About Us | Board of Directors

John Groom
Mr. Groom served as chairman from January 2005 to August 2006 and as a director since September 2003. Previously, Mr. Groom was president and chief operating officer of Elan Corporation, plc and president, chief executive officer and a director of Athena Neurosciences, Inc. from 1987 until its acquisition by Elan in July 1996. From 1960 until 1985, Mr. Groom was employed by Smith Kline & French Laboratories. He is a fellow of the Association of Certified Accountants (UK) and currently serves on the boards of directors of CV Therapeutics, Inc., Ligand Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Amarin Corporation.

Gary Kurtzman, MD
Dr. Kurtzman is the Vice President, Life Sciences at Safeguard Scientifics, Inc. Prior to joining Safeguard, Dr. Kurtzman was Managing Director and COO at BioAdvance,a state initiative committed to funding early-stage life sciences companies. Dr. Kurtzman has held executive positions with Pluvita Corporation, Genovo, Inc., and Avigen. He received his undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences from Stanford University and received his M.D. degree and completed his medical training at Washington University and Stanford University.

Anne Faulkner Schoemaker
Ms. Schoemaker has served as a director since August 2006, as chair since October 2006, and as chief executive officer since March 2007. She has an extensive background in clinical research and healthcare administration, technology licensing and management and corporate development. She has contributed her expertise in both the for-profit and not-for-profit settings. She has held positions at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, the University of Pennsylvania, The Wistar Institute and Avitech Diagnostics, Inc., a biotechnology diagnostics company in Malvern, PA.

Lawrence Steinman, M.D.
Dr. Steinman is a professor of neurobiology and neurological sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine. He is a founder of Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. and was a director of Centocor, Inc. prior to its acquisition by Johnson & Johnson.

Stelios Papadopoulos, Ph.D.
Dr. Papadopoulos retired as Vice Chairman of Cowen & Co., LLC in August 2006 after six years with the firm where, as an investment banker, he focused on the biotech and pharma sectors. Before coming to Wall Street, Dr. Papadopoulos was on the faculty of the Department of Cell Biology at New York University Medical Center. Dr. Papadopoulos holds a Ph.D. in biophysics and an M.B.A. in finance, both from New York University. Dr. Stelios Papadopoulos is a co-founder and chairman of the Board of Directors of Exelixis, Inc., and he is a co-founder and member of the Board of both Anadys Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Cellzome, Inc.