Colorado BioScience Association Names Chairperson, Eight Board Members
Jack Wheeler, CEO of MicroPhage in Longmont, Colo., was named chairperson of the board of directors for the Colorado BioScience Association at its 2007 annual all-member meeting, held April 24 at the GlobeImmune/Replidyne dual headquarters facility in Louisville, Colo. Wheeler assumes chairperson responsibilities from Ed Wood of ArcScan in Morrison.
The association also named a new vice chairperson for its board, Rick Jory, CEO of Sandhill Scientific in Highlands Ranch, Colo.
The CBSA named eight new board members, expanding its board to 40 members. New board members receiving three-year appointments:
- Derek Cole, vice president-investor relations for Allos Therapeutics in Westminster, Colo., has been involved in the capital markets and strategic planning for over 16 years, with 11 years of investor relations experience focused on supporting the development of small- and mid-cap companies. Previously, Cole headed the investor relations and corporate communications function at Myogen, until its $2.5 billion acquisition last November by Gilead Sciences. He is an active member of both the National Investor Relations Institute and the Colorado BioScience Association.. He is an active member of both the and the Colorado BioScience Association.
- Doug Henston, CEO of Solix Biofuels in Boulder, an early-stage developer of scalable technology to enable the commercial production of biofuels from algae. Henston was previously a strategic consultant in carbon mitigation strategies and renewable energy with Domani Sustainability Consulting. Prior to moving to Colorado, Henston was a vice president in the fixed income group at Goldman Sachs. He served in the US Navy as a Naval Aviator from 1984 to 1992. Henston holds a BS in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry from Yale University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
- Chris Lepore, director of state government affairs for Johnson & Johnson, and chair of the Pharmaceutical Researchers and Manufacturers of America-Colorado Task Force. Lepore joined J&J in 2004 after serving as manager of state government affairs for Schering-Plough, responsible for the corporation's lobbying efforts in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. Lepore has also been a contract lobbyist in Colorado and Wyoming, representing Hoffman LaRoche, the Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry, the Business Council for Health Care, and served on the political action committee] of the National Federation of Independent Business. Lepore graduated from the University of Northern Colorado with a BA in communications.
- Dan Mitchell, a partner in Sequel Venture Partners and co-founder of Capital Health Venture Partners, a healthcare-focused venture capital firm based in Chicago and Denver. Mitchell's investment career began in 1981 at First National Bank of Chicago. In 1983 he joined the bank's institutional venture capital fund where he invested in numerous industry segments including computer hardware and software, networking products, semiconductor equipment and specialty chemicals. Mitchell has served on the board of directors of numerous public and private companies and is currently a director of CardioOptics, GlobeImmune, Myogen, and Replidyne. Mitchell majored in finance and accounting at the University of Illinois and received his Bachelor of Science degree in 1979. He received an MBA from the Graduate School of Business at the University of California, Berkley, in 1981.
- Harry Ross, managing partner with Aweida Venture Partners in Superior, Colo. Ross retired from clinical practice in 1998 to join the firm, where he is a managing partner specializing in the life sciences. Aweida currently has $100 million under management and prefers to invest between $5 million and $10 million in early seed to late mezzanine rounds of companies in life sciences, software, data storage, and alternative energy. Ross received his MD from Oregon Health Science University in 1991, then received postgraduate training in surgery and emergency medicine at Hennepin County Medical Center with subsequent national board certification in emergency medicine.
- Michael Salem, president and CEO of the National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver since January 2006. Salem led the comprehensive, broad-based strategic planning process that last January produced a 10-year vision and plan designed to maintain preeminence by integrating research and clinical efforts. Previously Salem led the research and development operations as executive vice president of GMP Companies, which he helped launch in 1999. He also served as vice chairman of the department of surgery at George Washington University Hospital in Washington, DC, where he taught practiced and taught general surgery and critical care. A native of Washington, Salem received his undergraduate degree at Washington University in St. Louis and his medical degree from George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. Salem completed his surgical residency training at Boston University Hospital and George Washington, and completed research and clinical fellowships in critical care medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.
- Greg Tucker, vice president, strategic management and operations at OSI Pharmaceuticals, where he leads company activities for strategic brand management, project management, portfolio management, and business decision and analysis. Tucker has held a variety of positions with OSI, and previously worked at Roche, Gilead, the startup firms Synergen and NeXstar, as well as the medical device maker Cobe BCT. Tucker holds a BS in pharmacy from the University of Arkansas and a MS in health administration, with a specialty in pharmaceutical marketing, from the University of Mississippi.
- M. Roy Wilson, chancellor of the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center since July 2006. Previously he was president of the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. In 1998, he was appointed dean of the school of medicine at Creighton University, and then served as both dean and vice president for health sciences from 1999 to 2003, when he joined Texas Tech. Prior to that time, he was professor of ophthalmology both at the Jules Stein Eye Institute of the University of California, Los Angeles, and Charles R. Drew University of Medicine & Science.Wilson is an elected member of the Institutes of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Ophthalmological Society, and the Glaucoma Society of the International Congress of Ophthalmology. He also participates on boards and committees focusing on ophthalmology and the health of underserved populations. Wilson received his medical degree from Harvard Medical School and his MS in epidemiology at the UCLA School of Public Health. He performed both his ophthalmology residency and glaucoma fellowship at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School.
- CBSA represents 340 members, including bioscience companies and companies providing key services to the bioscience industry and research institutions in Colorado.
UCSD Senior Vice Chancellor Joins Salk Institute
The Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, Calif., has named Marsha Chandler, senior vice chancellor of University of California, San Diego, since 1997, to the new position of executive vice president/chief operating officer. The Salk Institute’s board of trustees unanimously approved the appointment April 26.
Chandler will join Salk on July 1. She will oversee the fiscal and administrative functions of the institute, providing support to approximately 870 research staff and 230 administrative personnel, and overseeing fund-raising activities for the institute, which operates on an annual budget of over $100 million. Chandler will also work with Salk’s president/CEO and faculty to enhance the quality of its science and communicate with the public about advances in biological sciences.
Salk is now conducting a search for a president/CEO to succeed Richard Murphy, who has announced plans to retire in July after leading the institute since October 2000. The institute said it is focusing on candidates who are active scientists, since Chandler’s new position will allow Murphy’s successor more time for scientific work.
A native New Yorker, Chandler graduated from the Bronx High School of Science and received her doctorate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Since 1997, she has served as UCSD’s second-ranking executive officer, responsible for policies and decisions on all academic programs as well as faculty appointments and performance. She served as acting chancellor from 2003-04.
Chandler holds an appointment as professor of political science in the Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies at UCSD. In 2004-05, she completed the Advanced Management Program in the Business School at Harvard University and also served as visiting professor at the Kennedy School’s Center for Public Leadership.
Prior to coming to UCSD, she served as dean of arts and science from 1990 to 1997 at the University of Toronto, overseeing 30 academic departments on two campuses.
A renowned scholar of political economy and comparative public policy, Chandler is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and chairs the board of directors of the Canada-US Fulbright Program. She is also a member of the board of the San Diego Opera.
UTC Announces 5 New Trustees at Annual Members' Meeting
The Utah Technology Council, which represents the state’s more than 4,300 technology companies, announced five new members of its board of trustees at its recent annual members' meeting:
- Mark Bonham is a partner in the Salt Lake City office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. He formerly served on the recruiting and compensation committees and currently serves on the opinion and knowledge management committees. Bonham has participated in more than 75 merger and acquisition transactions and public offerings valued at an aggregate of more than $10 billion. In addition to his Utah-based practice, Bonham continues to represent a number of clients in Silicon Valley. He received a JD from Harvard Law School, and a BA in economics from Brigham Young University.
- Ron Heinz, managing director for Canopy Ventures, where he oversees corporate investments and strategic direction. Heinz was the CEO of Helius, a Canopy portfolio company, prior to assuming his current role. From 2000 to 2003, Heinz was CEO of Phobos, a technology company later acquired by SonicWALL of Sunnyvale, Calif. He received a BS in finance from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and an MBA in finance from American University.
- David Jolley, office managing partner for Ernst & Young’s Salt Lake City practice. He has spent the past 17 years providing business advisory services to high-growth companies in a variety of industries including biotechnology, health care and services organizations, manufacturing, software/technology, and transportation. Jolley earned his Bachelor's degree in accounting from Brigham Young University and an MBA from the University of Utah.
- Jason Perry, executive director of the Governor's Office of Economic Development, which oversees Utah’s economic development effort as well as the state’s Office of Tourism and Utah Film Commission. Previously Perry was deputy director of the Utah Department of Commerce, overseeing human resources functions for the 250-person department as well as recommendations, reports, and proposals before the state Legislature. Perry graduated from the University of Utah College of Law with a JD and has a BA in political science from Brigham Young University.
- Ned Weinshenker is vice president for strategic ventures and economic development at Utah State University, where he is responsible for the Technology Commercialization Office, the Innovation Campus, and the Utah Science, Technology and Research Initiative. Weinshenker received a BS degree at the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, a PhD in organic chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and was a NIH postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University under Nobel Laureate E.J. Corey.
Philadelphia Native Returns to Roots with Post at Quaker BioVentures
Quaker BioVentures, which invests in life science companies in the Mid-Atlantic Region, has announced that Adele Cirone Oliva will join the Philadelphia firm in June as its newest partner. Oliva will help execute Quaker BioVentures' investment strategy of catalyzing venture investment into the Mid-Atlantic’s life sciences industry, as well as medical devices and specialty pharmaceuticals.
“It's a return to my roots, both professionally and personally,” said Oliva, who grew up in Philadelphia, in a May 18 announcement of the appointment.
Oliva will leave Apax Partners in New York, a private equity firm where she has co-headed the firm's US health care group. She led numerous transactions with companies such as Esprit Pharmaceuticals, Xanodyne Pharmaceuticals, Prometheus Laboratories, and ESP Pharmaceuticals. She joined Apax in 1997 as a Ewing Marion Kauffman Fellow. Previously, Oliva was in product management and business development in the IV systems division and the cardiovascular group at Baxter Healthcare.
Oliva received her MBA in marketing from Cornell University, where she was an Albert Fried Fellow; and her bachelor's degree from St. Joseph's University.
Connecticut Innovations Names New Investment Associate
Connecticut Innovations has appointed Anil Vasagiri to the position of investment associate. Vasagiri will be responsible for assisting in due diligence of investment opportunities across a range of technology sectors for CI, the state’s quasi-public authority responsible for technology investing and innovation development.
Vasagiri was previously a senior consultant in the internal business strategy group at IBM, evaluating investment opportunities in new technologies and working on projects aimed at streamlining business operations. He also served as a manager at Oracle, leading product development initiatives and solution implementation teams.
Vasagiri earned his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Regional Engineering College in Durgapur, India and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. While there, he worked as a summer associate at TL Ventures, conducting industry research on software, internet technology and other opportunities, and served as an intern with the video and media engineering group of Comcast.
Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse Adds to Medical Advisory Team
The Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse has named Jerome E. Granato to its medical advisory team, where he will evaluate medical device commercialization opportunities.
Granato is the former vice chairman of Allegheny General Hospital’s department of medicine and now serves as medical director of its coronary care unit. He is also an assistant professor of medicine at Drexel University College of Medicine.
Granato received his MD from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and holds an MBA from the J. L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.
Granato will join Paul Kornblith, the PLSG medical advisor now focusing on evaluation of the commercialization of therapeutics, biotechnology tools and diagnostics. Kornblith is the regional director for Pennsylvania Bio and possesses extensive medical practice and research experience and a background as the founder and CEO of Precision Therapeutics, one of the region’s first medical technology startups.
PLSG invests in and supports biosciences companies in Southwestern Pennsylvania.
