Scientific Advisory Board

Victor Baum, M.D.

F.A. Berry Professor of Pediatric Anesthesiology and Professor of Pediatrics, University of Virginia (retired); U.S. FDA (retired); Adjunct Professor, George Wasahington University School of Medicine

I spent many years at UCLA and UVa as a cardiac and pediatric anesthesiologist and pediatric intensivist. At UVa I was Chief of Cardiac Anesthesia and Executive Vice-Chair of the Department. I retired and then spent over a decade at the U.S. FDA where my primary responsibilities were in the areas of blood, modified blood products and “everything pediatric”. I have served on the editorial boards of multiple leading anesthesiology journals and my book on anesthesia and syndromes is heading for its fourth edition. Coincidentally, I did most of his residency and chief residency (pediatrics) and fellowship (pediatric cardiology) at UCSF (with one transcontinental year at the MGH).

Kenneth Bertram, MD, PhD, Col. Ret. (US Army)

Director of CTMCT Scientific Advisory Board

Adjunct Faculty, UCSF Dept. of Laboratory Medicine; Program Director, WFIRM

Dr. Bertram, recently appointed Adjunct Faculty in the UCSF Department of Laboratory Medicine, brings a distinguished career in patient care, translational and regenerative medicine, military medical research, and medical product development. A Hematologist/Oncologist, trained at the University of Minnesota and Madigan Army Medical Center (MAMC), he retired from the US Army as a Colonel, after serving in senior leadership roles that include Chief, Hematology/Oncology Service, MAMC; Director, Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP); and Commander, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR). In addition, he served as a member of the Senior Executive Service at the US Army Medical Research and Development Command. He is currently a Program Director at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM).

Gregory A. Bonfiglio

Founder & Managing Partner Proteus LLC

Mr. Bonfiglio is the Managing Partner of Proteus, LLC – a firm focused solely on Cell & Gene Therapies. Formed in 2006, Proteus provided fund management and consulting services to the CGT industry for more than 15 years. Proteus has wound down its investment activities, and Mr. Bonfiglio now works with CGT companies as an Advisor or BOD Member. Mr. Bonfiglio has served on the Boards of more than 20 CGT companies. He is a Senior Advisor to ImmuneBridge; a Member of the RM Cell Therapy Advisory Board of BioBridge Global; a Member of the Investment & Technology Advisory Group of the CCRM in Toronto; and he an Associate with CDL Health in Vancouver, CA. Mr. Bonfiglio received his B.A. in Mathematics from Michigan State University in 1975, and his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School in 1981.

Michael Busch MD PhD

Professor of Lab Medicine UCSF, Director Emeritus, Vitalant Research Institute

Dr. Busch is a Professor of Laboratory Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree from the UCSB, and his MS, MD and PhD degrees from the USC and completed his residency at UCSF. He has played leadership roles in multiple national multi-center research studies funded by NIH and CDC contracts and has directed numerous NIH and CDC grant-funded studies based at the Research Institute and conducted in collaboration with UCSF, UCB and other national and international institutions. His research interests include the epidemiology, natural history, pathogenesis, and laboratory evaluation of transfusion-associated infections, blood safety implications of new and emerging viruses, and immunological consequences of transfusion. Dr. Busch is focused on a wide spectrum of transfusion-transmitted infectious diseases and immunological complications to enhance blood safety and to capitalize on the unique opportunities for natural history and pathogenesis research derived from identification of research subjects as a result of large-scale blood and plasma donor screening.

Charles S. Cox Jr. MD

Professor of Pediatric Surgery, Director Pediatric Program in Regenerative Medicine UT Houston

Charles S. Cox, Jr. M.D. is the The George and Cynthia Mitchell Distinguished Chair in Neurosciences, Glassell Family Distinguished Chair in Pediatric Surgery and Director, Red Duke Texas Trauma Institute, Center for Translational Injury Research (CeTIR). He received his medical degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch, with Surgery and Surgical Critical Care training at UTHealth-Houston. He completed a T32 fellowship at the Shriner’s Burns Institute-Galveston Unit and Pediatric Surgery Fellowship at the University of Michigan. His primary interest is in cellular therapies for TBI as well as hemorrhagic shock and the inflammatory consequences of trauma. This research activity ranges from basic investigations through IND enabling studies to clinical trials.

John Holcomb MD COL US Army (Ret)

Professor of Surgery, Univ. Alabama

Before joining the UAB Department of Surgery in September 2019 as a professor in the Division of Trauma & Acute Care Surgery, Dr. John B. Holcomb served for 23 years in the Army. Holcomb said he joined the Army to pay for medical school, eventually graduating from the University of Arkansas Medical School in Little Rock in 1985. Holcomb completed his general surgery training in 1991 and then deployed with the Joint Special Operations Command for the next decade. Holcomb has served in multiple combat deployments, including in Mogadishu, Somalia, where he was a part of the surgical team that delivered 48-hour non-stop care to soldiers during the battle that inspired the book and film Black Hawk Down. From 2002 to 2008, Colonel Holcomb served as the Commander of the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research and Trauma Consultant for the Army Surgeon General. He retired from active duty in 2008. Holcomb received the Lifetime Achievement Award in Trauma Resuscitation Science from the American Heart Association, the United States Special Operations Command Medal, and the Service award from the American College of Surgery. He is a three time recipient of the Army’s Greatest Invention Award. He has been a member of the Committee on Tactical Combat Casualty Care since 2001. In 2016 he received the Major Jonathan Letterman Medical Excellence Award from the National Museum of Civil War Medicine. From 2008 to 2019, Holcomb worked at UT Health, Houston as a professor of surgery before joining UAB. Dr. Holcomb is actively involved in clinical medicine, education, research, and entrepreneurship. He is a founder and Co-CEO of a health IT company, Decisio Health. He reviews papers for more than 35 journals, has published more than 690 peer reviewed articles, consults with several companies, and serves on multiple boards. According to Holcomb, there are no car “accidents.” He believes that very few people who drive safely, while sober and while wearing a seat belt have accidents. “When you look at it that way, ‘accidents’ are really predictable.”

Clifford Lowell MD PhD

Professor of Lab Medicine UCSF

Our laboratory studies signal transduction in innate immune cells using knockout mouse models. We have focused on tyrosine kinases, signaling adapter proteins and calcium sensors in neutrophils, macrophages and dendritic cells. Our major findings have illuminated the function of Src-family and Syk kinases in immune responses to various pathogens as well as in immune mediated diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosis and rheumatoid arthritis. We have also studied tyrosine phosphatases that down regulate these same signaling pathways, primarily in the setting of inflammatory diseases of the lung and skin. Future studies will involve studies of innate cells in inflammatory bowel disease models as well as during fungal infections, using genetically mutant mice. Overall, our goal is to elucidate how intracellular signaling pathways are affected in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases with the objective of providing more rational approaches to treatment of these conditions.

Lester Martinez-Lopez MD, MPH, MG. Ret. (US Army)

Former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs,  President of Martinez Medical Consulting, LLC 

Dr. Lester Martinez-Lopez is the President of Martinez Medical Consulting, LLC, a firm that provides consulting services in the health care industry. He is the former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs overseeing the DOD Military Health System and previously served as the President of the Medical Technology Enterprise Consortium, a national organization that fosters research and development collaboration, to include COVID-19 research, between the U.S. Army, industry, and academia. Previously he served as the Chief Medical Officer at Brandon Regional Hospital in Brandon, Florida. In 2006, he was the Senior Vice-President & Administrator (CEO) of the Lyndon B. Johnson General Hospital in Houston, Texas where he directed a 332 licensed-bed acute care teaching hospital. In 2005, Dr Martinez-Lopez retired from the U.S. Army with the permanent rank of Major General as the first Hispanic to head the Army Medical Research and Materiel Command at Fort Detrick, Maryland. His responsibilities included directing the Army’s worldwide medical research, acquisition, and logistics program. He oversaw a vast research portfolio that included infectious diseases, biodefense and telemedicine research. In addition he directed the premier national biological and chemical defense laboratories and research program and led the development of the National Biodefense Campus at Fort Detrick, MD. Prior to these duties he was the Commanding General of the Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine at Edgewood, Maryland. In this assignment he directed a worldwide public health organization, responsible for preventive medicine, global medical surveillance, occupational and environmental health, and health risk communication. During his previous military career he was the commander of three distinct hospitals, he led the military response to two health disasters during Hurricane Mitch in Central America, and as the Chief Medical Officer of the United Nation’s Mission in Haiti. Dr. Martinez-Lopez was born in Puerto Rico. In 1978, he graduated from the School of Medicine in the University of Puerto Rico and later on completed his Master in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University. He is a diplomat of the American Board of Family Practice and the American Board of Preventive Medicine. He is a member of multiple professional organizations as well as a member and former member of multiple professional organization boards to include the National Alliance for Hispanic Health, the Puerto Rico Consortium for Clinical Investigation, and the Army Science Board.

Chris Mason MD, PhD, FRSB, FRCS, FMedSci

Professor of Cell & Gene Therapy, University College London

Dr. Mason has over 30 years of cell and gene therapy experience spanning R&D, clinical medicine, manufacturing, and commercialization. He is a Full Professor of Cell & Gene Therapy at University College London. He is also a serial entrepreneur, including Founder and CEO of Sun Vectors, Founder and Board Director of OriBiotech, and Founder and former CSO at AVROBIO. Dr. Mason is on the Board of Directors of several other cell and gene therapy companies, and nonprofit organizations, including Krystal Biotech, Papillon Therapeutics, The Foundation for mRNA Medicines, and UCSD Gene Therapy Initiative. Chris received a BS in molecular biology from Imperial College London, an MD in medicine/surgery from United Medical and Dental Schools of Guy's and St. Thomas's Hospitals, and PhD in biochemical engineering from University College London. In 2019, he was elected Fellow of The Academy of Medical Sciences.

Jan Nolta PhD

Professor and Director Stem Cell and Gene Therapy Program UC Davis

Jan A. Nolta, Ph.D., is the Director of the Cell & Gene Therapy Program at University of California Davis School of Medicine. She is the Scientific Director of the UC Davis Good Manufacturing Practice Facility, and PI of the California State Umbilical Cord Blood Collection Program. Dr. Nolta is helping UC Davis teams develop numerous clinical trials, with 60 stem cell and/or gene therapy clinical trials currently ongoing, and over twenty in the pipeline. A scientist with 30 years’ experience with human Hematopoietic and Mesenchymal stem cells, CAR-T, gene therapy and clinical trial development, Dr. Nolta has published over 200 peer- reviewed manuscripts in the stem cell field, with over 20,000 citations & an H factor of 75 and has authored 30+ book chapters. She has been Editor-in-Chief for the Journal “Stem Cells” for the past decade. In 2023 she was awarded the International Society of Cell Therapy Career Achievement Award in Cell and Gene Therapy.

Philip Norris MD

Professor of Lab Medicine UCSF, Vitalant Research Institute

The Norris lab research interests focus on how the human immune system responds to viral infections and transfusion. Early efforts centered on defining how HIV-specific CD4+ T cells might contribute to control of viral infection. A second area of interest has been defining the earliest events of viral infections through study of subjects with HIV, West Nile virus, and hepatitis viruses. More recent projects include understanding how blood transfusion affects the immune system and modulates immune responses in transfusion recipients, with an emphasis on understanding immune signaling by extracellular vesicles. His lab is also directing several projects to understand the natural history of COVID-19 and how convalescent plasma might modify the disease course.

Beth Shaz MD

Professor and Director Marcus Center for Cellular Cures, Duke University

Beth Shaz, MD, MBA is Professor of Pathology, Chief of Clinical Pathology, and Deputy Director of Marcus Center for Cellular Cures at Duke University. Previously she was Executive Vice President, Chief Medical and Scientific Officer, New York Blood Center enterprises; Director, Transfusion Service, Grady Memorial Hospital; and Assistant Medical Director, Transfusion Service, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC). She has published ~200 peer-reviewed articles and co-edited eight book. Her degrees include BS with Distinction in Chemical Engineering from Cornell University, MD with research distinction at University of Michigan, and MBA in Healthcare Leadership at Empire State College, State University of New York. She completed her surgical internship at Georgetown University, her pathology residency and blood banking / transfusion medicine fellowship at BIDMC, Harvard Medical School, and the Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine fellowship, Heath Care track, Drexel University. Her primary area of research interest is the development of immune effector cell therapies and the supplying of novel cellular and tissue based therapies.

https://pathology.duke.edu/profile/beth-h-shaz
https://marcuscenter.duke.edu/

Phil Vanek

CTO Gamma Biosciences, ISCT Chief Commercialization Officer

An entrepreneurial and strategic international business leader, Phil serves as a strategic advisor to investors, life sciences startups, and advanced therapies organizations through his Redline Bioadvisors entity. Prior to founding Redline, Phil was CTO and Partner at Gamma Biosciences, a KKR life sciences tools platform, where he was responsible for technical diligence, as well as guiding operational, R&D and strategic initiatives carried out at portfolio companies. Phil received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Georgetown University Medical Center, with research focused in molecular oncology. Subsequently, Phil completed his postdoctoral training in Molecular Oncology under an IRTA fellowship at the National Cancer Institute in Maryland. Phil was an instructor at Johns Hopkins University’s Biotechnology Marketing in the Masters of Biotechnology / MBA program, and has held strategy and innovation leadership positions in a number of life sciences companies including Life Technologies, Becton Dickinson, Lonza, and GE Healthcare. Phil serves on boards for a number of life sciences and cell and gene therapy companies. Additionally, Phil is a mentor for the Creative Destruction Lab (CDL) entrepreneurship program, serves as Entrepreneur in Residence at Georgetown University Medical Center, and currently is serving as Chief Commercialization Officer of the International Society for Cell and Gene Therapy (ISCT).

Pampee Young MD PhD

Chief Medical and Scientific Officer of the American Red Cross

Pampee Young, MD, PhD is the Chief Medical and Scientific Officer of the American Red Cross where she oversees the organization's team of physicians and scientific programs advancing blood safety and new blood product development. She has authored over 120 peer-reviewed manuscripts spanning transfusion medicine, regenerative medicine, and cellular therapeutics. Her current research interests focus on leveraging the Red Cross as an impactful engine for driving health equity through access to health data that enables effective interventions. Before joining the American Red Cross, Dr. Young was a tenured Professor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center where she served as Medical Director of Transfusion Medicine, Director of the Stem Cell Laboratory, and Section Head of the Program in Tissue Repair. During her 15-year tenure at Vanderbilt, she led an extramurally funded research program investigating mesenchymal stem cell biology and Wnt signaling pathways in cardiac repair, wound healing, and tissue regeneration. Her laboratory’s work led to patent applications and the founding of a biotechnology company, Eluciderm.