Leadership & Faculty Biosketches

Table of Contents

Leadership

Regent Laporte, DVM, MSc, PhD – Program Director
Claudio D. Schteingart, PhD
Maria Paz Rodriguez, DDS, MS, MAS – Communication Director

General Administration

Robert Houghtaling, BA – Program Manager
Tiana Mack-Miller, BS – Communication Assistant

Faculty

CLRE-236 Translational Research Fundamentals

Regent Laporte, DVM, MSc, PhD – Course Director
Maria Paz Rodriguez, DDS, MS, MAS – Course Co-Director
Roberta V. Alexander, PharmD, PhD
Andrew Baker, BEng (Hons)
Elizabeth Brunk, PhD
Timothy R. Geiger, PhD
Mark S. Hixon, PhD
Kanthi A. Kollengode, MD, MAS
Amit Kumar, PhD
Patrick McConville, PhD
Pierre Riviere, PhD
Marina Seme Nelson, PhD

CLRE-237 Translational Regenerative Medicine

Sheldon Morris, MD, MPH – Course Director
Catriona Jamieson, MD, PhD – Course Co-Director
Eric Ahrens, PhD
Michael Choi, MD
Joseph D. Ciacci, MD
Scott M. Lippman, MD
Martin Marsala, MD
Jeremy Pettus, MD
Jeremy Rich, MD, MHS, MBA
Vickie Sheckler
Robert Signer, PhD
Tiffany Tanaka, MD
Holly Young, MSc

CLRE-238 Applied Translational Research

Regent Laporte, DVM, MSc, PhD – Course Director
Claudio D. Schteingart, PhD – Course Co-Director
Maria Paz Rodriguez, DDS, MS, MAS – Course Manager
Thomas Bicsak, PhD
Michael K. Dunn, PhD, MBA
Mark Fineman, MAS, MS, PhD
Wolfgang Glaesner, PhD
David G. Parkes, PhD

CLRE-239 Applied Translational Research II

Regent Laporte, DVM, MSc, PhD – Course Director
Claudio D. Schteingart, PhD – Course Co-Director
Maria Paz Rodriguez, DDS, MS, MAS – Course Manager
Steven L. Bender, PhD
Cristian Rodriguez, MD
Jury Panel for Final Presentations

Mark Fineman, MAS, MS, PhD
Mark S. Hixon, PhD
Kanthi A. Kollengode, MD, MAS

CLRE-40004 Capstone Project

Maria Paz Rodriguez, DDS, MS, MAS – Course Director
John M. York, PharmD, MBA – Course Co-Director

Eric Ahrens, PhD

Roberta V. Alexander, PharmD, PhD
Dr. Roberta Alexander has over 20 years of pharmaceutical and diagnostics industry experience across multiple therapeutic areas including rheumatology, gastroenterology, pain, endocrinology, inflammation, and cardiovascular diseases. She has a unique background encompassing clinical and preclinical research. Currently, Dr. Alexander serves as Senior Director of Clinical Research & Medical Affairs at Exagen, a diagnostics company, where she oversees clinical research and business development.
Dr. Alexander obtained her PharmD degree and her PhD in Molecular Pharmacology from the Università degli Studi di Perugia, Italy. She then completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Molecular Pharmacology at the School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania.
At the Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute of the School of Medicine of the University of California, San Diego, Dr. Alexander teaches about diagnostics in the Translational Research Fundamentals (CLRE-236) course in the Translational Science Certificate Program.

Andrew Baker, BEng (Hons)

Mr. Andrew Baker is a medical technology industry expert with over 30 years of experience. A graduate of the University of Portsmouth, he has managed industrial and medical solutions at Maxim Integrated for over 11 years. Currently, as Managing Director of the Industrial & Healthcare Business Unit, Mr. Baker is leading a team of engineers focused on developing solutions for Wearable Health, focusing on power management and sensing technologies. Mr. Baker received his BEng (Hons) in Electrical Engineering from the University of Portsmouth. At the Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute of the School of Medicine of the University of California, San Diego, Mr. Baker teaches about medical technology in the Translational Research Fundamentals (CLRE-236) course in the Translational Science Certificate Program.

Steve L. Bender, PhD
Dr. Steve Bender has over 25 years of drug discovery experience primarily focused on Oncology and, more recently, in Immuno-Oncology, and spanning both small molecule and biotherapeutic approaches. At the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation (GNF), he led a group of approximately 60 cancer biologists and immunologists as the Executive Director of Cancer Therapeutics. During his tenure, the Cancer Therapeutics teams discovered six novel drug candidates that have progressed into clinical trials. He is now Entrepreneur in Residence at Boxer Capital, as well as Founder and Principal Consultant at NexTx Insights.
Dr. Bender received his BS in Chemistry from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and his PhD in Organix Chemistry from Harvard University.
At the Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute of the School of Medicine of the University of California, San Diego, Dr. Bender mentors a student team in a drug case study in the Applied Translational Research II (CLRE-239) course in the Translational Science Certificate Program.

Thomas Bicsack, PhD
Dr. Thomas Bicsak is a regulatory affairs professional with nearly 30 years of experience in all phases of drug development. He is currently Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and Quality at Biosplice Therapeutics (previously known as Samumed), overseeing regulatory strategy for all development programs. Earlier, Dr. Bicsak was Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance at Elcelyx Therapeutics, leading the regulatory strategy for the development of a novel therapy for type 2 diabetes in patients with renal impairment.

Dr. Bicsak received his BA (Hons) in Biochemistry from Rutgers University and his PhD in Chemistry from the University of California, San Diego, where he then completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology at the School of Medicine.
At the Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute of the School of Medicine of the University of California, San Diego, Dr. Bicsak teaches about regulatory affairs in the Applied Translational Research (CLRE-238) course in the Translational Science Certificate Program.

Elizabeth C. Brunk, PhD
Dr. Elizabeth Brunk is an experienced academic computational scientist who is a consultant for the pharmaceutical industry. She is currently an Assistant Professor at the Department of Pharmacology and the Department of Chemistry of the University of North Carolina, where she is also a faculty of the Integrative Program for Biological & Genome Sciences, the Lineberger Cancer Center, and the Computational Medicine Program. Dr. Brunk’s research focuses on the identification of functionally relevant variants in cancer, the understanding of how molecular pathways and variants drive drug response, the development of methods to integrate cancer omics data across biological scales, and the development of tools for functional/precision medicine.
Dr, Brunk received her BS in Biochemistry from the University of Michigan, her MSc in Chemistry and Molecular Modeling of Biomolecular Systems jointly from the University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and the École normale supérieure de Lyon, France, and her PhD in Computational Chemistry from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland. She then completed a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship offered jointly by the University of California, Berkeley, and the Joint BioEnergy Institute of the US Department of Energy. More recently, she completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Cancer Therapeutics Training Program at the Moores Cancer Center of the University of California, San Diego.
At the Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute of the School of Medicine of the University of California, San Diego, Dr. Brunk teaches about functional/precision medicine in the Translational Research Fundamentals (CLRE-236) course in the Translational Science Certificate Program.

Michael Choi, MD

Joseph D. Ciacci, MD

Michael K. Dunn, PhD, MBA
Dr. Michael Dunn is an intellectual property and scientific intelligence professional with over 20 years of pharmaceutical industry experience. He is currently Senior Director of Scientific Information & Intelligence at the Ferring Research Institute and a member of Ferring Pharmaceuticals’ Global Patent Department. His responsibilities include patent strategy and prosecution for drug discovery projects, scientific competitive intelligence, and research reporting. Dr. Dunn has notably published on the impact of patent timing on pharmaceutical product exclusivity, on peptide therapeutics, and on data integrity in research environments.
Dr. Dunn received his PhD in Biological Chemistry & Molecular Pharmacology from Harvard Medical School and his MBA from the Johnson Graduate School of Management of Cornell University. He is also a certified Patent Agent.
At the Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute of the School of Medicine of the University of California, San Diego, Dr. Dunn teaches about innovation and intellectual property in the Applied Translational Research (CLRE-238) course in the Translational Science Certificate Program.

Mark Fineman, MAS, MS, PhD
Dr. Mark Fineman is a seasoned pharmaceutical executive with over 30 years of experience leading R&D for both public and private companies. In these roles, he has led the strategy and execution of multiple programs ranging from early discovery through global commercialization of several first-in-class products. He is currently Senior Vice President of Clinical Affairs at Biosplice Therapeutics overseeing all musculoskeletal and neurodegenerative clinical programs. Dr. Fineman is also the Program Development Leader for lorecivivint, a first-in-class drug candidate in Phase 3 clinical trials for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis.
Dr. Fineman received his Master of Advanced Studies in Clinical Research and his MS in Molecular Pathology from the University of California, San Diego, and his PhD in Medicine from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
At the Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute of the School of Medicine of the University of California, San Diego, Dr. Fineman teaches a drug case study in the Applied Translational Research (CLRE-238) course in the Translational Science Certificate Program.

Timothy Geiger, PhD
Dr. Timothy Geiger has over 20 years of experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. He is currently Senior Manager of Field Application Scientists for the Southwest Business Unit at ProteinSimple, a subsidiary of Bio-Techne Corp., a biotechnology and clinical diagnostic holding company. Before getting involved in the biotechnology industry, Dr. Geiger was a Scientist at Allergan, a pharmaceutical company, where he was overseeing a team of analysts developing molecular biology and immune-based analytical methods for drug development.
Dr. Geiger received his PhD in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology from the University of Colorado Boulder.
At the Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute of the School of Medicine of the University of California, San Diego, Dr. Geiger teaches about omics tools in the Translational Research Fundamentals (CLRE-236) course in the Translational Science Certificate Program.

Wolfgang Glaesner, PhD
Dr. Wolfgang Glaesner is a protein biochemist with over 20 years of experience in the discovery and development of peptide, protein, and antibody therapeutics. He is currently the Chief Scientific Officer of Biotechnology Research & Development at the Lilly Biotechnology Center in San Diego, a part of the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly. In this role, Dr. Glaesner focuses on the discovery and engineering of peptides and antibodies across all therapeutic areas, as well as the development of novel molecular formats, such as bi-specific antibodies, fusion antibodies, and antibody-drug conjugates. Notably, he led the discovery team that designed dulaglutide (TRULICITY), a best-in-class drug in the type 2 diabetes space.
Dr. Glaesner received his PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Göttingen, Germany, and completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Protein Chemistry at the pharmaceutical company Novartis, Basel, Switzerland.
At the Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute of the School of Medicine of the University of California, San Diego, Dr. Glaesner teaches about biologics in the Applied Translational Research (CLRE-238) course in the Translational Science Certificate Program.

Mark S. Hixon, PhD
Dr. Mark Hixon is an innovative and multidisciplinary pharmaceutical industry professional with a successful record in drug development and over 20 years of experience. He is currently Senior Director of Modeling and Simulation at VeriSIM Life, a contract research organization, where he focuses on project strategic guidance and building translational bridges of clinical relevance. Earlier in his career, Dr. Hixon spent 14 years at Takeda Pharmaceuticals, where he notably led modeling and simulation efforts to make seminal contributions to multiple drug discovery and development project teams.
Dr. Hixon received his PhD in Medicinal Chemistry from the University of Kansas.
At the Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute of the School of Medicine of the University of California, San Diego, Dr. Hixon teaches about clinical development in the Translational Research Fundamentals (CLRE-236) course in the Translational Science Certificate Program.

Robert Houghtaling, BA – Program Manager

Catriona Jamieson, MD, PhD – Course Co-Director

Kanthi A. Kollengode, MD, MAS
Dr. Kanthi Kollengode is currently Associate Medical Director for Clinical Development at the pharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers Squibb, where she is also Lead Physician for Ozanimod for Crohn’s Disease, which is in Phase 3 clinical trials. She received her MD degree from the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences in Bangalore, India, where she focused on health education and outreach while working in free clinics and organizing health education and prevention programs for schools. Dr. Kollengode then completed a Clinical Research Fellowship in Hematology/Oncology at the University of Southern California and obtained her Master of Advanced Studies in Clinical Research at the University of California, San Diego.
At the Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute of the School of Medicine of the University of California, San Diego, Dr. Kollengode teaches about biomarkers and diagnostics in the Translational Research Fundamentals (CLRE-236) course in the Translational Science Certificate Program.

Amit Kumar, PhD
Dr. Amit Kumar is an accomplished serial entrepreneur, investor, and innovator in the biotechnology space. He currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer, Chairman, and President of Anixa Biosciences, a biotechnology company focused on developing immunotherapies and vaccines in oncology and infectious diseases. Dr. Kumar is also a member of the American Cancer Society Boof Directors.
Dr. Kumar graduated from Occidental College with a BS in Chemistry and obtained his PhD in Physical Chemistry from the California Institute of Technology, and completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Chemistry at Harvard University.
At the Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute of the School of Medicine of the University of California, San Diego, Dr. Kumar teaches about cell & gene therapy in the Translational Research Fundamentals (CLRE-236) course in the Translational Science Certificate Program.

Regent Laporte, DVM, MSc, PhD
Dr. Regent Laporte is a scientific leader in Translational Pharmacology with over 20 years of experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry across multiple therapeutic areas, including Emergency and Critical Care Medicine, Hepatology, Gastroenterology, Urology, and Reproductive Health. He is Founder and Principal Consultant at Laporte & Associates, a biotechnology and pharmaceutical R&D consulting company, and Senior Director of Translational Pharmacology at Peptide Logic, a biopharmaceutical startup company combining the advantages of synthetic peptides and recombinant antibodies to create innovative semi-synthetic biologics for the treatment of pain and other pathological conditions in select therapeutic areas. Previously, he was Director of Exploratory Pharmacology at Ferring Pharmaceuticals.
Dr. Laporte received his DVM and his MSc in Veterinary Anatomy and Physiology from the Université de Montréal, Canada. He received his PhD in Pharmacology from the University of Vermont College of Medicine and completed Postdoctoral Fellowships in Cardiology and in Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Biology at Harvard Medical School.
At the Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute of the School of Medicine of the University of California, San Diego, Dr. Laporte is Program Director of the Translational Science Certificate, Module Director of the Concentration in Translational Science of the Master of Advanced Studies in Clinical Research, and Course Director of Translational Research Fundamentals (CLRE-236), Applied Translational Research (CLRE-238), and Applied Translational Research II (CLRE-239).

Scott M. Lippman, MD

Tiana Mack-Miller, BS – Communication Assistant

Martin Marsala, MD

Patrick McConville, PhD
Dr. Patrick McConville has extensive knowledge in translational imaging, with over 20 years of industry experience in preclinical imaging for drug discovery and development applications, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), computed tomography (CT), bioluminescence, fluorescence, and 2-dimensional X-ray. He is currently Vice President of the contract research organization inviCRO, which launched the first multi-modality imaging center in San Diego. In addition, he also serves as Professor of Practice in Radiology at the School of Medicine of the University of California San Diego where he specializes in industrial multi-modality translational and discovery imaging. Previously, Dr. McConville was a Co-Founder and the Chief Scientific Officer at Molecular Imaging Inc., a contract research organization that established the first multi-modality CRO imaging center in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Dr. McConville received his BSc (Hons) in Physica and Computer Science from the University of New South Wales, Australia, and his PhD in Medical Physics from the Queensland University of Technology, Australia.
At the Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute of the School of Medicine of the University of California, San Diego, Dr. McConville teaches about translational imaging in the Translational Research Fundamentals (CLRE-236) course in the Translational Science Certificate Program.

Sheldon Morris, MD, MPH – Course Director

David G. Parkes, PhD
Dr. David Parkes has over 25 years of pharmaceutical industry experience in drug discovery and development across multiple therapeutic areas, including diabetes, obesity, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and steatohepatitis (NAFLD/NASH), and cardiovascular diseases. He is currently Chief Scientific Officer at Abvance Therapeutics, a pharmaceutical company focused on diabetes, as well as scientific consultant for other pharmaceutical companies, including Astra Zeneca, Gilead, Prosciento, Fractyl, and Prolynx. Earlier, he played pivotal leadership roles at Amylin Pharmaceuticals in the discovery and development of exenatide (BYETTA, BYDUREON), pramlintide (SYMLIN), and metreleptin (MYALEPT), three first-in-class drugs for the treatment of metabolic diseases.
Dr. Parkes received his BSc (Hons) in Pharmacology and his PhD in Pharmacology and Physiology from the University of Melbourne, Australia.
At the Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute of the School of Medicine of the University of California, San Diego, Dr. Parkes teaches a drug case study in the Applied Translational Research (CLRE-238) course in the Translational Science Certificate Program.

Jeremy Pettus, MD

Jeremy Rich, MD, MHS, MBA

Pierre Rivière, PhD
Dr. Pierre Rivière is a pharmacologist by training with over 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, primarily in drug discovery and early-stage development of peptide therapeutics. He is the Founder and currently Chief Executive Officer of Peptide Logic, a biopharmaceutical company combining the advantages of synthetic peptides and recombinant antibodies to create innovative semi-synthetic biologics for pain and other pathological conditions in select therapeutic areas. Prior to that, Dr. Rivière was Chief Scientific Officer of CovX, which was a Pfizer-owned biopharmaceutical company, as well as Senior Vice President of Pfizer Worldwide R&D.
Dr. Riviere received his PhD in Animal Physiology and Biology from the Institut National Polytechnique de Toulouse, France.
At the Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute of the School of Medicine of the University of California, San Diego, Dr. Rivière teaches about drug discovery in the Translational Research Fundamentals (CLRE-236) course in the Translational Science Certificate Program.

Cristian Rodriguez, MD
Dr. Cristian Rodriguez has over 13 years of experience in biopharmaceutical development and global medical affairs. He is currently Senior Director in Immunology & Fibrosis and Clinical Trial Physician for Eosinophilic Esophagitis at Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) in San Diego. He was previously Medical Director in Innovative Medicines Development in Immunosciences at BMS in New Jersey. Prior to joining the pharmaceutical industry, Dr. Rodriguez was a Medical Officer in the Immune Tolerance Network at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NAID, NIH), after spending a decade as a clinical immunologist and allergist and attending professor at the University of Chile and Pediatric Immunology Clinic Head at the San Borja General Hospital in Santiago.
Dr. Rodriguez obtained his MD degree and completed his Residency in Clinical Immunology at the University of Chile, followed by a Fellowship in Pediatric Clinical Immunology, Allergy, and Rheumatology at the School of Medicine of the University of California, Los Angeles.
At the Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute of the School of Medicine of the University of California, San Diego, Dr. Rodriguez mentors a student team in a drug case study in the Applied Translational Research II (CLRE-239) course in the Translational Science Certificate Program.

M. Paz Rodriguez, DDS, MS, MAS
Dr. Paz Rodriguez is an independent general dentist practicing in Santiago, Chile. After completing her Doctorate in Dental Surgery at the Universidad Finis Terrae in Santiago with a Minor in Communications, she obtained a Master of Science in Dental Implant Surgery and Rehabilitation from the Universidad de los Andes in Santiago. More recently, she completed her Master of Advanced Studies in Clinical Research at the University of California, San Diego.
At the Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute of the School of Medicine of the University of California, San Diego, Dr. Rodriguez is Communication Director of the Translational Science Certificate, leveraging the entrepreneurial and communication expertise that she has developed as a patient-experience-focused independent general dentist and her interest in the transformative potential of translational science in healthcare. She is also Course Director of the Certificate Capstone Project (CLRE-40004), Course Co-Director of Translational Research Fundamentals (CLRE-236), and Course Manager of Applied Translational Research (CLRE-238) and Applied Translational Research II (CLRE-239).

Claudio D. Schteingart, PhD
Dr. Claudio Schteingart is currently an independent consultant with over 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. He retired in 2018 as Vice President, Science & Technology – Research, at Ferring Pharmaceuticals where he was responsible for the evaluation of new technologies for the discovery and development of novel peptide therapeutics, for guiding drug discovery programs, and for supporting drug candidates in development. He contributed to the discovery of the peptidic GnRH antagonist degarelix, launched in 2009 as FIRMAGON, and many other peptidic drug candidates in various stages of clinical development for urology, women’s health, critical care medicine, and gastroenterology.
Dr. Schteingart received a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. After postdoctoral studies in the Department of Chemistry of the University of California, San Diego, he moved to the Department of Medicine where he carried out research in the chemistry, physiology, metabolism, and physicochemical properties of biliary components and lipids.
At the Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute of the School of Medicine of the University of California, San Diego, Dr. Schteingart is Course Co-Director of Applied Translational Research (CLRE-238) and Applied Translational Research II (CLRE-239) in the Translational Science Certificate Program.

Marina Seme Nelson, PhD
Dr. Marina Seme Nelson has over 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry and specializes in drug development and nonclinical safety assessment. She is currently Drug Development Leader for Early Phase Development Solutions at the contract research organization Covance, Inc., where she provides scientific and strategic direction to drug development programs and product development. Earlier, Dr. Nelson was Study Director and Drug Safety and Metabolism Representative at the pharmaceutical company Wyeth, where she led multi-disciplinary and global development teams.
Dr. Seme Nelson received her MS in Biotechnology from Northwestern University and her PhD in Pharmacology and Toxicology from the Medical College of Wisconsin.
At the Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute of the School of Medicine of the University of California, San Diego, Dr. Seme Nelson teaches about nonclinical development in the Translational Research Fundamentals (CLRE-236) course in the Translational Science Certificate Program.

Vickie Sheckler

Robert Signer, PhD

Tiffany Tanaka, MD

John M. York, PharmD, MBA
Dr. John York is a commercially oriented marketing and medical professional with over 25 years in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries across multiples therapeutic areas, including hematology/oncology, ophthalmology, cardiovascular medicine, respiratory medicine, pediatrics, dermatology, and neurology. After assuming various leadership roles at the pharmaceutical companies Bristol-Myers Squibb, Amgen, and Allergan, and at the medical communications and consulting company HDI, he founded the medical communications and consulting company Akita Biomedical where he is currently Chief Executive Officer and Principal. He is also Lecturer and Lead Instructor at the Rady School of Management of the University of California, San Diego.
Dr. York received his PharmD degree from the University of Michigan and completed an Industry Postdoctoral Fellowship jointly offered by Rutgers University, Warner-Lamber, and Parke-Davis. He then obtained an MBA degree from Indiana University, as well as a Life Sciences Business Certificate and a Marketing Certificate from the University of California, Berkeley.
At the Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute of the School of Medicine of the University of California, San Diego, Dr. York is Course Co-Director of the Capstone Project (CLRE-40004) in the Translational Science Certificate Program.

Holly Young, MSc