ADVISORY BOARD

Carlos F. Barbas, III, PhD is a professor at The Scripps Research Institute, Departments of Molecular Biology and Chemistry and The Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology. He holds the Janet and W. Keith Kellogg II endowed Chair in Molecular Biology and Chemistry. Dr. Barbas has received honors including the Investigator Award from the Cancer Research Institute, The Scholar Award of the American Foundation for AIDS Research and the Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award. He has lectured worldwide, authored more than 200 scientific articles and is a named inventor on 32 issued U.S. patents.  Key accomplishments in the area of biotechnology pioneered by Dr. Barbas and his colleagues include the development of the first human antibody phage libraries, development of the first synthetic antibodies, the development of the first artificial transcription factors, capable of regulating endogenous genes, and the CovX core technology. He has also pioneered the development of Organocatalysis and invented a number of key chemical reactions using this approach. His research interests have focused on the development of new therapeutic approaches to human diseases through studies at the interface of synthetic organic chemistry, molecular biology, and medicine. Dr. Barbas received his PhD in organic chemistry from Texas A&M University.

Julia R. Brown is a member of the Board of Directors of Tanox and of Mediquest Therapeutics. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the La Jolla Institute for Molecular Medicine, the Veterans Medical Research Foundation and the University of California San Diego Foundation. She is a Tech Coast Angel, a member of BIOCOM, Corporate Director’s Forum, and Athena. From 2000-2003, Ms. Brown was Executive Vice President of Amylin Pharmaceuticals but currently serves as advisor to the CEO. She was Executive Vice President of Dura Pharmaceuticals from 1995-1999. Ms. Brown spent more than 25 years with Eli Lilly in progressively more senior roles. From 1992-1994, she was Vice President of IVAC Corporation and General Manager of its vital signs division. She was Vice President of Worldwide Marketing for Hybritech and led global marketing from1986-1992. Ms. Brown is a graduate of Louisiana Tech University where she studied microbiology and biochemistry.

Joy A. Cavagnaro, PhD, DABT, RAC is President of Access BIO, a consultancy specializing in science-based regulatory strategies and product development services to facilitate biomedical research and emerging technologies including vaccines, cellular and gene therapies, animal-based and plant-based biotherapeutics, biotechnology-derived and tissue engineered products. Dr. Cavagnaro received her PhD in biochemistry at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, followed by postgraduate work at Duke University and Boston University Medical Centers. She has more than 25 years experience in biotech spanning academia, the clinical research and biotech industries and government. Prior to establishing Access BIO, Dr. Cavagnaro was vice president of regulatory affairs at Human Genome Sciences. Dr. Cavagnaro enjoyed a career in government at the FDA (CBER) before rejoining industry. During her tenure she was appointed to the SBRS, served as FDA’s topic lead for safety for the ICH initiative for seven years and rapporteur for the ICH S6 Guidance. She also chaired the working group responsible for FDA’s 1996 Comparability Guidance Document. Prior to joining FDA, Dr. Cavagnaro was principal study director for biotechnology products at Covance (formerly Hazleton Labs). Dr. Cavagnaro was past chair of the Regulatory Affairs Professional Society. She currently serves as chair of BioSafe, a focused expert science committee within BIO which identifies key scientific and regulatory issues and developments related to the preclinical safety evaluation of biopharmaceutical products. She also serves on the Steering Committee for the NIH National Gene Vector Laboratory, is a member of the Clinical and Regulatory Affairs Committee of the American Society of Gene Therapy and is a co-chair of Chesapeake Research Review’s Independent IRB.

Andre Fogarasi was Managing Director of Arthur Andersen’s Office of Federal Tax Services and Director of U.S. Tax Competence. He spent over two decades at Andersen including roles as global head of the international tax service line and international tax partner. Prior to working at Arthur Andersen, he worked for the Department of the Treasury in the International Tax Counsel’s Office as an international tax counsel attorney. He is also a board member of the Tax Foundation, the Tax Council and the Board of N.Y.U. Continuing Legal Education. Mr. Fogarasi is a former adjunct professor at the Washington College of Law at American University in Washington, DC; and the former chairman of the board of the Montgomery County School Foundation. He holds a master’s in tax law from the New York University School of Law as well as a bachelor’s degree and juris doctorate.

Paul Grint, MD is currently Chief Medical Officer and Head of Development of Kalypsys. He has more than 15 years of experience in biologics and small molecule drug development, marked by the successful development of numerous commercial products in the fields of infectious disease, immunology and oncology. Prior to joining Kalypsys, Dr. Grint was senior vice president and chief medical officer of Zephyr Sciences, a biopharmaceutical company. He held similar positions at Pfizer, IDEC Pharmaceuticals and Schering-Plough. Dr. Grint began his pharmaceutical career at the Wellcome Research Laboratories in the UK and received his MD from the University of London, St. Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College in London, U.K. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists, a member of numerous professional and medical societies and the author or coauthor of over 50 publications. Dr. Grint is also a member of the Board of Directors of Illumina.

Bob Karr, MD, is President of Idera Pharmaceuticals. Previously, he was Senior Vice President of Strategic Management, Communications and Public Advocacy at Pfizer. In his role, he was responsible for research and development strategy and business-priority development, internal communications and public advocacy. Previously, Dr. Karr was Vice President of Research and Development Strategy for Warner-Lambert. He also spent nearly 10 years at G.D. Searle as executive director and co-interim leader in discovery research. During his time in Searle, he was a member of the R&D leadership team that was a decision making body for clinical and pre-clinical portfolios. Dr. Karr received his undergraduate degree from Southwestern University and his medical degree from University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas. He completed his internship and residency in internal medicine, a fellowship in rheumatology and post-doctoral research training while at Washington University School of Medicine.

John A. Kollins works with life science investment and operating companies, including Tavistock Life Sciences, GRT Capital Partners, and several development-stage biopharmaceutical companies.  Mr.  Kollins has over 16 years of operating experience in commercial and business development roles of increasing responsibility in high-growth, R&D based companies:  Renovis, SurroMed, Athena Neurosciences / Elan Corporation and Immunex.  Mr. Kollins previously served as Chief Business Officer at CovX.  He has played a principal role in numerous buy- and sell-side transaction initiatives and managed and/or served on teams that developed and commercialized five therapeutic products.  He earned his engineering degree from Duke University and an MBA from the University of Virginia’s Darden School.

Ivan Lieberburg, PhD, MD is currently Executive Vice President, Corporate Office of Technology and Chief Medical Officer at Élan Corporation, where he has held a number of positions over the last 18 years, most recently as senior vice president of research. Prior to joining Elan (formerly Athena Neurosciences) in 1987, Dr. Lieberburg held faculty positions at Albert Einstein School of Medicine and Mt. Sinai School of Medicine. Dr. Lieberburg received an AB in Biology from Cornell University, a PhD in Neurobiology from The Rockefeller University and a MD from the University of Miami, School of Medicine. He performed his postdoctoral research at The Rockefeller University and his medical residency and postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco where he is presently a clinical professor of medicine. Dr. Lieberburg has authored more than 100 scientific publications, and he has been named to a number of honors including Rockefeller University Fellow, Public Health Corps Scholar, National Research Service Award, Hartford Foundation Scholar and McKnight Fellow in Neuroscience. He is board certified in internal medicine and endocrinology/metabolism. Dr. Lieberburg is a director of Hythiam and NeuroMolecular Pharmaceuticals, and he sits on the scientific advisory boards of Health Care Ventures, Flagship Ventures and the Keystone Symposium.

David Shapiro, MD, was Executive Vice President of Medical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer at Idun Pharmaceuticals, a biotechnology company specializing in apoptosis research, until the Idun’s acquisition by Pfizer. He joined Merck Research Laboratories in 1985, where he was in charge of hypertension clinical research. Since then, he has gained experience in virtually all areas of pharmaceutical medicine ranging from large pharmaceutical companies to small biotechnology companies, academic medical centers and consulting. He has organized numerous symposia and conferences aimed at improving the drug development process, including the highly regarded series of Scripps Clinic-BIO Drug Development Symposia. Dr. Shapiro has been very active in the American Academy of Pharmaceutical Physicians. Dr. Shapiro received his medical degree from Dundee University in the U.K. and trained further at the University Hospitals in Oxford and at the University of Vermont where he was awarded a fellowship from the American Heart Association.