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Kathy Giusti
Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF)
Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium (MMRC)
Kathy Giusti is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) and the Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium (MMRC). In 1998 following her diagnosis with multiple myeloma, she founded the MMRF to fund innovative myeloma research and drug discovery. Having raised more than $100 million to date, the MMRF is the world's number one funder of myeloma research.
As an extension of the MMRF's mission, she founded the MMRC in 2004 to enable leading research institutions to work with industry to speed the discovery and development of effective new treatments. Comprising 15 leading research institutions, the MMRC is widely recognized for breaking down barriers in tissue banking, data management, genomics, and clinical trials, and is considered an optimal research model to accelerate the development of new therapies.
Ms. Giusti received her MBA in general management from Harvard Business School and graduated from the University of Vermont magna cum laude with a BS in biological sciences. She began her career in 1980 with Merck & Co., and later joined the Gillette Company. In 1993, she joined G.D. Searle & Co., where she last served as Executive Director of Searle's worldwide arthritis franchise.
Ms. Giusti received the 1998 Healthcare Businesswomen's Association's Woman of the Year Award, the 2001 Harvard Business School Entrepreneurial Award, the 2002 McCarty Cancer Foundation Humanitarian Award, the 2002 Joseph Michaela Award from the Weill Medical College of Cornell University, the 2005 Harvard Business School Award for Courage and Valor, and the 2006 Partners in Progress Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology. She has served on the Institute of Medicine's National Cancer Policy Board and the Cancer Leadership Council. Today, she continues to serve on the National Cancer Advisory Board, an appointment she received in 2003 from President Bush, and is a member of the Board of Directors for IMS Health as well as the Health Research Alliance. Most recently, her efforts to advance cancer research and drug development have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, "NBC Nightly News", CBS Evening News and The New Yorker.
She lives in New Canaan, CT, with her husband, Paul, and her children, Nicole, who is 13, and David, who is 11.
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Susan L. Kelley, MD
Chief Medical Officer
Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation
Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium
Susan L. Kelley, MD, is Chief Medical Officer of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) and Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium (MMRC), where she provides senior medical leadership for the clinical development activities supported by the MMRC. Dr. Kelley has more than 20 years of experience in oncology clinical research and drug development within the pharmaceutical industry. Dr. Kelley most recently served as Vice President of Global Clinical Development for Oncology at Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals, where she was responsible for the management of the oncology drug development portfolio and for the supervision of Bayer's oncology physicians and clinical project managers. While at Bayer, she oversaw the successful advancement of Nexavar (sorafenib) through the FDA approval process. Prior to her position at Bayer, Dr. Kelley held several leadership positions in Bristol-Myers Squibb's (BMS) Oncology Therapeutic Area. While at BMS, she participated in the development and registration of several new drug products, including Vumon (teniposide), Taxol, and Videx (didanosine); she also supervised clinical development programs for a cancer vaccine for melanoma and numerous phase I and II clinical trials. Dr. Kelley received her medical degree from Duke University School of Medicine. She completed certification in Internal Medicine at University of Colorado followed by Medical Oncology training at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.
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Louise M. Perkins, PhD
Chief Scientific Officer
Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation
Louise M. Perkins, PhD, is the Chief Scientific Officer at the MMRF where she is responsible for the strategic development and execution of the MMRF's research agenda. Dr. Perkins brings more than 16 years of pharmaceutical research experience from 2 major companies to the MMRF.
Prior to joining the MMRF, she was the Director of Cancer Research at Bayer Pharmaceuticals in West Haven, CT, where she contributed to advancing novel targeted therapies toward clinical study, including Nexavar® and other innovative signal transduction inhibitors. While at Bayer, she also served as the Director of Research Licensing and was responsible for oncology licensing activities in support of cancer research programs. Prior to joining Bayer, she led a cancer research group at the Schering–Plough Research Institute in Kenilworth, NJ. In this role, she participated in several early-stage research programs including novel target-finding research using human genomics data.
Dr. Perkins graduated from the University of Michigan with a PhD and MS in biological chemistry and conducted postdoctoral studies at Princeton University in the Department of Molecular Biology. She earned her BS in zoology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
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Jennifer W. Katritos, CPA
Director of Finance
Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium
Ms. Katritos joined the Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium (MMRC) and the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) in November 2005 as Director of Finance. She has more than fifteen years experience in both public and private accounting. Prior to joining the MMRC and MMRF, Ms. Katritos was an associate with PricewaterhouseCoopers and previously held positions at Unapix Entertainment, Inc., M.R. Weiser & CO, and Deloitte & Touche. Ms. Katritos received her B.S. in Accounting from the State University of New York at Oneonta. |
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Sandra Wear, RN
Associate Director of Operations
Sandra M. Wear, RN, is the Associate Director of Operations of the MMRC where she is responsible for the execution of pre–clinical and clinical projects within the Consortium. Sandra brings more than 20 years of experience to the MMRC as both an oncology nurse and a senior manager and has vast experience from both the industry and Contract Research Organization (CRO) perspective. She most recently served as Vice President of Regional Monitoring Operations at Endpoint Research in Mississauga, Canada, and the Senior Manager of Clinical Process and Training and the Clinical Trials Manager at MannKind Corporation in Danbury, Conn. Prior to this, she served as the Associate Director of Clinical Operations at Purdue Pharma in Stamford, Conn., and as the Clinical Research Manager at Pharmacia & UpJohn in Don Mills, Ontario, Canada. She received her degree in nursing from Mohawk Nursing College in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. |
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Jennifer Novia
Executive Assistant, Office Manager, Patient Liaison
Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation
Jennifer Novia is Executive Assistant to the CEO and COO, as well as Office Manager and Patient Liaison. She joined the MMRF in January 2006 and is responsible for a broad range of administrative duties, including calendar management, correspondence, expense reports, project management, travel arrangements, and maintenance of donor and celebrity databases. Jenn also coordinates all Board of Directors meetings and works closely with senior management on major donor campaigns and presentation materials. In addition, she serves as liaison between the MMRF and patients regarding courses of treatment, institutional recommendations, and donations.
Prior to joining the MMRF, Jenn was contract administrator for Siemens Business Services, a leading international provider of IT solutions and services. She has also held senior administrative positions at Honeywell Consumer Products Group, GE Capital Corporation, and Active Endeavors. Jenn served five years as a sergeant in the United States Marine Corps, where she was a nuclear, biological, and chemical defense specialist, as well as a multi-channel equipment operator.
Currently pursuing her Bachelor's degree in legal administration at Western Connecticut State University, Jenn lives in Newtown with her husband, Rich, and daughters, Zoë and Cecilia.
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Karen Andrees
Counsel, Contracts Administration
Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation
Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium
Karen Andrees joined the MMRC in March 2007 as Counsel, Contracts Administration, handling all legal and contractual issues for both the Consortium and the MMRF. She received her JD and MBA degrees from Western New England College School of Law and a Bachelor's degree in justice and law administration from Western Connecticut State University. While a law student, Karen worked as a student attorney with the Scibelli Enterprise Center in Springfield, Mass., handling business legal issues, and as a paralegal with Attorney Richard C. Lubus in New Fairfield, Conn., where she prepared court documents for business, criminal, probate, and civil litigation matters. Previously, Karen was contracts manager for Digital Autobahn in Danbury, Conn., and served as a legislative intern at the Connecticut State Legislature in Hartford.
In addition to her work with the MMRF and MMRC, Karen serves as National Legal Counsel on a pro bono basis for the Junior Chamber International, USA, and its state and local chapters nationwide.
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Bunmi Mfuko
Tissue Bank Coordinator
Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium
Bunmi Mfuko joined the MMRC in May 2007 as the Tissue Bank Coordinator, responsible for managing the flow of samples and related documentation for all preclinical projects including validation, correlative science, and MMRC tissue studies. In addition, she oversees equipment and IT systems associated with tracking of tissues and clinical data. Bunmi has eight years of pharmaceutical experience and came to the MMRC from Bayer Pharmaceuticals in West Haven, CT, where she worked as a clinical data manager contributing to the clinical data operation of a Phase III trail for the regulation of coagulation in orthpedic surgery to prevent deep-vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. Prior to joining Bayer, she was clinical data coordinator at Client Associated Business, Inc., in Milford, CT, where she participated in the data collection and validation of clinical data for the Phase III clinical trial of Lasofoxifene for Pfizer Pharmaceutical. Previously, Bunmi worked as an analytical chemist at Barr Labs in Pomona, NY. She graduated from the University of Massachusetts (Amherst) with a BS in chemistry and food science.
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Natacha Jerome
Clinical Project Coordinator
Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium
Natacha Jerome joined the MMRC in July 2007 Clinical Project Coordinator. She is responsible for maintaining the Consortium’s operations network at member institutions, as well as connections with clinical trial management personnel at pharmaceutical and biotech companies and clinical research organizations. She also oversees the MMRC’s industry-sponsored Phase I and II myeloma-specific clinical trials. Natacha has more than six years of experience in the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries. Prior to joining the MMRC, she was a clinical research coordinator at Associated Neurologists of Southern Connecticut (ANSC) in Fairfield, CT, where she was involved with Phase II and II clinical trials in the neurological therapeutical area. Previously, Natacha worked in clinical supply management at Purdue Pharmaceutical in Ardsley, NY. She began her career as a cellular biologist at Alexion Pharmaceuticals in Cheshire, CT, and Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals in Ridgefield, CT, and has also worked as a regulatory affairs associate in medical device at United States Surgical. Natacha earned her MS in healthcare administration and her BS in biology, pre-medical, from the University of New Haven.
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Staff Members
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