Speakers

Anthony J. Sinskey, Sc.D. is a Professor of Biology and Health Sciences and Technology at MIT. He received his Bachelor of Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and his Sc.D. in Microbiology and Food Science from MIT. Prof. Sinskey completed his postdoctoral studies at the Harvard School of Public Health. He conducts interdisciplinary research in metabolic engineering focusing on the fundamental physiology, biochemistry and molecular genetics of important organisms. His wide-ranging research interests involve helping lead the MIT-Malaysia Biotechnology Partnership Program and his MIT laboratory has collaborative projects with colleagues in the chemical and electrical engineering departments on the design, fabrication and instrumentation of microreactors.

A widely published author in scientific journals, Prof. Sinskey also writes a regular “Industry Watch” column for Pharmaceutical Discovery magazine that examines cutting-edge science and industry trends in the emerging “-omics” disciplines. As an authority on biotechnology and business, Prof. Sinskey has been actively involved in the start-up of new companies and in consulting new and established firms. Prof. Sinskey has published numerous technical reports and papers in microbiology, biotechnology, biopolymer engineering and metabolic engineering, holds key research patents licensed from MIT, serves on the editorial boards of several renowned journals, and is a member of the board of directors of several biotechnology/pharmaceutical companies.

Prof. Sinskey has participated in the founding and development of successful biotechnology companies including Metabolix, Genzyme, Natural Pharmaceuticals, Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Tepha and ABEC. He is recognized as a leading expert in the formation of new biotechnology enterprises and a renowned academic entrepreneur.

John Glaser, PhD, is Vice-President and Chief Information Officer, Partners HealthCare System, Inc. Previously, he was Vice-President, Information Systems at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Prior to Brigham and Women's Hospital, Dr. Glaser managed the Healthcare Information Systems consulting practice at Arthur D. Little.

Dr. Glaser was the founding Chairman of College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) and is past President of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS). He has been a member of the Board of the American Medical Informatics Association.

Dr. Glaser is currently the Chairman of the eHealth Initiative Board and the Senior Advisor for National HIT Adoption for CHIME. He is a Senior Advisor to the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions.

He is a fellow of HIMSS, CHIME and the American College of Medical Informatics. He has been awarded the John Gall award for healthcare CIO of the year. CHIME has established a scholarship in Dr. Glaser’s name. He was a recipient of CIO Magazine’s 20/20 Vision Award. Partners HealthCare has received several industry awards for its effective and innovative use of information technology.

Dr. Glaser has published over one hundred articles and four books on the strategic application of information technology in healthcare. He holds a Ph.D. in Healthcare Information Systems from the University of Minnesota.

Dr. Douglas was the former Executive Vice President of Aventis and head of Drug Innovation and Approval, with responsibilities for Lead Generation, Lead Optimization, Product Realization and Global Regulatory Approvals & Marketing Support. He was also a member of the Board of Directors and Chief Scientific Officer of Aventis.

In 1984, Douglas first joined the Pharmaceutical Industry as Director of Clinical Biology of Ciba Geigy where he held several positions including Senior Vice President and Director of Research of U.S.A.. He joined Marion Merrell Dow in 1992 as Executive Vice President of Global Research and Development, and member of the Board of Directors. After the merger of MMD with Hoechst in 1995, Douglas became Executive Vice President and head of global Research and Development at Hoechst Marion Roussel. In 1999, HMR merged with Rhone Poulenc Rorer to build Aventis, where Douglas continued to implement the transformation of the traditional R&D organization into a novel organization called Drug Innovation and Approval.

Douglas has been recognized as a leader in innovation in Pharmaceutical Research and Development, and was the recipient of the Global Pharmaceutical R&D Director of the Year Award in 2001 and 2004.

Douglas holds a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry and M.D. from Cornell University. He did his internship and residency in Internal Medicine at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institution and a Fellowship in Neuroendocrinology at the National Institutes of Health. He was also Assistant Professor of Medicine and Clinical Pharmacology as well as Director of the Hypertension Clinic of the Pritzker School of Medicine, University of Chicago. He is a Fellow of the High Blood Pressure Council.

Dr. Douglas is past Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Science & Regulatory Section of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association of America (PhRMA), former member of the Board of Directors of Medtronic, Inc., former member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the FDA, former member of the Chemistry Visiting Committee of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, member of the Advisory Board of the Paul Ehrlich Foundation, and member of the Society of Trade, Industry and Science of Frankfurt, Germany. He was a member of the Advisory Board of the University of Frankfurt /Main, Germany and is a member of the Advisory Board of the Institute of Basic and Biological Sciences, Johns Hopkins University.

Dr. Douglas is a member of the Board of Directors of Archemix, Nitromed and Alantos Pharmaceutical company where he is the Chairman of the Board of Directors. He is also a member of the Supervisory Board of Altana Pharma AG.

Una S. Ryan, Ph.D., O.B.E., is Chair of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council and President and CEO of AVANT Immunotherapeutics, Inc, a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company developing vaccines and immunotherapeutics for cardiac surgery, cholesterol management, biodefense, travelers, food safety, and global health. She is also Research Professor of Medicine at the Boston University School of Medicine and serves on its Board of Visitors as well as the Boards of the Biotechnology Industry Organization, the New England Healthcare Institute, the Board of Associates of the Whitehead Institute, and the Board of Directors of IQuum, Inc. In 2002 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II awarded Dr. Ryan the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her services to research, development and promotion of biotechnology.

As President & CEO of AVANT, Dr. Ryan has led the expansion of the company’s bacterial vaccines programs for travelers, biodefense and global health, entering into partnership for clinical development with the International Vaccine Institute (funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation) and establishing the company’s new manufacturing facility in Fall River, Massachusetts. During her tenure as CEO she has successfully led capital raises of over $135 million and completed two further company acquisitions to position AVANT to develop ideal vaccines for the 21st century: oral, single-dose rapidly effective and room temperature-stable. AVANT’s partner GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals has gained approvals of its rotavirus vaccine, Rotarix®, in the European Union and more than 33 other countries; AVANT has received $50 million in royalty financing while retaining significant upside potential. In July 2005 AVANT published the results of Phase II trials of its single-dose oral cholera vaccine, CholeraGarde®.

In recent years Dr. Ryan has become increasingly involved in influencing legislative policy to foster and safeguard the Biotechnology Industry in general and particularly in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. She has provided testimony before United States House and Senate committees on vaccine development, and has met with leaders including President Bush, Governor Romney, and Senators Bond, Kennedy and Kerry on issues of importance to the industry. Dr. Ryan serves as a member of the Business Advisory Board of BIO Ventures for Global Health.