Board of Directors Meeting Schedule
The Board of Directors meet quarterly*. The remaining meetings for 2009 are:
| Meeting Date | Research Grant Application Deadline | |
|
January 20, 2010 |
Applications not considered at this meeting |
*Meeting dates are subject to change, and we try to update the site accordingly.
Volunteer Board of Directors
- Scott D. Berns, MD, MPH, FAAP , Chair
- Carl Alviti, CPA
- Karen N. Ballack, Esq.
- Sandra Bresnick, Esq.
- Rabbi Harold Kushner
- Suzette Kushner, MS
- Kim Paratore
- John J. Seng
- Elliott C. Wohlner, MD
Volunteer Board of Advisors
- W. Ted Brown, MD, PhD
- Robert Butler , MD
- Monica Kleinman, MD
- George M. Martin, MD
- Robert K. Morrison
- Mary Oh, MD
- William Oh, MD
- Dr. William F. Schulz
- Mel Zuckerman
About Our Board Members
We are very proud of the members of the Board for The Progeria Research Foundation. They include people with years of experience in the medical and business fields, and each of them brings a unique perspective to the table. Brief biographical sketches appear below.
Scott D. Berns, MD, MPH, FAAP; Chair, Board of Directors
Dr. Berns joined the March of Dimes national office staff in 2001 and is currently Senior Vice President of Chapter Programs. He provides direction in education and community services to all March of Dimes state-based chapters, including DC and Puerto Rico. He directs NICU Initiatives, Mobile Health Care as well as the Planning & Community Services Division at the March of Dimes national office.
Dr. Berns is a co-founder of The Progeria Research Foundation, Inc. and serves as its Chairman of the Board. In addition, he serves on the Executive Committee of the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Perinatal Pediatrics. In 2001, Dr. Berns completed a one-year White House Fellowship where he served as a Special Assistant to the US Secretary of Transportation. Dr. Berns is a pediatric emergency physician and was Medical Director of Pediatric Trauma at Hasbro Children’s Hospital for seven years.
Dr. Berns received a BA magna cum laude and a MD degree from Boston University. He completed his residency in pediatrics at Rhode Island Hospital and completed a fellowship in pediatric emergency medicine at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. Dr. Berns earned a MPH with a concentration in health policy and management at Harvard School of Public Health. He is board certified in pediatrics and pediatric emergency medicine. Dr. Berns is a Clinical Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.
Mr. Alviti is a partner at Matrix Financial LLC in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Matrix Financial is a full service accounting and tax firm. One of Mr. Alviti's specialties is the financial and tax reporting for non-profit organizations. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Massachusetts Society of Certified Public Accountants and the Massachusetts Collaborative Law Council. Mr. Alviti received his B.S. degree summa cum laude from the University of Massachusetts and a Master of Science degree in Taxation from Bentley College.
Karen N. Ballack, Esq.
Ms. Ballack is a partner in the Silicon Valley office of Weil, Gotshal & Manges, LLP. She has extensive experience as an intellectual property transactional attorney, with emphasis on representing technology companies, particularly in the computer, internet, semiconductor, biotechnology, pharmaceutical and medical device industries. Karen represents clients in connection with technology and intellectual property alliances and transactions, including research and development collaborations, licensing matters, corporate partnering transactions, and commercialization arrangements regarding products and services. Karen is often engaged as a guest speaker on these topics. She also serves on the firm's Pro Bono Committee, Diversity Committee and Women@Weil Leadership Committee and is a member of the Silicon Valley office's Hiring Committee.
Sandra Bresnick, Esq.
Ms. Bresnick is a partner in the Intellectual Property Practice of Sidley Austin LLP, resident in the New York office. She specializes in patent litigation, particularly in the areas of pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, and the life cycle management of drugs and biologic products. Ms. Bresnick represents clients in all aspects of intellectual property trials and appeals, including Hatch-Waxman litigation. Ms. Bresnick also counsels clients regarding intellectual property management and strategic alliances. She teaches Pharmaceutical Patent Litigation at Rutgers University School of Law and is an editorial advisor to The Journal of BioLaw & Business. She received an A.B. from Cornell University in Chemistry, with Distinction in All Subjects, and a J.D. from Boston University. She is registered to practice before the US Patent & Trademark office.
W. Ted Brown, MD, PhD
Dr. Brown is Chairman of the Department of Human Genetics, Director of the Jervis Clinic and Director of the New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities in Staten Island, New York. He is a Professor of Genetics at the State University of New York’s Medical School in Brooklyn and a board-certified internist and medical geneticist. Dr. Brown has had a long standing interest in the genetics of the aging process and in premature aging syndromes, as evidenced by his numerous awards, licenses, appointments on federal committees and memberships to professional organizations such as the American Aging Association. He is a world expert on this syndrome.
Dr. Robert N. Butler
Dr. Butler is a gerontologist and psychiatrist with broad experience in aging research and advocacy. In addition to authoring over 300 scientific and medical articles, in 1976 he won the Pulitzer Prize for his book, "Why Survive? Being Old in America." He is a pioneer in the field of aging: In 1982, Dr. Butler founded the first department of geriatrics at a United States medical school, The Department of Geriatrics and Adult Development at the Mount Sinai Medical Center, where he continues to serve as professor. He is also the founding Director of the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health, a position he held from 1975 to 1982. He currently serves on the National Advisory Council of the National Institute on Aging. He has been Director of the International Longevity Center since 1990, and is editor-in-chief of the journal Geriatrics. Dr. Butler also serves on the Scientific Advisory Board of Geron, a leading biotechnology company focused on human aging.
Monica Kleinman, MD
Dr. Kleinman is a specialist in pediatric critical care and neonatology. She is presently the Clinical Director of the Medical-Surgical Intensive Care Unit, Medical Director of the Transport Program, and Senior Associate in Critical Care Medicine at Children's Hospital Boston. She is an Assistant Professor in Anesthesia (Pediatrics) at Harvard Medical School. She serves on the Board of Directors of Boston MedFlight and is chair of the Pediatric Subcommittee of the American Heart Association's National Emergency Cardiovascular Care Committee. She lectures extensively on a variety of pediatric care issues.
Rabbi Harold Kushner
Harold Kushner is Rabbi Laureate of Temple Israel in Natick, Massachusetts. He is a native of Brooklyn, New York and a graduate of Columbia University. He is the author of several best-selling books, including "When Bad Things Happen to Good People", published in 1981 and translated into 12 languages. Rabbi Kushner is internationally recognized for his writings and the comfort and guidance which they provide. He holds six honorary degrees and has received numerous distinguishing awards, including the Christopher Medal and The Yitzhak Rabin Award. In 1995, he was honored as one of 50 people who have made the world a better place in the past 50 years. He also serves on the Board of Directors for The Giving Back Fund, a non-profit organization devoted to encouraging and facilitating philanthropic efforts of professional athletes and entertainers.
Suzette Kushner, MS
Suzette Kushner was born in Omaha, Nebraska and received her Masters in Health Education from Columbia University. She and Harold raised two children, including Aaron, who died of Progeria in 1977 at the age of fourteen. Among other things, she brings to the Board her knowledge of and experience with progeria-related issues.
George M. Martin, MD
Dr. Martin is a Professor Emeritus (Active) in the Department of Pathology at the University of Washington and Director Emeritus of the University of Washington's Alzheimer's Disease Research Center. His research has involved genetic approaches to elucidate the pathobiology of aging and age-related diseases. This has included basic research leading to the discovery of the genetic defect causing the Werner syndrome ("Progeria of the Adult") and certain familial forms of Alzheimer's disease. His laboratory was also the first to demonstrate the rising frequencies, with age, of somatic mutations in human epithelial cells. At a more clinical level, Dr. Martin has systematized our knowledge of human genetic disorders from the point of view of their rich potential to elucidate specific.shtmlects of the senescent phenotype and used this analysis to make inferences concerning the polygenic basis of aging.
More recent research has utilized genetic engineering in mice to elucidate mechanisms of aging and Alzheimer's disease. His honors have included election to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences and a Lifetime Achievement Award of the World Alzheimer Congress. He currently serves as the Scientific Director of the American Federation of Aging Research, President of the Gerontological Society of America and Editor-in-Chief of the Science of Aging Knowledge Environment (SAGE KE) web site of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Robert K. Morrison
Bob Morrison graduated from Williams College in 1953. He is the Co-Founder and Co-Chairman of Harvey Industries, Inc., one of the largest manufacturers and distributors of specialty building products in the northeast. He is also Director and Member of the Executive Committee of Lumber Mutual Insurance Companies. He is formerly Director and Executive Committee Member of Bank Boston and Venture Economics Publishing Company, and a former Trustee of Newton-Wellesley Hospital and Noble & Greenough School.
Mary Oh, MD
Dr. Oh is a consultant to the Rhode Island branch of the Laboratory Corporation of America. For 15 years she served as the President and Medical Director of the Barrington, Rhode Island Medical Laboratory. Her 40-year medical career spans such varied places as Chicago, Illinois and Stockholm, Sweden, and includes a position as a Research Associate in Pediatric Research at Harbor General Hospital in Torrence, California. Dr. Oh has an extensive background in clinical pathology.
William Oh, MD
Dr. Oh is attending neonatologist in the department of pediatrics at Women & Infants Hospital in Providence Rhode Island, and Professor of Pediatrics at Brown University School of Medicine, also in Providence. Born and educated in the Philippines, Dr. Oh's medical career spans over forty years at hospitals and institutes in Chicago, Illinois; Stockholm, Sweden; New York; Rhode Island and California. He belongs to such prestigious professional societies as the International Pediatric Association Advisory Expert Panel and was distinguished as a member of The Best Doctors in America. He has contributed to hundreds of articles and as many lectures, concentrating in the neonatal and pediatric fields.
Kim Paratore
Kim has been involved as a PRF volunteer since its inception, having chaired the first three Night of Wonder galas, as well as numerous other PRF fundraising events. Kim has also been involved in dozens of fundraising efforts for other charities and her two sons’ schools, organizing races, auctions and dinners. She currently serves on The Wenham Village Improvement Society, a women's organization dedicated to improving and maintaining the streets, parks and public grounds of the town of Wenham.
In 2005, Kim was honored with PRF's Amy Award for her tireless efforts and long-standing commitment to children with Progeria.
Dr. William F. Schulz
Dr. Schulz was the Executive Director of Amnesty International USA, a 300,000-member US Branch of the Nobel Prize-winning international human rights organization, from 1994 to 2006. He is an ordained Unitarian Universalist Minister and a former President of the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations, where he was involved in numerous international and social justice causes. From 1985-1993, he served on the Council of the International Association for Religious Freedom, the oldest interfaith organization in the world. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Board of Trustees of the Meadville/Lombard Theological School at the University of Chicago and REACT magazine's Take Action Advisory Board. Dr. Schulz is widely recognized for his dedication to such important social issues as religious freedom, racial equality and the rights of women and ethnic minorities.
He is published and quoted in many newspapers, including the New York Times and the Washington Post. He also appears frequently on national and international radio and television, including 60 Minutes, Good Morning America, ABC World News, BBC, CNN and many other major networks. He often lectures and teaches at colleges and universities, including Harvard University, Michigan State University and University of North Carolina, and frequently speaks at the World Affairs Council meetings and to numerous other national and international groups.
John J. Seng
John J. Seng is the founder and President of SPECTRUM Science Communications, based in Washington, DC (www.spectrumscience.com), a company that serves clients with communications needs in human health sciences. SPECTRUM was instrumental in the widespread coverage of the April 2003 Progeria gene announcement. John is a public relations veteran of 27 years, and his firm ranks among the top three health care-only independent public relations firms in the USA.
In 2002, he co-founded GLOBALHealthPR, the first worldwide network of independent agencies dedicated exclusively to health care public relations. John received a B.S. degree in journalism from the University of Maryland.
He currently chairs the Washington, DC area Leadership Council of the American Diabetes Association. He serves on the Board of Directors of former Washington Redskin Darrell Green's Youth Life Foundation. He is a recipient of two Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) National Capital Chapter Thoth Awards and a Certificate of Excellence and a U.S. Industrial Film Festival Certificate of Excellence.
Elliott C. Wohlner, MD
Dr. Wohlner is President of Anesthesia Consultants, P.C. of Denver, Colorado. He is also Medical Director and Chairman, Department of Anesthesiology and Chairman, Department of Surgery, all at St. Anthony Central Hospital in Denver, CO. A Diplomat of the National Board of Medical Examiners and Board Certified in Anesthesiology, Dr. Wohlner is also a member of the Denver Medical Society and International Anesthesia Research Society, and volunteers his time as a member of the Board of Directors of the Denver Children’s Home.
Mel Zuckerman
Mr. Zuckerman is the founder and CEO of Canyon Ranch health resort located in Tuscon, Arizona and Lenox, Massachusetts, and the SpaClub fitness and health facility in Las Vegas, Nevada. He is a national leader in health promotion and lifestyle enhancement. He has also championed and supported many research and health initiatives, including the Arizona Prevention Center, the Arizona Arthritis Center, the University of Arizona Sarver Heart Center, the Steele Memorial Children's Research Center, the College of Pharmacy and the Program in Integrative Medicine.