioresearch Corporation (now Abbott Bioresearch) on the development of cGMP manufacturing processes for clinical grade biotherapeutic proteins including HumiraTM, the fully human anti-TNF antibody for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Steven R. Gullans, PhD Steven R. Gullans, PhD CEO & co-founder, RxGen Dr. Gullans is CEO and a co-founder of RxGen, Inc, a company utilizing advanced primate models of human diseases and toxicology to accelerate development of therapeutics and biomarkers. Before joining RxGen, Steve served as the Chief Scientific Officer at U.S. Genomics in Boston following an 18 year career as an academic research scientist at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital. As a faculty member in the Departments of Neurology and Medicine, Steve published more than 100 scientific papers, and built a record of achievement in the field of functional genomics and advanced technologies. As Director of the BWH Biotechnology Center, he established the first public database of gene expression in human tissues and used advanced technologies to identify biomarkers for ALS, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and cancer. Dr. Gullans received his PhD from Duke University and postgraduate training at Yale School of Medicine. Dr. Gullans is very active in early stage biotechnology companies and currently serves on the Scientific Advisory Boards of U.S. Genomics, GenPat77, GeneOhm, and MetriGenix. Dr. Canwen Jiang Dr. Canwen Jiang Scientific Director, Genzyme Science China Principal Representative After his medical education in China, Dr. Canwen Jiang received clinical cardiology training at the Royal Brompton & National Heart Hospitals, London, UK. He obtained a PhD from the Imperial College of Science, Technology & Medicine, London, UK, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California at Berkeley. He has been engaged in cloning and characterization of novel genes, development of viral and non-viral gene transfer vectors and delivery technology, discovery of small molecules for the treatment of genetic and heart disease, and vascular and cardiac regeneration. Dr. Jiang has published over 50 research articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals including Science, Nature Genetics, Lancet, Circulation, and Circulation Research, and has been granted multiple patents. Dr. Jiang joined Genzyme in 1994 and is currently Scientific Director, Applied Discovery Research, and Genzyme Science China Principal Representative. He is a Fellow of the American Heart Association. William A. Cafruny, PhD William A. Cafruny, PhD Professor, School of Medicine, University of South Dakota Professor William A. Cafruny is an immunologist with major research interests in viral immunology and mechanisms of viral transmission. He received his PhD in microbiology from the Medical University of Ohio, and did postdoctoral training in virology at the University of Minnesota. At the University of South Dakota, Dr. Cafruny's laboratory has studied virus-host interactions, using the arteriviruses (lactate dehydrogenase-elevating virus and porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus) as models to characterize viral pathogenesis and the host response to chronic virus infection. Professor Cafruny's research has focused on the mechanisms of cell permissiveness to viral infection, and their role in protection against fetal and central nervous system infections. His laboratory also studies antibody and cytokine factors as they relate to chronic virus infections and virus transmission. These areas of research have the potential to clarify pathways to future anti-viral drug developments, based on strategies to inhibit virus spread in the body. Professor Cafruny has published numerous peer-reviewed papers, and received support for his research from government and industry. His 5 PhD students have gone on to productive positions in industry and government. Professor Cafruny also teaches immunology to medical, graduate, and undergraduate students. Yong Jia, PhD Yong Jia PhD Senior Scientist, Abbott Dr. Yong Jia is a senior scientist in the Molecular Pharmacology Department at Abbott Bioresearch Center (ABC), where his research focuses on assay development/HTS and compound mechanistic studies for small molecule drug discovery. Since joining ABC in 2000, he has served as the project leader and key enzymologist for several kinase projects. He helped establish the Homogeneous Time Resolved Fluorescence (HTRF) technology platform at ABC and developed various methods for compound characterization. He has published multiple papers describing work in these areas and has been invited to speak at several drug discovery conferences. Dr. Jia obtained his PhD in Biochemistry from University of Maryland in 1998, and carried out the post-doctoral training with Prof. JoAnne Stubbe at MIT. His background is in mechanistic enzymology. Christopher Miller, PhD Christopher Miller, PhD Head of Functional Genomics, Wyeth Dr. Christopher Miller is Associate Director and Head of Functional Genomics for Wyeth Research, based in Cambridge MA. He obtained his PhD in Pharmacology from Michigan State University in 1990 then received post-doctoral training at the HHMI Laboratory of Molecular Endocrinology at Massachusetts General Hospital. He joined Genetics Institute in 1995, which then became part of Wyeth in 1998. Under Dr. Miller’s guidance, the Wyeth Functional Genomics group performs target identification and validation experiments in support of Wyeth’s five Discovery Research Areas (Oncology, Neuroscience, Inflammation, Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases and Women’s Health & Bone). Major current efforts in the group include RNAi and dominant negative strategies, viral shRNA expression systems, high content cell-based assays, and phenotype screening using RNAi libraries. Dr. Reinhard Ebner Dr. Reinhard Ebner Avalon Pharmaceuticals Avalon Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 2001-present (chemical genomics, cancer research, data mining) Human Genome Sciences, Inc., 1996-2000 (gene discovery, assay development, protein therapeutics) Stanford Univ. School of Med., 1995 (growth factors and receptors, wound healing) UCSF, 1991-1994 (growth factors and receptor, developmental, skeletal biology) Genentech, Inc., 1989-1991 (TGF-beta, TGF-alpha, signal transduction, intracellular trafficking) Junior faculty, 1987-1989 (Biochemistry, Genetics) PhD: 1987 (Genetics, Microbiology) > 44 original research Publications > 30 invited plenary presentations Grant and manuscript peer-review service Awards and society memberships Patents: 37 issued in the US; > 300 applications world-wide Robert J. Gould, PhD Robert J. Gould, PhD VP, Merck Dr. Gould is currently Vice President, Licensing and External Research, Boston, Merck Research Labs. His responsibilities include identifying early stage opportunities for collaboration or licensing with both academic and biotechnology institutions on the East coast of the United States. Dr. Gould obtained his PhD in biochemistry in 1981 at The University of Iowa under the guidance of Dr. A. A. Spector, after completing his undergraduate degree in chemistry at Spring Arbor College, Michigan. He then moved to the Departments of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, and Neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University, Maryland for post-doctoral studies with Dr. S. Snyder. In 1984 he joined Merck Sharp and Dohme Research Labs as a Senior Research Pharmacologist in the Pharmacology department. He has remained with Merck Research Labs for 20 years. During this time, he was responsible for identifying compounds which block glycoprotein IIb/IIIa on platelets and thus might be useful antithrombotic agents. This work culminated in the identification of AggrastatÔ. Prior to his current position he was Vice President, Basic Research, in West Point, Pennsylvania where he oversaw strategic direction and drug discovery activities for multiple therapeutic areas, as well as MRL’s centralized high throughput screening and imaging facilities. For a number of years, he has sat as a permanent member of the internal Merck committees responsible for approval of therapeutic area strategy, for entry of compounds into development, for entry into humans, for entry into phase III trials, and for licensing activities. Dr. Gould is a member of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, the American Society of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, the American Heart Association (Fellow), the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Licensing Executives Society. He has published over 80 peer-reviewed publications and has received numerous awards including the American Oil Chemists’ Honored Student Award, the Clarence P. Berg Award for the outstanding graduate student in biochemistry at the University of Iowa, the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Award for Postdoctoral Investigation, the Alumni Career Achievement Award from Spring Arbor College, Fellow of the American Heart Association, and induction into The Johns Hopkins University Society of Scholars. Chandrika Kumar, PhD Chandrika Kumar, PhD Novartis, Cambridge Dr. Kumar received her PhD from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore in 1979. After completing her postdoctoral training in a joint program between Harvard and MIT and at the Roche Institute of Molecular Biology in Nutley NJ, she worked with Professor S. Pestka at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in NJ and did pioneering work on the cloning and characterization of interferon-g receptors. She subsequently joined Glaxo Smith Kline in 1990 and focused on using high throughput (HT) genomic approaches for identifying ligands for orphan GPCRs using FLIPR and Xenopus Oocyte Electrophysiology. At Novartis she further extended these approaches and set up HT functional screens in different primary cells to identify novel targets and pathways activated in multi-factorial diseases and tumor angiogenesis. She is currently involved in validating these targets using RNAi technology and also has initiated efforts to use genomic approaches for delineating the mechanism of action of compounds in late stage preclinical development. She is author of over 80 papers and several patents. Adam Bell, PhD Associate Director, CoGenesys (HGS spin out) Dr. Bell currently leads a multidisciplinary group in protein-based biophamaceutical drug development. At CoGenesys, Dr. Bell oversees lead identification and development of new products for indications including oncology, heart disease, and inflammation through early-stage clinical studies. His group is responsible for antibody and therapeutic protein discovery, molecular biology and bioinformatics, in vitro and in vivo pharmacology, and toxicology. Prior to joining CoGenesys, Dr. Bell held the position of Senior Scientist II, Preclinical Discovery at Human Genome Sciences, where in his 5 years with the company he led both antibody and other protein-based therapeutic programs in diabetes, oncology, and infectious disease from target discovery, through lead identification, validation, IND and partnership with large pharma. A driving force in lead product development and project leadership, his passion is translating science into medicine. Prior to joining HGS, Adam was a postdoctoral fellow and recipient of the Fellows Award for Research Excellence at the National Institutes of Health. His ground-breaking work in genetics led to publications in the prestigious journals of Cell, Science, and Nature. Dr. Bell received his Bachelor’s degree in Biology from SUNY at Stony Brook and his PhD in Molecular Biology from SUNY at Buffalo. Kevin Li, PhD Kevin Li, PhD Co-Founder and VP of Business Development, Fountain Pharmaceuticals Dr. Kevin Li has extensive experience in biotech entrepreneurship, venture capital and scientific research. Prior to co-founding Fountain Pharmaceuticals, a oncology-focused product development company, he was with the Bethesda, MD based Toucan Capital, a venture capital fund focused on biotech investment, where he was involved in Toucan’s investments in several biopharmaceutical companies, and participated in portfolio company management. Prior to joining Toucan, Dr. Li was an initial team member and senior manager at GenoSpectra, Inc., a biotech startup in the San Francisco Bay Area supported by Dr. Alex Zaffaroni, Bay City Capital, Frazier Healthcare Ventures and other prominent investors. He was also a co-founder and Managing Director of SinaFind, LLC, a provider of consulting and recruiting services to US companies and academic institutions seeking partnerships in Asia. Dr. Li received his PhD from Indiana University, and was a Damon Runyon-Walter Winchell Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford University, conducting stem cell research under the direction of Dr. Irving Weissman. Dr. Li authored and co-authored over a dozen scientific articles in the area of developmental biology, stem cell biology and cancer. He was also actively involved in community activities, and played prominent roles in the CNetwork, Bayhelix, and CBA (the Chinese Biopharmaceutical Association) organizations in the US. Gangfeng Xu PhD, MBA Gangfeng Xu PhD, MBA Senior Director, Wyeth Dr. Xu is a Senior Director of Strategic Operations Planning with Wyeth BioPharma & Vaccines. His current responsibilities include portfolio management, site-network strategy, capacity planning, and capital planning for biopharma and vaccines products. Prior to joining Wyeth, Dr. Xu was a Senior Manager with Accenture, a leading technology and strategy consulting firm. As a management consultant, he assisted senior executives in pharma and biotech companies to develop and execute strategies, and to implement business transformation programs. Dr. Xu holds a PhD in human genetics from University of Utah, an MBA from Kellogg School of Management, and a BS in Biology from Fudan University (Shanghai, China). He was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. He authored/co-authored 14 peer-reviewed scientific papers published in leading international journals, including Cell, Genes & Development, Mol Cell Biology, PNAS, and Genomics Ming-Chiu Fung, PhD Ming-Chiu Fung, PhD, Professor, CUHK Title: Discovery of a new compound for Gene Switch Therapy of Beta-hemoglobinopathies Professor Fung received his PhD in Molecular Biology from the Australian National University. He did a postdoc in the Department of Virology of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and then worked as a research fellow in John Curtin School of Medical Research before he joined the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). His research focused on the molecular biology of cytokine and cytokine receptors. Dr. Fung now concentrates on screening biological active ingredients from traditional Chinese medicine. Recently, his team purified a lead compound from Chinese herbs which can reactivate the human gamma globin gene in K562 cells and the progenitor cells of beta-thalassemia patients. Dr. Fung is one of the founders and ex-president of the Hong Kong Society for Immunology. Ricky K.N. Leung, Ph.D Ricky K.N. Leung, PhD, Professor, Department of Biochemistry, CUHK Professor Ricky K.N. Leung obtained his B.Sc. Degree in Biochemistry (with Honors, First Class) from The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) and a PhD Degree in Microbiology and Immunology from the John Curtin School of Medical Research, Australian National University. After working at the Virology Division of the Pathology Department, University of Cambridge, for two years, he returned to CUHK as a Lecturer in the Department of Biochemistry in 1983. Professor Leung has been a Professor in the Department of Biochemistry, CUHK since 1997. He is a 3-time recipient of the Exemplary Teaching Award from the Faculty of Science, CUHK. He was also the chairman (2000 - 2002) of the Hong Kong Society for Immunology. His main research interests include immunopharmacological studies of food components, phytochemicals and Chinese medicinal herbs; leukemia therapy; cancer cell biology and signal transduction mechanisms. He has published over 180 papers/abstracts in the fields of Immunology and Cancer Cell Biology. Benny Chung-Ying Zee, PhD Benny Chung-Ying Zee, PhD Assistant Dean (Research), Professor/Director, CUHK Prof. Benny Zee is Assistant Dean of Research for the Faculty of Medicine and also Professor and Director of the Centre for Clinical Trials in the School of Public Health, Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). He holds honorary appointments in the Department of Clinical Oncology and the Department of Statistics of CUHK. Professor Zee obtained his Ph.D in Biostatistics from the University of Pittsburgh USA in 1987. He then joined the National Cancer Institute of Canada Clinical Trials Group as Senior Biostatistician, and was in the Department of Community Health and Epidemiology and the Department of Mathematics and Statistics of Queen’s University Canada from 1987 to 2001. He maintained an adjunct appointment with Queen’s University after joining CUHK and is actively promoting international academic activities and supervising students from both universities. Professor Zee has strong interest in various aspects of multi-center clinical trials, including statistical methods and data management. He is active in Biostatistics research, especially in the areas of quality of life, bioinformatics, phase II/III trials design, data & safety monitoring and other statistical issues. He has experience in the development of efficient data management procedures using advanced computer technology, as well as in working with industry to design and carry out clinical trials that satisfy both academic and industry objectives. Jerry Yang, PhD Jerry Yang, PhD Professor, University of Connecticut Professor Jerry Xiangzhong Yang is founding director of the Center for Regenerative Biology at the University of Connecticut and head of the university’s Transgenic Animal Facility. He is a graduate of Beijing Agricultural University and received his MS and PhD degrees from Cornell University, where he also pursued postdoctoral studies in animal biotechnology/cloning. He then served as a research scientist and program director in Cornell's Department of Animal Science. He has been at University of Connecticut since 1996. His field of research is animal cloning, somatic cell reprogramming and generation of embryonic stem (ES) cells from fertilized embryos or from tissue somatic cells via somatic cell nuclear transfer in animal models. He is most noted for his research that produced the first cloned animal from an adult farm animal in the U.S. His publications have appeared in many scientific journals, and in national and international publications. A prolific public speaker, he has won numerous honors and awards, and is an honorary or visiting professor or review board member at numerous institutions worldwide. Dr. Yang is founder of Evergen, a stem cell company. Gunther Winkler, PhD Gunther Winkler, PhD VP, Strategic Initiatives, Biogen-Idec Dr. Winkler joined Biogen as a Research Scientist in 1988, served as Director of Medical Operations from 1991-1997 and as Program Executive and Senior Director of Program Management from 1997-2002. Dr. Winkler has contributed to a number of Biogen Idec's drug development programs, most significantly to the AMEVIVE® program, the AVONEX® program and the ANGIOMAX program. His international experience includes Europe, Japan, Australia and a number of Asian countries. Dr. Winkler is credited with leading the program development team for AMEVIVE®, Biogen Idec’s novel anti-inflammatory compound for treatment of moderate-to-severe chronic plaque psoriasis. He oversaw the integrated development program through the research, clinical development and registrational phases. AMEVIVE® was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2003 and is also available in several overseas markets. A native of Austria, Dr. Winkler received a Masters degree and PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Vienna. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. His scientific work focused on virology and vaccine development. He has published more than 30 articles and presented at more than 100 conferences. Dr. Winkler is listed in Who’s Who in the World, Who’s Who in America and others. Dr. Winkler is a well-known photographer who has exhibited in several individual and group shows. He is married and the father of two children. Seng H. Cheng, PhD Seng H. Cheng, PhD VP, Genzyme Seng H. Cheng, PhD, is Vice President of Genetic Diseases Science at Genzyme Corporation. Dr. Cheng received his B.Sc. (1979) and PhD (1983)degrees in Biochemistry from the University of London, U.K. He trained as a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institute for Medical Research in London, U.K. and at Integrated Genetics Inc., where he performed research on the molecular basis of tumorigenesis. He was a Staff Scientist at Integrated Genetics in 1987 and joined Genzyme Corporation in 1989 to work on several discovery projects including the structure and function of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator. Since 1993, he has managed the efforts at Genzyme Corporation to develop synthetic and viral gene delivery vectors for several disease indications. These efforts led to one of the first clinical testing of gene therapy for cystic fibrosis for which he was awarded the Genzyme President's award in 1996. He has published over 130 scientific research articles and is a co-author on 24 issued patents in the area of biotechnology. Presently, he is responsible for the discovery and preclinical research activities for genetic, endocrine, neurometabolic and neurodegenerative diseases. Dennis France Dennis France VP, ArQule In July 2004, Dennis joined the ArQule Institute for Biomedical Research as Vice-President of Oncology Lead Discovery, located in Woburn, Massachusetts. Dennis’ role focuses on molecular targeted approaches to cancer from target selection to IND submission. Before joining ArQule, Dennis was an Executive Director in the oncology disease area at Novartis, responsible for early target-based oncology lead discovery. There he served as a key liaison for the collaboration between with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. He was also a co-investigator for several natural product drug discovery grants sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, and was also Chairman of the Laboratory Robotics Interest Group for over ten years. Prior to his 17 years at Novartis, Dennis worked at leading medical research labs in New York City. Dennis has received a number of awards, including the ISLAR Pioneer Award in Laboratory Robotics, The Association for Laboratory Automation Achievement Award, and the Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation Pioneer Award. Dennis has co-authored over 30 peer-reviewed scientific papers during his career spanning such diverse areas as oncology, atherosclerosis, and drug discovery technologies. Yupeng David He, PhD Abbott Laboratories Dr. Yupeng (David) He is Senior Research Virologist, Infectious Disease Research at Abbott Laboratories, Chicago. Dr. He is originally from mainland China and finished his undergraduate study there, with a B.S. in Biology from Nankai University. He came to the U.S. to pursue his graduate training, first obtaining a M.A. in Biochemistry from the University of Kansas, followed by a PhD in Microbiology from Dr. Michael Katze's lab at the University of Washington. Dr. He became highly interested in virology during his graduate study and focused his PhD dissertation on virus-host cell interaction of hepatitis C virus (HCV). Dr. He was hired as a Senior Research Cell/Molecular Biologist by Abbott Laboratories (Abbott Park, IL) after he received his PhD, and he works on anti-HCV drug discovery in the Infectious Disease Research Division of the company. Dr. He is the author of about 30 papers, reviews, and meeting presentations." Zhijian Lu, PhD Zhijian Lu, PhD Associate Director, Wyeth Dr. Zhijian Lu graduated from Jilin University in 1982 with a BS degree in chemistry. Then he studied in the Environment Protection Research Institute in Beijing for three years and earned a Master’s degree in environment engineering. Between 1985 and 1991 he did his PhD research in Boston University in Dr. Richard Laursen’s lab on topics in protein chemistry. Dr. Lu did the post-doc studies in Dr. Gobind Khorana’s lab in MIT on structure-function relationship of rhodopsin. In 1993 Dr. Lu joined Genetics Institute, the predecessor of Wyeth Biotech, where he is the Associate Director of Biotherapeutics Expression and Purification group of Wyeth Research. Dr. Lu’s research interest and achievements are in the areas of protein expression, protein structure/function relationship, peptide library display, discovery and functional characterization of novel genes, and proteomic study of cell signaling. Dr. Lu’s current focus is protein drug discovery. Jun Han, PhD Jun Han, PhD Novartis Dr. Jun Han holds the position of Senior Fellow in Chemical and Pharmaceutical Profiling group at Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Inc. located in Cambridge, MA. Prior to joining Novartis in 2004, He spent three years in the department of Pharmaceutics and New Technologies at Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Park, IL, and also two years in the Preformulation group at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Pearl River, NY. Dr. Han completed a PhD in Pharmaceutics at the University of Minnesota and had bachelor's degree in Pharmacy from the Second Military Medical University in Shanghai, China. His current research interests include the investigation of physiochemical properties, solid-state characterization techniques, crystallization and phase transition, delivery of poorly water-soluble compounds, and lipid based formulations. Norrie JW Russell, PhD Norrie JW Russell, PhD Chief Scientific Officer, Invitrogen Dr. Russell has more than 25 years of experience in drug discovery and has a long history of success driving innovation in pharmaceutical discovery and development. He also has experience leading entrepreneurial biotechnology companies developing pioneering new technologies. Most recently, he was President and CEO of Aviva Biosciences Corporation, where he led a successful effort in developing enabling instrument platforms and systems used in drug development and diagnostic testing. Before that, Dr. Russell served as President and CEO of Lynx Therapeutics, where he led the development and application of novel technologies for the discovery of gene expression patterns and genomic variations. Dr. Russell had a long career at AstraZeneca, where he was Global Head, Biological Science and Technology, with responsibility for the application of genomics and genetics to both target discovery and the entire research and development process. Dr. Russell also headed several functions, including Target Discovery, International Genomics and Biotechnology. Dr. Russell holds a PhD in Physiology from Glasgow University, Scotland. Paul Smaglik, PhD Paul Smaglik, PhD Naturejob Editor Dr. Paul Smaglik is a science journalist who's been covering biomedical research and policy for the past nine years. He's written and edited for Science News, The Scientist and, for the past six years, Nature. When the first human stem cells were isolated, he wrote that clinical applications remained years way, due to political and ethical concerns (The Scientist 12 (23):1 (23 November 1998). In 2001, he launched Naturejobs as an editorial section of the journal. Naturejobs covers the world of scientific careers and encompasses multiple sectors, disciplines and parts of the world. This year, the Naturejobs web site, which combines scientific career news with classified advertising, won a national award from Editor & Publisher. As part of Naturejobs' mission, Smaglik has moderated numerous panels and career talks sponsored by Naturejobs, the New York Academy of Sciences, Euroscience, and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory. He has also published and presented his peer reviewed research on interactive health communication. Laura Chavez-Noriega, PhD Laura Chavez-Noriega, PhD Senior Research Fellow, Merck Dr. Laura Elena Chavez-Noriega earned a Ph.D in Physiology from the University of London and National Institute for Medical Research in London. After post-docs at Yale University and the Salk Institute, she worked in drug discovery at SIBIA Neurosciences. Since joining MRL in 1999, she has served as a group leader and senior research scientist, focusing on drug development in San Diego and Boston for Alzheimer’s and other neurological disorders. She has published many articles on neurophysiology, neuropharmacology and drug discovery. She is a member the Society for Neuroscience and the International Brain Research Organization Dyke Hendrickson Dyke Hendrickson Senior Editor, Mass High Tech Dyke Hendrickson covers biotech, medical devices and pharmaceutical R&D for Mass High Tech, a weekly newspaper and daily website that has 50,000 readers in the six New England states. The publication has 20,000 subscribers to its morning email report. Hendrickson is interested in the commercial applications of new medications and tools. He has been with the newspaper for nine years, and his observations appear in his column called BiomedRounds. Mass High Tech is owned by American City Business Journals, which has 40 such business publications in cities around the U.S. Myrna E. Watanabe, PhD Myrna E. Watanabe, PhD Science writer Dr. Myrna E. Watanabe, is an animal behaviorist who has become a successful science writer. Trained as a herpetologist with expertise in the behavior and ecology of crocodilians, Watanabe studied both the American and Chinese alligators in their natural habitats. Her last research project, while a faculty member at Manhattan College, Bronx, New York, was as advisor to an undergraduate student working on the concentration of heavy metals in Brazilian caiman tissue. Watanabe specializes in writing on biotechnology and biomedicine in many scientific journals and the national press. Currently, she serves as a visiting scientist at the University of Connecticut and she also runs a freelance writing business. She is co-author of Snakes of the World (Crescent Books, Avenel, New Jersey, 1992), and co-author and co-editor of the book, The Fight for Survival: Animals in Their Natural Habitats (Metro Books, New York, 1995). Watanabe holds a bachelor's degree from Barnard College, and master’s and PhD degrees in biology from New York University. Huawei Qiu, PhD Huawei Qiu, PhD Senior Scientist, Genzyme Dr. Huawei Qiu is a senior scientist in Therapeutic Protein Research Department at Genzyme, where his research focuses on protein and antibody therapeutics, in particular, protein-protein interaction. He has a B.S. in Chemistry from Beijing University in China, a PhD in Biochemistry from Texas A&M University. He did postdoctoral training at Brown University, and at Harvard Medical School/Brigham and Women’s Hospital, where he was a NIH/NRSA fellow. Dr. Qiu has been engaged in protein structure-function studies and biological interaction characterizations in various systems. He joined Genzyme in 1999, where he worked on protein characterization/engineering to support the successful approval of several therapeutic proteins. His current focus is on antibody interactions and protein engineering. Huo Li, PhD Huo Li, PhD Biogen Idec Dr. Huo Li became Research Informatics Scientist in Biogen Idec (formerly Biogen) since year 2000. Major focus is on bioinformatics applications in drug discovery, gene expression data analysis, gene chip design and annotation, pathway and network analysis, and proteomics data analysis. Dr. Huo obtained his PhD in Molecular Biology from University of Tennessee. While at UT, Huo’s broad interests in the cross-discipline study also yielded two Master degrees in Computational statistics and Biochemistry. Huo obtained his BS degree in Biology from Sichuan University. Before pursuing graduate work in the US, Huo worked in the Academy of Chinese medical Science for 5 years, and received prize from Chinese Department of Health. Brian Wong, MD PhD Director, Roche Dr. Brian Wong's work has focused on the elucidation of the molecular and cellular pathogenesis of inflammatory disorders such as arthritis and asthma and the development of novel differentiated medicines to treat those disorders. His training include a PhD in Immunology from the Rockefeller University and an M.D. from Cornell University Medical College in New York City. He currently serves as Director of Research at Roche Pharmaceutical’s Inflammation, Autoimmunity, and Transplantation Department in Palo Alto, California. There he oversees multiple small molecule programs in inflammation and allergy. Prior to this he was an Associate Director at Rigel Pharmaceuticals in South San Francisco where he was involved in the discovery of small molecule kinase inhibitors to treat host of inflammatory disorders. Bill Shek, PhD Bill Shek, PhD Senior Scientific Director, Charles River Lab Bill Shek attended Cornell University in Ithaca, NY where he received a D.V.M. in 1977, an M.Sc. in 1979 and a PhD in 1982. His graduate research was in virology and immunology. In 1982, Bill joined Charles River Laboratories as the Director of Microbiology and Immunology; he is currently the Senior Scientific Director of Diagnostic Services. His responsibilities include diagnostic assay development, laboratory software design and development, and overseeing Charles River’s Research Animal Diagnostic Services. Marsha Paul Marsha Paul Caliper Life Sciences Marsha Paul is an Organic Chemist and Laboratory Automation Professional with over 24 years experience. She received numerous patents in Polymer Technology while employed as a Research Chemist for Dow Chemical Company. Marsha gained extensive knowledge in laboratory automation while holding various positions that include Applications Engineer and Business Development Manger for Zymark Corporation; Automation Sales Consultant in the Drug Discovery Division for Beckman Coulter and Vice President of Sales and Marketing for TekCel Corporation. Presently, she is a Senior Sales Consultant for Caliper Life Sciences involved in assisting in the process of transitioning manual methods to automated procedures. As an officer and founder of the Laboratory Interest Group in New England, a member of the American Chemical Society and Women in Science she has a sincere desire to promote science and automation in all levels of public and private education. As a Selectwoman for the Town of Upton MA, she spends many hours managing local town affairs. Marsha received her BS in Chemistry from Framingham State College, Graduate Training in Biochemistry at Brandeis University and Business Management at Boston University. Elizabeth Abraham, PhD Elizabeth Abraham, PhD ViaCell   Dr. Elizabeth Abraham is a Senior Scientist for the Diabetes program at ViaCell in Cambridge, MA. Prior to joining ViaCell, Dr. Abraham was an instructor/post-doctoral fellow at the HHMI Laboratory of Molecular Endocrinology at Massachusetts General Hospital. She has worked on pancreas development and researched on expandable sources of insulin-secreting cells. Her work led to filing of five patents (two issued). Dr. Abraham received her bachelor's and masters degree in Zoology at the University of Calcutta, India. In the U.S, she received her Ph.D degree from Kansas State University in 1995. Her first post-doctoral stint was at the Department of Cell Biology, Medical University of South Carolina. Mak Nai Ki, PhD Mak Nai Ki, PhD Professor, Hong Kong Baptist Univesity Dr. Mak is an immunologist and photobiologist. He received a B.Sc from CUHK and a PhD in Microbiology from Australian National University. After a postdoc at the National Institute for Medical Research in London, he began to teach at Hong Kong Baptist College/University in 1986. Dr. Mak’s research interests include mechanistic actions of photosensitizers on cancer cells; viral immunology, especially the modulation of immunity by components isolated from Chinese medicinal herbs; and anti-cancer compounds isolated from Chinese medicinal herbs. He has had a series of fellowships and is a member of various scientific societies, including founding member of the Hong Kong Society for Immunology. Dr. Mak has also published some 70 articles in scientific journals. Linus Carl Pauling Jr, MD Linus Carl Pauling Jr, MD Board of Director, Student Vision Dr. Linus Pauling Jr is Chairman and Board of Trustees, Linus Pauling Institute of Science and Medicine. He served in the U.S. Army Air Force during World War II, then did his undergraduate study at Pomona College. He received an M.D. at Harvard University and served as an intern and psychiatric resident at The Queen’s Hospital and The Territorial Hospital in Honolulu. Dr. Pauling has worked as a psychiatrist in private practice and has held positions in mental health organizations, including as president of the Hawaii Mental Health Association. He has also served on the boards of many organizations including the Foundation for Nutritional Advancement, Washington DC and Student Vision, Boston. He is a member of the American Psychiatric Association, Harvard Medical Alumni Association and American Civil Liberties Union. Ajith Kamath, PhD Ajith Kamath, PhD Associate Director, Pfizer Dr. Kamath obtained his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore in 1987. He joined Dr. Esmond Snell at the University of Texas at Austin as a post-doctoral fellow to work on the enzymology of bacterial histidine decarboxylases. In 1990, Dr. Kamath joined Dr. Charles Yanofsky at Stanford University as a Research Associate and worked on the molecular basis of tryptophanase operon regulation. He was supported by the Career Investigator Post-doctoral Fellowship from the American Heart Association. In 1993 Dr. Kamath joined the Protein Expression and Structure Team at Pfizer’s R&D center in Groton, CT. His group cloned and purified proteins to facilitate high throughput screening, structure-based drug design by X-ray crystallography and NMR techniques. In 1999, Dr. Kamath moved to Pfizer’s then Discovery Technology Center in Cambridge, MA. His group played an important role in the implementation of gene family drug discovery approach for phosphodiesterases. Currently, as part of Pfizer’s Kinase Center of Emphasis, Dr. Kamath’s group is involved in cloning, expression and purification of kinases to facilitate identification of potent and selective inhibitors. Reid Leonard, PhD Reid Leonard, PhD Senior Director, Merck Dr. Leonard’s role is to identify partnering opportunities that fit with Merck's strategic research and development goals across all therapeutic and technology areas. This is an outreach function to complement Merck's existing world-wide licensing and collaborative research activities. As such, the focus is on early-stage opportunities: university technologies, incubator and start-up companies, and programs within established companies that may be a "good fit" for Merck, but which are not (yet) actively seeking a partner. His goal to build relationships that will foster lasting, productive partnerships between Merck and other members of the biomedical research community. Reid's geographic area of responsibility, shared with Dr. Robert Gould, VP, Worldwide Licensing and External Research, is the Eastern United States. Dr. Leonard graduated from Brandeis in 1980 with a BA in biology and psychology. He earned a Ph.D. in neuroscience from Purdue in 1985. Following a postdoctoral fellowship at Caltech, Reid joined the Merck Research Labs in Rahway, NJ. After ten years of discovery research in ion channel biology, Reid moved into External Scientific Affairs, where he was responsible for the scientific evaluation of partnering opportunities in several therapeutic areas, most recently endocrine/metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. In November 2005, Reid transitioned to the newly-created "licensing ambassador/scout" role in Boston. Xinhua Li, PhD, MBA Xinhua Li, PhD, MBA Senior Scientist, Genzyme Science China Co-Representative Dr. Li is a senior scientist at Genzyme Corporation, where his responsibilities include drug discovery research, evaluating external opportunities, and Genzyme science China development. Dr. Li has over 10 years of experience in the biotech and pharmaceutical industry. Prior to Genzyme, he held senior R&D positions at GelTex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Dyax Corporation. Before coming to the US, Dr. Li was a faculty member at Shandong University, China. Dr. Li received his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Washington University and was a post-doctoral fellow at Harvard University's Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology. He has an M.B.A. from the Olin School of Business at Babson College. He received his B.S. and M.S. in organic and polymer chemistry from Shandong University, China. Hing Leung Sham, Ph.D Hing Leung Sham, Ph.D Director/Distinguished Research Fellow Metabolic Disease Research, Global Pharmaceutical R and D, Abbott Title: Discovery of Two Generations of HIV Protease Inhibitors Dr. Hing Leung Sham, Ph.D received a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Minnesota, an M.S. in Physical Organic Chemistry from Iowa State University, and a Ph.D in Synthetic Organic Chemistry from the University of Hawaii. He has worked for many years in medicinal chemistry at Abbott. Dr. Sham is the primary inventor of Kaletra® (lopinavir/ritonavir), the well-known advanced-generation protease inhibitor for the treatment of HIV infection, and a co-inventor of Norvir® (ritonavir), Abbott's first protease inhibitor drug. He currently directs Abbott's medicinal chemistry research efforts in metabolic diseases, including diabetes and obesity. Dr. Sham has published over 110 scientific articles and is a named inventor on 60 issued and 10 pending U.S. patents. He has served as an editor and reviewer, and is a member of several scientific associations. Dr. Sham received the 2003 Heroes of Chemistry Award from the American Chemical Society (for his Kaletra discovery), the National Inventor of the Year award from the Intellectual Property Owners Association (for Norvir), and twice the Inventor of the Year award from the Intellectual Property Law Association of Chicago (for Norvir and Kaletra). Back to Top Back to Speaker List See other speakers: Linus Pauling Speakers Pharmaceutical Companies Private Biotech Companies Cytokine Companies Public Biotech Companies Academic Institutions Other If you would like to be involved with the 2006 Pauling Symposium please email Dr. Grace Wong at gw@studentvision.org. Home | Mission | Registration | Sponsors | Job Strategies | News, Events, Contact Biotech Booth | Event Photos | Nobel Day | Dr. Linus Pauling | Who's Who Pauling Biotech Symposium | Symposium Agenda | Symposium Speakers | Symposium Testimonials Founder & Board of Directors | Scientific Advisory Committee | Scholarship Application copyright 2011