Scientific Advisory Board

Dr. Needleman received his B.Sc. in pharmacy and M.Sc. in pharmacology from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science, and his Ph.D. in pharmacology from the University of Maryland School of Medicine. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Washington University Medical School in St. Louis, where he joined the faculty in 1967, and later became Chairman of the Department of Pharmacology from 1976 to 1989. During that time, he was selected Basic Science Teacher of the Year five times. In 1989 he became senior vice president of Monsanto. In 1993 he became president of Searle Research and Development. He served as Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Scientist of Pharmacia from 2000 to 2003. In 2004 he served as Associate Dean for Special Projects at Washington University Medical School in St. Louis. He is currently a member of the Washington University Board of Trustees and chairs the Medical School National Council. Dr. Needleman’s research focuses on two main areas. His studies of the regulation of vascular, cardiac, and renal function led to the discovery of first pass drug metabolism the mechanism of organic nitrate tolerance; the first peptide angiotensin receptor antagonists; and the atrial natriuretic factor (the hormone by which the heart communicates with the kidney, adrenals, blood vessels and brain). His second area of research was on the role of prostaglandins in arthritis, an area in which he made multiple contributions culminating in the discovery of Cox-2, the isoform of cyclooxygenase responsible for the inflammation and pain suffered by arthritis patients. His work at Monsanto/Searle resulted in the 1998 FDA approval of Celebrex. He was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in 1987, the Institute of Medicine in 2003, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2015. In 2009 he served as President of the Donald Danforth Plant Sciences Center, and in 2011 he became President of the St. Louis Science Center. He helped create the National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev at Ben Gurion University, and served on the Barnes Jewish Hospital Board. Dr. Needleman has garnered numerous honors, including the John Jacob Abel Award of the American Pharmacology Society (1974); Research Achievement Award from the American Heart Association (1988); Washington University’s Distinguished Faculty Award (1987), Second Century Award from the medical school (1994), and honorary doctorate degree (1999); C. Chester Stock Award from Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (2001); and the American Society of Experimental Therapeutics Award. Dr. Needleman was selected for the Industrial Research Institute Medal in 2001, and in 2005 the NAS Award for the Industrial Application of Science.

Dr. Spiegel has over 30 years of extensive R&D and operational experience in biopharmaceuticals including Big Pharma, biotech, and academic startups as well as advisory roles with venture capital and private equity. Dr Spiegel was Director of the Developmental Therapeutics Program at NYU Medical Center and then spent over 25 years at Schering-Plough where he joined as the first Director for Oncology Clinical Research. He subsequently held a series of senior executive positions, including Senior Vice President for worldwide Clinical Research and Chief Medical Officer. During his time at Schering-Plough he took numerous drug candidates through clinical development and was involved with over 30 NDA approvals. Since 2011 Dr. Spiegel has been a consultant to the biotech industry and has served on the Scientific Advisory Board and Board of Directors of multiple biotech companies. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Geron Corp, Cyclacel Therapetics, Ayala Pharmaceuticals, and Athenex. He is currently the president of Spiegel Consulting LLC and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College. He is also a Senior Advisor to the private equity firm Warburg Pincus and an Advisor to the Israel Biotech Fund. Dr. Spiegel received his B.A. from Yale University and his M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. He completed his specialty training at the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Dr. DiPersio is the Virginia E. and Sam J. Golman Professor in Medicine and Director, Center for Gene and Cellular Immunotherapy at the Washington University School of Medicine. His research focuses on fundamental and translational aspects of leukemia, lymphoma and stem cell biology. As Deputy Director of the Siteman Cancer Center (2000-2023) and Chief of the Division of Oncology (1994-2023), Dr. DiPersio oversees all clinical and basic science research in the cancer center, serves as a mentor of trainees and junior faculty and oversees faculty recruitment and retention in the Division of Oncology. His personal research has focused on the role of stem cell transplantation and novel targeted interventions including cellular therapies to alter the natural history of AML and other hematological malignancies and has published over 450 articles till date. Dr. DiPersio has been a previous recipient of the ASH Mentor Award in Clinical Investigation in 2014 and has been voted as “Teacher of the Year” on four different occasions in three different institutions (UCLA, U of Rochester and Wash U) consistent with his commitment to mentoring. He has mentored over 50 undergraduate, medical students, graduate students and post-doctoral trainees over the past 30 years. He has co-founded two biotech companies (WuGEN and Magenta), filed over 25 patents, and has been a past recipient of several honors including elected membership into ASCI and AAP, AACR, Joseph H. Burchenal Memorial Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cancer Research (2014), American Society of Hematology (ASH) Mentor Award for Clinical Investigation (2014), R35 NCI Outstanding Investigator Award from the National Cancer Institute (2017-2024), Giants of Cancer Care Award for Leukemia Research (2022), American-Italian Cancer Foundation’s Prize for Scientific Excellence in Medicine (2022) and the American College of Physicians Harriet P. Dustan Award for Science as Related to Medicine, ACP (2023).

Richard joined the Scripps Research Institute (La Jolla CA) in 1972 and is currently a Professor of Immunology and Microbiology and Chairman Emeritus of the Department of Immunology. He received his BA from Washington and Jefferson College (1966) and PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Pennsylvania (1971). His career is marked by multiple, seminal scientific discoveries in the field of innate immunity. These include the identification of LPS binding protein, an analysis of the biological function of CD14 and the discovery of p38 MAP kinase and elucidation of many of its biological properties. He is the author of more than 200 publications in peer-reviewed journals. Ulevitch has also been affiliated with several Life Science Investment funds including The Lombard Odier Immunology Fund (1995-2005; Geneva, Switzerland), Aravis Ventures (Zurich, Switzerland) and 5AM Ventures where he is currently a Venture Partner Emeritus (2002-present; San Francisco/Boston). He has also served as a consultant to more than twenty large Pharma and biotech companies. In addition, he has served as a member of the Board of Directors of multiple San Diego Arts organizations including the La Jolla Playhouse and the San Diego Opera.