Jason Alter, Ph.D.
Vice President of Marketing for Aureon Laboratories
Dr. Alter graduated from Alfred University with a B.A. in Biology
and History. Subsequently he earned a M.S. degree in Microbiology
from Texas A&M University and his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology
from Binghamton University. Dr. Alter did a postdoctoral fellowship
at Schering Plough Pharmaceuticals examining the cellular location
of fibronectin and collagen 01 (IV) messenger RNAs during intimal
lesion development in a balloon angioplasty model of vascular
smooth muscle cell proliferation. Dr. Alter has worked in a
number of marketing roles for both traditional and non-traditional
life science companies (e.g. IBM). Dr. Alter joined IBM's
newly-formed Life Sciences Division as a Marketing Manager and was
responsible for many of the initial outbound marketing activities
of this business unit. Subsequently, as Manager of Program
Marketing, he and his team were responsible for all outbound
marketing for the IBM Healthcare and Life Sciences team.
John D. Haley, Ph.D.
Senior Research Director, Translational Research OSI
Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Dr. Haley has over thirty years of experience in biochemical
research in the fields of endocrinology, oncology, signal
transduction and pharmacology, in which he has published over 50
manuscripts. Dr. Haley obtained B.Sc. cum laude in Chemistry
from Tufts University, Medford, MA and a Ph. D. in Molecular
Endocrinology from the Howard Florey Institute for Experimental
Physiology and Medicine, Melbourne University, Australia. He
served as a Research Fellow at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund
(London) and at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (London).
He currently holds the position of Senior Research Director,
Translational Research at OSI Pharmaceuticals, and his group is
focused on drug target pathway identification, validation and
biomarker discovery through a scientific understanding of
epithelial-mesenchymal transition and cancer recurrence.
Joseph Scaduto, M.S., M.B.A.
Assistant Director of Business Development Center for Biotechnology
(CFB), State University of New York at Stony Brook
Mr. Scaduto is the founding Executive Director of the Long Island
Life Sciences Initiative (LILSI). He has accumulated almost 10
years of experience providing business development expertise,
strategic planning services and technology commercialization
guidance to emerging and expanding bioscience companies on Long
Island and throughout New York State. Mr. Scaduto is primarily
responsible for corporate outreach, industry relations and
government affairs activities on behalf of the CFB. He leads
efforts to plan and execute the annual Life Sciences Industry
Summit, while administering several programs meant to facilitate
industry-academic interactions, technology transfer and new company
formation, including BioPartnering Meetings, BioStrategy Sessions
and the Technology Commercialization Clinic (TCC). Mr.
Scaduto serves on the Tenant Selection and Review Committee of the
Long Island High Technology Incubator (UHTI), the Stony Brook
University Software Incubator, and the Stony Brook University
Incubator at Calverton. Prior to joining the CFB, Mr. Scaduto
held a variety of laboratory research and technology management
positions at Stony Brook University, Brookhaven National
Laboratory, Binghamton University, Mount Sinai Graduate School of
Biological Sciences, BioLife Solutions, Inc. and The Collaborative
Group, Ltd.
Mark Sleeman, Ph.D.
Dr. Sleeman is currently the Head of Metabolic Research at
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals in Tarrytown, New York. For the past two
decades he has been interested in the interplay between insulin
resistance and obesity, in particular the molecular mechanisms
behind the regulation food intake and body weight. Recently, his
published research has focused on the role that gut hormones such
as ghrelin and PYY play in signaling to a number of brain regions
to modulate metabolic events. To that end he and his colleagues
have generated a number of genetically modified animals to study
these phenotypes. Mark Sleeman was a recipient of a Juveniles
Diabetes and Ruth Kirschstein Endocrine Fellowship at the
University of Massachusetts in the laboratory of Dr Michael P.
Czech where he studied mechanisms insulin-resistance/signaling. He
received his Ph.D. from Monash University after graduating from The
University of Melbourne, Australia. He has published numerous
papers on Type 2 Diabetes and Obesity in journals such as
Nature Medicine, Nature Genetics, PNAS, Journal of Biological
Chemistry and Diabetes, is a member of numerous professional
societies in US and holds the academic appointment of Adjunct
Professor in the Comparative Medicine Department at Yale University
School of Medicine.
Linda Strausbaugh, Ph.D.
Professor of Genetics and Genomics
Director, Center for Applied Genetics and Technology
Director, Professional Science Master's Degree in Applied
Genomics
Chair of the Council of Graduate Schools PSM Advisory Board
Dr. Strausbaugh recieved her B.S. from Wright State
University and her Ph.D. from Wesleyan University. Dr. Strausbaugh
joined the faculty at the University of Connecticut in 1980. Her
research interests are in DNA identity typing for forensic and
ancestry applications, and in genome evolution. She designed and
obtained funding to create UConn's Center for Applied Genetics and
Technology, a state-of-the-art facility supporting integrated
genomics research and education. Multimillion dollar awards support
her DNA typing research for crime lab improvement, and she leads
collaborations with several corporate partners to develop new DNA
identification methods. Professor Strausbaugh is recognized locally
and nationally as an education innovator. She has developed and
taught a number of genetics courses, including all three of the
genetics courses for undergraduates at the University of
Connecticut. Her genetics class was named a "Best on Campus"
in the Boston Globe. Dr. Strausbaugh played key roles in the
creation and teaching of courses on Forensic Applications of DNA
Science, Experiments in DNA Identification, and Responsible Conduct
of Research. She was named a 1997 Teaching Fellow of theUniversity
of Connecticut, and is a 2010 Top Nominee for the national Robert
Foster Cherry Award for Great Teaching. She is active in local and
national diversity initiatives and was named a 1998 NEBHE Faculty
Mentor of the Year. Dr. Strausbaugh has served as mentor and
research supervisor to dozens of undergraduate and graduate
students. She conceived of and directs the Professional
Science Masters in Applied Genomics. PSM degrees are designed to
address the national shortage of science-trained professionals, and
Dr. Strausbaugh works routinely with the Connecticut Business and
Industry Association and several companies.
Edward Tamer, Ph.D.
Senior Manager, Head of Lead Optimization Group
CNS Therapeutic Domain
Sanofi-Aventis US, Inc.
Dr. Tamer graduated with a PhD in Biochemistry in January
1985 from University Paul-Sabatier-School of Pharmacy in Toulouse,
France. Immediately thereafter he began a career in the
pharmaceutical industry by joining UCB-Pharma in
Belgium. From 1989-1999, and while still employed by UCB
Pharma, he moved to the US where he took on the responsibility of
coordinating an extensive collaboration project between
UCB-Pharma and the Department of Pharmacology and Experimental
Therapeutics at Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine in
Illinois. This included a Research Faculty position
with participation in teaching in the pharmacology graduate program
in the department. Next he joined the Vascular Biology Group
at Cornell University Weil Medical College in New York from
1999-2002. He then moved to the Orentreich Foundation for the
Advancement of Science in Cold Spring, NY where led the Cell
Biology group from 2002 – 2005. Then he returned to industry
and joined Sanofi-Aventis, where he held a Senior Manager position
heading the lead Optimization group in the central nervous system
therapeutic domain. Currently he holds a senior position in
the “Expertis platform of Biology of aging” in the newly created
therapeutic strategic unit of Aging at Sanofi-Aventis.
During his professional career, Dr. Tamer’s research activity
continued to focus on understanding the mechanisms of diseases with
emphasis on drug discovery, applying biochemical , molecular
and pharmacological approaches and techniques.
Daniel B. Yarosh,Ph.D.
Senior Vice President, Basic Science Research Estee
Lauder
Dr. Yarosh, is Senior Vice President, Basic Science Research, and
is responsible for worldwide basic research of the Estee Lauder
companies. Until 2008, he was President and Chairman of the Board,
AGI Dermatics, located in Freeport, Long Island, New York. Dr.
Yarosh received his BA degree in Biology from Macalester College,
St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1976, and his Doctorate in Molecular
Biology from the University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson,
Arizona, in 1978. He served as a National Science Foundation Fellow
at Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York, and then a
Staff Fellow and Cancer Expert at the National Cancer Institute of
the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland. In 1985, Dr.
Yarosh founded AGI Dermatics, with an emphasis on the commercial
application of DNA repair. He is the inventor of Dimericine® (T4N5
liposome lotion), which is a liposomal DNA repair enzyme for the
prevention of skin cancer. AGI Dermatics is also an ingredient
supplier to many major worldwide cosmetic and personal care
companies. In 2006 the company launched its own Remergent® brand of
skincare products, including sunscreens and prescription drugs. In
2008, AGI Dermatics was acquired by Estee Lauder Inc. Dr. Yarosh is
the author of more than 100 scientific papers and two dozen
patents, and serves on the Board of the Photomedicine Society. His
book The New Science of Perfect Skin, about skincare technology in
the cosmetic marketplace, was published by Random House in May
2008.