Dr. Michael Ratcliffe.

Dr. Michael Ratcliffe has been Professor and Chair of the Department of  Immunology at the University of Toronto since 2001 and is a world authority on avian immunology. He has contributed numerous scientific discoveries particularly in B cell biology over the course of his career and is the senior author on many publications in the field.  Dr. Ratcliffe was President of the Canadian Society for Immunology from 2001 to 2003 and is a former President of the Canadian Federation of Biological Societies.  Prior to moving to the University of Toronto, Dr. Ratcliffe was a Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at McGill University from 1986 to 2001.  Dr. Ratcliffe was a Research Fellow at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund in London from 1983 to 1986 and a Member of the Basel Institute for Immunology from 1980 to 1983.  He received his B.Sc. from Glasgow University and his Ph.D. from University College, London.

Dr. Sherie Morrison.

Dr. Sherie Morrison received her B.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Stanford University in 1963 and 1966. After working as a part-time postdoctoral fellow at Columbia University, University of California at Berkeley and Albert Einstein College of Medicine she joined the faculty of the Department of Microbiology at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1974 where she remained until 1988, rising to the rank of Professor. In 1988 she joined the faculty of the University of California at Los Angeles where, following ten years as Department Chair, she is currently Distinguished Professor of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics.  Her long-time research interest has been the functional properties of antibodies and novel antibody-related proteins.

Dr. Herbert Heyneker.

After receiving his PhD degree in Molecular Genetics in 1975 from the University of Leiden, the Netherlands, Herb started post-doctoral work in the laboratory of Prof. Herbert Boyer at UCSF. His work focused on cloning and expression of chemically synthesized DNA coding for the lac operator and somatostatin. The following year, when Boyer and Swanson founded Genentech, Herb was hired as the first scientist. At Genentech, he was involved in cloning and expression of genes coding for therapeutic proteins, including human insulin, human growth hormone, interferon-α and t-PA. His lab was responsible for the co-expression of the light and heavy chain genes coding for an IgG antibody in E.coli (protected by the Cabilly I and II patents). In 1984 Herb joined Genencor, a spin-off from Genentech, as VP of research. Genencor applied recombinant DNA technology for the improvement and cost-effective manufacturing of industrial enzymes. In the 90s Herb co-founded three biotechnology companies including Eos, a functional genomics company, where he was the Chief Technology Officer. After Eos was acquired by Protein Design Labs in 2003, he joined the London-based Venture Capital Firm Abingworth as an advisor. In 2008 Herb also became an advisor for the Utrecht-based VC firm Thuja Capital. His duties include scouting for new investment opportunities and performing technical due-diligence. In the United States, Herb served on the Board of Directors for GenPharm and Guava Technologies. Besides Origen Therapeutics, he currently consults for Facet Biotech and IMT, Inc. In the Netherlands Herb served on the Board of Directors for IntroGene (now Crucell), Pharming, Pepscan and Prosensa. Currently he is a boardmember of  Profibrix and he consults for Crucell, Prosensa, ISA Pharmaceuticals, TNO Biosciences and Philips Healthcare Incubator. Herb is an author on more than 50 peer-reviewed papers and an inventor on more than 30 US patents.