BUSINESS & SCIENTIFIC ADVISORS
Avaxia Biologics´ advisors are world-class scientists and clinicians with expertise in antibody therapeutics, mucositis, inflammatory bowel disease and diabetes and obesity. Many of Avaxia´s advisors are actively involved in the company's development programs.
Chris Cheeseman, Ph.D.
Dr. Cheeseman is Professor of Physiology at the University of Alberta, where he has been on the faculty since 1978. He received his undergraduate training and PhD at the University of Sheffield, England, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Oxford. He chairs the GI and Liver section of the American Physiological Society and is a past president of the Canadian Physiological Society. His research focuses on hexose sugar transporter function and regulation in the small intestine.
Robert Kamen, Ph.D.
Dr. Kamen was president of Abbott Bioresearch Center and served on
Abbott´s Executive Management Committee following its 2001 acquisition of BASF´s pharmaceutical business, where he was President, BASF Bioresearch Corporation for ten years. From 1982-1986, Dr. Kamen was Director of Research, VP Research and Senior VP, Scientific Affairs at Genetics Institute, Inc.. Dr. Kamen has an A.B. (summa cum laude) in biophysics from Amherst College and a Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology from Harvard University.
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 Research at Essential Therapeutics, which was formed through the 2001merger of Microcide Pharmaceuticals and the Althexis Company, where he was a founder President and CEO. From 1989 to 1997, Dr. Navia was VP and Senior Scientist at Vertex. He holds a B.A. in Physics from New York University, and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Biophysics from the University of Chicago.
Bruce E. Sands, M.D., M.S.
Dr. Sands is Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Associate Physician, Co-Director of the Crohn´s and Colitis Center and Director of Clinical Research for the Gastrointestinal Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital. He is a member of the American Gastroenterological Association, and a Fellow of the American College of Gastroenterology. He is Chairman of the Clinical Research Alliance of the Crohn´s & Colitis Foundation of America. Dr. Sands received his MD from Boston University School of Medicine.
Detlef Schuppan, M.D., Ph.D.
Dr. Schuppan is a world-renowned expert in celiac disease. He is an Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Celiac and Liver Research Centers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Previously, 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 developed the first animal model for testing potential celiac disease therapeutics.
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. He is one of the world´s leading experts in mucositis research and clinical trials on the epidemiology, mechanisms, burden of illness, and novel interventions in patients receiving stem cell transplants or treatment for head and neck cancers and other solid tumors.
Doug Stafford, Ph.D.
Dr. Stafford is currently EVP Corporate Development for GenExel-Sein, Inc. and President of its Life Sciences Development Corp. subsidiary. He was previously President and CEO, COO, and Director of Ophidian Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a publicly traded bio-pharmaceutical company developing polyclonal antibodies as human therapeutics where 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.
Ali Tavakkolizadeh, M.D.
Ali Tavakkolizadeh, MD, is an Associate Surgeon at the Brigham and Women´s
Hospital, and an Assistant Professor in Surgery at Harvard Medical School. He
specializes in minimally invasive surgery and bariatric surgery. His research
focuses on the regulation of the intestinal glucose transporter SGLT1, with the
goal of developing less invasive and novel therapeutic approaches for altering
intestinal absorptive capacity of glucose in disease states such as obesity and
type-2 diabetes. Dr. Tavakkolizadeh is a Fellow of the American College of
Surgeons, and the Royal College of Surgeons of England. He is a member of many
professional societies, including the American Gastroenterological Association
(AGA), and the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS). He
has published peer-reviewed articles and abstracts on the regulation of
intestinal SGLT1 exmediaion and function, and serves as an associate editor for
"Digestive Disease and Sciences". Dr. Tavakkolizadeh received his medical degree
at The London Hospital Medical College in England, and after becoming a Fellow
of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (FRCS), completed his surgical and
minimally invasive surgery training at the Brigham and Women´s Hospital, Boston.
