Otradi

Dr. Daniel M. Dorsa is Vice President for Research and leads the basic science and clinical research missions of the Oregon Health and Science University. In addition to overseeing the research support infrastructure of the institution, he serves as the key interface between investigators and central administration and represents the interests of the OHSU research community at the highest level. In his role as Vice President for Research, Dorsa plays a critical role in the implementation of the Oregon Opportunity initiative, a $500 million public-private partnership to make Oregon a leader in biomedical research. Dorsa is also a Professor in the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology with an active research group investigating the molecular basis of estrogen and its neurotrophic and neuroprotective effects in the brain. Dr. Dorsa received his B.S. from University of Santa Clara and his Ph.D. from the University of California, Davis.

Jonathan Fink is Vice President for Research and Strategic Partnerships at Portland State University. In this role he oversees administration of PSU's research grants while also developing a strategy to better link the university with the economic and cultural development of Metro Portland. Prior to moving to PSU in 2010, Jon spent 30 years as a faculty member and administrator at Arizona State University, where he was a professor of geology, specializing in volcanic eruptions on Earth and other planets. He served for ten years as ASU's VP for Research and Economic Affairs, and also was Director of their Global Institute of Sustainability. In recent years his research and policy interests have shifted to urban sustainability, especially initiatives that bring together the private sector, government, NGOs and academia. This focus on cities was one of the main motivations for his recent move to Portland. He has helped build a number of international academic partnerships, primarily in China, the Middle East and the UK, dealing with urbanization, water supply, renewable energy, space science, and biodiversity. Jon is a Fellow of the Geological Society of America and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, is a Trustee of the Arizona Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, and is a member of the Board of Advisors of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History and the National Advisory Board for KB Home.

Dr. Don Gerhart is Associate Vice President for Research and Innovation at the University of Oregon. Dr. Gerhart previously served as Director of UO's Office of Technology Transfer. Prior to UO, Gerhart was a technology manager at North Carolina State University where he managed a portfolio of more than 200 inventions, primarily in biotechnology and life sciences research programs. Dr. Gerhart is also a registered patent agent. Dr Gerhart is also a member of the Capital Formation Committee of the Oregon Innovation Council. He earned his Ph.D. in biology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

Postgraduate Education: University of Southern California, School of Medicine; University of Southern California, School of Engineering; Research Fellowship in Cardiology, University of California, Irvine Medical Center; Fellowship in Cardiology, Wadsworth Veterans Administration Hospital; University of California, School of Medicine, los Angeles, CA; Internship and Residency in Internal Medicine, Wadsworth Veterans Administration Hospital, los Angeles, CA; University of California, School of Medicine, los Angeles, CA.

Research interests: Application of laser energy for the treatment of atherosclerotic vascular disease; laser Thrombolysis in acute myocardial infarction and stroke; Elastin biomaterials for tissue replacement and repair; Dye-targeted laser-tissue fusion; Hemorrhage control for battlefield trauma; Adult stem cell therapy for CHF, limb regeneration; Tropoelastin coverings for vascular stents.

Previous positions held: Academic Clinical Instructor in Medicine, University of California at Irvine Medical Center; Assistant Clinical Professor in Medicine, University of California at Irvine Medical School; Instructor in Medicine Harvard University School of Medicine; Assistant Professor of Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University; Professor, Biomedical Science and Engineering, Oregon Graduate Institute of Science & Engineering; Associate Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, Oregon Graduate Institute of Science and Engineering; Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, OGI School of Science & Engineering, OHSU. Hospital Staff Cardiologist, University of California Irvine Medical Center; Clinical Assistant in Cardiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Assistant Professor of Medicine (Cardiology), Oregon Health & Science; Staff Cardiologist, Providence St. Vincent Medical Center.

From 1983-1989, Larry Johnson developed and led the Regulatory Affairs department at Amgen, Inc., serving as the company's Director of Regulatory Affairs and Responsible Head. In that role, he was responsible for designing and implementing regulatory development strategies for the company's first five products. Prior to joining Amgen Inc., Mr. Johnson served in various management positions with the US Centers for Disease Control, Abbott Scientific Products Division, and Alpha Therapeutic Corporation. Since 1989, Mr. Johnson has operated a regulatory affairs consultative practice based in the Portland, Oregon area. In this capacity, he has provided drug development and regulatory advice to more than 50 companies located in the U.S., Europe, Canada, Australia, and Japan and representing a wide range of products and developmental challenges. Mr. Johnson has more than 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. He is active in industry trade associations and committees, and he has been a frequent lecturer on biotechnology. Mr. Johnson received his undergraduate degree in biology and psychology from Whitman College in 1975, his master's degree in health services administration from the Rochester Institute of Technology in 2004, and his certification in the field of gerontology from the University of Washington in 2003.

Dr. Robert Jordan is Senior Director of Antiviral Research at SIGA Technologies, Inc.. Prior to joining SIGA, he served as Principal Investigator at ViroPharma Inc., where he worked on hepatitis C virus and biodefense-related antiviral programs. Dr. Jordan specializes in antiviral drug discovery and development at SIGA and is responsible for assembling high throughput screening programs and bioinformatics platforms for early stage drug discovery. Dr. Jordan received his B.S. in biochemistry from the Pennsylvania State University and Ph.D. in biochemistry from the Johns Hopkins University with post-doctoral training in virology at Harvard University.

Dr. David K. Lyon serves as Vice President of Physical and Biological Sciences at Bend Research Inc. and is responsible for new drug delivery technology development. Lyon joined Bend Research in 1991, after finishing postdoctoral work at the California Institute of Technology. He holds a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Western Washington University and a Ph.D. in inorganic/organometallic chemistry from the University of Oregon. Dr. Lyon also serves on the board of the Oregon Bioscience Association, the Corporate Advisory Board of the University of Washington School of Pharmacy, the Corporate Advisory Board of the College of Arts & Sciences at the University of Oregon, and the Investigational Review Board (IRB) for clinical trial review for Cascades Healthcare Inc. He holds 5 U.S. patents and has 20 publications.

Dennis McNannay has over twenty five years of successful management experience most recently as the Executive Director of the Oregon Bioscience Association (OBA). For the seven years prior joining the OBA, he co-founded CrossCurrent Inc., the leading provider of surgical planning and revenue management software for the neuro, spine and general orthopedic markets. During this period Dennis worked closely with various medical implant device companies (Medtronic, Styker, Nuvasive, etc.) and the financial and regulatory challenges they face.

Prior to founding CrossCurrent, Dennis served as CEO and founder of Infinitelnk. Created in 1995, Infinitelnk was eventually acquired by InterTrust before it was subsequently acquired by Sony/Philips for $245 million. Infinitelnk created the first secure publishing technology based on the emerging Java programming language. Infinitelnk's patented technology leveraged a unique combination of text encryption and tokenized word compression to create a platform for securely publishing and distributing technical documents. Portions of Infinitelnk's technical solution were eventually licensed to Adobe, Inc. and distributed to over 80 million desktop users.

Before founding Infinitelnk, Dennis served as the Vice President of Product Management with DataPak Software and managed their portfolio of third party software development tools. During his tenure with DataPak, he licensed technology to Apple Computer, US West, Crystal Reports, America Online, and other Fortune 500 companies.

Dennis is a graduate of Portland State University where he attained a Bachelor of Business Administration (Finance). While attending PSU he also served as Student Body President and actively lobbied the State Board of Higher Education to allocate to expand Portland State University's slate of graduate programs.

Dr. Richard W. (Rick) Spinrad became Vice President for Research at Oregon State University (OSU) in July of 2010. Prior to this role, he served as Assistant Administrator for research for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in Washington, D.C.

As NOAA's Assistant Administrator for research, Spinrad directed the agency's programs in oceanography, atmospheric science and climate from 2005-2010. He directly supervised several of NOAA's high-profile research efforts, including ocean exploration, the National Sea Grant College Program and the Climate Program Office, as well as seven NOAA laboratories around the United States.
Among his accomplishments, Spinrad led the White House Committee that developed the nation's first set of ocean research priorities and oversaw the revamping of NOAA's research enterprise. He also developed the National Ocean Sciences Bowl, for high school students, while serving as the Executive Director of the Consortium for Oceanographic Research and Education, with ADM James D. Watkins (USN, Ret.).

He spent two years as NOAA's Assistant Administrator for Oceanic Services and Coastal Zone Management, directing the agency's navigation services, including the National Geodetic Survey, the National Marine Sanctuaries Program and the Office of Coastal Resource Management. As part of his duties, he represented American interests in the establishment of a global tsunami warning system, as U.S. permanent representative to the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO.

In addition to his NOAA stint, Spinrad has served as a research director with the U.S. Office of Naval Research, was the Technical Director for the Oceanographer of the Navy, taught at two universities (U.S. Naval Academy and George Mason University), directed a major national non-profit organization, presided over a private company and worked as a research scientist (with over 50 publications). Spinrad is the recipient of Presidential Rank Awards from Presidents George W. Bush and Barack H. Obama, and is a Fellow of three professional societies. Dr. Spinrad is also an OSU alumnus, receiving his master's degree in 1978 and doctorate in 1982 in oceanography.

Carl Weissman serves as the Chairman and CEO of Accelerator. He has been the CEO since its founding in May 2003, and was elevated to Chairman in 2008. Carl is also a Managing Director at OVP Venture Partners, one of the Accelerator investors and a firm with which he has been affiliated as a Managing Director or previously a Venture Partner since 2006. Prior to Accelerator Carl was a Venture Partner at MPM Capital (Boston) and in that capacity served as President and CEO of Centagenetix, a Cambridge, MA, human genetics company, prior to founding Accelerator on MPM's behalf. In his role as CEO of Centagenetix, Carl led the February 2003 merger of Centagenetix, with Elixir Pharmaceuticals, and remained on the Board of Directors of the combined entity until January 2005. Prior to joining Centagenetix and MPM, he spent six years at Prolinx, Inc., where he held a number of positions, culminating as the head of both Finance and Business Development. Carl serves on the Board of the Washington Biotechnology and Biomedical Association (WBBA), the Board of the Oregon Translational Research and Drug Development Institute (OTRADI) and is President of the Board of Directors of Teens in Public Service.

Michael M. Haley received both his Bachelor's (1987) and Ph.D. degrees (1991) from Rice University. In 1991 he received a NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship to work at the University of California, Berkeley. In 1993 he joined the faculty at the University of Oregon where he is currently Professor and Head of Chemistry. Among the awards he has received are a NSF CAREER Award (1995), a Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award (1998), an Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellowship (2000), a Herman Distinguished Teaching Award (2002), and UO Fund for Faculty Excellence Award (2007). His current research focuses on the chemistry of annulenes, metallabenzenes, isoindazoles and other related heterocycles.

Dr. King was Senior Manager of Lead Validation at Rosetta Inpharmatics (acquired by Merck in 2001) were he directed a multi-talented team to build a production cell culture facility and develop methodologies for gene expression profiling of compounds in human cell lines. Prior to joining Rosetta, he was Manager of Compound Profiling at Acacia Biosciences where he helped develop a full-genome expression-profiling platform in yeast. Dr. King received a B.S. degree in engineering physics from the University of Arizona and a Ph.D. degree in biophysics from the University of California, Berkeley. Prior to working in the biotechnology industry, he was an Assistant Research Molecular Biologist at the University of California, San Francisco and a Human Frontier Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Bern in Switzerland.

Dr. Klaus Früh received his Ph.D. from the University of Heidelberg in malaria vaccine research. As a postdoctoral fellow at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, CA he studied molecular pathways of antigen presentation. Dr. Früh then became a Principal Scientist at the R.W. Johnson Pharmaceutical Research Institute, eventually becoming the Group Leader for Molecular Virology at the same company. During this time he developed research programs in viral immune modulation and in antiviral drug discovery. He joined the Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute (VGTI) at OHSU in 2000 where, as a Senior Scientist, he currently directs research programs in virology and immunology. In addition, he is Senior Scientist at the Oregon National Primate Center and Full Professor in the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology. As executive consultant he is also part of the leadership team of the newly formed VGTI-Florida.