Scientific Advisory Board
John McPherson, PhD
Dr. John McPherson, Ph.D. was the former Senior Vice President and Head of Biologics Research and Development at Genzyme Corporation. Dr. McPherson managed a R&D Department of scientists, clinicians and engineers who were responsible for preclinical development and clinical trial support for Genzyme’s product development candidates. During Dr. McPherson’s 25 year tenure at Genzyme his Department developed and received FDA approval for 8 different biotherapeutic products. His interest in TGF-beta began in the early 1980s while studying the role of platelet-derived growth factors on soft tissue wound repair. During the next 20 years he and his staff developed numerous academic research collaborations to investigate the role of TGF-beta in fibrotic diseases and cancer. The results of these collaborations, in conjunction with a corporate partnership with Cambridge Antibody Technology, led to Genzyme’s development and clinical evaluation of the first human pan-neutralizing anti-TGF-beta antibody (Fresolimumab) initially in patients with malignant melanoma and subsequently patients with scleroderma.
Nathan Tumey, PhD
L. Nathan Tumey joined Binghamton University in 2017 as an Assistant Professor. Previously he had 15 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. He received his PhD in chemistry from Duke University in 2001, under the supervision of Michael Pirrung. His research emphasis was on the medicinal chemistry of LpxC inhibitors as antibacterial agents against gram negative bacteria. During his years in the pharmaceutical industry, Tumey was a key leader in multiple drug-discovery programs including the development of 5HT2c agonists for obesity, PKC-theta inhibitors for asthma, IRAK4 inhibitors for rheumatoid arthritis and antibody-drug-conjugates (ADCs) for the treatment of cancer. At Binghamton, his research focuses on the application of antibody-drug conjugates and related modalities for the treatment of auto-immune disorders and rare diseases. Additionally, his lab investigates bioconjugate stability, ADC linker design and new modalities for targeted drug-delivery.
Kristina Young, MD PhD
Dr. Kristina Young, MD, PhD completed her undergraduate Chemical Engineering degree at UCLA followed by the MD/PhD program at Oregon Health & Science University. Her PhD thesis work in Dr. Xiao-Jing Wang’s lab focused on Smad-specific contributions to epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, angiogenesis, inflammation, and skin carcinogenesis. She then completed her residency in Radiation Oncology through the Holman pathway, where she concurrently completed her post-doctoral fellowship in the lab of Drs. Michael Gough and Marka Crittenden studying the optimal timing of radiation and immunotherapy including combination radiation and TGFb inhibition. After completing her training, Dr. Young joined The Oregon Clinic with a joint appointment at the Earle A. Chiles Research Institute as the head of the Tumor Microenvironment Lab where her research focus is how microenvironmental supporting cells limit immune mediated clearance of residual tumor cells following radiation in head and neck, breast, and GI malignancies. She runs several investigator-initiated clinical trials focused on TGF-b therapies.
Timothy Yap, MD PhD
Dr. Timothy Yap, MD, PhD is a Medical Oncologist and Physician-Scientist based at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston TX, USA. He is an Associate Professor in the Department for Investigational Cancer Therapeutics (Phase I Program), and the Department of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology. Dr. Yap is the Medical Director of the Institute for Applied Cancer Science, a drug discovery biopharmaceutical unit where drug discovery and clinical translation are seamlessly integrated. He is also the Associate Director of Translational Research in the Institute for Personalized Cancer Therapy, which is an integrated research and clinical trials program aimed at implementing personalized cancer therapy and improving patient outcomes. Prior to his current position, Dr. Yap was a Consultant Medical Oncologist at The Royal Marsden Hospital in London, UK and National Institute for Health Research BRC Clinician Scientist at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK. Dr Yap is a leading expert in TGF-b inhibitor clinical trails.