Research America provides heir search services worldwide. We've located thousands of missing heirs with successful probate research for estates since 1991.

Information Technology

Research America

Francesca Manzella

Susan Dentzer is Senior Policy Fellow for the Robert J. Margolis Center for Health Policy at [Duke University](/org/duke-university).  Based in Washington, DC, where the center’s research team is located, she focuses on aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic response; health system transformation, such as through telehealth; biopharmaceutical policy; health coverage expansion, and other key health policy issues. 

Dentzer is one of the nation's most respected health and health policy thought leaders and a frequent speaker and commentator on television and radio, including PBS and NPR, and an author of commentaries and analyses in print publications such as [Modern Healthcare](/org/modern-healthcare), NEJM (New England Journal of Medicine)-Catalyst, and the Annals of Internal Medicine. She was also the editor and lead author of the book Health Care Without Walls: A Roadmap for Reinventing U.S. Health Care, available on Amazon.com.

From 2016 to 2019, Dentzer was President and Chief Executive Officer of NEHI, the Network for Excellence in Health Innovation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization then composed of more than 80 stakeholder organizations from across all key sectors of health and health care.  From 2013 to 2016, she was senior policy adviser to the [Robert Wood Johnson Foundation](/org/robert-wood-johnson-foundation), the nation’s largest philanthropy focused on health and health care in the United States, and before that, was the editor-in-chief of the policy journal Health Affairs. From 1998 to 2008, she was the on-air Health Correspondent for the [PBS NewsHour](/org/pbs-newshour). Dentzer wrote and hosted the 2015 PBS documentary, Reinventing American Healthcare, focusing on the innovations pioneered by the Geisinger Health System and spread to health systems across the nation.

Dentzer is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine); an elected member of the [Council on Foreign Relations](/org/council-on-foreign-relations); a fellow of the National Academy of Social Insurance; and a fellow of the Hastings Center, a nonpartisan bioethics research institute. She is the chair of the Board of Directors of Research!America, which advocates on behalf of biomedical and health-related research and innovation, and is also a member of the Board of Directors of the International Rescue Committee, a leading global humanitarian organization.  She was formerly a member of the board of directors of the Public Health Institute, a nonprofit organization addressing public health issues and solutions nationwide. She is a member of the Boards of Advisors for RAND Health and for the Philip R. Lee Institute of Health Policy Studies at the University of California-San Francisco.  From 2011 to 2017 she was public member of the Board of Directors of the American Board of Medical Specialties, which assists 24 medical specialty boards in the ongoing evaluation and certification of physicians.

Dentzer graduated from Dartmouth, is a trustee emerita of the college, and chaired the Dartmouth Board of Trustees from 2001 to 2004. She serves on the advisory board for the Center for Global Health Equity at Dartmouth, and previously was a member of the Board of Advisors of Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine or more than two decades.   Dentzer holds an honorary master’s degree from Dartmouth will receive a master’s degree in health care delivery science from Dartmouth in 2022.  She also holds an honorary doctorate in humane letters from Muskingum University.   She and her husband have three adult children.

Susan Dentzer

Taylarr Lopez

Jenny Luray is Vice President of Strategy and Communications. Jenny served as Chief of Staff to former Senator Barbara Mikulski, Legislative Director to Congresswoman Nita Lowey and Deputy Assistant to the President in the Clinton White House. She directed U.S. policy and government affairs for BD and Abbott as well as led the Susan G. Komen Advocacy Alliance as its president. Jenny sits on the Governing Committee of the FDA-supported NESTcc, and on the Advisory Council of the Brown University School of Public Health.



Jenny Luray

Ellie has been Vice President of Policy and Advocacy since March of 2011. Prior to joining Research!America, Ellie served as a Legislative Director in the office of Senator Sherrod Brown. Ellie also served as the legislative director for Brown in the House of Representatives, where she maintained lead responsibility for work related to his role as Ranking Member of the Energy and Commerce Committee’s Health Subcommittee. Before joining Brown’s staff, Ellie served as a Legislative Assistant for former Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle. 

Eleanor Dehoney

Ashley Arabasadi

Samantha Miller

Emma Gogol

Katie Goode

Elias Zerhouni, MD is Professor Emeritus Radiology and Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Dr. Zerhouni was most recently the President, Global Research & Development, and a member of the Executive Committee for Sanofi from January 2011 to July 2018. Dr. Zerhouni’s academic career was spent at the Johns Hopkins University and Hospital where he was professor of Radiology and Biomedical engineering and senior adviser for Johns Hopkins Medicine. He served as Chair of the Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, Vice Dean for Research and Executive Vice Dean of the School of Medicine from 1996 to 2002 before his appointment as Director of the National Institutes of Health from 2002 to 2008. In that position he oversaw the NIH’s 27 Institutes and Centers with more than 18,000 employees and a budget of $29.5 billion (2008). 

In November 2009, President Obama appointed Dr. Zerhouni as one of the first presidential U.S. science envoys. Dr. Zerhouni also served as senior fellow to the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation from 2009 to 2010 and senior advisor to the CEO of Sanofi. Dr. Zerhouni has founded or cofounded five start-up companies, authored more than 200 publications and holds several patents. He has assumed positions on several Boards, including most recently, the board of the Lasker Foundation, Research!America and the NIH Foundation. He is also a member of the U.S. National Academy of Medicine and the U.S. National Academy of Engineering. He received the prestigious Legion of Honor medal from the French National Order in 2008, and was elected in 2010 as a member of the French Academy of Medicine and appointed as Chair of Innovation at the College de France in 2011.



Elias A. Zerhouni

Cyndi Zagieboylo became president and CEO of the National MS Society in 2011. Her Society career started in 1985 and she has worked with every CEO of the organization including founder, Sylvia Lawry. Providing leadership on Pathways to MS Cures while empowering people affected by MS to live their best lives is her life’s work.

Cyndi is a founding member and executive committee chair of the International Progressive MS Alliance which was launched in 2013.  The Alliance expedites the development of therapies for progressive MS and includes membership from 19 countries.  She also serves on the MS International Federation Board of Trustees.

She is passionate about building the MS movement, amplifying the voices of people affected by MS to influence lawmakers, and ensuring people affected by MS know that the National MS Society can be a supportive partner in their life journeys.

Cyndi received her bachelor’s degree in rehabilitation counseling and psychology from Springfield College and master’s degree in social psychology from the University of Connecticut.



Cynthia Zagieboylo

Derek Rapp served as president & CEO of JDRF from 2014 – 2019. He previously served as Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors for JDRF International and was formerly JDRF Research Chair. He has been involved in the research funding and oversight activities of JDRF since 2005.

From early 2001 until February 2011, Derek was Chief Executive Officer of Divergence, Inc., a science-based company finding solutions in the prevention and control of pest infections. He led the successful sale of the company in February 2011. As CEO of Divergence, Derek’s main responsibilities included developing and implementing the company’s strategy, ensuring suitable financing of the company, implementing relationships with licensees and collaborators, and overseeing operations.

Derek has also been an active volunteer with numerous leadership roles in different organizations, including JDRF International.

Derek holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Brown University with concentrations in Economics and German and a Master in Business Administration from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.



Derek K. Rapp

Victor J. Dzau is the President of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM), formerly the Institute of Medicine (IOM). In addition, he serves as Chair of the Health and Medicine Division Committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and Vice Chair of the National Research Council.

Dr. Dzau is Chancellor Emeritus and James B. Duke Professor of Medicine at Duke University and the past President and CEO of the Duke University Health System. Previously, Dr. Dzau was the Hersey Professor of Theory and Practice of Medicine and Chairman of Medicine at Harvard Medical School’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital, as well as Chairman of the Department of Medicine at Stanford University.

Dr. Dzau has made a significant impact on medicine through his seminal research in cardiovascular medicine and genetics and his leadership in health care innovation. His important work on the renin angiotensin system (RAS) paved the way for the contemporary understanding of RAS in cardiovascular disease and the development of RAS inhibitors as widely used, lifesaving drugs. In his role as a leader in health care, Dr. Dzau has led efforts in innovation to improve health, including the development of the Duke Translational Medicine Institute, the Duke Global Health Institute, the Duke-National University of Singapore Graduate Medical School, and the Duke Institute for Health Innovation.

Among his many honors and recognitions are the Gustav Nylin Medal from the Swedish Royal College of Medicine, the Distinguished Scientist Award from the American Heart Association, Ellis Island Medal of Honor, and the Henry Freisen International Prize. In 2014, he received the Public Service Medal from the President of Singapore.  He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the European Academy of Sciences and Arts. He has received eight honorary doctorates.

Victor J. Dzau

Dr. Guillermo (Willy) Prado is Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs; Dean of the Graduate School; and Professor of Nursing and Health Studies, Public Health Sciences, and Psychology at the University of Miami. His research broadly focuses on the development, evaluation, and dissemination of parenting interventions for Hispanic youth and their families. Prado’s research has appeared in over 140 peer-reviewed articles and chapters. He has been PI, Co-I, mentor, or consultant of over $100 million dollars of NIH. His research has been recognized by numerous organizations, including the National Hispanic Science Network, the Society for Prevention Research, and the Society for Adolescent and has been featured in several domestic and international news outlets, including the Miami Herald, NBC, and CNN en Español.  Prado is currently the Director of the Investigator Development Core of the NIH funded Center for Latino Health Research Opportunities. He is also the President of the Society for Prevention Research; a member of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Committee on Prevention and Control of Sexually Transmitted Diseases in the United States; and a Board Member of Research!America.



Guillermo J. Prado

Mark McClellan, MD, PhD, is Director and Robert J. Margolis, M.D., Professor of Business, Medicine and Policy at the Margolis Center for Health Policy at Duke University. He is a physician-economist who focuses on quality and value in health care, including payment reform, real-world evidence and more effective drug and device innovation. Dr. McClellan is at the center of the nation’s efforts to combat the pandemic, the author of COVID-19 response roadmap, and co-author of a comprehensive set of papers and commentaries that address health policy strategies for COVID vaccines, testing, and treatments, nationally and globally. He is former administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and former commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, where he developed and implemented major reforms in health policy. Dr. McClellan is an independent board member on the boards of Johnson & Johnson, Cigna, Alignment Healthcare, and PrognomIQ; co-chairs the Guiding Committee for the Health Care Payment Learning and Action Network; and serves as an advisor for Arsenal Capital Group, Blackstone Life Sciences, and MITRE.



Mark McClellan

Gov. Mike Castle, Chair Emeritus of Research!America’s Board of Directors, is a former two-term Governor, nine-term U.S. Congressman, Lieutenant Governor, Deputy Attorney General and State Senator, and partner in DLA Piper’s Government Affairs practice. He maintains offices in Wilmington, Delaware, and Washington, D.C. Governor Castle has always held a deep interest in financial services, health care and energy, and throughout his public life he has worked across party lines, building bridges and forming coalitions to find pragmatic, bipartisan solutions to some of the most pressing problems facing the country. His extensive state and federal experience provides a unique understanding on a wide array of issues faced by businesses that are dealing with federal laws and regulations, are incorporated in Delaware or dealing with Delaware business entities. During his nine terms as Delaware’s sole member in the House of Representatives, Governor Castle served on the House Financial Services Committee, which has jurisdiction over the banking, securities and insurance industries, where he chaired the Subcommittee on Domestic and Monetary Policy and dealt with issues which directly affect the financial services industry and consumers.



Michael N. Castle

Lewis G. Sandy, MD, FACP is Senior Vice President, Clinical Advancement, at UnitedHealth Group, (NYSE: UNH) a diversified health care company dedicated to helping people live healthier lives and helping make the health system work better for everyone. UnitedHealth Group offers a broad spectrum of products and services through two distinct platforms: UnitedHealthcare, which provides health care coverage and benefits services; and Optum, which provides information and technology-enabled health services. At UnitedHealth Group (UHG) he focuses on clinical innovation, payment/delivery reform practice and policy, and physician/health professional collaboration. From 2003 to 2007, he served as EVP and Chief Medical Officer of UnitedHealthcare. From 1991 to 2003, he served as VP and EVP of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the nation’s largest philanthropy dedicated solely to health. Prior to this, he was a physician executive at the Harvard Community Health Plan in Boston, Massachusetts. An internist with over 20 years in practice, Sandy received his B.S. and M.D. degrees from the University of Michigan and an M.B.A. degree from Stanford University. He was a faculty member, fellow and RWJF Clinical Scholar at the University of California, San Francisco, and served his internship and residency at the Beth Israel Hospital in Boston. He serves on a number of Boards and Advisory Groups, including the Board of the National Quality Forum (NQF) and Panel of Health Advisors for the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). He is a senior fellow of the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, Department of Health Policy and Management.



Lewis G. Sandy

Michelle McMurry-Heath assumed the leadership of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) as President and CEO on June 1, 2020. A medical doctor and molecular immunologist by training, Dr. McMurry-Heath becomes just the third chief executive to steward the world’s largest biotechnology advocacy group since BIO’s founding in 1993.

BIO represents 1,000 life sciences companies and organizations from 30 countries. The organization’s mission is to discover and deploy scientific breakthroughs that improve human heath, environmental stewardship, and sustainable agriculture.

Prior to her time at J&J, Dr. McMurry-Heath was also a key science policy leader in government. The Obama-Biden transition team tapped her to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the National Science Foundation’s policies, programs and personnel. President Obama then named her associate science director of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health under Commissioner Peggy Hamburg. In that role, she championed clinical trial evolution, the use of real-world evidence in product evaluation, and an embrace of the patient’s voice in health research so new medical products deliver outcomes that matter to them.

McMurry-Heath was the founding director of the Aspen Institute’s Health, Biomedical Science, and Society Policy Program, where she promoted personalized medicine and bolstered international preparation for pandemic disease threats. She received her early training in science policy from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and later served as Senator Joe Lieberman’s top legislative aide for science and health. In that role, she drafted legislation to protect the country from biological attacks.

McMurry-Heath received her MD/PhD from Duke’s Medical Scientist Training Program, becoming the first African-American to graduate from the prestigious program. She spent 12 years working at the research bench before taking policy and leadership roles in government and industry.



Michelle McMurry-Heath

Dr. Mary J.C. Hendrix is Shepherd University’s 16th president and is the first graduate to lead the school in its history. Hendrix earned her B.S. from Shepherd in pre-med/biology and her Ph.D. from George Washington University in anatomy/cell biology. Subsequently, she was a National Institutes of Health Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Harvard Medical School in the department of anatomy and cell biology.

Before coming to Shepherd, Hendrix was president and chief scientific officer of the Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine (2004-2016). Prior to that, she held various leadership positions at the University of Iowa and the University of Arizona. From 1985-1994, Hendrix served as a commissioner on the Arizona Biomedical Research Commission (formerly the Arizona Disease Control Research Commission), an arm of the Arizona Department of Health Services that provides grants for research and education in the state.

Hendrix became a leading scientist in cancer research, with a focus on identifying genes that contribute to cancer metastasis with a goal of discovering new therapeutic strategies. She has written more than 270 publications on biomedical research and is the recipient of numerous awards, including a MERIT Award from the National Cancer Institute, the 2004 Australian Society for Medical Research Lecturer and Medal Recipient for research and advocacy, the 2006 Henry Gray Award by the American Association of Anatomists that recognizes unique and meritorious contributions to the field of anatomical science, the 2008 and 2012 Princess Takamatsu Cancer Research Lecturer Award in Japan, the 2012 Princess Takamatsu Memorial Lectureship from the American Association for Cancer Research, the 2014 Vision and Impact Award from the Regional American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science, a University of Iowa Award for Excellence and Achievement Among Women, and the Distinguished Woman Faculty Award from Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine.



Mary J.C. Hendrix

Dr. Darío Gil is Senior Vice President, IBM, and Director of Research.

Dr. Gil leads the technology roadmap and the technical community of IBM, directing innovation strategies in areas including hybrid cloud, AI, semiconductors, quantum computing, and exploratory science. Dr. Gil is responsible for IBM Research, one of the world’s largest and most influential corporate research labs, with over 3,000 researchers. He is the 12th Director in its 76-year history. He is also responsible for IBM’s intellectual property strategy and business.

Dr. Gil is a globally recognized leader of the quantum computing industry. Under his leadership, IBM was the first company in the world to build programmable quantum computers and make them universally available through the cloud.

An advocate of collaborative research models, Dr. Gil co-chairs the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab, which advances fundamental AI research to the broad benefit of industry and society. He also co-chairs the COVID-19 High-Performance Computing Consortium, which provides access to the world’s most powerful high-performance computing resources in support of COVID-19 research.

Dr. Gil is a member of the National Science Board (NSB), the governing body of the National Science Foundation (NSF), serves on the President’s Research Council of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR), and the MIT School of Engineering Dean’s Advisory Council.

Dr. Gil is on the boards of the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), New York Academy of Sciences, New York Hall of Science, and Research!America.

Dr. Gil received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT.



Darío Gil

Georges C. Benjamin, MD, FACP, FNAPA, FACEP (E), Hon FRSPH is known as one of the nation’s most influential physician leaders because he speaks passionately and eloquently about the health issues having the most impact on the nation today. From his firsthand experience as a physician, he knows what happens when preventive care is not available and when the healthy choice is not the easy choice. As executive director of APHA since 2002, he is leading the Association’s push to make America the healthiest nation in one generation.

He came APHA from his position as secretary of the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Benjamin became secretary of health in Maryland in April 1999, following four years as its deputy secretary for public health services. As secretary, Benjamin oversaw the expansion and improvement of the state’s Medicaid program.

Benjamin is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and also serves on the boards for many organizations including Research!America, the Reagan-Udall Foundation and the University of Maryland Medical System. In 2014 and 2008, he was named one of the top 25 minority executives in health care by Modern Healthcare Magazine, in addition to being voted among the 100 most influential people in health care from 2007-2013 and one of the nation’s most influential physician executives from 2009-2014.

Dr. Benjamin is also a member of the National Infrastructure Advisory Council – a council that advises the President on how best to assure the security of the nation’s critical infrastructure. He was appointed to the NIAC in 2016.



Georges C. Benjamin

E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, is the Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs, University of Maryland; the John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor, and Dean of the School of Medicine. He is also professor in the departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medicine, and Biochemistry & Molecular Biology.  He is a member of the prestigious National Academy of Medicine (NAM). He has served on the faculty at Yale University School of Medicine, Temple University, and as Vice Chancellor of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and dean of the College of Medicine. In 2010, he served as Acting President of the University of Maryland Baltimore.  In addition to his administrative responsibilities, he is actively involved in research and education. His research focuses on diabetes in pregnancy, birth defects and prenatal diagnosis. He directs an NIH multi-million dollar research laboratory group studying the bio-molecular mechanisms of diabetes-induced birth defects. He served as Chair of the Council of Deans of the Association of American Medical Colleges, and serves or has served on many governmental and civic organizations and committees such as the FDA, the NAM, the NIH, the Secretary of Health & Human Services Committee on Infant Mortality, The March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation, the Massachusetts General Hospital Scientific Advisory Committee, the Board (Chairman) of the Nelly Berman School Classical Music Institute, the Agnes Irwin School for Girls, and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Board.



E. Albert Reece

M. Roy Wilson, M.D., M.S., was unanimously elected President of Wayne State University by the Board of Governors on June 5, 2013. He assumed the presidency on August 1, 2013.

Prior to joining Wayne State, Dr. Wilson served as deputy director for strategic scientific planning and program coordination at the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Previously, Dr. Wilson was dean of the School of Medicine and vice president for health sciences at Creighton University, president of the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, chancellor of the University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus and chair of the Board of Directors of University of Colorado Hospital. Immediately prior to joining NIH, Dr. Wilson chaired the Board of Directors of Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science and was acting president during part of that time.

Dr. Wilson’s research has focused on glaucoma and blindness in populations from the Caribbean to West Africa. He holds elected memberships in the National Academy of Medicine (Institute of Medicine), the Glaucoma Research Society, the American Ophthalmological Society, and the Society of Medical Administrators. He has served on the executive committee of the NIH-funded Ocular Hypertension Treatment Study and chaired the Data Monitoring and Oversight Committee of both the NIH-funded Los Angeles Latino Eye Study, and the African-American Eye Disease Study. Dr. Wilson was a member of the advisory councils of both the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities and the former National Center for Research Resources, and currently serves on the Advisory Council of the NIH Director as well as the NIH Director’s National Advisory Committee on Diversity in the Biomedical Research Workforce (Co-chair). He has served on the governing boards of many national organizations including the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU) and the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), where he served as Chair (2017-2018).

Dr. Wilson received his undergraduate degree from Allegheny College, an M.S. in epidemiology from the University of California, Los Angeles, and an M.D. from Harvard Medical School. He was selected for the list of Best Doctors in America for a consecutive 14 years by Best Doctors Inc. and was a finalist for the Los Angeles Business Journal’s Healthcare CEO of the Year in 2011.



M. Roy Wilson

Deborah Trautman, PhD, RN, FAAN, assumed the role of President and Chief Executive Officer of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) in June 2014. Formerly the Executive Director of the Center for Health Policy and Healthcare Transformation at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Dr. Trautman has held clinical and administrative leadership positions at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. She also served as the Vice President of Patient Care Services for Howard County General Hospital and as Director of Nursing for Emergency Medicine at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. She has held a joint appointment at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing. Dr. Trautman received a BSN from West Virginia Wesleyan College, an MSN from the University of Pittsburgh, and a PhD in health policy from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She has authored publications on health policy, intimate partner violence, pain management, clinical competency, change management, cardiopulmonary bypass, the use of music in the emergency department, and consolidating emergency services. Since her appointment at AACN, Deb has been asked to join a number of high-profile boards and advisory groups. The Secretary of U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ Special Medical Advisory Group (SMAG), which advises the VA Secretary on matters related to healthcare delivery, research, education, training of healthcare staff and planning on shared care issues facing VA and the Department of Defense.

In addition, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) named her program director of the New Careers in Nursing project, and her colleagues with the Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) elected her to serve as Chair as of 2019. She also serves on the Joint Commission’s Chief Nurse Executive Council. Dr. Trautman has served as an advisory board member and past chair for Academy Health’s Interdisciplinary Research Interest Group on Nursing Issues. Dr. Trautman is a 2007/2008 Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellow who worked for the Honorable Nancy Pelosi, then Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.



Deborah Trautman

The Honorable Donna Shalala served as Secretary of Health and Human Services (1993–2001) in the Clinton Administration. She also served in the U.S. House of Representatives (2019–21) and as Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in the Carter Administration (1979-1970). One of the most honored academics of her generation, Dr. Shalala served as President of the University of Miami, President of Hunter College of the City University of New York and Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In 2007, President George W. Bush handpicked Shalala to co-chair with Senator Bob Dole the Commission on Care for Returning Wounded Warriors, to evaluate how wounded service members transition from active duty to civilian society. In 2009 she was appointed chair of the Committee on the Future of Nursing at the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. President Bush presented her in 2008 with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award. Secretary Shalala has been elected to seven national academies: National Academy of Education; the National Academy of Public Administration; the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; the American Philosophical Society; the National Academy of Social Insurance; the American Academy of Political and Social Science; and the National Academy of Medicine. She earned her PhD degree from The Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University.



Donna Shalala

Laing Rogers has been a member of Research!America’s Board of Directors since 2005. A graduate of Duke University, Laing has been a civic leader in her local community of Palm Beach, Florida, as well as a member of numerous fundraising committees for health-related organizations. 


Laing Rogers

Mary A. Pittman, DrPH, is president and chief executive officer of the Public Health Institute (PHI). A nationally recognized leader in improving community health, addressing health inequities among vulnerable people and promoting quality of care, Pittman assumed the reins at PHI in 2008, becoming the organization’s second president and CEO since its founding in 1964. Her primary focus has been guiding the development of a strategic plan that builds on existing PHI program strengths to achieve greater impact on public policy and practice in public health. Dr. Pittman is recognized as an influential voice in health practice and policy. Under Pittman’s leadership, PHI has emphasized support for the Affordable Care Act and the Prevention and Public Health Fund, the integration of new technologies and the expansion of global health programming. Other top priorities are: increasing advocacy for public policy and health reform, and addressing health workforce shortages and the impacts of climate change on public health. Pittman has deep, varied and multi-sectoral experience in local public health, research, education and hospitals. Before joining PHI, Dr. Pittman headed the Health Research and Educational Trust, a Chicago-based affiliate of the American Hospital Association, from 1993 to 2007. Previously, she was president and CEO of the California Association of Public Hospitals and a director of the San Francisco Department of Public Health. Pittman has authored numerous peer-reviewed articles in scientific journals and two books University of California Berkeley School of Public Health as one of 16 public health women leaders for her work in addressing health inequities. Dr. Pittman has served on the PHI board of directors since 1996. She also serves on numerous boards and committees, including the World Health Organization’s Health Worker Migration Global Policy Advisory Council and the National Patient Safety Foundation’s board of governors.



Mary Pittman

Harold “Hal” Paz, M.D., M.S., was named executive vice president for health sciences at Stony Brook University effective October 4, 2021.

Previously executive vice president and chancellor for health affairs at The Ohio State University and chief executive officer of the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center, Paz works in partnership with academic, hospital and clinical leadership and with community partners to ensure the continued development of a premier academic medical center and health system.

At Ohio State, where he was also a professor of medicine and public health sciences, Paz was responsible for seven health science colleges including more than 20 research institutes and an NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center. He also served as CEO of the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center, a health system that includes seven hospitals, 16 network hospitals, more than 100 outpatient sites, a multispecialty practice, an accountable care organization and a health plan.

A member of the National Academy of Medicine’s Leadership Consortium and the board of directors of Research!America, Paz has nearly 25 years of leadership in health care and academic medicine. Prior to joining Ohio State, he was the executive vice president and chief medical officer for CVS Health/Aetna where he provided clinical leadership for the company’s domestic and global businesses. He was also a professor adjunct of internal medicine at Yale University School of Medicine. Prior to his experience in the private sector, Paz served as senior vice president for health affairs, dean of the college of medicine at Pennsylvania State University, and CEO of the Penn State Hershey Medical Center and Health System.

Dr. Paz received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Rochester, a master of science in life science engineering from Tufts University and his medical degree from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. He completed his residency at Northwestern University, where he served as chief medical resident. Dr. Paz was a Eudowood Fellow in pulmonary and critical care medicine at Johns Hopkins Medical School. In addition, he was a postdoctoral fellow in environmental health science at Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health.



Harold L. Paz

Sudip Parikh, Ph.D., became the 19th chief executive officer of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and executive publisher of the Science family of journals in January 2020.  Parikh has spent two decades at the nexus of science, policy, and business.

Immediately prior to joining AAAS, Parikh was senior vice president and managing director at DIA Global, a neutral, multidisciplinary organization bringing together regulators, industry, academia, patients, and other stakeholders interested in healthcare product development.  He led strategy in the Americas and oversaw DIA programs that catalyzed progress globally toward novel regulatory frameworks for advanced therapies not amenable to existing regulations.

Prior to DIA, Sudip was general manager of the Health and Consumer Solutions business unit and vice president at Battelle, a multibillion-dollar research and development organization. He led a $150 million business unit with over 500 scientific, technical, and computing experts performing basic and applied research, developing medicines and healthcare devices, and creating advanced analytics and artificial intelligence applications to improve human health.  Previously, Parikh led Battelle’s global AgriFood business unit. Headquartered in London and Geneva, this unit provided environmental fate research and agriculture product development services from laboratories throughout Europe and the United States.

Early in his career, Parikh was a Presidential Management Intern at the NIH. He was awarded a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship while earning his Ph.D. in macromolecular structure and chemistry from the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif.  There, he used structural biology and biochemistry techniques to probe the mechanisms of DNA repair enzymes bound to DNA. The son of Indian immigrants who worked in the textile and furniture manufacturing plants of North Carolina, Parikh completed undergraduate studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, first as a journalism major before switching into materials science.



Sudip S. Parikh

Dr. Herbert Pardes after serving from January 2000 through September 2011 as President and Chief Executive Officer of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and the New York-Presbyterian Healthcare System became Executive Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.  Under his leadership, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital escalated to one of the highest ranked hospitals and comprehensive health care institutions in the United States.

Dr. Pardes has been an outspoken proponent for academic medicine, medical research, children’s health education, mental health, access to care, humanism and empathy in care delivery, Information Technology and medicine.

He has chaired three different departments of psychiatry at Downstate Medical Center, the University of Colorado and Columbia University.  He served from 1989 to 2000 as the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and Vice President for Health Sciences.  A noted psychiatrist, he served as Director of the National Institute of Mental Health and the United States Assistant Surgeon General during the Carter and Reagan Administrations.  He was also President of the American Psychiatric Association.

He is a member of the Institute of Medicine and of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and has received the United States Army Commendation Medal as well as being the recipient of the Sarnat International Prize for leadership in the field of mental health.

He has served on commissions related to health policy appointed by Presidents George Bush and Bill Clinton including the Presidential Advisory Commission on Consumer Protection and Quality in the Healthcare Industry and the Commission on Systemic Interoperability.  He serves on the NYeC Board Executive Committee for Information Technology, and is Vice Chairman of the New York Genome Center.  He is former Chairman of the Greater New York Hospital Association, the Hospital Association of New York (which on whose Board he continues to sit), the Association of American Medical Colleges and the New York Association of Medical Schools.



Herbert Pardes

Jessica L. Mega, MD, MPH, is the Co-Founder and Chief Medical and Scientific Officer at Verily. As CMSO, Dr. Mega’s focus is on translating technological innovations and scientific insights into partnerships and programs that improve patient outcomes and healthcare. She oversees all of Verily’s clinical and science efforts.

As a faculty member at Harvard Medical School, a senior investigator with the TIMI Study Group, and a cardiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, she led large, international, randomized trials evaluating novel cardiovascular therapies. She also directed the TIMI Study Group’s Genetics Program. Her findings have been published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet, JAMA, and elsewhere. She has served on the Advisory Group for the California Governor’s Precision Medicine work. Dr. Mega currently sits on the Advisory Board for the Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy and the Board of Directors for Danaher Corporation.

Dr. Mega is a graduate of Stanford University, Yale University School of Medicine, and Harvard School of Public Health. She completed Internal Medicine Residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Cardiovascular Fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital. She is board certified in Internal Medicine and Cardiology. She has won the Laennec Society, Samuel A. Levine, and Douglas P. Zipes Awards, and she is a Fellow of the American Heart Association (AHA) and the American College of Cardiology (ACC).



Jessica L. Mega

Rush D. Holt, PhD has held positions as a teacher, scientist, administrator, and policymaker. In 1982, he took leave from his faculty position at Swarthmore College to serve as an AAAS/American Physical Society Science and Technology Policy Fellow on Capitol Hill. Holt has said that his fellowship was “life changing,” and served as a springboard to his role in Congress. Before coming to AAAS, Holt served for 16 years as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, representing New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District. On Capitol Hill, Holt established a long track record of advocacy for federal investment in research and development, science education, and innovation. He served on the National Commission on the Teaching of Mathematics and Science (known as the Glenn Commission), founded the Congressional Research and Development Caucus, and served as a co-chair of the Biomedical Research Caucus. Holt served eight years on the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and chaired the Select Intelligence Oversight Panel, which worked to strengthen legislative oversight of the intelligence community. Following his service in Congress, Dr. Holt became the chief executive officer of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and executive publisher of the Science family of journals in February 2015 until his retirement in July 2019.



Rush D. Holt

Arthur C. Evans Jr., PhD, is CEO of the American Psychological Association, the leading scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States.

Before joining APA in March 2017, Dr. Evans spent 12 years as commissioner of Philadelphia’s $1.5 billion Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services. In that post, he emphasized a data-driven, population health approach, which improved outcomes for diverse people with complex needs. This increased the system’s efficiency, saving more than $110 million over the course his tenure that was reinvested to improve and expand services. The system in Philadelphia has become a national and international model, particularly for governments desiring to improve health equity.

Prior to Philadelphia, Dr. Evans was deputy commissioner for the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, where he led major strategic initiatives that included increasing the use of evidence-based practices, addressing health care disparities, implementing a recovery-oriented policy framework, conducting research, and improving community engagement.

Over the years he has received widespread recognition, including the American Medical Association’s top government service award in healthcare, the Lisa Mojer-Torres Award from Faces and Voices of Recovery, and the Visionary Leadership Award from the National Council of Behavioral Health, as well as being named as an “Advocate for Action” by the White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy. A major emphasis of his career has been equity and social justice and he has received multiple awards named for Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. for this work.

Dr. Evans has held faculty appointments at the Yale University School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, and the Drexel School of Public Health.

Dr. Evans holds a doctorate in clinical/community psychology from the University of Maryland and a master’s degree in experimental psychology from Florida Atlantic University, where he was inducted into the university’s Alumni Hall of Fame.



Arthur C. Evans Jr.

Dr. Ayman El-Mohandes, Dean of the City University of New York Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy (CUNY SPH), is a pediatrician and public health academic with a deep commitment to public service. He is an established researcher in the field of infant mortality reduction in minority populations. Dr. El-Mohandes’ funded research focuses on population-based interventions in underserved communities both locally and globally. His publication record includes innovative approaches towards improving perinatal and neonatal outcomes in high-risk populations.

Dr. El-Mohandes has been actively engaged in the response to Covid-19 here in New York City and around the world. Since the pandemic first struck in March 2020, his CUNY SPH team has been monitoring the experiences and perspectives of NYC residents through an ongoing tracking survey. He is also collaborating with an international consortium to assess and respond to Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy worldwide. His work in this domain has appeared in Nature Medicine, The Lancet, and the American Journal of Public Health.

Dr. El-Mohandes has served as a senior consultant on multiple global health services and public health interventions funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Asia Development Bank, and the Government of South Africa. These projects included the “Healthy Mother Healthy Child” program in Egypt to upgrade obstetric and neonatal services in the districts with the highest infant mortality, a “Health Services Program” in Indonesia, and establishing the first school of public health for black students in South Africa.

As of March 2021, Dr. El-Mohandes is the Chair-elect of the Association of Schools and Programs in Public Health Board of Directors (ASPPH). He is a member of the Board of Directors of Public Health Solutions and was recently appointed by Commissioner Dave A. Chokshi to serve on the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s Advisory Council. He is an elected member of the American Pediatric Society and a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

CUNY SPH has undergone dramatic transformation since Dr. El-Mohandes became Dean in 2013. Under his leadership it became an independent school within the CUNY system and received full re-accreditation in 2016. Six new institutes and centers have been launched—with an accompanying surge in research activity and funding—and an active working partnership with the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has been formed. The CUNY SPH instructional portfolio has expanded similarly, with a range of new certificate programs and master’s and doctoral degrees, many of which are available fully online.



Ayman El-Mohandes

Kafui Dzirasa completed a PhD in Neurobiology at Duke University. His research interests focus on understanding how changes in the brain produce neurological and mental illness, and his graduate work has led to several distinctions including: the Somjen Award for Most Outstanding Dissertation Thesis, the Ruth K. Broad Biomedical Research Fellowship, the UNCF·Merck Graduate Science Research Fellowship, and the Wakeman Fellowship. Kafui obtained an MD from the Duke University School of Medicine in 2009, and he completed residency training in General Psychiatry in 2016.

Kafui received the Charles Johnson Leadership Award in 2007, and he was recognized as one of Ebony magazine’s 30 Young Leaders of the Future in February 2008. He has also been awarded the International Mental Health Research Organization Rising Star Award, the Sydney Baer Prize for Schizophrenia Research, and his laboratory was featured on CBS 60 Minutes in 2011. In 2016, he was awarded the inaugural Duke Medical Alumni Emerging Leader Award and the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers: The Nation’s highest award for scientists and engineers in the early stages of their independent research careers. In 2017, he was recognized as 40 under 40 in Health by the National Minority Quality Forum, and the Engineering Alumni of the Year from UMBC. He was induced into the American Society for Clinical Investigation in 2019.

Kafui has served as an Associate Scientific Advisor for the journal Science Translational Medicine, a member of the Congressional-mandated Next Generation Research Initiative, the Editorial Advisory Board for TEDMED, and on the NIH Director’s guiding committee for the BRAIN Initiative. He currently serves on the NIH Director’s NExTRAC Advisory committee and Brain Initiative Multi-council working group.

Kafui is an Associate Professor at Duke University with appointments in the Departments of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Neurobiology, Biomedical Engineering, and Neurosurgery. His ultimate goal is to combine his research, medical training, and community experience to improve outcomes for diverse communities suffering from Neurological and Psychiatric illness.



Kafui Dzirasa

Mikael Dolsten focuses on advancing Pfizer’s scientific breakthrough leadership in small-molecule medicines, biotherapeutics, gene therapies and vaccines. He is a member of the Executive Leadership Team and the company’s Portfolio Strategy and Investment Committee, which governs major pipeline investments and strategic end-to-end R&D priorities.

Mikael leads the Worldwide Research, Development and Medical (WRDM) organization at Pfizer, which is responsible for the development of all compounds through proof of concept, and provides pharmaceutical sciences, safety and medical support to the entire R&D pipeline and all marketed medicines and vaccines. WRDM comprises all Pfizer research units, including Oncology, Internal Medicine, Inflammation & Immunology, Vaccines and Rare Disease, as well as the Centers for Therapeutic Innovation. The Vaccines R&D team leads scientific efforts from discovery through registration of novel vaccines. Mikael also has worldwide responsibility for Pfizer’s medical, safety and external R&D innovation, as well as science-based teams in pharmaceutical sciences, drug safety R&D, and large and small molecule discovery and development. Prior to joining Pfizer in 2009, Mikael was President of Wyeth Research, where he led scientists involved in all R&D/Medical activities across the US, Europe and Asia. Before that, Mikael served as Executive Vice President and Head of Worldwide Research for Boehringer Ingelheim from 2003-2008.

Mikael earned his Ph.D. in tumor immunology and M.D. from the University of Lund in Sweden, where he was Adjunct Professor in Tumor Immunology and was recently appointed Visiting Professor to advice on science and technology strategies. He serves on the PhRMA Research & Development Leadership Forum as well as on the PhRMA Foundation Board of Directors. He is a member of the board of Karyopharm Therapeutics and of Research! America. Additionally, Mikael is a member of the Board of Overseers for the Scripps Research Institute and a Foreign Member of The Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences. Since 2014, Mikael has co-chaired the Accelerating Medicine Partnership with National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Francis S. Collins.  Mikael advised the Obama Administration on regulatory and drug development issues as well as then Vice President Biden’s Cancer Moonshot Initiative to accelerate cancer research. Through 2019, Mikael was a council member of the Government-University-Industry Research Roundtable.

Mikael is a named inventor on several patents and has published approximately 150 articles in international journals, with contributions in molecular cell biology, immunology and oncology.



Mikael Dolsten

The Honorable Charlie Dent is Executive Director and Vice President of the Aspen Institute Congressional Program, where he leads bipartisan, bicameralpolicy education programs for sitting members of Congress. In addition to his role at the Aspen Institute, Congressman Dent is a Political Commentator for CNN, a Senior Policy Advisor to the global lawfirm, DLA Piper, a Distinguished Advisor for Pew Charitable Trusts, and a former Visiting Fellow for the University of Pennsylvania (UPENN), Perry World House.

Prior to those positions, Congressman Dent served 7 terms in the U.S. House of Representatives representing the 15th Congressional District of Pennsylvania. During his time in Congress, Congressman Dent distinguished himself as a strong, independent leader who is well respected on both sides of the aisle. CongressmanDent was a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee where he chaired the Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies. Additionally, he served as the Chairman of the House Committee on Ethics from 2015 – 2017. In addition to his role as a senior Appropriator, Congressman Dent was the co-chair of the Tuesday Group, a caucus of more than 50 center-right Republicans, where he played an important role in many of the most challenging policy and political issues confronted by Congress. Congressman Dent was a member of the Speaker of the House’s weekly cross section lunch and was a member of the Majority Leader’s Chairman’s Table.
Before his time in the U.S. House of Representatives, Congressman Dent served for 6 years in the Pennsylvania State Senate and 8 years in the Pennsylvania House ofRepresentatives.

Congressman Dent holds a Bachelor of Arts in Foreign Service and International Politics from the Pennsylvania State University and a Master’s of Public Administration from Lehigh University. He is a recipient of the Order of Merit from the Federal Republic of Germany. In 2015, Moravian College conferred the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws upon Congressman Dent.


Charlie Dent

Nancy Brown is Chief Executive Officer of the American Heart Association (AHA), a 97-year-old organization guided by an unwavering mission: To be a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives.

Under Nancy’s leadership as CEO since 2008, the AHA has become a global authority on cardiovascular and brain health as well as overall health and well-being. Forging powerful partnerships – together with 40 million volunteers, supporters and staff – Nancy champions equitable health for all and is committed to innovation at the intersection of science, technology and public health on behalf of patients everywhere.

Nancy is a leader with the World Economic Forum (WEF), where she serves as a member and immediate past co-chairman of the Health & Healthcare Governors Community; founding partner and global advisory board member for the WEF Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution; executive board member of the Global Coalition for Value in Healthcare; and member of the board of advisors for the Social Determinants of Health Platform.



Nancy Brown

Amy Comstock Rick, J.D., was most recently the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Food and Drug Law Institute (FDLI) having joined in August, 2014.  FDLI is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing an innovative, open, balanced exchange of ideas and viewpoints across the field of food and drug law.  FDLI’s mission is to provide topical and timely education, training, and publications, foster professional relationships, and to act as a liaison to inform public policy, law, and regulation.  Prior to joining FDLI, Ms. Rick was the Chief Executive Officer of the Parkinson’s Action Network (PAN) from 2003-2014.  PAN is a Washington D.C.-based national nonprofit focused on educating the public and government leaders on better policies for research and therapy development and an improved quality of life for people living with Parkinson’s disease.  Ms. Rick has also served as the President of the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research, on the NIH Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke’s Advisory Council, and on the Boards of Directors of the National Health Council and the American Brain Coalition. Before joining PAN, she was the Senate-confirmed Director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics from 2000-2003 and the Associate Counsel to the President in the White House Counsel’s Office from 1998-2000.  Ms. Rick began her federal service as a career attorney at the U.S. Department of Education in 1989 and became the Assistant General Counsel for Ethics in 1993.  Prior to her government service, Ms. Rick was an associate attorney at the law firm of Beveridge & Diamond.  She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Bard College and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Michigan.



Amy Comstock Rick

Chairman Bart Gordon joined K&L Gates as partner in the Washington, D.C. office after 26 years representing the state of Tennessee in the United States House of Representatives. He served as Chairman of the House Committee on Science and Technology from 2007 to 2010. He was also a senior member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and served on the House Committee on Financial Services and the House Committee on Rules, Transatlantic Parliamentary Dialogue, and NATO Parliamentary Assembly. During his distinguished congressional career, Chairman Gordon developed a reputation as the undisputed bipartisan leader in innovation policy in the U.S. Congress. In 2007, he championed the America COMPETES Act, signed into law by President Bush, which promotes federal investments in innovation in order to make the U.S. more competitive. In 2010, he engineered the passage of the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act. Signed by President Obama, the Act renewed the federal commitment to R&D and education. 

Chairman Gordon played a key role in developing and passing the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act, which encouraged the federal government to promote the transfer of nanotechnology breakthroughs from laboratories to commercial products. He also promoted legislation that would implement a research program focusing on the environmental, health, and safety aspects of nanotechnology.



Bart Gordon

Michelle Reddersen

Sheila Murphy

Victoria Schneider

Lisa Montgomery

Jasmine George

Savannah Sims

Joel Nepomuceno

Anne Mandeville

Emma McMullan

Mary Woolley is the president of Research!America, an alliance that advocates for science, discovery, and innovation to achieve better health for all. Under her leadership, Research!America has earned the attention and respect of elected and appointed officials, researchers in the public, private and academic sectors, media, and community leaders with its record of innovation in advocacy for research. Research!America’s reports and publications, Web sites, and constituent education initiatives have been honored by leading regional and international communications and advocacy organizations.

Woolley is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine) and served two terms on its Governing Council. She is a recipient of the Adam Yarmolinsky Medal for distinguished contributions to the mission of the Academy over a significant period. Woolley has served two terms on the National Academy of Sciences Board on Life Sciences, and currently serves on its Board for Higher Education and Workforce.  She is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She is a founding member of the Board of Associates of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research.  She is co-chair of the Science and Technology Action Committee. She has served as president of the Association of Independent Research Institutes (AIRI), on a number of academic boards and advisory councils, as a reviewer for the [National Institutes of Health](/org/national-institutes-of-health) and [National Science Foundation](/org/national-science-foundation), and as a consultant to several research organizations.

She has a 30-year editorial and publication history on science advocacy and research related topics. Her op-eds and letters to the editor are published in newspapers and magazines from coast to coast including [The New York Times](/org/new-york-times) and Washington Post. She has been published in Science, Nature, Issues in Science and Technology, The New England Journal of Medicine, The Journal of the American Medical Association, The Scientist, Women’s Health Magazine and others. She is a sought-after speaker and is frequently interviewed by science, news and policy journalists and has received recognition by PBS as an “Unsung Heroine.”

Woolley holds two honorary doctoral degrees, from the Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED) and [Wayne State University](/org/wayne-state-university). For her work on behalf of medical research, she has been honored as a Woman of Vision by the American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science and has received the American Hospital Association Silver Touchstone Award for Public Affairs Programming, the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons Dean's Award for Distinguished Service, the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Special Award for Science Advocacy, the Friends of the National Institute for Nursing Research Health Advocacy Award, the Awareness and Advocacy Award from the Clinical Research Forum, the Friends of the National Library of Medicine Paul G. Rogers Public Service Award, the National Advocacy Leadership Award from the Lupus Foundation of America, and the AcademyHealth Chair Award.

A native of Chicago, Woolley received a bachelor of science from Stanford University and a master of arts from San Francisco State University. In her early career, Woolley served as San Francisco project director for the then largest-ever NIH-funded clinical trial, the Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial (MRFIT). In 1981, she became administrator of the Medical Research Institute of San Francisco, and in 1986 was named the Institute's executive director and CEO. Woolley has served as president and CEO of Research!America since 1990.



Mary Woolley

Michael Coburn is Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. Throughout his more than 30 years serving the nonprofit sector, his focus on optimizing organizational performance through strong governance, sound financial management, innovative program development and passionate advocacy has blazed a track record of success with prominent mission-based organizations. He previously served as Chief Operating Officer of The Arc of the United States, President and CEO of the Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance, and in management and leadership roles with a number of national nonprofit organizations. Mike currently serves on the advisory Board of the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health, which aims to facilitate the medical community’s awareness-raising efforts of the impact of climate change on health.



CEO and Executive Team

About

Team members

Other teams at Research America

Board of Directors

Leadership Team

Discover similar companies