Daria Mochly-Rosen, Ph.D.
Founder and Chair of the SAB

Dr. Daria Mochly-Rosen received her B.Sc. in Biological Sciences from Tel Aviv University and her doctorate in Chemical Immunology from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot.  She joined the Stanford University faculty in 1993. Dr. Mochly-Rosen is a Professor in the Department of Molecular Pharmacology, and Professor, by courtesy, in the Department of Neurosurgery at Stanford University School of Medicine.  From 2002-2006, she was the Chair of the Department of Molecular Pharmacology. In 2005, she became the Senior Associate Dean for Research for Stanford University School of Medicine. Dr. Mochly-Rosen was the Reed-Hodgson Professor in Human Biology at Stanford from 1996 to 2001 and was appointed the inaugural holder of the George D. Smith Professorship in Translational Medicine in 2003.  She currently leads the school’s effort in advancing the field of molecular pharmacology and chemical biology and its application to translational medicine.  A biochemist by training, Dr. Mochly-Rosen is focused on medical research.  She studies a family of enzymes called protein kinase C, which, when activated, regulate diverse functions such as heart rate, the response of the heart and brain to stress induced by heart attack, and the regulation of cell growth in normal and cancer tissues.  Her laboratory generated novel isozyme-specific inhibitors and activators.  This research led to the foundation of KAI Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Ronald Burch, M.D. Ph.D

Dr. Burch received a Ph.D. in Pharmacology and M.D. from the Medical University of South Carolina and served as a Medical Staff Fellow at the Nationals Institutes of Health in the Laboratory of Julius Axelrod, NL. Ron has worked within the pharmaceutical industry for more than 20 years: at Nova Pharmaceuticals as Director, Pain & Inflammation; Rhone Poulenc Rorer as Director Immunology and Bone Metabolism; Zeneca Pharmaceuticals as Director, Pharmacology (CNS, Pulmonary and Renal) and Worldwide Head, CNS Therapeutic Area Team; Purdue Pharma as Vice President Scientific Evaluations & Immunotherapeutics and as founder of Purdue BioPharma LP. Ron founded AlgoRx Pharmaceuticals and served as CEO until its merger with Corgentech to form Anesiva. Currently Ron serves on the Board of Directors of Biowave Corp and as Chief Medical Officer of Pacira Pharmaceuticals.

Richard D. DiMarchi, Ph.D.

Dr. DiMarchi is the Linda & Jack Gill Chair in Biomolecular Sciences and Professor of Chemistry at Indiana University. He is a retired Group Vice President at Eli Lilly & Company where for more than two decades he provided leadership for biotechnology, endocrine research and product development. He is a co-founder of the biotechnology companies Ambrx and Inproteo. He previously served as a board member of both the biotechnology trade group BIO and of Millennium Biotherapeutics. His current scientific activities remain focused on the relationship of protein structure and function, with a particular interest in novel methods of macromolecular synthesis and drug delivery. He contributed to the discovery of Humalog® and commercial development of Humulin®, Humatrope®, Glucagon®, Xigris®, Forteo®, and Evista®. Humalog® represents the first biosynthetic hormone optimized by rDNA technology approved as a human medicine and presently registers annual sales in excess of one billon US dollars.

Steve F. Dowdy, Ph.D.

Dr. Dowdy is an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) and Professor of Cellular & Molecular Medicine at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine. He received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Irvine, where he studied with Dr. Eric Stanbridge. He did his postdoctoral work with Dr. Robert Weinberg at the Whitehead Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Previously, he was an Assistant Investigator of HHMI and Assistant Professor of Pathology and Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine. His research has revolved around understanding the molecular basis of G1 cell cycle progression, how it is deregulated during oncogenesis and the delivery of experimental anticancer macromolecular therapeutics through protein transduction domains.

Peter A. Kiener, D. Phil

Dr. Kiener is currently President & CEO of Zyngenia. Dr. Kiener's most recent position was at AstraZeneca PLC/MedImmune, LLC as executive vice president and global head of biologics R&D. During eight years at MedImmune as Executive Vice President and Head of Research and Development, Dr. Kiener helped build industry-leading protein and antibody engineering capabilities and oversaw the submission of multiple INDs and NDAs. Dr. Kiener was also responsible for the integration of both the protein/antibody engineering company Cambridge Antibody Technology and the B-cell biologics company Cellective Therapeutics into MedImmune. Prior to working at MedImmune, he spent 18 years at Bristol-Myers Squibb, ten of which were spent working on biological therapeutics. During his tenure at MedImmune, Dr Kiener was also a member of the MedImmune Ventures investment committee and was actively involved in growing the organization’s venture portfolio. Dr. Kiener previously served on three boards of directors: Receptor Biologix, Synovex Inc. and Virdante Pharmaceuticals. He currently serves on the scientific advisory boards of KAI, Genocea, NKT Therapeutics and VLST Inc. Dr. Kiener received his B.A. in Chemistry from the University of Lancaster, UK, and his D. Phil. in Biochemistry from Oxford University, UK . Dr. Kiener has published more than 100 papers in peer-reviewed journals, and is an inventor on more than 20 patents and patent applications.