People

Science Advisors

  • Sidney M. Hecht, PhD Chairman, Scientific Advisory Board, Edison Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Arizona State University

    Sidney M. Hecht, Ph.D., is Adjunct Professor and Co-Director Center for BioEnergetics, Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University, and J.W. Mallet Professor of Chemistry and Professor of Biology at the University of Virginia. Dr. Hecht’s areas of expertise include synthesis and mechanism of action of the bleomycin group of antibiotics, peptidyltransferase as a source of synthetic enzymes, mechanism of action/inhibition of mammalian DNA topoisomerase I and of p90RSK, and identification of natural products having potential as antitumor agents via mechanistically focused screens. Dr. Hecht has authored 380 research publications and 4 book chapters and is an inventor in 12 patents. Prior to Arizona State University, Dr. Hecht held appointments at Smith Kline & French Laboratories, as Distinguished Fellow, Vice President Preclinical R&D, and Vice President Chemical R&D. He is currently a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of Anacor Pharmaceuticals and of Caliper Life Sciences. He serves on the Editorial Advisory Boards of Current Medicinal Chemistry-Anticancer Agents, Molecular Cancer Therapeutics and Oncology Research/Anticancer Drug Design. Dr. Hecht holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Illinois.

  • Valerio Carelli, MD, PhD University of Bologna

    Valerio Carellli, M.D., Ph.D. is Chief of the Laboratory of Neurogenetics, Mitochondrial study group, Department of Neurological Sciences at the University of Bologna School of Medicine (Italy) and Research Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology at the Doheny Eye Institute, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. Dr. Carelli’s areas of expertise include mitochondrial genetics and investigation of disease pathophysiology, in particular in mitochondrial DNA defects underlying Leber’s Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON). Dr. Carelli has authored 102 research publications and 5 book chapters in the field. He has served as a consultant to Allergan and Pfizer. Dr. Carelli holds an M.D. from the University of the Bologna School of Medicine and a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of Verona School of Medicine.

  • Stephen R. Herchen, PhD Zink Imaging Inc.

    Stephen R. Herchen, Ph.D. is Chief Technology Officer of ZINK Imaging Inc., Bedford, MA. Dr. Herchen’s areas of expertise include the invention and development of ZINK imaging technology and molecular design. Prior to ZINK, Dr. Herchen was Corporate Vice President R&D and Chief Technology Officer at Polaroid Corp. Waltham, MA. Dr. Herchen has authored 8 papers and is an inventor in 3 patents. He is a publication referee for the Journal of Organic Chemistry. He also serves as a member of Princeton University material science and technology external advisory committee. Dr. Herchen holds a Ph.D. in organic Chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

  • Arno J. Krotzky, PhD BASF Metanomics

    Arno J. Krotzky, Ph.D. is Managing Director and co-founder of Metanomics, a BASF Plant Science company, in Berlin. Dr. Krotzky’s area of expertise is metabolite profiling, now often called “metabolomics”. Before joining Metanomics Dr. Krotzky worked for BASF AG. at the Agricultural Product Center of BASF Corp. in North Carolina, and was senior research director and co-founder of the Plant Molecular Genetics Department at the University of Knoxville, Tennessee. He is one of the representatives of the generation21, an initiative of the German biotechnology industry and the Association of the German Chemical Industry (VCI). Dr. Krotzky holds a Ph.D. from the University Marburg and the Max Planck Institute of Bio-chemistry in Munich.

  • Robert E. Pacifici, PhD Cure Huntington Disease Foundation

    Robert E. Pacifici, Ph.D. is Chief Scientific Officer, Drug Discovery & Development, at CHDI Management / CHDI Foundation, Los Angeles, and holds an adjunct appointment at the University of Southern California’s Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Toxicology. Dr. Pacifici’s area of expertise is Huntington’s disease. Dr. Pacifici has authored 24 research papers, 3 book chapters and is an inventor in 3 patents. Before joining CHDI, Dr. Pacifici was the Site Director and Chief Scientific Officer at the Research Triangle Park Laboratories of Eli Lilly. He also held positions at Xencor and Amgen, where he was instrumental in forging Amgen's relationships with Caliper Technologies and The Automation Partnership as well as in the acquisition of Kinetix Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Pacifici holds a Chair of the Spinal Muscular Atrophy Project’s Scientific Committee, which is part of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and sits on the advisory board steering committees of Cooperative International Neuromuscular Research Group, SMA Foundation, and Treat ALS. Dr. Pacific holds a Ph.D. from the University of Southern California.

  • John (Wally) W. Parce, PhD Nanosys, Inc.

    Wally Parce, Ph.D. is Vice President of Research and Chief Technical Officer for Nanosys, Inc. Dr. Parce’s area of expertise is biophysical Chemistry, biochemistry and life sciences. He has authored over 70 papers and is an inventor in over 100 US Patents. Dr. Parce was a co-founder of and served as vice president of research at Caliper Technologies, and prior to that was a co-founder, consultant, director of research and vice president of research at Molecular Devices Corporation. Dr. Parce holds a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Wake Forest University.

  • Bernard Ravina, MD, MSCA University of Rochester

    Bernard Ravina. M.D., M.S.C.E. is Associate Professor of Neurology, Director of the Movement and Inherited Neurological Disorders (MIND) Unit, and Associate Director of the Clinical Trials Coordination Center (CTCC) at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. Dr. Ravina’s area of expertise is in clinical trials in movement disorders. He has authored 36 research papers and 5 book chapters. He was responsible at NINDS/NIH for an innovative program of phase II clinical trials in Parkinson’s disease, and had oversight of clinical trials in stroke and ALS. Dr. Ravina is a principal investigator or a member on the steering committee for several phase I, II and III clinical trials and chairs two independent Data Safety Monitoring Boards, including the National Institute on Aging (NIA) sponsored clinical trial of Rosiglitazone in Mild Cognitive Impairment. He is an editorial board member of Clinical Neuropharmacology and a reviewer for the FDA Orphan Product Division. Dr. Ravina holds an M.D. from John Hopkins University and an M.S.C.E. from the University of Pennsylvania Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics.

  • Alfredo Sadun, MD, PhD Doheny Eye Institute, USC

    Alfredo A. Sadun, Ph.D. is a member of the Doheny Eye Institute and Professor of Ophthalmology and Neurological Surgery at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California. Dr. Sadun’s area of expertise is in neuro-ophthalmology and especially in diseases of the optic nerve. He has published over 210 peer-reviewed articles, 60 book chapters, authored 4 books and is inventor of 5 patents. He serves on several editorial boards and regularly peer-reviews about 15 journals. His accomplishments as a researcher have been recognized by several organizations including the Society for Research for the Prevention of Blindness (RPB), James Adams Scholar Award, RPB Senior Investigator Award and the Lighthouse International Career Achievement (Pizart) Award. Dr. Sadun was appointed the inaugural recipient of the Flora L. Thornton Endowed Chair in Vision Science in 2000. Prior to joining USC, Dr. Sadun was a full-time faculty member at Harvard, Department of Ophthalmology. Dr. Sadun holds a Ph.D. in neuroscience and an M.D. from Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

  • Eric Schon, PhD Columbia University

    Eric A. Schon, Ph.D. is Professor of Genetics and Development, and Lewis P. Rowland Professor of Neurology at Columbia University, N.Y. His area of expertise is in mitochondrial diseases. Dr. Schon has authored more than 223 research papers and has co-authored several books on mitochondrial disorders. Dr. Schon is currently a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Muscular Dystrophy Association, the Familial Dysautonomia Foundation, the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation. He is an associate Editor for the Journal of Clinical Investigation and Biochimica et Biophysica Acta: Molecular Cell Research. Dr. Schon holds a Ph.D. from the University of Cincinnati, Ohio.

  • Robert B. Wilson, MD, PhD University of Pennsylvania

    Robert B. Wilson, M.D., Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Wilson’s area of expertise is in the inherited neurodegenerative disorder Friedreich’s ataxia. Dr. Wilson has authored 43 research papers and 5 book chapters. In addition to research, he does clinical sign-out in the Molecular Pathology Laboratory of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Wilson is currently a member of the Association for Molecular Pathology, the Friedreich’s ataxia Research Alliance (FARA) and the National Ataxia Foundation, where he is a member of their advisory boards. Dr. Wilson holds an M.D. and a Ph.D. in Genetics from the University of Pennsylvania, PA.

  • Patrice P. Rioux, MD, PhD PRx Consulting, LLC

    Patrice P. Rioux, M.D., Ph.D. Is president of pRx consulting. He provides strategic input to Edison Pharmaceuticals in the development of drugs for inherited and acquired energy impairment diseases. Dr. Rioux's expertise is in the clinical and regulatory fields of drug development. Dr. Rioux has authored 41 research papers. In addition to research Dr. Rioux did clinical work at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Necker-Enfants-Malades (Paris, France), the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Caen (Caen, France) and the Clinique Saint Martin (Caen, France) where he did chronic pain consultation. Prior to Edison Pharmaceuticals, where he was Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Rioux held different positions at Repligen, Co., Arrow International, Variagenics, Inc., Biogen, Groupement de Recherche en Pharmacologie (GRP), and Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Medicale (INSERM). Dr. Rioux holds a Masters in Pharmacology and an M.D. from the Faculté de Medicine Pitié Salpétrière of Paris (France) and a Ph.D. in Mathematical Statistics from the Faculté de Sciences of Paris (France).