Chris Cheeseman, Ph.D. Dr. Cheeseman is Chair of the department of Physiology at the University of Alberta. He received his undergraduate training in honours Physiology degree and PhD at the University of Sheffield, England, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship in the Dept. of Biochemistry at the University of Oxford. Chris has been a member of the department of Physiology at the University of Alberta since 1978 and has held a number of senior administrative positions in medical education, before becoming chair of the department in 2004. He is currently, chair of the GI and Liver section of the American Physiological Society and a past president of the Canadian physiological Society. His research focuses on hexose transporter function and regulation in the small intestine and his lab published the first evidence of a physiological role for the enteric peptide hormone GLP-2. In addition, his group recently cloned a new intestinal hexose transporter, GLUT7 and is currently working on which structural elements of sugar transporters determine their substrate specificity.

Robert Kamen, Ph.D. Dr. Kamen was president of Abbott Bioresearch Center, Abbott’s immunology/oncology drug discovery and biologics production unit in Worcester, Mass. He served on Abbott Pharmaceutical’s Executive Management Committee. Dr. Kamen joined Abbott subsequent to its acquisition of BASF’s pharmaceutical business in 2001 after serving as BASF Bioresearch Corporation’s president for ten years. Dr. Kamen retired in May 2002, but continues to serve Abbott as senior consultant. He also serves on the scientific advisory boards of privately held biotechnology firms and advises venture capital companies. From 1982-1986, Dr. Kamen was with Genetics Institute, Inc., where he played a leadership role in building the Cambridge, Mass. firm. While at Genetics Institute, he served as Director of Research, Vice President for Research and Senior Vice President, Scientific Affairs. He was responsible for discovery/pre-clinical research activities and established the clinical development department. Wyeth acquired Genetics Institute in 1991. Dr. Kamen graduated from Amherst College in 1965 with an A.B. (summa cum laude) in biophysics and from Harvard University in 1970 with a Ph.D. degree in biochemistry and molecular biology. After post-doctoral fellowships at the University of Zürich and at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund Laboratories, London, Dr. Kamen accepted a tenured appointment as senior staff scientist at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund Laboratories and served as head of its Transcription Laboratory until 1982. He is known for his fundamental academic contributions to the fields of gene expression, RNA stability, molecular virology, molecular oncology and human cytokines.

Manuel Navia, Ph.D. Dr. Navia is currently an Executive-in-Residence at Oxford Bioscience Partners and a consultant for a number of pharmaceutical companies in the Boston area. Earlier, he was EVP for Research at Essential Therapeutics, which was formed through the merger of Microcide Pharmaceuticals and the Althexis Company in 2001. Dr. Navia was a founder of Althexis and served as its President and CEO. He is an expert in the field of X-ray crystallography, and has focused his career on the application of structural biology to the design and development of novel therapeutic agents. In 1980, Dr. Navia established the first industrial macromolecular structure laboratory in the U.S., at Merck & Co., Inc. From 1989 to 1997, Dr. Navia was VP and Senior Scientist at Vertex, where his work focused on the FK506 binding protein and calcineurin (for immunosuppression), IL-1b converting enzyme (for inflammation), and HIV-1 protease (for AIDS). Dr. Navia also invented the cross-linked enzyme crystal (CLEC) catalyst technology under development by Altus Biologics, a company that he co-founded. Dr. Navia holds a B.A. degree in Physics from New York University (1967), an M.S. in Biophysics from the University of Chicago (1969) and a Ph.D. in Biophysics from the University of Chicago (1974).

Lisa Paborsky, Ph.D. Dr. Paborsky is a business development professional with 20 years experience in the biotech industry. She has most recently been working as an independent corporate development consultant. Dr. Paborsky was Senior Director, Corporate Development at Ensemble Discovery, a venture-backed start-up chemical discovery company. Prior to joining Ensemble, she worked in the business development group at Biogen Idec. She played a central role in M & A, licensing and R&D collaborations, completing numerous deals including the oncology partnership that ultimately led to the merger between Biogen and Idec. Dr. Paborsky also spent several years at Gilead Sciences, initially as a Group Leader in discovery research and then transitioning into business development where she focused on both in-licensing and out-licensing opportunities. Lisa received her PhD in Cancer Biology from Stanford University and performed post-doctoral research at Genentech.

Bruce E. Sands, M.D., M.S. Dr. Sands is Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Associate Physician at Massachusetts General Hospital, Medical Co-Director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Crohn’s and Colitis Center, Dr. Sands also serves as Director of Clinical Research for the Gastrointestinal Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Dr. Sands is a member of the American Gastroenterological Association, and a Fellow of the American College of Gastroenterology. He is also currently Chair of the Clinical Research Alliance of the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America, a national clinical research network, and serves on the CCFA’s National Scientific Advisory Committee. Dr. Sands serves as a section editor and member of the editorial board for “Inflammatory Bowel Diseases.” He has published many peer-reviewed articles, abstracts, and textbook chapters on the etiology, diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of IBD. Dr. Sands received his medical degree at Boston University School of Medicine in 1987. His postgraduate training included an internship and residency in internal medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. He also completed clinical and research fellowships at Massachusetts General Hospital. In addition, Dr. Sands was awarded a Master of Science degree in Epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health in 2001.

Detlef Schuppan, M.D., Ph.D. Dr. Schuppan is as world-renowned expert in celiac disease. Dr. Schuppan is currently Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, at Harvard Medical School. He also serves as Director of the Celiac and Liver Research Centers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Prior to relocating to Boston in 2004, he was Full Professor at University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany. He has published widely in celiac disease research and treatment and has an active research program in the area. His laboratory has developed the first animal model of celiac disease that can be used to test potential therapeutics. The celiac disease center at Beth Israel Deaconess is one of the largest clinical centers in the country.

Stephen T. Sonis, DMD, DMSc. Dr. Sonis is the Chief of the Division of Oral Medicine, Department of Surgery at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Senior Physician, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Dentistry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Professor of Oral Medicine, Infection and Immunity at Harvard. Dr. Sonis is one of the world’s leading experts in mucositis. His research focuses on studies that investigate the general and molecular epidemiology, mechanisms, burden of illness, and novel interventions associated the condition. Clinical trials include burden of illness, epidemiology and mechanism studies in patients receiving stem cell transplants or treatment for cancers of the head and neck and other solid tumors. Dr. Sonis has published extensively on the clinical, biological, and health economic aspects of oral complications of cancer therapy. He is the author of over 90 original publications, 30 reviews and chapters, 5 books and numerous abstracts. Dr. Sonis has served on a number of editorial boards. He is a founding member of the International Society of Oral Oncology.

Doug Stafford, Ph.D. Dr. Stafford is currently Executive Vice President for Corporate Development for GenExel-Sein, Inc., a publicly traded diversified medical products company headquartered in South Korea. He is also President of Life Sciences Development Corp., a GenExel-Sein U.S. subsidiary. He was previously President and Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer, and Director of Ophidian Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a publicly traded bio-pharmaceutical company developing polyclonal antibodies as human therapeutics. Here, he guided corporate development leading to over 75 patents involving immunochemistry, numerous technology-based corporate alliances, several human clinical trials, and an initial public offering. Earlier he was employed in advancing positions in research, product development, and operations at several divisions of Baxter Healthcare Corporation. He has held several academic positions and most recently served as adjunct faculty at Edgewood College and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He received B.S. and M.S. degrees in biology at the University of Detroit, a Ph.D. in immunology from the Sackler School of Biomedical Sciences at the Tufts University School of Medicine, and a M.S. degree in management from Lesley College.

Wim van Schooten, Ph.D. Dr. van Schooten is CEO of BL Pharma, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutic peptides containing unnatural D-amino acids. Wim van Schooten has worked in biotechnology management for 18 years supervising research and development, manufacturing and regulatory operations including the founding of THP in 2000. Dr. van Schooten joined ImmuLogic Pharmaceutical Corporation in 1989 and led its rheumatoid arthritis research program in a collaboration with Merck, Sharpe & Dohme. In 1993, he joined Dendreon Corporation, where he developed therapeutics for the treatment of prostate cancer and multiple myeloma. Among other responsibilities at Dendreon, Wim van Schooten directed the quality and clinical research program, leading to the approval of a device and Phase III studies in cancers. Wim van Schooten co-founded and was CEO of Therapeutic Human Polyclonals which was sold to Roche Pharmaceuticals in March, 2007.