Jonathan M. Rothberg, Ph.D.

Dr. Rothberg was born in 1963 in New Haven, Connecticut. He earned a B.S. in chemical engineering with an option in Biomedical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University and an M.S., M.Phil, and Ph.D. in biology from Yale University.

Most recently Dr. Rothberg completed the first sequence of an individual human genome (James D. Watson) initiated the Neanderthal Genome project (In collaboration with Svante Paabo), and invented the technology (454 metagenomic sequencing) used to crack the mystery behind the disappearance of the Honey Bee. Dr. Rothberg is the founder of 454 Life Sciences, Clarifi Corporation, CuraGen Corporation, The Rothberg Institute for Childhood Diseases, and the co-founder, Chairman, and CEO of RainDance Technologies.

Dr. Rothberg was named an Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year and is the recipient of The Wall Street Journal’s Gold Medal for Innovation for his invention of 454 Sequencing, and The Irvington Institute’s Corporate Leadership Award in Science. Dr. Rothberg has appeared on CNBC for his pioneering work in the field of genomic medicine and his scientific work has been featured on the covers of leading scientific journals including Cell, Science, and Nature. While at CuraGen Dr. Rothberg developed a series of new medicines, now in over 14 human clinical trials, for the treatment of a wide range of cancers. 

Dr. Rothberg’s invention of the first new way to sequence DNA in the miniature – 454 Sequencing, first motivated by his son’s visit to the emergency room, has ushered in the era of personal genomes and is now in use at major pharmaceutical companies, universities, genome centers, and medical centers around the world. Dr. Rothberg was invited to Davos as a World Economic Forum’s Technology pioneer for his work on the Neanderthal Genome and 454 Sequencing. Dr. Rothberg is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering, and serves on the board of trustees of Carnegie Mellon University.

Philip J. Whitcome, Ph.D.

Special Note:
It is with great sadness that we are announcing the loss of Dr. Philip Whitcome. He passed away on December 6, 2005. He has served as a dedicated board member to TRI for the past four years. He will be greatly missed by all. In his memory, donations can be made to the American Cancer Society.

Philip J. Whitcome, Ph.D., an advisor to 454 Corporation and CuraGen, has served as a director of Avigen since December, 1992 and in April, 1995, was elected Chairman of the Board. From 1988 to 1994, Dr. Whitcome was President and Chief Executive Officer of Neurogen Corporation. Prior to that, Dr. Whitcome served in several roles at Amgen Inc., and also served as Manager of Corporate Development for Medical Products at Bristol- Myers, and held research and marketing management positions with the Diagnostics Division of Abbott Laboratories, a pharmaceutical and medical products company. Dr. Whitcome holds a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the University of California at Los Angeles, an M.B.A. from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a B.S. in Physics from Providence College.

Tian Xu, Ph.D.
Tian Xu is Professor and Vice Chairman of Genetics at Yale University School of Medicine, Special advisor to the President of Yale University, Full Investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Director Advisor to the President and Adjunct Professor of Developmental Biology and Molecular Medicine at Fudan University, Shanghai and also Director, Yale Center for Experimental and Therapeutic Chemical Genetics.   He received his B.S. degree in Genetics from Fudan University and his Ph.D. degree in Developmental Biology from Yale University, where he worked with Spyros Artavanis-Tsakonas. He was a Helen Hay Whitney postdoctoral fellow with Gerald Rubin at the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Xu is Chair of the TRI Scientific Advisory Board.

Pietro De Camilli, M.D.
Professor, Department of Cell Biology, Yale University School of Medicine. Pietro De Camilli is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and also a Professor of Cell Biology at the Yale University School of Medicine. He received his M.D. from the University of Milano, Italy and was a postdoc with Paul Greengard at Yale University. Prior to his current position, he held appointments both at Yale and at the University of Milano. He is a cellular neurobiologist and his research focuses on mechanisms in synaptic function. His studies on synaptic vesicle dynamics have contributed to the general field of exocytosis and endocytosis and have generated fall-outs in the field of neuroimmunology and signaling. He is a member of EMBO (European Molecular Biology Organization), a fellow of the American Academy of Art and Sciences and a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

Richard A. Flavell, Ph.D., FRS
Chairman and Professor, Section of Immunology, Yale University; Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute and "Fellow of the Royal Society."; Member, National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Flavell is Professor of Immunobiology at Yale University School of Medicine and Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He received his BSc and Doctor of Philosophy in Biochemistry at the University of Hull. After a distinguished career in academia he became the Chief Scientific Officer of Biogen in the 1980’s. He joined the Yale Faculty in 1988 where he assumed the responsibility as Chairman of the Section of Immunobiology, a role which he has held since that time. His laboratory at Yale is active in the area of molecular basis of immune response and the underlying mechanisms of immunity and autoimmunity. He is the recipient of numerous awards including the Colworth Medal awarded to the most promising British biochemist under the age of 35, the FEBS Anniversary Prize 1980, and the Darwin Trust Prize 1995. He is a member of several distinguished societies. He was elected to the Royal Society in 1984 and the National Academy of Sciences in 2002.

Elizabeth Petri Henske, M.D.
Member with Tenure and Attending Physician Fox Chase Cancer Center.
Harvard Medical School, 1985 Residencies: Internal Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital.

Fellowships: Clinical Fellow, Hematology/Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital; Research Fellow, Hematology/Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital Certifications: American Board of Internal Medicine, 1988; Medical Oncology, 1991 and 2000; Hematology, 1992.

Richard P. Lifton, M.D., Ph.D.
Chairman, Department of Genetics, Yale University School of Medicine; Professor of Genetics, Internal Medicine, Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry, Yale University School of Medicine; Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Member, National Academy of Sciences.

Bonnie E. Gould Rothberg, M.D.
Bonnie E. Gould Rothberg is the Director of Clinical Development at The Rothberg Institute. She received her B.A. from the College of Arts and Sciences at Cornell University in 1990, summa cum laude in Biological Sciences and with distinction in all subjects where she studied levels of linkage disequilibrium in Drosophila melanogaster under Dr. Charles F. Aquadro. She received her M.D. from Yale University in 1994 and underwent residency training in Internal Medicine at Yale University. In 1997, she joined CuraGen Corporation where she headed the Pharmacogenomics Department (1997 - 2001) and then served as Medical Monitor in the Department of Clinical Development (2001 - 2002). Bonnie joined the Institute in July 2002 where she is responsible for all Preclinical and Clinical Development as well as Regulatory Affairs for all compounds developed at the Institute. Member, Board of Directors, Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance (Silver Springs, MD) since 2000.Group Leader, Medical Affairs, CuraGen Corporation. Yale Medical School, 1994.Residency: Internal Medicine and Primary Care, Yale University.

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