Biographies of Speakers, Panelists, Chairs, and Moderators

Arthur Caplan, Ph.D.
Arthur Caplan is currently the Emmanuel and Robert Hart Professor of Bioethics, Chair of the Department of Medical Ethics, and Director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania. He did his undergraduate work at Brandeis University and received a Ph.D. degree in the history and philosophy of science from Columbia University. He writes a regular column on bioethics for MSNBC.com and is the recipient of many awards and honors, including the McGovern Medal of the American Medical Writers Association.

George Q. Daley, M.D., Ph.D.
George Daley is Associate Professor in the Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology of Harvard Medical School; Associate in Pediatrics at Children’s Hospital, Associate in Medical Oncology at Dana Farber Cancer Institute, and Associate in Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He received a Ph.D. degree in biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an M.D. degree from Harvard Medical School. His laboratory research focuses on understanding the biology of Hematopoetic Stem Cells. He is Chair of the Scientific Review Committee of the Stem Cell Research Foundation and Chair of the Development Committee of the International Society for Stem Cell Research.

J. Robert Galvin, M.D., M.P.H.
J. Robert Galvin is Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Public Health. A graduate of the Army War College, he received a medical degree from Tufts University and an M.P.H. degree from the University of Connecticut. Dr. Galvin is an Associate Professor at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. He is retired from the U.S. Army, where he attained the rank of Brigadier General and received nine individual decorations, including the Legion of Merit and the Bronze Star.

Mel Goldstein, Ph.D.
Mel Godlstein is a meteorologist on WTNH-TV in New Haven. Diagnosed with the rare form of done cancer known as multiple myeloma in 1996, Dr. Mel testified before the Connecticut State Legislature in 2004 in support of the Connetcicut Stem Cell Research Fund. He has an endowed research fund for multiple myeloma in his name at Yale University.

Laura Grabel, Ph.D.
Laura Grabel is Fisk Professor of Natural Science, Wesleyan University. She received a B.A. degree in  biology from Brandeis University and a Ph.D. degree in biology from the University of California, San Diego. She has received NIH New Investigator and Career Development awards.

Rudolf Jaenisch, M.D.
Rudolf Jaensich is a Member of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research and Professor of Biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He received an M.D. degree from the University of Munich and did post-doctoral work at the Max Planck Institute and Princeton University. He is a Fellow of the American Society for Microbiology and a Member of the National Academy of Sciences.

Charles G. Jennings, Ph.D.
Charles G. Jennings is Director of the Neurotechnology Program at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research and a Member of the Connecticut Stem Cell Advisory Committee. Formerly he was Executive Director of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute. He received a B.A. degree in zoology from Oxford University and a Ph.D. degree in neurobiology from University College, London. He has been Executive Editor of Nature Research Journals, Chief Editor of Nature Neuroscience, and Associate Biology Editor of Nature.

David L. Katz, M.D., M.P.H.
David Katz is Associate Clinical Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health & Medicine, and Director of Medical Studies (Public Health), at the Yale University School of Medicine. He received a B.A. degree in French from Dartmouth College, an M.D. degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and an M.P.H. degree from Yale University School of Medicine. He is a Health Columnist for the New York Times Syndicate and a Medical Correspondent for ABC News.

Jeffrey Kocsis, Ph.D.
Jeffrey Kocsis is Professor in the Department of Neurology and Neurobiology at Yale University School of Medicine and Associate Director at the PVA-EPVA Center for Neuroscience and Regeneration Research. He is also Senior Research Career Scientist at the Department of Veterans Affairs. His research interests include cell transplantation strategies that promote axonal regeneration and remyelination in the adult central nervous system. He is a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Society for Neuroscience. He received a Ph.B. degree from Wayne State University and a Ph.D. degree from Wayne State University School of Medicine, and did post-doctoral work at Harvard University and The Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Diane S. Krause, M.D., Ph.D.
Diane Krause is Associate Professor at the Yale University School of Medicine, Department of Laboratory Medicine; Associate Director of the Yale Stem Cell Center; and Associate Director of the Blood Bank and Director of the Stem Cell Processing Laboratory at Yale-New Haven Hospital. She received an Sc.B. degree in biology from Brown University and M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Pennsylvania. She did post-doctoral work at the Johns Hopkins Oncology Center.

Arnold Kriegstein, M.D., Ph.D.
Arnold Kreigstein is Director of the Institute for Regeneration Medicine and Professor in the Department of Neurology at the  University of California, San Francisco. He  received a B.A. degree from Yale University, and from New York University an M.D. degree and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in physiology. He is a member of the American Neurological Association and the Publications Committee of the International Society for Stem Cell Research.

Marc Lalande, Ph.D.
Marc Lalande is Chairman of the Genetics and Developmental Biology Department of The University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington. His areas of research interests are epigenetics, including the control of gene expression in embryonic carcinoma stem cells, and genomic imprinting and its association with neurogenetics disorders. He received a Ph.D. degree from The University of Toronto.

Julius Landwirth, M.D. J.D.
Julius Landwirth is Associate Director of Yale University's Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics, Donaghue Initiative in Biomedical and Behavioral Research Ethics.

Robert Lanza, M.D.
Robert Lanza is Vice President of Research & Scientific Development at Advanced Cell Technology, and Adjunct Professor of Surgical Sciences at the Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Wake Forest University School of Medicine. He received B.A. and M.D. degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, where he was both a University Scholar and Benjamin Franklin Scholar. A former Fulbright Scholar, he was a student in the laboratory of Richard Hynes (MIT), Jonas Salk (The Salk Institute), and Nobel laureates Gerald Edelman (Rockefeller University) and Rodney Porter (Oxford University). He also worked closely (and coauthored a series of papers) with the late Harvard psychologist B.F. Skinner and heart transplant pioneer Christiaan Barnard.

Karen Lebacqz, Ph.D.
Karen Lebacqz is Robert Gordon Sproul Professor of Theological Ethics, Emerita, at Pacific School of Religion. She received a B.A. degree in Biblical history from Wellesley College and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in religion and society from Harvard University. She has been Bioethicist in Residence at Yale University. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and the Society of Christian Ethics.

M. William Lensch, Ph.D.
M. William Lensch is an is an Instructor at the Harvard Medical School (appointment in progress), an Affiliate of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, and the Senior Scientist under George Q. Daley, M.D., Ph.D. in the Division of Hematology/Oncology at Children’s Hospital Boston. He is a Member of the Connecticut Stem Cell Advisory Committee. Dr. Lensch’s research revolves around the use of human embryonic stem cells (hESC) as platforms for discovery in blood cell development and congenital diseases of the blood. He currently serves as a Governor’s Appointee to the Stem Cell Research Advisory Committee as well as the Ad Hoc Public Umbilical Cord Bank Committee for the State of Connecticut.

Haifan Lin, Ph.D.
Haifan Lin is Director of the Yale Stem Cell Program and Professor of Cell Biology at the Yale University School of Medicine. He received a B.S. degree in biochemistry from Fudan University and a Ph.D. degree in genetics and development from Cornell University. He is a Founding Officer of the International Society for Stem Cell Research and sits on the editorial boards of Stem Cells and the Nature Online Stem Cell Forum.

Peter Longo, M.B.A., C.P.A., C.F.A.
Peter Longo is Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer of Connecticut Innovations (CI). His duties include managing venture capital and other technology investment activities. He has over eleven years of early-stage investing experience in over 20 private equity investments and has served as a director or board representative for nine companies, playing key roles in originating, managing, and exiting these investments. He joined CI as a finance associate in 1995, after having served as a senior accountant at Ernst & Young LLP. He was later promoted to controller of CI. He then joined CI’s investment team as a director, investments and was subsequently promoted to managing director, investments. A Certified Public Accountant and Chartered Financial Analyst, he is a graduate of the University of Connecticut, with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, and he holds a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Hartford. He served six years in the Connecticut Army National Guard.

John McNeish, Ph.D.
John McNeish is a Senior Director in Pfizer Global Research and Development in Groton, Connecticut and Head of the Center of Excellence for Genetically Modified Models, which includes global responsibilities for research and application in genetically engineered animals and stem cell technologies. Prior to joining Pfizer in 1992, he received his Ph.D. from the University of Cincinnati in Developmental Biology with Dr. S. Steven Potter and completed post-doctoral research focusing in murine ES cell technology with Dr. Oliver Smithies at the University of North Carolina. He has co-authored more than 45 articles and book chapters on the use of genetically modified mice and stem cells. John serves on the editorial board for Regenerative Medicine and holds an adjunct faculty position at Connecticut College, where he has developed a new course in Frontiers in Biology.

P. Pearl O'Rourke, M.D.
Pearl O’Rourke is Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and the Director of Human Research Affairs at Partners HealthCare System. She is Chairman of the Board of Directors for Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research (PRIM&R). She is also Chair of the Partners Healthcare System's newly formed ESCRO Committee. She completed her undergraduate studies at Yale University and her medical education at Dartmouth Medical School and the University of Minnesota.

Paul R. Pescatello, J.D., Ph.D.
Paul Pescatello is President and CEO of CURE (Connecticut United for Research Excellence), the Connecticut bioscience organization. He received a J.D. degree from the University of Virginia School of Law and a Ph.D. degree in government from Cornell University. He also holds a B.A. degree in political economy from Colorado College. Pescatello was the founder of The Connecticut Tech Tribune. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Connecticut Innovations, Inc. and a member of The (Connecticut) Governor’s Council on Economic Competitiveness and Technology.

Hon. M. Jodi Rell
M. Jodi Rell is Governor of the State of Connecticut.

David W. Rowe, M.D.
David W. Rowe is Professor of Pediatrics and Head of the Division of Pediatric Endocrinology/Diabetes at the University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington. He is also Professor in the Department of Genetics and Developmental Biology at the School of Dental Medicine of the University of Connecticut Health Center, and Director of the Center for Regenerative Medicine and Skeletal Biology and Co-Director of the Molecular Core Facility there. His fields of research specialization include osteogenesis imperfecta, regulation of bone collagen synthesis, and somatic gene therapy of bone disease. He has been a Helen Hay Whitney Fellow and has received the Upjohn Award and an NIH Research Career Development Award. He received a B.A. degree from the University of Vermont and an M.D. degree from the University of Vermont Medical School.

Susan Stayn, J.D.
Susan Stayn is a lawyer who specializes in biomedical research and healthcare. Currently based in Northern California, she has consulted to leading universities and healthcare systems including Stanford University. She formerly was a senior attorney at Partners HealthCare System, where she served as lead counsel on stem cell research and human subjects research. Ms. Stayn has published a chapter of a treatise and numerous articles on research issues, including recent articles analyzing state laws and initiatives affecting human embryonic stem cell research. She is a graduate of Harvard College, magna cum laude, and of Columbia Law School, where she was editor-in-chief of the Columbia Law Review.

Miodrag Stojkovic, Ph.D.
Miodrag Stojkovic is Professor of Embryology and Stem Cell Biology and Deputy Director of the Centro de Investigación Príncipe Felipe, Valencia, Spain, and a Member of the Connecticut Stem Cell Research Peer Review Committee. Previously he was Chair in Embryology and Stem Cell Biology and Deputy Director of the Centre for Stem Cell Biology and Developmental Genetics at the University of Newcastle, UK. He completed studying Veterinary Medicine at the University of Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro. He received his Ph.D. degree from the Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich, Germany. He is visiting professor at two medical schools and author or co-author of more than 70 scientific publications.

Stacy L. Taylor, J.D.
Stacy L. Taylor is a partner with DLA Piper US LLP. She graduated from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (B.S., with honors, biological sciences, minor in chemistry, 1982) and the California Western School of Law (J.D., cum laude, 1985), where she was an editor of the Law Review. Ms. Taylor is admitted to practice in California, before the U.S. Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal for the Federal Circuit, the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the District Courts for the State of California: Southern, Central and Northern Districts, and before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Catherine M. Verfaillie, M.D.
Catherine M. Verfaillie is Professor of Medicine and Director of the Stem Cell Biology Program and Stem Cell Institute at the University of Minnesota, and a Member of the Connecticut Stem Cell Research Peer Review Committee. She is also Hoogleraar and Director of the Stamcel Instituut at the Katholieke Universiteit in Leuven, Belgium. Her honors include the Jimenez Diaz Prize for Scientific Achievements in Research and the Vlerick Award. She received a medical degree summa cum laude from the University of Leuven.

Milton B. Wallack, D.D.S.
Milton B. Wallack is a periodontist who practices in the New Haven area. Through the years he has been involved in a variety of community activities. He is founder of the Connecticut Stem Cell Coalition and serves as its co-chairperson.  He now sits on the State of Connecticut Stem Cell Advisory Committee, which has oversight responsibility for stem cell activities in Connecticut. He has been President of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Greater New Haven Chapter.  He is also Founder of the University of New Haven Dental Hygiene Program. Dr. Wallack is a graduate of Brandeis University and has been a member of its Board of Trustees.  He graduated from Temple Dental School and Boston University School of Graduate Dentistry.

J. Mark Waxman, J.D.
J. Mark Waxman is a partner in the Boston office of Foley & Lardner, where he is leader of the Health Care Industry Team and a member of the White Collar Defense & Corporate Compliance Practice Group. Mr. Waxman’s health care practice focuses on health care issues for providers and payers. His experience in this area includes issues related to research and technology, integrated delivery systems, governance, strategic business counseling, the antitrust implications of mergers and acquisitions, federal program fraud and abuse, reimbursement, and managed care contracting. Mr. Waxman is a graduate of Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California, Berkeley (J.D., 1973), where he was articles and book review editor of the Ecology Law Quarterly, and the University of California, San Diego (B.A., summa cum laude, 1970). He was admitted to the California Bar in 1973, and the Massachusetts Bar in 2001 and is admitted to practice before the United States District Court, Central, Southern, Eastern and Northern Districts of California, the United States Court of Appeals, Eighth and Ninth Circuits, the United States Claims Court and the United States Supreme Court.

Leslie Weiner, M.D.
Leslie Weiner holds the Richard Angus Grant Senior Chair in Neurology, and is Professor of Neurology and Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, at the University of Southern California School of Medicine. He also serves as a Member of the Connecticut Stem Cell Research Peer Review Committee. He received a B.A. degree in history from Wilkes College and an M.D. degree from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.

Ian Wilmut, Ph. D., F.R.S., F.MedSci., F.RS.E.
Ian Wilmut is Professor of Reproductive Science and Director of the recently established Centre for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Edinburgh and a Member of the Connecticut Stem Cell Research Peer Review Committee. Previously he was Head of the Department of Gene Function and Development, Roslin Institute, where his group produced Dolly, the first clone from an adult animal, and went on to use the new methods to introduce precise genetic change into livestock. Professor Wilmut attended the University of Nottingham as an undergraduate and received a Ph.D. degree in animal genetic engineering from Darwin College, Cambridge. He was recently awarded the prestigious 2005 Paul Ehrlich prize, Germany’s top medical research award.

Edward Wirth III, M.D., Ph.D.
Dr. Edward Wirth completed the M.D./Ph.D. program at the University of Florida (UF) in 1994. He elected to remain at UF to conduct post-doctoral research, and subsequently joined the faculty there in 1996. From 1997 to 2002, Dr. Wirth led the UF team that performed the first human embryonic spinal cord transplant in the United States. This pilot study demonstrated the feasibility and safety of implanting embryonic spinal cord cells into patients with post-traumatic syringomyelia. From 2002 to 2004, Dr. Wirth held academic appointments at Rush-Presbyterian St. Luke’s Medical Center and at the University of Chicago. In 2004, he joined Geron Corporation as Associate Medical Director.

Warren Wollschlager
As the Chief of the Office of Research and Development (ORD) since April 2005, Warren Wollschlager is responsible for managing all aspects of the design and implementation of the Connecticut Department of Public Health’s nationally recognized Stem Cell Research Program.  Mr. Wollschlager also manages the State of Connecticut Umbilical Cord Blood Bank Feasibility Initiative, and serves as the Co-Chair of the Connecticut Genomics Expert Advisory Panel and as Co-Director of the agency’s Office of Genomics.  As Chief of Research and Development, Mr. Wollschlager represents the Commissioner of Public Health on the Ad Hoc Committee on Stroke Prevention and Cardiovascular Health, directing the design and implementation on a voluntary stroke recognition program in the state’s acute care hospitals.  Mr. Wollschlager also serves as a member of the Executive Board of the Statewide Diabetes Prevention Planning Committee, and the agency’s Health Care Quality Committee. Mr. Wollschlager received his undergraduate degree from Columbia University, and additional graduate level training from Columbia University, Eastern Connecticut State University, and the University of New Haven.  He is a graduate of the Connecticut Executive Management Program, a member of the Board of Directors of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, New Haven Chapter, and a Volunteer Reader with the Connecticut Radio Information System for the blind and print-handicapped.

Ren-He Xu, M.D., Ph.D.
Ren-He Xu is Associate Professor of Genetics and Developmental Biology and Director of the Human Embryonic Stem Cell Facility at the University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington. He is also on the faculty of the Center for Regenerative Biology at the University of Connecticut, Storrs, and is a Member of the Advisory Committee of the Stem Cell Research Center at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He has received the Prize of Excellency from the University of Bar-Ilan and the Outstanding Science Achievement Award from the National Institutes of Health. He received an M.D. degree from Hengyang Medical College, an M.Sc. degree in pharmacology from Hunan Medical University, and a Ph.D. degree in developmental biology from the University of Tokyo.

Xiangzhong (Jerry) Yang, Ph.D.
Jerry Yang is the Founding Director of the Center for Regenerative Medicine, Professor of Animal Science, and Head of the Biotechnology Center’s Transgenic Animal Facility at the University of Connecticut. He received his Ph.D. degree from Cornell University. He is a Member of the Connecticut Stem Cell Research Advisory Committee.