Scientific Advisors

Executive Advisors

Parveen Gupta, B.Sc., Ph.D., is currently Senior Vice President of Strategic Accounts at Satyam Computer Services. He co-founded Mylex, starting the storage technology division, growing it to a $200 million business and making it the world leader in disk array controllers. Dr. Gupta held senior marketing and engineering management positions at HCL, Zilog, United Technologies Mostek, TCS, and Astronautics. He is one of the founding Charter members of TiE, the world’s leading network of entrepreneurs and professionals. He has served on the executive committee and Board of Directors for TiE Silicon Valley and is the founder and Dean of TiE Institute in 2002. Dr. Gupta was also a member of the City of Milpitas Telecom commission 2003-2004. He received a special recognition award from the State of California Senate in September 2003 for his contributions and community service. He holds a B.Sc. Electronics Engg. Degree from Punjab Engineering College in India, Masters in Electrical Engineering from the University of Kansas, and a PhD in Computer Engineering from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Ron Haak, Ph.D., brings 27 years of research and development experience to OneWorld Health, most recently as a consultant to start-ups and Fortune 500 companies. Prior to becoming a consultant in 2002, he was a Principal Scientist and Senior Vice President, Technology Development at ALZA Corporation, where he spent 15 years as a senior scientist and executive during its growth and ultimate merger with Johnson & Johnson. During his tenure as a Vice President, he was responsible for key aspects of several new drug applications and successfully took new drug delivery technologies from concept to product launch. Ron also played key roles in corporate public relations and business development. Prior to that, he was a senior researcher at the Rockwell International Science Center for nine years. He received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Andrew A. Mascarenhas, Retired Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Eli Lilly and Company, has spent more than 30 years in the pharmaceutical industry, holding international management positions across Asia, Europe, the Caribbean and the U.S. in both staff and line functions. Over the past 15 years, he has had direct country/region responsibility for Puerto Rico, the West Indies, Central America, India and Italy. His last assignment was President and General Manager, Eli Lilly Japan KK based in Kobe. He received his B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Bombay, India and M.A. in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge, England.

Michael Whitehouse is Executive Director of Vital Venture Networks (VVN), which he founded in 2002. VVN develops and manages high-level symposia for leaders in the life sciences, biotechnology, healthcare and finance. Prior to creating VVN, Michael was President and founder of Connections Corporation, an entity whose mission was to promote scientists and university research in the life sciences. From 1992-2000 Michael held a number of senior positions at the NASD and NASDAQ. In 1998 he was appointed Director of Corporate Communications for the West Coast Operations of the Nasdaq Stock Market. Michael presently serves as advisor to the Scientific Foundation of Lyon and the European Biotech Crossroads project.

Scientific Advisors

Aftab Ahmed Ansari, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Pathology, Emory University, has had an illustrious career in immunology and infectious disease, especially in the areas of AIDS, transplantation immunology and tropical medicine. He has been Head of the Cellular Immunology Division of the Naval Medical Research Institute (NMRI), Director of the Immunology Department of Merck, Scientific Director of the NMRI in Cairo, and a Senior Research Scientist at the Rocky Mountain Labs of the NIAID. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Arizona.

Keith Bailey, Ph.D., Retired Director, Bureau of Drug Research and Bureau of Biologics and Radiopharmaceuticals, Ottawa, had a distinguished scientific and public service career as head of these two large Canadian health agencies following service as Chief of the Drug Identification and Drug Toxicology Divisions. He also served as a consultant to the Pan American Health Organization and the World Health Organization. He received his Ph.D. in Synthetic and Structural Organic Chemistry from Oxford University.

Terrence F. Blaschke, M.D., is Professor of Medicine and Molecular Pharmacology School of Medicine and Associate Dean for Medical Student Advising at Stanford University and Adjunct Professor of Biopharmaceutical Sciences at UCSF.  He is a past president of the American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics. He is past chair of the Generic Drugs Advisory Committee of the US FDA and currently a member of the Nonprescription Drugs Advisory Committee. He chaired the Drug Utilization Review Panel of USP from 1995-2000.  He serves on the Charter Science Board of the Center for Drug Development Science at the University of California in Washington, DC. He was a member of the AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG) at its inception, and has served as chair of the Pharmacology Committee of the ACTG. His current efforts in HIV are directed at questions related to the use of antiretroviral agents in less developed countries.  Dr. Blaschke received his medical degree from Columbia University.

Joy A. Cavagnaro, Ph.D., is an internationally recognized expert toxicologist and regulatory strategist in emerging technologies and biopharmaceutical development. During her tenure in government she served as Director of Quality Assurance and Assistant Director of Pharmacology and Toxicology, at FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, where she contributed to the development of international guidelines for preclinical safety evaluation. She is currently President of Access BIO. She received her Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Daniel G. Colley, Ph.D., Director for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases, University of Georgia has had a distinguished career in parasitology dealing especially with the immunology of schistosomiasis and Chagas Disease. He has worked extensively on the immunology of human parasitic infections in Brazil, the West Indies, Egypt and Kenya. He is also a former Director of the Division of Parasitic Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He received his Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology from Tulane University.

Le Dinh Cong, M.D., Ph.D., Director, National Institute of Malariology, Parisitology and Entomology (NIMPE), Hanoi, Vietnam, is an internationally recognized authority on malaria. Prior to his NIMPE position, he was Deputy Director of the Department of Preventative Medicine in the Vietnam Ministry of Health, responsible for all communicable disease control. He is also currently the Director of the National Malaria Control Project and the National Helminth Control Project of the Vietnam Ministry of Health. Dr. Cong received his M.D and his Ph.D. in the epidemiology of malaria from Hanoi Medical College.

Gary Gamerman, MS, JD, President, Seraphim Life Sciences, is an expert management and legal advisor to the life sciences industry. He has counseled leading companies and venture firms in the development, licensing and regulation of biologics, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices. Prior to co-founding Seraphim, he was the EVP of Iatros Bio/Pharma Inc., an FDA/CBER reviewer, and an attorney in the FDA/Life Sciences practices of two leading international law firms. He received his M.S. in Applied Molecular Biology from the University of Maryland and his J.D. from George Washington University.

Eric M. Gordon, Ph.D., is a distinguished authority on combinatorial chemistry, medicinal chemistry, and creating drugs through enzyme inhibition. Dr. Gordon has more than 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical/biotech industry holding the positions of Sr. VP of Research at Sunesis; President, Scientific Founder, and Chief Scientific Officer of Versicor; VP of Research and Director of Chemistry at Affymax Research Institute and Director of Medicinal Chemistry at the Squibb Institute for Medical Research and Bristol Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical Institute, Princeton. He received his M.S. and Ph.D. in medicinal chemistry from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Win Gutteridge, Sc.D., Retired Chief, Product R&D, UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special Program for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR), played key roles: at WHO in the development of artemotil and chlorproguanil/dapsone for malaria and miltefosine for visceral leishmaniasis; and at Glaxo Wellcome, for atovaquone for opportunistic infections of AIDS patients and in combination with proguanil (as Malarone) for malaria. At the University of Kent, he established a highly recognized Department of Biochemical Parasitology. He is an honorary professor in the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He received his Sc.D. in Biological Parisitology from the University of Cambridge.

Terence Hayes, VMD., Ph.D., DABT, has been with the pharmaceutical industry for over 30 years engaged in animal health research, investigative toxicology, and global project management. He is board certified in general toxicology by the American Board of Toxicology. Following qualification in veterinary medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, he did post-graduate studies and research at that Institution in pathobiology (parasitology and medical entomology) under Lord Soulsby. His research interests have centered on the immunology and pathology of experimental fascioliasis, vasculitis in dogs, and the preclinical toxicology and pathology of cytokines. He is a full member of the Society of Toxicology. Hayes has authored 31 publications and lectured widely in the US and Europe. His drug development experience has been with projects at all levels - spanning research, clinical and technical development, and new product launch. He is currently Director, Discovery Project Management at the Roche Research Center in Nutley, New Jersey. Hayes brings a mix of expertise in toxicology and drug development on a background of host-parasite interactions to his advisory role with iOWH.

Rita Khanna, Ph.D., JD, is President of International Technology Transfer Management and legal counsel to Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation. Prior to this she was Director of Technology Transfer at the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute and has worked at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the Office of Technology Transfer, the Office of the General Counsel and National Cancer Institute’s Technology Development and Commercialization Branch. She has extensive research experience in both academia and private industry, including at NIH, Smithsonian Radiation Biology Laboratory, a Maryland biotech company, Max-Volmer Institute and University of Illinois. She is an advisor to the World Bank’s Development Gateway, Program Committee Member of the Association of University Technology Members (AUTM), and was Committee Member of the NCI’s Decision Network Committee. She received her Ph. D. from the University of Illinois and her J.D. from the University of Maryland.

John Kilama, Ph.D., President, Global Bioscience Development Institute (GBDI), has a broad background in pharmaceutical and agrochemical chemistry. GBDI provides information and training on biodiversity, biotechnology development, and intellectual property law to developing countries. Dr. Kilama's career encompasses more than a decade in research and development at DuPont Life Sciences and pharmacy practice in community and hospital settings. He is an Advisory Board Member of the Initiative on Public-Private Sector Partnerships for Health (IPPPH), Geneva , Switzerland ; Public Interest Intellectual Property Advisors (PIIPA); and Senior Science Advisor to the International Organization for Chemistry in Development (IOCD), Belgium. He earned his Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry from the University of Arizona, Tucson.

James McKerrow, M.D., Ph.D., Professor, Departments of Pathology, Medicine and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, UC San Francisco has had a distinguished career in parasitology and is especially known for his work in protease biochemistry. He is currently Director of both the UCSF Tropical Disease Research Unit and the newly organized Sandler Center for Basic Research in Parasitic Diseases as well as Co-Director of the UCSF Liver Center. He received his M.D. from the State University of New York, Stony Brook and his Ph.D. from U.C. San Diego.

Col. Wilbur K. Milhous, Ph.D., Technical Area Coordinator for Therapeutics, Military Infectious Disease Research Program, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, has had a distinguished career in tropical medicine in which he has directed clinical trials with new drugs for malaria and leishmaniasis and emerging tropical diseases. He serves as the Medical Microbiology Consultant to the Surgeon General of the Army and as a consultant to the WHO and FDA. He received his Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina.

Michael Powell, Ph.D., Managing Director, Sofinnova Ventures, has more than 20 years of pharmaceutical development experience as a scientist and venture capitalist. In his career as a scientist he has worked on nearly 20 clinical products in biotechnology and traditional pharmaceutical companies. Prior to joining Sofinnova Ventures, he was a Group Leader of Drug Delivery at Genentech, and held senior positions at Cytel and Syntex Research. Dr. Powell received his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the University of Toronto , and was an Adjunct Professor at the University of Kansas ' Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry. 

Alan S. Taylor, Ph.D., V.P. of Regulatory Affairs, Gilead Sciences has had an extensive career in the pharmaceutical industry providing scientific and regulatory advice, managing toxicology studies, and implementing early clinical research. Previously, he was the former Assistant Director of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research at the FDA, where he contributed to the international guidelines for pharmacology and toxicology. He received his Ph.D. in Pharmacology from Washington University, St. Louis.

Daniel F. Veber, Ph.D., Drug Discovery Consultant, has had a four-decade long, distinguished career in medicinal chemistry and peptide synthesis at GlaxoSmithKline (formerly SmithKline Beecham) and Merck. Concurrently, he has served on several committees of the NIH. Projects in his laboratories have produced potential candidates for treatments related to HIV, bone loss, inflammatory disease, oncology, diabetes, control of blood clots, and inhibiting premature labor.  He has received numerous honors, most recently the Ralph F. Hirschmann Award in Peptide Chemistry from the American Chemical Society (2001).  Dr. Veber earned all his degrees from Yale University.

Judith C. Wilber, Ph.D., is Senior Director of XDx Reference Laboratory, and a consultant to biotechnology and diagnostics companies. She is a recognized expert in diagnostic testing and monitoring, with special emphasis on the development of new diagnostic markers and devices. She has broad experience at leading organizations as Bayer Diagnostics (formerly Chiron), where she was Vice President of Research in Nucleic Acid Diagnostics, California State Department of Health Services, Stanford University , and EndoBionics, a device start-up company.   She is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Laboratory Medicine at the University of California at San Francisco and a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology. She earned her advanced degrees in Microbiology at Rutgers University and her undergraduate degree in Bacteriology from Douglass College .