Scientific Advisory Board
- Dennis Selkoe, M.D.
- Mark A. Findeis, Ph.D.
- Donald Price, M.D.
- Chris Eckman, Ph.D.
- Paul J. Reider, Ph.D.
- David Holtzman, M.D.
Dennis Selkoe, M.D. - Dr. Selkoe is a founding Scientific Advisory Board member of Satori. He has been a leader in Alzheimer's disease research for the last 25 years. He oversees a team of researchers as the Vincent and Stella Coates Professor of Neurologic Diseases at the Brigham and Women's Hospital, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School. Research from his lab helped uncover the protein nature of the amyloid plaques, the hallmark of Alzheimer's, along with the proposed biological mechanism that generates the formation Of the plaques. This insightful research has resulted in some 250 peer-reviewed publications, including numerous articles in top research journals such as Science and Nature. More importantly, Dr. Selkoe's research has translated into the clinic where ongoing drug trials are beginning to treat Alzheimer's patients with therapies based in part on his ideas and work. In 2002, he received the Dr. A.H. Heinenken Prize for Medicine for "his invaluable contribution to the development of the molecular study of disease of the brain, in particular Alzheimer's disease". Additional accolades include the Mathilde Solowey Award in Neurosciences from the NIH, the Pioneer Award from the Alzheimer's Association USA, and a recent appointment as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Dr. Selkoe's research has also generated insights into the function of specific cell proteins that will have a far reaching impact on other areas of biology.
Mark A. Findeis, Ph.D. - Dr. Findeis is a co-Founder of Satori and served as its head of Research for the past five years. Mark has over twenty years of experience in research and development. After his postdoctoral work, he was on the faculty at Harvard Medical School. He then joined the industry and helped to start TargeTech Incorporated, a company using receptor-mediated delivery for gene therapy, antisense therapy and targeted drug delivery. After the acquisition of TargeTech by The Immune Response Corporation, Mark joined Praecis Pharmaceuticals. As Director of Chemistry at Praecis, Dr. Findeis co-directed the discovery program that resulted in the beta-amyloid aggregation antagonist Apan™ for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. While at Praecis, he also supported the development program of Plenaxis™, an LHRH antagonist that gained FDA approval for the treatment of prostate cancer. Mark also managed chemistry for a number of discovery programs at Praecis in the areas of inflammation, cancer, and metabolic diseases. Mark received his academic training at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University and The Rockefeller University.
Donald Price, M.D. - Dr. Price is Professor of Pathology, Neurology, and Neuroscience, Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Pathology and Director of the Division of Neuropathology at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He is also Director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at The Johns Hopkins Hospital and The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Price has made major contributions to the understanding of a variety of human neurodegenerative diseases. He is an author of over 400 publications in scientific journals and over 200 book chapters and reviews. Of particular importance to the field of neurodegeneration are his development and analysis of animal models and the investigation of experimental therapeutic strategies that prepare the way for the translation of basic science discoveries to the treatments of human neurological illnesses. Dr. Price is a member of several professional societies, and has received numerous honors and awards including two Javits Neuroscience Investigator Merit Awards from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and a Leadership in Alzheimer’s Disease Award from the National Institute of Aging.
Back to top >
Chris Eckman, Ph.D. - Dr. Eckman is the Director for Research and Academic Affairs, MidAtlantic Neonatology and Atlantic Neonatal Research Institute Atlantic Health Systems and Professor of NeuroScience at the Mayo Clinic. His laboratory is focused on using modern molecular and biochemical methods to elucidate pathways involved in neurodegenerative disease that are most amenable to therapeutic intervention. Using both small molecule libraries and molecular approaches, his work seeks to identify and develop potential lead therapeutics.
Paul J. Reider, Ph.D. - Dr. Reider joined the faculty of Princeton University in 2008 where his research is focused on new drugs for malaria, tuberculosis and other neglected diseases. During his 28 years in the pharmaceutical industry he has directly contributed to the discovery, identification, development or registration of 14 approved drugs. From 2002-2007 he was at Amgen as Worldwide Head of Chemistry Research & Discovery. At Amgen he built and led a team of nearly 600 located in Thousand Oaks, San Francisco, Seattle, Cambridge (MA) and Regensburg, Germany. Prior to joining Amgen, he was Vice President of Process Chemistry at Merck. Paul is an inventor on many patents, an author of more than 170 scientific papers, and the winner of numerous awards. He’s served on the visiting committees for Harvard University, California Institute of Technology, and the University of California, Santa Barbara, and on the Editorial Advisory Boards of the Journal of the American Chemical Society, the Journal of Organic Chemistry, and Organic Letters. He is also a Senior Editor of Current Opinion in Drug Discovery & Development as well as Science of Synthesis.
.
David Holtzman, M.D. - Dr. Holtzman is the Andrew B. and Gretchen P. Jones Professor of Neurology and Molecular Biology & Pharmacology at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. He is also head of the Department of Neurology, the Associate Director of the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, and a member of the Hope Center for Neurological Disorders. His research interests include understanding the basic mechanisms underlying acute and chronic cell dysfunction in the CNS particularly as these mechanisms may relate to Alzheimer's disease (AD) and injury to the developing brain. Dr. Holtzman's honors include being the recipient of a Paul Beeson Physician Faculty Scholar Award in Aging Research, the 2003 Potamkin Prize from the American Academy of Neurology for research on Alzheimer's, election to the American Society for Clinical Investigation (2004), receiving a MERIT award from the NIA (2004), a 2006 recipient of the MetLife award on Alzheimer's disease, and election to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences in 2008.
