New Members Deepen Research & Investment Expertise of ADDF Boards

At its annual joint meeting of the Boards of Governors and Overseers on December 9, the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation formally welcomed seven new members. Roberta Diaz Brinton, PhD, Lanny Edelsohn, MD, Gary Lauder, MBA, Bruce McEwen, PhD, Richard Mohs, PhD, and Steven Paul, MD, joined the Board of Governors. The Board of Overseers expanded its roster with the addition of Stephen Toma. 

Ronald S. Lauder, Co-Chairman of the Board of Governors says, “On behalf of the ADDF’s Boards, I enthusiastically welcome our new members to the ADDF. Their impressive backgrounds in management, venture capital, the pharmaceutical industry, and drug discovery research add fresh perspectives and even more depth to our discussions and decision-making.” Co-Chairman Leonard A. Lauder added, “I look forward to working with these new members to further the ADDF’s mission and ensure effective treatments for Alzheimer’s make it to patients as quickly as possible.”

Five of the new members come from the research community. The Board of Governors actively sought to add members with significant expertise in drug discovery and development as the ADDF is increasing its investment in research, particularly for clinical trials. Roberta Diaz Brinton, PhD, is the Vanderveen Chair in Therapeutic Discovery and Development at the University of Southern California, where she is Professor of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Biomedical Engineering and Neurology. She directs the Norris Foundation Laboratory for Neuroscience Research and the USC STAR Science Education Program. Lanny Edelsohn, MD, is Director of Christiana Care Health Systems, Inc. He is a board certified neurologist and a clinical professor of neurology at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, where he has also serves as the director of neurology education for residents, interns and medical students. Bruce McEwen, PhD, is the Alfred E. Mirsky Professor of Neuroscience and head of the Harold and Margaret Milliken Hatch Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology at The Rockefeller University. He is a member of the US National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the National Council on the Developing Child. Richard Mohs, PhD, is Vice President of Clinical Development at Agenebio, Inc., where he is working on the Phase 3 clinical trial of its lead Alzheimer’s drug candidate. He was formerly the Vice President for Neuroscience Early Clinical Development and Distinguished Research Fellow, Eli Lilly & Company. Steven M. Paul, MD, is the President and CEO at Voyager Therapeutics, Inc. as well as Venture Partner at Third Rock Ventures. He was the Founding Director of the Helen and Robert Appel Alzheimer’s Disease Research Institute and the Burton P. and Judith B. Resnick Distinguished Professor in Neurodegenerative Diseases and Professor of Neuroscience, Psychiatry and Pharmacology at Weill Cornell Medical College. Previously, Dr. Paul was the Executive Vice President of Science and Technology and President of the Lilly Research Laboratories of Eli Lilly & Company.

The final two new Board members bring a wealth of experience in venture capital and management. Gary Lauder, MBA, is Managing Director of Lauder Partners LLC, a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm investing primarily in information technologies. Along with his wife, Laura, he created the Aspen Institute's Socrates Society and was a member of the inaugural class of the Aspen Institute's Henry Crown Fellowship Program. Stephen Toma is Managing Director at VJMS, LLC and a member of the Board of Huber+Suhner Astrolab. He served as President of Astrolab, Inc. for 16 years prior to its acquisition by Swiss company Huber+Suhner.

Image: New Board member Gary Lauder with Board Co-Chairman Ronald S. Lauder at our Sixth Annual Fall Symposium and Luncheon (photo by Sean Zanni/Patrick McMullan)