Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institutes Director Joins Samaritan Advisory Board
Anna Strasberg has joined the advisory board of Samaritan Pharmaceuticals, a Las Vegas developer seeking to commercialize pain relief drugs for patients with Alzheimer's, cancer, heart disease, and infectious disease. She is the widow of Lee Strasberg, who transformed the Actors Studio into the preeminent US organization for training method actors from 1952 until his death in 1982, and has continued its work of nurturing actors as artistic director/founder of the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institutes in New York and Los Angeles.
She founded, and is artistic director of, the Lee Strasberg Creative Center, a nonprofit organization through which scholarships in acting, writing and directing are given yearly to young inner-city artists.
"Anna Strasberg offers Samaritan a unique networking opportunity with celebrities that have an interest in supporting innovative cures for life threatening diseases such as Alzheimer's, AIDS, and hepatitis C, or an interest in helping children with HIV and rare diseases,” Samaritan CEO Janet Greeson said in a press release.
Founded in 1947, the Actors Studio has developed the talents of such actors as Marlon Brando, Robert De Niro, Paul Newman, and Al Pacino.
Strasberg emigrated to the US from Venezuela in 1960, and worked at the United Nations as a special assistant in the cultural department, under the supervision of Eleanor Roosevelt. After working off-off-Broadway with the Washington Players Theatre, and later in television and films, she met Lee Strasberg and married him in 1967. The couple traveled for the US State Department to Germany, Russia, Buenos Aires and Italy.
Former Fisher Biosciences President/CEO Named to Helicos BioSciences' Board
Ronald Lowy, former president and CEO of Fisher Biosciences, has been appointed to the board of directors of Helicos BioSciences. Helicos develops genetic analysis technologies for the research, drug discovery, and diagnostic markets.
At Fisher Biosciences, a division of Fisher Scientific, Lowy oversaw more than 5,000 employees in 56 locations in 100 countries around the world. Before joining Fisher Biosciences, Lowy was president of Global Connectivity Solutions for ADC Telecommunications, where he directed worldwide sales, marketing, operations, research and development of a division of more than 6,500 employees globally. He also served as president and COO at Krone Group where he was responsible for all facets of the business, operating in over 100 countries with 2,500 employees.
Amylin Pharmaceuticals Elects Adrian Adams to Board of Directors
Adrian Adams, president and CEO of Sepracor, has been elected to the board of directors of Amylin Pharmaceuticals, a San Diego-based biopharmaceutical company focusing on treatments for diabetes and obesity.
Before joining Sepracor, he was president and CEO of Kos Pharmaceuticals from 2002 until the acquisition of the company by Abbott Laboratories in December 2006. During his 30-year industry career, Adams has held positions with ICI, SmithKline Beecham, and Novartis.
He is a graduate of the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom with a BSc degree.
In addition to serving on the Amylin board, Adams is a board member of Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, known as PhaRMA.
BIO Director of Federal Relations Joins Foley Hoag’s Government Strategies Practice
Barrett Thornhill has joined the government strategies practice of Foley Hoag. He will work with the law firm’s life sciences lawyers and health policy professionals on legislative and regulatory matters affecting the biotech industry, which has a huge stake on Capitol Hill. Thornhill will work from the law firm’s Washington, DC, office.
Previously, Thornhill served as director of federal government relations for the Biotechnology Industry Organization. Earlier, he held staff policy positions with members of both the Senate and House of Representatives.
UNC Charlotte Names New Executive Director for its Technology Transfer Office
Carl Mahler has been named the new executive director of the office of technology transfer at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He succeeds Ruth Burnett, who has been the acting director for the past year.
Previously, Mahler was director of intellectual property at the Center for Technology Transfer and Enterprise Creation at Carnegie Mellon University, a position he had held since 2002. Prior to his Carnegie Mellon position, Mahler served as director of research commercialization operations at Case Western Reserve University, and head of its University Technologies Inc. During his tenure at Case Western Reserve, the licensing income for the university increased from $217,000 to more than $3 million annually.
He also worked as a chemical engineer in the research divisions of BFGoodrich Chemical, DiversiTech General, and Sherwin Williams. Mahler was admitted to the practice of law in Ohio in 1993.