scientific advisory board
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Daniel D. Von Hoff, M.D., F.A.C.P.
Chairman of Scientific Advisory Board
Daniel D. Von Hoff, M.D., F.A.C.P. is a co-founder of Cylene and provides leadership in the clinical development arena for the Company. He holds an appointment as Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, and he has an interest is in the development of new anticancer agents, both in the clinic and in the laboratory. He has been involved with the development of over 200 anticancer agents now in clinical use, including: mitoxantrone, fludarabine, paclitaxel, docetaxel, gemcitabine, irinotecan, nelarabine, capecitabine, lapatinib and many others. Dr. Von Hoff has published more than 569 papers, 135 book chapters and over 1000 abstracts, and he was the recipient of the 2010 David A. Karnofsky Memorial Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology for his outstanding contributions to cancer research leading to significant improvement in patient care. Dr. Von Hoff was appointed to President Bush’s National Cancer Advisory Board in 2004-2010. Dr. Von Hoff is the past President of the American Association for Cancer Research, a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, and a past board member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. Dr. Von Hoff is founder and the Editor Emeritus of Investigational New Drugs – The Journal of New Anticancer Agents; and, Editor-in-Chief of Molecular Cancer Therapeutics. He is also a co-founder of the AACR/ASCO Methods in Clinical Cancer Research Workshop.
Brian Druker, M.D.
Professor, Oregon Health & Science University Cancer Center
Dr. Brian Druker is the JELD-WEN Chair of Leukemia Research and Professor of Medicine at the Oregon Health & Science University Cancer Institute. He is also a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator. Dr. Brian Druker has revolutionized the treatment of cancer through research to develop Gleevec, the first drug to target the genetic defects of a particular cancer while leaving healthy cells unharmed. Based on his studies, Gleevec is now the treatment of choice for patients with CML, and its success has opened the door to developing targeted therapies for other cancers. More than a decade ago, Dr. Druker identified STI571, the precursor to Gleevec, as a promising anticancer compound for its ability to kill CML cells by turning off the signal of the abnormal cancer-causing protein. He also conducted the first clinical studies of Gleevec, demonstrating that the drug could effectively return blood cell counts to normal in CML patients, with only minor side effects. Dr. Druker's current research projects are aimed at learning why each year some 4 percent of newly diagnosed patients with CML develop resistance to Gleevec and why most patients on the drug have minute levels of cancer that linger even after treatment ends. Resistance to Gleevec most commonly results from mutations in the BCR-ABL kinase that reactivates its signaling mechanism. He recently identified a class of compounds that can inhibit most of these mutants, and similar compounds are now in clinical trials. Dr. Druker has received many prestigious awards for his oncology research, including the Medal of Honor from the American Cancer Society, the Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Award from the American Association for Cancer Research, and the Warren Alpert Prize from Harvard Medical School. Dr. Druker earned both his BS degree in chemistry and his MD degree from the University of California, San Diego.
Walter Gilbert, Ph.D.
Nobel Laureate and Managing Director, BioVentures Investors
Dr. Gilbert became a general partner of BioVentures Investors in 2001, after having served as the Chairman of its Advisory Committee from 1999 to 2001. He has had over twenty years of experience in the biotechnology industry as a successful entrepreneur, both as a founder of new companies and as a senior executive. He is a renowned scientist who was awarded the 1980 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his discovery of a method for rapid DNA sequencing. His forty year academic career at Harvard University was marked by many discoveries, including messenger RNA, genetic repressors, DNA sequencing, and the first expression of insulin in bacteria.
In 1978 Dr. Gilbert co-founded Biogen, the world's oldest independent biotechnology company. He served as Chair of the Scientific Board of Directors from 1978 to 1983, Co-Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Directors from 1979 to 1981, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Directors from 1981 to 1985, and Chief Executive Officer from 1981 to 1985. As CEO, Dr. Gilbert oversaw the company's Initial Public Offering in 1983 and played a key role in the development of several key products, including alpha interferon, beta interferon, and hepatitis B vaccine. In 1992, Dr. Gilbert co-founded Myriad Genetics and continues to serve as its Vice-Chairman. In 1996, Dr. Gilbert co-founded Paratek Pharmaceuticals and has served as Chairman since its inception. He co-founded Memory Pharmaceuticals and continues to serve as Director and Scientific Advisory Board Member. He co-founded Pintex Pharmaceuticals and serves as its Chairman. He is also a director of Transkaryotic Therapies.
In 1991 Dr. Gilbert received the New England Entrepreneur of the Year award from the Institute of American Entrepreneurs. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, a Foreign Member of the Royal Society, and a recipient of numerous other awards and honorary degrees for his work in molecular biology. He has authored more than 150 scientific articles. Dr. Gilbert earned an A.B. in Chemistry and Physics (summa cum laude) from Harvard College, an M.A. in Physics from Harvard University, and a Ph.D. in Mathematics from Cambridge University.
Vincent A. Miller, M.D.
Professor, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Vincent A. Miller, MD, is an Associate Attending Physician on the Thoracic Oncology Service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and Associate Professor of Medicine at Weill Medical College of Cornell University. Dr. Miller’s main research focus is on drug development and the treatment of non–small cell lung carcinoma. His initial work was central to the approval of bexarotene in CTCL and docetaxel in NSCLC. More recently, Dr. Miller has been a leader in the development of therapies targeted at the HER family of receptors. His collaborative work has been central to gaining an understanding of the clinical and molecular predictors of sensitivity and resistance to erlotinib and gefitinib in NSCLC. Dr. Miller has received both the prestigious American Cancer Society Clinical Oncology Career Development Award and the Louise and Allston Boyer Award. Dr. Miller currently serves as a Track Leader in Lung Cancer for the ASCO Cancer Education Committee. Dr. Miller earned a BS in Mathematics at the University of Pennsylvania where he was honored as a Benjamin Franklin Scholar and then received his M.D. at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in Newark. He completed an internship and residency and then served as Chief Medical Resident in Internal Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, and subsequently a fellowship in Medical Oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
Stephen Howell, M.D.
Professor, Moores Cancer Center, University of California, San Diego
Dr. Stephen Howell is Professor of Medicine and Director of the Cancer Pharmacology Program at the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Howell is a leading physician scientist. He was trained as a medical oncologist and pharmacologist, and he runs a world-class research program that conducts both clinical and laboratory-based cancer research studies. The overall aim of Dr. Howell’s research is to improve the effectiveness of the treatment of cancer through the identification of strategies for preventing, overcoming, or reversing resistance to chemotherapeutic agents. Dr. Howell’s current clinical studies are testing novel strategies for delivery of increased amounts of drug to tumors. Dr. Howell is the author of more than 280 publications in the field of cancer chemotherapy. Dr. Howell received his M.D. degree from Harvard Medical School. He completed his internship and residency in medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital, and then served in the U.S. Public Health Service as a research associate at the National Cancer Institute. Following a senior residency at the University of California, San Francisco, Dr. Howell completed training in medical oncology at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. He joined the UCSD faculty in 1977.
Jerome Birnbaum, Ph.D.
Principal, Peartree Pharma R&D Consulting
Dr. Birnbaum is cofounder of Achillion Pharmaceuticals and has served as the company’s Senior Vice President of Research since February 2000. He is an acknowledged industry leader for his successful management of an array of major drug discovery and development programs. Dr. Birnbaum most recently was the Senior Vice President for Strategic R&D Operations for Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical Research Institute from 1998 to 2000. Previously, he served as the Senior Vice President of Pharmaceutical Development, the largest division of the BMS organization, from 1990 to 1998. Dr. Birnbaum also served as the Executive Vice President for all therapeutic areas in the Bristol-Myers Pharmaceutical Research Division where he was responsible for a broad range of programs including infectious diseases, oncology, neurosciences, cardiovascular and dermatology. During this period he spearheaded the successful early development of ddI, d4T, cefepime and cefprozil. Prior to BMS, he was a Vice President in the Merck Research Laboratories for several years and was involved in the discovery of many important infectious disease therapies including cefoxitin, norfloxacin, imipenem and ivermectin. Dr. Birnbaum has received numerous awards including the Selman A. Waksman Award, the Merck Board of Directors Scientific Award for development of the ivermectin family of antiparasitic drugs, and the Daniel Drake Medal from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. In recognition of his contributions to antimicrobial chemotherapy Dr. Birnbaum was elected Fellow in the American Academy of Microbiology in 2000. Dr. Birnbaum is a founding member of the Advisory Council of the Harvard University Malaria Initiative and a Trustee of the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Foundation in New Brunswick, NJ. Dr. Birnbaum holds doctoral and masters degrees in microbial physiology and genetics from the University of Cincinnati and an undergraduate degree from Brooklyn College of the City University of New York.
Ingrid Grummt, Ph.D.
Professor and Division Head, German Cancer Research Center
Dr. Ingrid Grummt is the Head of the Division of "Molecular Biology of the Cell II" at the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg. Dr. Grummt has more than 30 years of experience in polymerase transcription research and is a leader in the field of molecular cell biology. Her research work has been focused on understanding the complex processes by which signals reach the cell nucleus in order to regulate genes. After receiving her Ph.D. from Humboldt University in 1970, Dr. Grummt completed postdoctoral training at the German Academy of Sciences as well as at the Max-Planck Institute of Biochemistry.
Nancy Maizels, Ph.D.
Professor and Director of the Molecular Medicine Program, University of Washington
Dr. Nancy Maizels's research builds on genomic analysis to learn how formation of G4 DNA promotes instability of G-rich regions and cancer; and how conserved repair factors maintain these regions. Dr. Maizels is also the Director of the Molecular Medicine Training Program at the University of Washington, a program designed to train Ph.D. students in basic biomedical sciences to solve problems relevant to human disease. The UW MMTP is one of 13 such programs in the US funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Dr. Maizels was an undergraduate at the University of California at Berkeley. She received her Ph.D. from Harvard University, and she continued at Harvard as a Junior Fellow of the Society of Fellows. She was a Professor in the Departments of Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry and Genetics at Yale University School of Medicine before joining the faculty of the University of Washington in 2000.
Ross Hanan, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Program Head, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre
Dr Ross Hannan is a Principle Research Fellow and Head of the Cancer Growth Control and Differentiation Program at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne. His research interests include genetic and epigenetic regulation of ribosomal gene transcription and nucleolar control of p53 function. Ongoing studies are focused on elucidating how dysregulation of nucleolar function contributes to malignant transformation and this process can be targeted as a novel therapeutic strategy for the treatment of cancer. He received his PhD from the University of Tasmania in 1994 before undertaking postdoctoral research in the USA and in Melbourne. He currently holds a Senior Research fellowship from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia.