ABOUT US
SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY BOARD
Gordon Douglas, Jr., MD
Dr. Douglas is a worldwide leader in the fight against infectious diseases. Prior to his retirement in 1999, he served as President of Merck Vaccines, a position he held since its inception and served on Merck’s management committee. As head of one of the world's leading vaccine research, development, sales and marketing organizations, Dr. Douglas grew sales to $1.2 billion, and built a robust world-class operation, well-positioned for the 21st century. Prior to joining Merck in 1989, Dr. Douglas had a distinguished career as a physician and academician, serving as Chairman and Professor of Medicine at Cornell University Medical College, and as Physician-in-Chief at New York Hospital. He has published more than 190 scientific papers and was co-editor of the major textbook of infectious diseases, Principles and Practices of Infectious Diseases. His research on the mechanisms of transmission, immunology, and antiviral therapy led to current public policy recommendations for control in hospitals. Dr. Douglas is a graduate of Princeton University and Cornell University Medical College.
Robert Finberg, MD
Dr. Finberg is currently Chairman of Medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center at Worcester. Prior to this, he was Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Chief of the Infectious Disease Program at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. Dr. Finberg is also an Associate Physician at the Brigham & Women's Hospital and a Staff Physician at the Children's Hospital, both in Boston. Dr. Finberg received his AB degree from the University of Chicago and his MD degree from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He was a resident in medicine at the Bellevue Hospital, New York and was a resident physician at the Peter Brent Brigham Hospital, Boston. In addition to his clinical duties, Dr. Finberg has been conducting research in the area of immunological responses to infectious agents for the past 20 years.
Robert Kimberly, MD
Dr. Kimberly is presently a Professor in both the Department of Medicine and the Department of Microbiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). At UAB, he serves as the Director of the Division of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology and is also the Director of the Multipurpose Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases Center. Before moving to Alabama, Dr. Kimberly was a Professor of Medicine at Cornell University Medical College and was a Program Director at the Cornell Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases Center. Dr. Kimberly has board certification in both internal medicine and rheumatology and he retains physician licensure in several states. Dr. Kimberly was a Rhodes Scholar who received his AB from Princeton University and his MD from Harvard Medical School.
David Perlin, PhD
Dr. Perlin was recently appointed President of the Public Health Research Institute (PHRI), a 64 year old biomedical research organization specializing in infectious diseases. As Scientific Director for the past 13 years, Dr. Perlin helped establish PHRI as one of the leading tuberculosis (TB) research organizations in the world and provided leadership for the creation of the International Center for Public Health on the UMDNJ campus in Newark, NJ. He is an expert in drug resistant fungal infections and rapid diagnosis of opportunistic pathogens in high risk patients. He is a member of the New York City Department of Health Advisory Group on Bioterrorism and Emerging Infections, the New York Academy of Sciences Emerging Infectious Diseases Discussion Group, Senator Jon Corzine's New Jersey Healthcare Task Force, the Executive Committee of the Northeast Biodefense Center, and the Board of Directors of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center. He regularly consults for pharma and biotech and was a special consultant to the US Senate Finance Committee's investigation of the October, 2001, anthrax outbreak. Most recently, he has worked closely with the Chinese Government and the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences to address SARS, TB, and emerging infections in China.
Dr. Perlin earned an AB degree from Brandeis University in 1976 and a PhD from Cornell University in 1980. He pursued postdoctoral studies at the Yale University School of Medicine and the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. Dr. Perlin joined PHRI in 1985, he was named Scientific Director in 1992 and President in 2005. He was appointed Professor of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at New Jersey Medical School-UMDNJ in 2003.
Ronald Taylor, PhD
Dr. Taylor is presently a Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Virginia and the primary inventor of the Heteropolymer-mediated system to remove blood-borne pathogens. He has been actively engaged in research studies in the field of immunology, complement fixation, and autoimmune diseases for the past 20 years. Dr. Taylor received his BS in Chemistry from City College and his PhD in Physical Chemistry from Princeton University.