Paul A. Marks, MD -
Chairman, SAB
Dr. Paul A. Marks is President Emeritus, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (the nation's oldest and largest private institution devoted to cancer prevention, patient care, research and education). He was its President and CEO for almost 20 years, from 1980 until 1999. Dr. Marks is an academic leader in improving health care and medical education and an imaginative and innovative biomedical scientist whose discoveries have demonstrated translational benefits applied to improved patient care. Dr. Marks has the unique honor of having Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center name an award after him: The Paul Marks Prizes for Cancer Research, which recognize outstanding young investigators who have made significant contributions to increase the understanding of cancer or improve the treatment of the disease through basic or clinical research.
Dr. Marks' remarkable career in medicine spans over five decades and is marked by extraordinary contributions. Dr. Marks received his A.B. and M.D. degrees from Columbia University and postdoctoral training at the National Institute of Health (NIH) and the Pasteur Institute. Prior to his tenure at Memorial Sloan-Kettering, he was Professor of Human Genetics and Frode Jensen Professor of Medicine and Vice President for Health Sciences at Columbia University. Prior to that, he was named Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and, ultimately Vice President for Health Sciences, simultaneously assuming responsibilities as Director of the Cancer Research Institute, which he helped found. Parallel to his research and administration careers, Dr. Marks has answered repeated calls to public service at the highest levels, as a member of the President's Biomedical Research Panel (1975-1976), the President's Cancer Panel (1976-1979), the President's Commission on the Accident at Three Mile Island in 1979, and most recently serving on an advisory committee to the director of the NIH to help overhaul its intramural research program.
Dr. Marks has published over 350 scientific articles in various scholarly journals. Dr. Marks is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine. He is a Fellow of the America Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has been the recipient of a number of honors including the Distinguished Achievement Medal of Columbia University; Medal of the Japan Foundation for the Promotion of Cancer Research; Centenary Medal of the Pasteur Institute, honorary degrees from several universities and the President's National Medal of Science (USA). In addition to his many scientific and academic accomplishments, Dr. Marks is one of the founders of Aton Pharma, a biopharmaceuticals company started in 2001 to develop and commercialize novel therapeutics for cancer and other diseases. The company was acquired by Merck & Co., Inc. in 2004.
Cy Stein, MD, MPH -
Member, SAB
Dr. Cy Stein is Head of Medical Genitourinary Oncology and
Professor of Medicine, Urology and Molecular Pharmacology
at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York. He also
serves as an Attending Physician at the Montefiore Medical
Center and is a Diplomate of nearly 20 years' standing of
both the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American
Board of Oncology.
Professor Stein is an internationally recognized innovator
in the development of drugs based on antisense and RNA interference.
In his distinguished career in research and treatment of cancers
he has been involved for the past 15 years with leading preclinical
and clinical trials of nucleic acid therapies. He is an editorial
board member of Clinical Cancer Research, Molecular Cancer
Therapeutics, Bioconjugate Chemistry and Cancer Gene Therapy,
as well as Co-Editor of the journal Oligonucleotides (formerly
Antisense and Nucleic Acid Drug Development) and has published
over 150 papers in the field. Dr. Stein holds numerous patents
related to experimental therapeutics with antisense and nucleic
acids, and he is a world leader in this research area. He
is currently on the scientific advisory boards of several
companies including Genta and Atugen. Prof. Stein was a co-developer
of Genta Inc's Genasense antisense drug for BCL-2-dependent
breast cancer.
Prof Stein is a medical doctor and also has a PhD in chemistry.
He is an oncologist and was trained at the New York Hospital/Cornell
Medical Center and the National Institutes of Health. He was
a professor at the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia
University for 13 years prior to taking up the chair at the
Albert Einstein College. He is a pioneer in the research on
anti-sense therapies against HIV/AIDS.
Prof. John Rossi, PhD -
Member, SAB
Professor John J. Rossi is currently the Dean
of the City of Hope Graduate School of Biological Sciences
and the Associate Director for Laboratory Research, City of
Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Rossi initially joined
City of Hope (COH) in 1980 as an assistant research scientist
in the Department of Molecular Genetics. He was promoted to
Chairman of the Division of Biology in 1992. In 1993, COH
bestowed its highest honor upon him by naming him to its Gallery
of Medical and Scientific Achievement for his pioneering work
at the molecular level in the battle against AIDS and other
major diseases. In 1998 Dr. Rossi was appointed as the Dean
of the City of Hope Graduate School of Biological Sciences.
Dr. Rossi is a world-renowned expert in ribozymes, biomolecules
based on nucleic acids that have earned the nickname "molecular
scissors". Dr. Rossi's major contributions to science
have been in the understanding of the processing and metabolism
of RNA inside the cell. Ribozymes, also known as catalytic
RNA, are molecules that can break down nucleic acid inside
a cell, thus they can be used to cut out "bad" genetic
information and also to splice in "good" material.
One of his most notable projects is in the area of ribozyme
research in AIDS. He led the research team that first suggested
applying ribozymes to treat HIV infection. His research in
molecular genetics and microbiology has earned eight patents
and has served as the basis for more than 120 scientific papers.
Dr. Rossi currently serves on the scientific advisory boards
(SAB) of several companies, and is Chairman of the SAB of
Benitec.
Dr. Rossi received his bachelor's degree from the University
of New Hampshire and earned his doctorate at the University
of Connecticut. He completed four years of post PhD training
at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island before joining
City Of Hope.
Harmon Aronson , PhD -
Member, SAB
Harmon Aronson, Ph.D., has worked in the pharmaceutical industry for the past 26 years.
For the past 8 years he has been President of a pharmaceutical consulting firm,
specializing in FDA compliance activities for both US and international clients.
His firm has helped many companies obtain US FDA approval for their products and
maintain their acceptable status according to Good Manufacturing Practices. Prior to this,
he held executive positions in Quality Management and in Manufacturing at a leading generic
drug company. During the last 5 years, he has also served on the Board of Directors of a drug delivery
company and the Scientific Advisory Board of a diagnostic medical device company. He was awarded the Ph.D.
degree in Physics from the University of Chicago. Because of his varied background, he brings a deep understanding of
science and technology and how it can be applied to the research, manufacturing and quality areas of the pharmaceutical
industry.
Prof. Thomas Lentz, MD -
Member, SAB
Yale University School of Medicine research physician, Professor Thomas Lentz, MD, was an early proponent of the possibility of treating viral infections by blocking the virus-receptor interactions. The NanoViricides approach improves upon such earlier approaches by enabling multiple site targeting and multi-point binding, thus mimicking the natural virus particle and cell-surface interaction closely.
Professor Lentz's research has laid the early foundations for developing anti-viral therapies by blocking virus-cell receptor interactions. His work on the binding of rabies virus to the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor has helped in the creation of a rabies-specific nanoviricide. In addition, his extensive studies on the classification of viruses and of their cellular receptors into broad groups provided the basis for the broad-spectrum nanoviricides that NanoViricides, Inc. is developing at present as potent therapeutics against a large number of viruses.
In addition to his research activities, Thomas L. Lentz chaired the Committee on Admissions for the School of Medicine at Yale from 1972 to 2006. He last served as Associate Dean for Admissions and Financial Aid at Yale University. He was Vice Chairman of the Department of Cell Biology at Yale from 1992 to 2006. He retired in 2006 and is now Senior Research Scientist and Professor Emeritus of Cell Biology at Yale University.
Howard Fields, PhD -
Member, SAB
Dr. Fields is a distinguished international expert in several areas of immunology, biochemistry, molecular biology, virology, and general microbiology. He has applied his knowledge to the study of viral hepatitis during an illustrious 32 year career at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention publishing 160 manuscripts in international peer-reviewed journals and editing a book entitled "Artificial DNA". Dr. Fields pioneered research in using genetic engineering technology in the rational design of artificial antigens as targets for immunoassay development. He first joined CDC as an immunovirologist in 1976. During his thirty-two year career at the CDC, he was the Team Leader of the Assay Development and Cell Culture Team within the Division of Viral Hepatitis Center where he led the research on all hepatitis viruses including Hepatitis C Virus, and Hepatitis B Virus from 2002 until retiring recently.
"Our work in developing drugs against a large number of viruses has continued to expand rapidly over the past few years, due to unprecedented levels of efficacies the nanoviricides drug candidates have exhibited," said Anil R. Diwan, PhD, President of the Company.
"NanoViricides has developed a unique platform technology that is based on sound virological and biological principles. I am very pleased with the success of the nanoviricides drug candidates against numerous important viral diseases of public health significance. The novel host-cell-mimetic technology that Dr. Diwan invented has now culminated in the development of the Company's broadspectrum antivirals. This technology represents an innovative and novel approach in the treatment of viral infections and I'm truly excited to be part of its future", said Dr. Fields.
At the CDC, in 1983, Dr. Fields was Chief, Molecular and Immunodiagnostic Section (MIDS), Hepatitis Branch, Division of Viral and Rickettsial Diseases. From 1990 to 1994, he was given the responsibility for the conduct of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Viral Hepatitis at CDC with emphasis on technology transfer issues. Dr. Fields has been a consultant to various pharmaceutical industries including Bayer, Germany, Abbott Laboratories, Serologics, Inc., Amrican Qualex, Eugene Tech International Inc., Nuclear Medical Laboratories, Dallas, TX, as well as Biokit, Barcelona, Spain, and Span Research Center, Surat, India. He is a member of the scientific advisory board of Cambridge Biotech, Galway, Ireland, and of NanoViricides, Inc.
Kazuo Tsubota, MD, PhD -
Member, SAB
An internationally recognized eye specialist, Professor Tsubota is Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology at Keio University School of Medicine, his alma mater, where he received his MD in 1980. He did a clinical fellowship at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, part of the Harvard Medical School Teaching System. He is licensed to practice medicine in both the US and Japan. He was the first Japanese recipient of the American Academy of Ophthalmology Honor Award in 1994. He is Chief Surgeon at the Minamiaoyama Eye Clinic in Tokyo, Japan. He heads a large dry eye research group and also the largest refractive (eye) group in Japan, which has several clinics throughout the country. He is author of more than 350 scientific peer reviewed articles. He is editor of several specialty books in ophthalmology and is also a reviewer for many international journals in ophthalmology.
