Our Scientific Advisory Boards are comprised of thought leaders across a broad range of therapeutic areas and disciplines who have made significant contributions to research, clinical practice, and patient care. Biosplice Therapeutics regularly consults and involves these experts in key decisions to help develop our scientific and clinical programs.

Scientific Advisory Board Clinical Advisory Board

Benjamin Cravatt, PhD

Professor and the Norton B. Gilula Chair of Chemical Biology, Department of Chemistry, The Scripps Research Institute

Dr. Cravatt is a Professor and the Norton B. Gilula Chair of Chemical Biology in the Department of Chemistry at The Scripps Research Institute. His research group is interested in developing chemical proteomic technologies that enable protein and drug discovery on a global scale and applying these methods to characterize biochemical pathways that play important roles in human physiology and disease, especially as pertains to the nervous system and cancer. Dr. Cravatt obtained his undergraduate education at Stanford University, receiving a B.S. in the Biological Sciences and a B.A. in History. He then received a Ph.D. from The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) in 1996. Professor Cravatt joined the faculty at TSRI in 1997. Dr. Cravatt is an Associate Editor for JACS and is a co-founder of Activx Biosciences, Abide Therapeutics, and Vividion Therapeutics. His honors include a Searle Scholar Award, the Eli Lilly Award in Biological Chemistry, a Cope Scholar Award, the ASBMB Merck Award, the RSC Jeremy Knowles Award, the AACR Award for Achievement in Chemistry in Cancer Research, and memberships in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, National Academy of Medicine, and National Academy of Sciences.

Jeffrey L. Cummings, MD, ScD

Vice Chair for Research and Research Professor, UNLV Department of Brain Health; Director, Center for Neurodegeneration, Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health

Jeffrey L. Cummings, MD, ScD, is Vice Chair of Research, UNLV Department of Brain Health. He is Founding Director of the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas, Nevada. Dr. Cummings is Principal Investigator/Director of the NIH/NIGMS-funded Center for Neurodegeneration and Translational Neuroscience.

Dr. Cummings is a world-renowned Alzheimer’s researcher and leader of clinical trials. He has been recognized for his research and leadership contributions in the field of Alzheimer’s disease through the Henderson Award of the American Geriatrics Society (2006), the Ronald and Nancy Reagan Research Award of the national Alzheimer’s Association (2008), and the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Society for Behavioral and Cognitive Neurology (2017). In 2010, he was honored by the American Association of Geriatric Psychiatry with their Distinguished Scientist Award. In 2018, he was honored with the Leadership and Achievement Award by the International Society of CNS Drug Development, and he received the Bengt Winblad Lifetime Achievement Award from the national Alzheimer’s Association. In 2019, the International Psychogeriatric Association awarded him with the Distinguished Service Award and he received the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation’s Melvin R. Goodes Prize that honors an innovative researcher who has made a significant and lasting impact in the field. He was featured in the Gentleman’s Quarterly (June 2009) as a “Rock Star of Science™.”

Dr. Cummings’ interests embrace clinical trials, developing new therapies for brain diseases, and the interface of neuroscience and society.

Dr. Cummings completed Neurology residency and a Fellowship in Behavioral Neurology at Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts. US training was followed by a Research Fellowship in Neuropathology and Neuropsychiatry at the National Hospital for Nervous Diseases, Queen Square, London, England. Dr. Cummings was formerly Augustus S. Rose Professor of Neurology and Professor of Psychiatry at UCLA, Director of the Mary S. Easton Center for Alzheimer’s Disease Research at UCLA, and Director of the Deane F. Johnson Center for Neurotherapeutics at UCLA. He is past president of the Behavioral Neurology Society and of the American Neuropsychiatric Association.

Dr. Cummings has authored or edited 43 books and published over 750 peer-reviewed papers.

Frank McCormick, PhD, FRS, DSc (Hon)

Professor, UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center

Frank McCormick, PhD, is a Professor at the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. Prior to joining the UCSF faculty, Dr. McCormick pursued cancer-related work with several Bay Area biotechnology firms and held positions with Cetus Corporation (Director of Molecular Biology, 1981-1990; Vice President of Research, 1990-1991) and Chiron Corporation, where he was Vice President of Research. In 1992 he founded Onyx Pharmaceuticals, a company dedicated to developing new cancer therapies, and served as its Chief Scientific Officer until 1996. At Onyx Pharmaceuticals, he initiated drug discovery efforts that led to the approval of Sorafenib in 2005 for treatment of renal cell cancer, and for liver cancer in 2007, and the approval of ONYX-015 in 2006 in China for treatment of nasopharyngeal cancer. In addition, Dr. McCormick’s group led to the identification of the CDK4 kinase inhibitor, Palbociclib, approved for treating advanced breast cancer. Dr. McCormick's current research interests center on ways of targeting Ras proteins and their regulators, including the NF1 protein neurofibromin.

Dr. McCormick holds the David A. Wood Chair of Tumor Biology and Cancer Research at UCSF. He is the author of over 330 scientific publications and holds more than 20 issued patents. Dr. McCormick was Director of the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center from 1997 to 2014. He also served as President, 2012-2013, for the American Association for Cancer Research. Since 2013, Dr. McCormick has led the National Cancer Institute’s Ras Initiative at the Frederick National Laboratories for Cancer Research overseeing the national effort to develop therapies against Ras-driven cancers. These cancers include most pancreatic cancers, and many colorectal and lung cancers, and are amongst the most difficult cancers to treat.

Dr. McCormick is a Fellow of the Royal Society and a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

William C. Mobley, MD, PhD

Associate Dean for Neurosciences Initiatives, Distinguished Professor of Neurosciences, Florence Riford Chair for Alzheimer Disease Research, University of California San Diego School of Medicine

Dr. Mobley is Associate Dean of Neurosciences Initiatives and Distinguished Professor of Neurosciences at UC San Diego. He serves as Executive Director of UCSD's Down Syndrome Center for Research and Treatment, and holds the Florence Riford Chair of Alzheimer Disease Research. He came to UCSD in June 2009 from Stanford University where he served as the John E. Cahill Family Professor in the Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences and was founding director of the Neuroscience Institute. Dr. Mobley’s research is focused on degenerative disease of the central nervous system, especially Down syndrome and Alzheimer’s disease.

He and his colleagues have for many years explored the hypothesis that deficient axonal transport of neurotrophic factor signals contribute importantly to the pathogenesis of neurodegeneration.

Dr. Mobley serves as the expert advisor to the Congressional Down Syndrome Caucus. He is Past President of the Association of University Professors of Neurology, of the Professors of Child Neurology, and of the International Society for Developmental Neuroscience. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine. He received both the Zenith Award and Temple Award from the Alzheimer's Association and the Cotzias Award from the American Academy of Neurology. In 2007 he received the Christian Pueschel Memorial Research Award, and in 2011 was honored with the International Sisley-Jérôme Lejeune Prize by the Jérôme Lejeune Foundation for his research contributions to Down syndrome and genetic intellectual disabilities. He was inducted into the Johns Hopkins University Society of Scholars in 2014.

John A. Bergfeld, MD

Senior Surgeon, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Cleveland Clinic

John A. Bergfeld, M.D., is the Senior Surgeon, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the Cleveland Clinic.

He is a graduate of Bucknell University where he played football, followed by his Medical Doctor degree at Temple University. He did his internship and orthopaedic residency at Cleveland Clinic.

He served in the US Navy as Chief of Orthopaedics of the United States Naval Hospital (Annapolis, Maryland, USA) and US Naval Academy and aboard the USS Dubuque with rank of Commander MC USNR.

Dr. Bergfeld served as Team Physician for the Cleveland Browns NFL, Cavaliers NBA, Cleveland Ballet, and Baldwin Wallace University.

He served as President of:

  • American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM)
  • American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM)
  • International Society of Arthroscopy, Knee Surgery and Orthopaedic Sports Medicine (ISAKOS)

He has trained over 90 post graduate fellows, both Primary Care (Sports and Exercise Medicine) and Orthopaedic/Sports Medicine (known as the Warthog Society). He has published over 90 peer review articles and book chapters. He has served as visiting professor and presented multiple endowed lectureships in the USA and internationally.

AWARDS

AOSSM

  • Thomas A Brady Community Service Award
  • Mr. Sports Medicine
  • Hall of Fame
  • George Rovere Education Award
  • Godfather – Traveling Fellows

City of Cleveland, Ohio USA

  • Five Star General Award – City of Cleveland
  • Lifetime Achievement Award - Greater Cleveland Sports Commission
  • John H. Budd MD Distinguished Membership Award – Northeast Ohio Academy of Medicine Master Educator Award – Cleveland Clinic Outstanding Alumnus Award
  • Cleveland Clinic
  • Bucknell University – Class of 1960
  • Bucknell University Outstanding Alumni Varsity Athlete- 1991
  • Temple University Medical School

National

  • NFL Trainers Jerry Rhea Award
  • NFL Lifetime Achievement Award
  • USA Rugby Medical Hall of Fame
  • American College of Sports Medicine – Legacy Award
  • NATA Team Physician of the Year
  • Ohio Athletic Trainers Outstanding Physician Award

Honorary Memberships

  • European Society Sports Knee and Arthroscopy (ESSKA)
  • American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM)
  • European Federation of Orthopaedic Sports Traumatology (EFOST)
  • International Society of Arthroscopy, Knee Surgery and Orthopaedic Sports Medicine (ISAKOS)
  • Spanish Knee and Sports Medicine Society

Allan Gibofsky, MD, JD, MACR, FACP, FCLM

Professor of Medicine, Health Policy and Research, Weill Cornell Medicine

Dr. Allan Gibofsky is Professor of Medicine, Health Policy and Research at Weill Cornell Medicine. He is an Attending Physician and Rheumatologist at The New York Presbyterian Hospital and Hospital for Special Surgery, where he is Co-Director of the Clinic for Inflammatory Arthritis.

Dr. Gibofsky received his undergraduate degree from Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, his MD from Weill Medical College of Cornell University and his law degree from Fordham University. He did his internship in Pathology, followed by a residency in Medicine at New York Hospital. He completed a fellowship in Rheumatology/Immunology jointly at Hospital for Special Surgery and at The Rockefeller University. Dr. Gibofsky has authored or co-authored numerous papers and text chapters, primarily on the immunogenetics of rheumatic diseases and legal aspects of medical practice. He is known for his work on mechanisms of host-microbe interactions in rheumatology, and, in particular for his basic and clinical studies on rheumatic fever as well as for his work on therapeutic strategies in the treatment of inflammatory rheumatic diseases.

Currently Secretary-Treasurer of The New York Rheumatism Association, Dr. Gibofsky is past Chair of the Medical & Scientific Committee of the New York Chapter of The Arthritis Foundation and received their Physicians’ Leadership Award. He also served as a member of the local and national Arthritis Foundation Board of Trustees, and was Chair for Professional Education. Dr. Gibofsky has participated in numerous professional and public education programs, nationally and internationally. He is a past President of the American College of Legal Medicine, and is past Chair of the American Board of Legal Medicine. In 2002, Dr. Gibofsky served as President of The American College of Rheumatology. Dr. Gibofsky is a Jonas Salk Scholar of the City University and was named Alumnus of the Year by Brooklyn College.

Dr. Gibofsky is a Master of the American College of Rheumatology, a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and a Fellow of the American College of Legal Medicine.

Morgan Jones, MD, MPH

Staff Surgeon, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Cleveland Clinic

Morgan Jones, MD, MPH is a practicing sports medicine orthopaedic surgeon and clinical outcomes researcher with a special interest in the development of post-traumatic osteoarthritis after arthroscopic knee procedures. His research has focused on radiographic changes, including joint space narrowing, after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction and has been supported by the National Institutes of Health. He attended undergraduate and medical school at the Ohio State University, completed his orthopaedic residency at the Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, spent a year as a sports medicine fellow at the University of Iowa, and obtained a Masters in Public Health at Harvard University. He currently works as a staff surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic.

Nancy E. Lane, MD

Director, Center for Musculoskeletal Health and Distinguished Professor, University of California at Davis, School of Medicine

Nancy E. Lane, MD is a Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Rheumatology, and Aging Research, Director for the Center for Musculoskeletal Health. She is an internationally recognized scientist in the fields of both osteoporosis and osteoarthritis. Her translational research team has been instrumental in defining the role of glucocorticoids in bone fragility including pioneering a seminal clinical trial to demonstrate that daily injections of the hormone PTH could reverse glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis. In addition she has uncovered novel genetic variations that predispose individuals to osteoarthritis and has studied novel treatments for osteoarthritis. Her research accomplishments have been recognized by the UC Davis School of Medicine Dean’s Team Science Award (2012), the American College of Rheumatology for the Oscar Gluck Memorial Lecture for outstanding work in Osteoporosis (2011), David Trentham Lectureship and Women in Medicine Lectureship at Harvard Medical School (2013), election to Association of American Physicians (2006) and election to the National Academy of Medicine (2012). Dr. Lane was President of the Board of the United States Bone and Joint Decade (2006-2008), co-led the International Bone and Joint Decade Conference in Washington DC (2010), was elected and served on the council of the American Society of Bone and Mineral Research (2010-2013), and the Orthopedic Research Society, and the Northern California Arthritis Foundation.

Dr. Lane is on the editorial boards of Nature Reviews Rheumatology, Rheumatology (Editorial Board), Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism (Associate Editor), Co-editor Arthritis and Rheumatism (2005-2010), and The Journal of Rheumatology; has been named Best Doctors in America annually since 2004, and continues to have an active rheumatology practice.

Rik Lories, MD, PhD

Professor of Rheumatology, Skeletal Biology and Engineering Research Center, KU Leuven

Rik Lories directs the Laboratory for Tissue Homeostasis and Disease that is part of the Skeletal Biology and Engineering Research Center at KU Leuven. He is a consultant physician in the Division of Rheumatology at the University Hospitals Leuven. KU Leuven, the largest and oldest university in Belgium, ranks 40th in the Times Higher Education World 2017 Ranking and tops Reuter’s 2017 ranking of Europe’s most innovative universities.

His research focuses on endogenous tissue responses in the joint with specific attention towards translational questions in chronic arthritis, in particular osteoarthritis, axial spondyloarthritis, and psoriatic arthritis. Currently full Professor (“gewoon hoogleraar”) at KU Leuven, he obtained his medical degree summa cum laude in 1996. He subsequently started specialty training in internal medicine and rheumatology. In 2003, he was certified as rheumatologist. In 2003 he also obtained a PhD in biomedical sciences at KU Leuven. He received PhD (4 years) and Postdoctoral fellowships (6 years) from the Flanders Research Foundation. Rik Lories and his team were the first to demonstrate the key homeostatic role of Wnt signaling in the postnatal joint. The observation that mice in which the Wnt antagonist Frzb has been genetically deleted show increased severity of osteoarthritis pointed the attention of a large research community towards this pathway in particular in osteoarthritis. A recent study on DOT1L in osteoarthritis has identified a novel regulatory mechanism of Wnt signaling in the joint.

He has (co-)authored over 140 publications, including original research reports or reviews in Nature Medicine, Nature Communications, Journal of Clinical Investigation, PNAS, Nature Reviews Rheumatology, Osteoarthritis and Cartilage, Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases and Arthritis and Rheumatology.

Timothy McAlindon, MD, MPH

Natalie V. Zucker & Milton O. Zucker Chair of Rheumatology and Professor, Tufts University School of Medicine; Chief, Division of Rheumatology, Tufts Medical Center

Dr. McAlindon has a 20-year research track in the field of osteoarthritis (OA) and currently has set his goals on the development of simple and inexpensive disease-modifying interventions for osteoarthritis. This has brought a focus on the mechanisms of structural progression, its measurement, and comparative effectiveness testing of potential disease modifying interventions. Dr. McAlindon is one of a small number of investigators developing expertise in highly technological image-based evaluation of osteoarthritis structural progression, such as three-dimensional cartilage volume measurement from MRI, trabecular morphometry from MRI, and subchondral DEXA. Dr. McAlindon currently has NIH-funded research grants evaluating the role of bone in OA progression using periarticular DEXA and MRI-based trabecular morphometry, testing the effectiveness of intra-articular corticosteroids on structural progression of knee OA, and developing an integrated parsimonious quantitative knee OA structural damage outcome measure using MRI. Dr. McAlindon has national and international recognition in the field of osteoarthritis, and is a member of the steering committee of the NIH Osteoarthritis Initiative (OAI), co-principal investigator of its Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island clinical site.

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