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Speakers

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Rakesh Jain
Director of the Edwin L. Steele Laboratory for Tumor Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital

Andrew Werk Cook Professor of Tumor Biology, Harvard Medical School

Member, National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and National Academy of Medicine

Topic: Brain Tumors

Rakesh Jain, Ph.D., moved from his home in India to the United States in 1972 after receiving a B. Tech in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology. He then attended the University of Delaware, where he completed a M.S. and Ph.D. in chemical engineering. Dr. Jain served on the faculty of Columbia University for two years and spent 14 years at Carnegie Mellon University. Since 1991, Dr. Jain has been the Andrew Werk Cook Professor of Tumor Biology and the Director of the Edwin L. Steele Laboratory for Tumor Biology at Massachusetts General Hospital.

In addition to his fellowship with NFCR, Dr. Jain is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Medicine. He is the ninth person ever to be elected to all three U.S. National Academies. He is also a Fellow of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Academy.

 

Throughout his career, Dr. Jain has also been the recipient of numerous prestigious awards, including the 2012 Science of Oncology Award from the Society of Clinical Oncology and the 2016 National Medal of Science from President of the United States Barack Obama. He received the Medal of Science for developing new ways to manipulate tumors.

 

Dr. Jain has mentored more than 200 doctoral and postdoctoral fellows in more than a dozen disciplines. He has also collaborated with hundreds of basic scientists in fundamental research and physicians across multiple specialties and the partnerships have resulted in more than 700 publications.

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FRED NAZEM
Founder, Rejuvenan

Frm Chairman, Oxford Health
GP/Founder of 7 Venture Funds

Topic: Big Data/AI and Neurodegenerative Diseases

Fred Nazem, entrepreneur and philanthropist, has founded or financed several multi-billion dollar corporations. Known also as a turnaround specialist, he led the reorganization and successful reversal of Oxford Health Plans which was later sold to United Healthcare for $5 billion. He is a corporate architect, biochemist, high tech innovator, investor and leader.

Fred Nazem began his career in the financial industry in the late 1970's. As founder of Nazem and Company, he managed seven private venture capital funds and a joint venture in partnership with Banque National De Paris of France. In the four decades since its founding, Mr. Nazem has started, financed or guided more than three hundred cutting edge enterprises. With an ever-expanding width of experience, he has defined new fields and ideas in finance, high technology and healthcare. Several of the companies founded by Mr. Nazem have become multi-billion dollar enterprises. A most recent venture is Rejuvenan Global Health, a highly digital, membership based healthcare delivery system which provides its members with the knowledge and tools they need to own and manage their health and the health of their families.

 

Mr. Nazem is also well-known for his role as a turnaround specialist. In 1997, as Chairman of Oxford Health Plans, he led the reorganization and successful reversal as the company experienced operational and financial difficulties. Oxford was later sold to the United Health Group for $5 billion. As director of one of America's most prominent family fortunes, Mr. Nazem orchestrated a dramatic turnaround from near bankruptcy to a ranking on the Forbes 400 list for wealthiest people of the world. He has namaged private wealth for four decades and currently is Managing Partner of Hedgeworth Capital, a private fund founded in 2003.

 

Alongside his business ventures, Mr. Nazem devotes much of his time and energy to important philanthropic concerns. Primarily working through the Nazem Family Foundation, he has supported many civic, educational and healthcare-related cases. He currently serves on the Science and Technology Advisory Board of Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center. Furthermore, he is a member of the New York Society of Security Analysts and the Economic Club of New York. Mr. Nazem is a recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, an award granted to American citizens of diverse origins for their outstanding contributions to the United States.

 

Fred Nazem received a Bachelor of Science degree in biochemistry from Ohio State University, a Master of Science in physical chemistry from University of Cincinnati and an MBA in finance from Columbia University. He also did doctoral work in quantum physics at Washington University. Mr. Nazem worked as a chemist at Keebler and Company, and Matheson Coleman and Bell before he ventured to Wall Street. He served as a securities analyst and Assistant Vice President at Irving Trust Company (now Bank of New York) before founding his own venture capital firm.

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LILI GIL VALETTA

Chief Executive Officer of CulturIntel and CIEN+

Former Director Marketing, J&J

Liliana Gil Valletta is an entrepreneur and Co-Founder of CIEN+ and CulturIntel, a big data analytics, consulting and marketing firm, specialized in understanding and tapping the full power of diverse-growing markets. She is also a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader since 2012. She's the creator of published methodologies of Cultural Intelligence and has developed a novel platform to use machine learning, artificial intelligence and big data tools to turn global digital discussions into actionable insights, particularly applied to solve social, health and equity gaps by mapping decisions journeys across segments, globally. Prior, she held a number of positions in global corporations, including at Johnson & Johnson where she founded the Hispanic Organization for Leadership and Achievement (HOLA) and pioneered multicultural marketing. Gil Valletta is an independent TV contributor seen weekly on CNN en Español, Fox News, and Fox Business, among others analyzing today's economic trends, data insights and minority affairs. She is an independent director/ board member for Zumiez (NASQD: ZUMZ), she also serves as Member of the Harvard Kennedy's School Women's Leadership Board, YMCA USA Board of Directors and mentor to the Stanford Latino Entrepreneur Leaders Program. She has received numerous awards, including 2018 Hispanic Businessperson of the Year by the US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, 2018 Top Innovation Catalyst by MM&M, 2017 Top 50 Most Influential in Healthcare, 2017 Latina Trailblazer of the Year, New York's 25 Top Rising Latinos, Latino Leaders Magazine (2013); Outstanding Business Woman, National Association of Professional Women (2009-10); Latina Leadership Award, League of United Latin American Citizens (2009); and Top 20 Under 40 by PODER (2008). Gil Valletta holds a BA from Southwestern Adventist University, an MBA from the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, and an executive degree from the Harvard Kennedy School in Global Leadership and Public Policy.

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DR. FRANCESCA BOSETTI

Director, Stroke Program, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Dr. Bosetti joined NINDS in 2011 as a Stroke Program Director in the Neural Environment Cluster. Her areas of interest include basic and translational research on ischemic stroke, neuroprotection, stroke repair and recovery, and blood-brain barrier. Prior to joining NINDS, Dr. Bosetti was a Principal Investigator and the Head of the Molecular Neuroscience Unit at the National Institute on Aging, where she studied the arachidonic acid cascade and other mechanisms regulating microglial activation in excitotoxicity, neuroinflammation, and neurodegenerative diseases. Dr. Bosetti received her Pharm.D. from the University of Pisa, Italy and her Ph.D. in Molecular and Experimental Medicine from "Sant' Anna School of Advanced Studies" in Pisa, Italy.

SUSAN ANO

Director, Technology Transfer, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

JENNY WONG

Director, Technology Transfer, National Institute of Mental Health

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