Scientific Founders
PHILIP BEACHY, PH.D.
Ernest and Amelia Gallo Professor of Developmental Biology at Stanford University School of Medicine and Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Investigator
Dr. Beachy studies the normal functions of secreted protein signals of the Hedgehog pathway and the pathological roles of such signaling pathways in developmental disorders and cancer growth. Dr. Philip Beachy is the Ernest and Amelia Gallo Professor of Developmental Biology at Stanford University School of Medicine, and Associate at the Institute of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine. He received a Ph.D. degree in biochemistry at Stanford University School of Medicine and spent two years as Staff Associate at the Carnegie Institution's Department of Embryology. He was previously a Professor of Molecular Biology and Genetics at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Beachy is an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, a member of the National Academy of Sciences, a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
SHENG DING, PH.D.
Associate Professor in the Departments of Chemistry and Cell Biology at The Scripps Research Institute
Dr. Ding is developing and integrating chemical and functional genomic tools to study stem cell biology and regeneration, with an emphasis on high throughput cellular screens to identify small molecules and genes which can control cell fate. Dr. Sheng Ding is Associate Professor of the Chemistry and Cell Biology Departments at the Scripps Research Institute. He performed his undergraduate at the California Institute of Technology with Drs. Grubbs, Rees, Goddard, Myers and Chan. His work with Dr. Grubbs (2005 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry) resulted in the "the second generation of Grubbs Catalyst", and his work with Dr. Rees resulted in a 0.7 Å DNA structure. After he graduated from the California Institute of Technology in 1999, he joined the lab of Dr. Peter Schultz at the Scripps Research Institute to conduct his Ph.D. studies, which opened up new avenues for developing future regenerative medicines. Dr. Ding recently left his post as a scientific advisor of the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation (GNF) in La Jolla, California in order to focus on his work with Fate Therapeutics.
RUDOLF JAENISCH, M.D.
Founding Member of the Whitehead Institute, Professor of Biology at MIT, and Member of the National Academy of the Sciences
Dr. Jaenisch is a founding member of the Whitehead Institute and a pioneer of developmental biology. He was the first to create a transgenic mouse, a technical achievement that changed the course of biomedical research by enabling the creation of animal models of human diseases. Dr. Jaenisch was also one of the first scientists to reprogram fully mature adult cells, like a skin cell, to become stem-like. Called induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, this technology removed the dependence on embryos as a source of stem cells. At the Whitehead Institute, Dr. Jaenisch has been pursuing an understanding of epigenetic regulation and reprogramming, which has lead him to make principal discoveries in the field of stem cells. Dr. Jaenisch has coauthored more than 300 research papers, was appointed to the National Academy of Sciences and has received numerous prizes and recognitions, including First Peter Gruber Foundation Award in Genetics (2001), Robert Koch Prize for Excellence in Scientific Achievement (2002), BrupbacherFoundation Cancer Award (2003), Vilcek Prize (2007), and Massry Prize (2008).
JOHN MENDLEIN PH.D
Executive Chairman of Fate Therapeutics
Dr. Mendlein recently served as CEO of Adnexus Therapeutics (a developer of a new class of protein therapeutics) from May 2005 until October 2007, at which time the privately-held, Boston based biotechnology company was purchased by Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMY) in a transaction valued at more than $505 million. Previously, Mendlein served as chairman and CEO at Affinium Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; and served in a variety of roles, including board member, general counsel and chief knowledge officer, at Aurora Biosciences Corporation (now Vertex Pharmaceuticals, VRTX) a biotechnology company focused on discovering drugs for kinases, g-protein coupled receptors and ion channels. He has worked as an attorney at Cooley GodwardKronish LLP, a law firm, in its life sciences and technology litigation practice groups and at Smith Kline & French Laboratories, Ltd., now GlaxoSmithKline plc (GSK), in the Department of Molecular Biology and Protein Expression; served as a member of the board of directors of Monogram Biosciences (MGRM), Inc. and the advisory board of Genesys Capital, a venture capital firm. He is the author or inventor of over 40 publications and patents. Mendlein earned his Ph.D.in physiology and biophysics from the University of California, Los Angeles, a J.D. from the University of California Hastings School of Law and a B.S. in biology from the University of Miami.
RANDALL MOON, PH.D.
William and Marilyn Connor Chair and Director of the Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine at University of Washington and HHMI Investigator
Dr. Moon studies the Wnt signal transduction pathways with an emphasis on their normal roles in vertebrates, their mechanisms of action, their linkage to various disease processes, and the development of therapeutics targeting these pathways. His laboratory employs a wide range of approaches, including high throughput screening for small molecules, advanced mass spectrometry methods, diverse animal model systems and cell biological and biochemical approaches. Dr. Randall Moon is an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and a Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Washington School of Medicine. He is also the William and Marilyn Connor Chair, and Director, of the Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine at the University of Washington. Dr. Moon received his B.A. degree in Biology at New College, Sarasota, FL, and his Ph.D. in Zoology at the University of Washington. After completing his postdoctoral work in molecular biology at the California Institute of Technology, he joined the faculty of the University of Washington, where he has been the recipient of a Syntex Scholar in Cardiovascular Research, a Career Development Award from the NIH, a recipient of a L.L. Temple Award from the Alzheimer's Association, and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
DAVID SCADDEN, M.D.
Gerald and Darlene Jordan Professor at Harvard Medical School, Co-director of Harvard Stem Cell Institute, and Director of Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Regenerative Medicine
Dr. Scadden’s focus is to broaden the view of stem cells from replacement parts to targets for drug based therapies, using medications to enhance stem cell repair of damaged organs or impair the growth of cancer stem cells. His goal is to translate stem cell science to improve the lives of people with chronic disease. David Scadden is the Gerald and Darlene Jordan Professor of Medicine at Harvard University and a practicing hematologist/oncologist. He is currently co-direct of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, whose mission is to organize, enable and inspire the intellectual resources of Harvard University to fulfill the promise of stem cells. He also co-chairs with Dr. Melton the Harvard University Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, the first department established across faculties in Harvard’s history. Dr. Scadden heads the Center for Regenerative Medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital and oversees the Hematologic Malignancies program in the MGH Cancer Center. He is an authority on the medical applications of stem cell biology with a particular emphasis on their use in the settings of cancer and AIDS. His laboratory has made key contributions in how the stem cell context or niche regulates stem cell function, in defining molecules limiting stem cell growth and in discovering a molecular basis for stem cell aging. He is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Science, the Board of External Experts for the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, a former member of the Board of Scientific Counselors for the National Cancer Institute and is an Associate Member of the Broad Institute, serves on multiple editorial boards and scientific advisory boards and is the recipient of honorary awards including from the Doris Duke Charitable Trust, the Burroughs Wellcome Fund and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
LEONARD ZON, M.D.
Grousbeck Professor of Pediatric Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Director of the Stem Cell Program at Children’s Hospital Boston, and HHMI Investigator
Dr. Zon is internationally recognized for his pioneering research in the new fields of stem cell biology and cancer genetics. His current research focuses on two critical avenues of investigation: identifying the genes that direct stem cells to become cancers or to develop into more specialized blood or organ cells, and developing chemical or genetic suppressors to cure cancers and many other devastating diseases. Dr. Leonard I. Zon is the Grousbeck Professor of Pediatric Medicine at Harvard Medical School, an Investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and Director of the Stem Cell Program at Children's Hospital Boston. He received a B.S. in chemistry and natural sciences from Muhlenberg College and an M.D. from Jefferson Medical College. He subsequently did an internal medicine residency at New England Deaconess Hospital and a fellowship in medical oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Dr. Zon is a member of the Institute of Medicine, the Founder and Past President of the International Society for Stem Cell Research, Past President of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, and the Principal Faculty as well as Chairman of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute’s Executive Committee.