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NMDP Board of Directors

Officers:

Robert D. Lorentz, Ph.D., Chair
Edward L. Snyder, M.D., Chair-elect
Naynesh R. Kamani, M.D., Vice Chair
Jacquelyn Fredrick, Secretary

Members:

Robert D. Lorentz, Ph.D., Chair

Robert D. Lorentz's son Robert received an unrelated donor transplant through the NMDP in March 1997 for myelodysplastic syndrome and acute myelogenous leukemia. Lorentz is the laboratory manager for systems integration in the Software, Electronics and Mechanical Systems Corporate Research Lab at 3M in Minnesota. Lorentz previously chaired the Strategic Planning, Nominating and Compensation committees. He received his Bachelor of Arts in physics from Cornell University and his Master of Science and Ph.D. in applied physics from Stanford University.

Edward L. Snyder, M.D., Chair-elect

Dr. Edward L. Snyder is the director of the Blood Bank/Apheresis Service at the Yale-New Haven Hospital in New Haven, Conn., and a professor of laboratory medicine at Yale University Medical School. He joined the NMDP board of directors in January 1999 and is a past chair of the NMDP's Strategic Planning and Nominating committees. He is also a past chair of the AABB, formerly known as the American Association of Blood Banks. Snyder is on the editorial board of Transfusion and Blood journals and has published more than 225 articles in the field of transfusion medicine. Snyder graduated from New York Medical College.

Naynesh R. Kamani, M.D., Vice Chair

Dr. Naynesh R. Kamani is a professor of pediatrics and microbiology, immunology, and tropical medicine at George Washington University and in the Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation/Immunology at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. At the latter institution, he also serves as chair of the institutional review board. Kamani has been actively involved with the NMDP for more than fifteen years as both a transplant center and collection center director. He has previously served as chair of the Research Advisory and International Affairs committees and as a vice chair of the Histocompatibility committee. In addition to serving on a number of national committees dealing with issues related to the field of pediatric hematopoietic cell transplantation, Kamani has an extensive list of publications. His interests include the study of marrow and blood cell transplantation for immunodeficiencies and other non-malignant pediatric diseases and immune reconstitution following transplantation.

Jacquelyn Fredrick, Secretary

Jacquelyn Fredrick is president and chief executive officer at the BloodCenter of Wisconsin. Previously she was executive vice president of Biomedical Services at the American Red Cross. Fredrick is a member of the AABB (formerly known as the American Association of Blood Banks) and the American Society of Hematology. In addition, she sits on the boards of numerous organizations. Her blood center is an NMDP donor center and apheresis center, provides all transplantation testing for the community and is involved in biomedical research related to transplantation. Fredrick serves as chair of the NMDP Finance Committee. She received her degree in medical technology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and her MBA in the executive program at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Daniel D. Arndt

Daniel D. Arndt is a past chair of the NMDP Audit Committee. Under his leadership, NMDP staff and the committee compiled and completed necessary audits, created and implemented an Audit Committee Charter, created the Whistleblower Policy, and have begun a reporting process to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. As staff vice president and General Auditor at 3M for more than a decade, Arndt was directly involved in addressing changes to comply with corporate governance requirements throughout the world. He also participated in initiatives that helped 3M be successful in the ever-changing competitive and regulatory environments. He has served on various boards, including the Institute of Internal Auditors, Twin Cities Chapter; Greater Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce; and International School of Brussels, Belgium. Arndt received a Bachelor of Science in business administration from Northwestern University and earned his Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago.

Laurence D. Atlas, Esquire

Laurence D. Atlas is a past chair of NMDP's board of directors. In 1989, Atlas founded Friends of Allison, which aims to recruit and screen potential bone marrow donors, to make marrow transplants more readily available to the general public and to promote basic and applied research in this field. Atlas is executive vice president of Government Relations at Loral Skynet and is a past chair of the Satellite Industry Association. Atlas joined the NMDP's board of directors in 1994, and has served on the NMDP's Executive, Strategic Planning, Finance and Public Policy committees. He earned a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School and a bachelor's degree from The Johns Hopkins University.

Theresa M. Boyd, M.D.

Dr. Theresa M. Boyd is a transfusion medicine specialist and the chief medical officer at the American Red Cross, Carolinas Blood Services Region. She has also served as regional medical director for the NMDP. Articles and abstracts of her research have been published in a variety of journals and at meetings and have received several awards. Boyd was also a reviewer for a professional journal and has moderated and spoken at professional meetings as well as during radio programs for the general public. Having lost a loved one to leukemia, she has a personal interest and commitment in minority recruitment and donation for blood products, tissue and bone marrow. Boyd received her Bachelor of Arts from Sarah Lawrence College and earned her Doctor of Medicine from Howard University College of Medicine.

Arthur W. Bracey, M.D.

Dr. Arthur W. Bracey is associate chief of pathology at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital in Houston, Texas. He has written numerous articles and is a member of several professional societies. Bracey also has an extensive list of committee appointments from the Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center, College of American Pathologists, and the American Association of Blood Banks. He received his degree in biochemistry from the University of Pennsylvania and his medical degree from Georgetown University.

Airam da Silva, MPH

Airam da Silva is an NMDP board member and executive vice president at the Icla da Silva Foundation in New York. The Icla Da Silva Foundation was established in 1992 by Airam’s family in memory of their loved one, Icla, who died of leukemia in 1991. At the foundation, da Silva develops strategies and implements programs designed to educate, recruit and retain potential NMDP donors. In addition, he provides logistical and emotional support to patients in need of a bone marrow transplant and their families. Da Silva received a Master of Public Health from New York Medical College.

Stella M. Davies, M.B.B.S., Ph.D.

Dr. Stella M. Davies is director of the Blood and Marrow Transplant Program at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. She has also served as a member of several committees of the Children's Oncology Group. Davies' research interests focus on the causes of cancer in children and non-HLA polymorphism. Davies has contributed to a number of workshops at the NMDP Council meeting and to teaching sessions at the NMDP Coordinating Center. Davies is co-chair of the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR) Pediatric Cancer Working Committee. She has served as a member of the NMDP's International Affairs and Histocompatibility committees and is a past chair of the Research and Publications Committee.

Andrea Feldmar, L.C.P.C.

Andrea Feldmar has personal and professional interest in the National Marrow Donor Program. After her young daughter's successful experience with an allogeneic bone marrow transplant, Feldmar turned her attention toward crisis counseling with the Leukemia Research Foundation (LRF) in Evanston, Ill., for nine years. Her experiences led Feldmar to recognize the lack of specific crisis counseling available to families. She has been an effective counselor, as well as a successful fund-raiser. Feldmar currently serves on the Consumer Advocacy Committee of the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR). In 2007, she coordinated the first Survivor Symposium for the Bone Marrow and Transplant Information Network (BMT InfoNet), which was attended by more than 300 people. Feldmar is a member of the NMDP's Strategic Planning and Patient Services committees.

David B. Frohnmayer, Esquire, Emeritus

David B. Frohnmayer is president of the University of Oregon in Eugene, and one of the founding directors of the NMDP board. He and his wife, Lynn, are founders of the Fanconi Anemia Research Fund Inc. and have received two national awards for Fanconi anemia advocacy -- Research! America's 1999 Advocacy Award and the 2000 Americans for Medical Progress Educational Foundation's Albert B. Sabin Heroes of Science Award. The Frohnmayer's eldest daughter, Kirsten, received an unrelated donor transplant through the NMDP in 1995. Frohnmayer was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2002. Frohnmayer graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College, attended Oxford University on a Rhodes scholarship and earned a Juris Doctor from the University of California at Berkeley. He also received an honorary doctorate of law from Willamette University and an honorary doctorate of public service from the University of Oregon at Portland.

Sergio A. Giralt, M.D.

Dr. Sergio A. Giralt is deputy chair of the Department of Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy of the University of Texas, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, where he is also a professor of medicine. Dr. Giralt currently serves as the chair of the Executive Committee of the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR). The work of Giralt and his colleagues have been instrumental in developing non-myeloablative transplantation, resulting in bone marrow transplants now being available to a much broader group of patients. He has expertise in international collaboration on clinical and research issues and is chair of the Toxicity Committee for the Bone Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network (BMT CTN), which is responsible for developing guidelines for diagnosing and monitoring transplant-related complications. Along with a variety of honors and awards in hematology and oncology and more than 50 articles in peer-reviewed journals, Giralt brings an in-depth understanding of the many issues faced by patients, their families and their health care providers. He earned his Doctor of Medicine from Universidad Central de Venezuela. His postgraduate research and medical training was done at Harvard Medical, Good Samaritan Hospital, and M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

Gregory Hale, M.D.

Dr. Gregory Hale, president-elect of the NMDP Council, is a transplant physician who has served at both a transplant center and collection center. He is the clinical director and quality management officer for the transplant program at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Working directly with transplant patients, their families and donors has provided Hale with a thorough understanding of the clinical, financial, social and administrative issues that are part of hematopoietic cell transplantation. His clinical research is aimed at improving outcomes by investigating novel methods of graft-enhancement that also reduce transplant-related complications. Hale received his Doctor of Medicine from Marshall University and completed his pediatric residency at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.

Russell J. Hammer

Russell “Rusty” J. Hammer received an unrelated transplant through the NMDP in 2003 and is in remission from acute myelogenous leukemia. Under Hammer’s guidance as president and chief executive officer, the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce has increased membership yearly, increased its budget and re-established itself as the premier business organization in Southern California. Hammer is committed to helping increase donors for the NMDP Registry. He has helped conduct four donor drives, resulting in approximately 1,000 potential donors for the NMDP. For more than 35 years Hammer has served as a governing board member of many local, state, and national charitable organizations. He received a Bachelor of Science in political science from the University of Santa Clara and Master of Arts in public administration from San José State University.

John A. Hansen, M.D., Emeritus

Dr. John A. Hansen is one of the founders of the NMDP and an internationally known expert on genetics and the immunobiology of transplantation. He performed the first successful HLA-matched unrelated donor bone marrow transplant for a patient with acute leukemia in 1979. Hansen is a former chair of the NMDP's board of directors as well as a past president of the American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics. He is currently a member of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and professor of medicine, Division of Oncology, University of Washington School of Medicine. Hansen received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Minnesota and his Doctor of Medicine from Stanford University. He did postgraduate medical and research training at the University of Minnesota and the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Center, New York.

Robert Howard

Robert Howard is the father of Nicole Howard, who was four years old when she was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia in May 2001. The Howards soon learned that their son was not a match for Nicole. When a search of the NMDP Registry was not successful, the Howard family began recruiting people to the NMDP Registry. Nicole is currently in remission on a drug called Gleevec^TM. Howard joined the NMDP's board of directors in 2003. He can be contacted by e-mail at rob.howard@seattle.gov.

Dave Huddleston

Dave Huddleston is a journalist, a television anchor and a marrow donor. To raise awareness of the need for more donors, Huddleston allowed his donation process to be documented. The video of his marrow donation is used locally and nationally and Huddleston continues to speak to various community groups about the need for people of color to join the NMDP Registry. Huddleston graduated from Washington State University with a degree in journalism.

Nancy A. Kernan, M.D., Emeritus

Dr. Nancy A. Kernan is a past chair of the NMDP's board of directors. Kernan is assistant chief of the Bone Marrow Transplant Service and director of the Unrelated Donor Program at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, an NMDP transplant center. She also serves as associate attending pediatrician at New York Hospital, associate professor of pediatrics at Cornell University and attending pediatrician at Memorial Hospital. Kernan was responsible for the retrospective review of the first 462 patients to receive marrow from an unrelated donor facilitated through the NMDP. Kernan received her Doctor of Medicine from Cornell University Medical College in New York.

Rebecca A. Lewis, Esquire

Rebecca A. Lewis received an unrelated donor transplant through the NMDP in 1997. She serves on the NMDP's Executive Committee, is chair of the Board Development and Compensation committees and is a past chair and member of the Patient Services Committee. Lewis is chief bar counsel for the Wyoming State Bar Association and a former adjunct professor of law at the University of Wyoming College of Law. Lewis has served on a number of boards, including the boards of the Ivinson Memorial Hospital Foundation and the Wyoming State Bar Foundation. Lewis earned a Bachelor of Arts from Stanford University and a Juris Doctor from Duke University.

Mary Faith Marshall, Ph.D.

Mary Faith Marshall is associate dean for Social Medicine and Medical Humanities and professor of Family Medicine and Community Health at the University of Minnesota Medical School. Marshall is a professor in the Center for Bioethics and director of the Center for Medical Humanities in the Academic Health Center. She serves as a tri-chairman of the University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview Ethics Committee and director of the Ethics Consultation Service. Marshall is a past president of the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities and the American Association for Bioethics. She is an elected fellow of the American College of Critical Care Medicine and a former fellow of the Kennedy Institute of Ethics. At the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, she served as chair of the National Human Research Protections Advisory Committee and continues to serve as a special expert consultant to the secretary on research involving children and prisoners. She has published numerous reports, book chapters, and articles in the fields of clinical, research and neuroethics, and is co-author of the first and second editions of the textbook Introduction to Clinical Ethics. Marshall joined the NMDP's board of directors in 2003.

Rebecca McCullough

As director of the Marrow Program at Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center in Houston, Texas, McCullough oversees the education and recruitment of donors, with a primary focus on minority donors. McCullough developed the Gulf Coast Marrow Donor Program in 1991, and her efforts include expanding an initial $220K grant to a program supported by ten full-time staff. She also presides over a community-based volunteer executive advisory board, volunteer committees, and fund raising as well as conducts public and individual presentations. McCullough served previously on the NMDP Donor Recruitment and Minority Affairs committees and as an NMDP Council officer. McCullough received her bachelor's degree from Texas A&M University.

Adam C. McFadden

Adam C. McFadden is a city council member in Rochester, N.Y., and a donor. McFadden’s passion to recruit more donors was reinforced after meeting his recipient. McFadden has become a spokesman in his community and his personal donation was attributed to a very successful drive for African American donors. McFadden has extensive experience in business, accounting and fund raising. He received a Bachelor of Science from Claflin University.

Edgar L. Milford, M.D.

Dr. Edgar L. Milford is a past chair of NMDP's board of directors. Milford is a transplantation nephrologist and immunogeneticist and the director of the Tissue Typing Laboratory at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Mass. He is also associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. His major research interest is the study of how genetic and geographic variability influences access to both solid organ and blood cell transplantation. The goal of his research is to better understand the biological implication of race and ethnicity, particularly as it relates to transplantation access and outcome. Milford is a former president of the American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics and previous member of the Health and Human Services (HHS) Advisory Committee on Organ Transplantation. He has served as chair of the NMDP Strategic Planning Committee and as a member of the Histocompatibility Committee for nine years. Milford received a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University and earned his Doctor of Medicine from Harvard Medical School.

Esperanza B. Papadopoulos, M.D.

Dr. Esperanza B. Papadopoulos is an associate attending physician on the Allogeneic Bone Marrow Transplantation Service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. Papadopoulos' clinical and research work focuses on improving the effectiveness and safety of allogeneic transplants for patients with hematologic malignancies, with particular emphasis on the management of post-transplant complications. Papadopoulos has served as a member and chair of the NMDP Membership and Process Improvement Committee and the Donor and Patient Safety Monitoring Committee, as well as a member of the Standards Committee. She received her medical degree from the New York University School of Medicine.

Stelios Papadopoulos, Ph.D.

Stelios Papadopoulos is co-founder and chairman of the board of directors of Exelixis, Inc., a biotechnology company that discovers and develops new treatments for cancer and metabolic diseases. He is also co-founder and a board member of Anadys Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Cellzome, Inc., vice chair of the board of directors for BG Medicine, Inc. and a board member of Neuronyx, Inc. He is also a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of Symphony Capital, LLC. While forming new companies, Papadopoulos also spent more than two decades on Wall Street as a biotechnology analyst and an investment banker. As an investment banker, he was the advisor of record in numerous mergers and acquisitions and assisted biotechnology companies in raising several billion dollars for research and development. Papadopoulos is a member of the Board of Visitors of Duke University Medical Center. He is also co-founder and chairman of Fondation Santé, a foundation that provides scholarships to students from Greece and assists young scientists from Greece and other Balkan countries to secure traineeships in biotechnology companies in the U.S. and Europe. Papadopoulos is an adjunct associate professor of cell biology at New York University Medical Center. He earned a Master of Science in physics, a Ph.D. in biophysics and a Master of Business Administration in finance, all from New York University.

Herbert A. Perkins, M.D., Emeritus

Dr. Herbert A. Perkins, one of the NMDP's founders, served as the NMDP's first treasurer and is a past board chair. He is currently the senior medical scientist of the Blood Centers of the Pacific in San Francisco and a clinical professor of medicine at the University of California at San Francisco. Perkins is a past president of the American Society of Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics and a former member of the board of directors of the American Association of Blood Banks (which is now named the AABB). He has published more than 200 articles on blood coagulation, human leukocyte antigen typing, transfusion-associated AIDS and transplantation.

Frank E. Petersen Jr., Lt. Gen. USMC (retired), Emeritus

Lt. Gen. Frank E. Petersen Jr. has been involved with the NMDP's board of directors since 1989. He was introduced to the NMDP and its cause by his longtime friend, Admiral E.R. Zumwalt Jr. of the U.S. Navy, a founder of The Marrow Foundation. Petersen is the former vice president of Corporate Aviation, E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company in Wilmington, Del. Petersen was the commanding general of the Marine Development Education Command in Quantico, Va. Petersen holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in international affairs from George Washington University. He is a graduate of the National War College and holds an honorary Juris Doctor degree from Virginia Union University in Richmond.

Thomas H. Price, M.D.

Dr. Thomas H. Price is executive vice president and medical director for Puget Sound Blood Center and professor of medicine at the University of Washington, both located in Seattle. An active and dedicated NMDP volunteer, Price has served on a number of task forces and as the medical director of the Puget Sound Blood Center, an NMDP donor center, since 1990. He is a past chair of the Nominating, Membership and Process Improvement, and Donor and Patient Safety Monitoring committees and has served as a member of the Standards Committee. Price received his Bachelor of Science in chemistry from the University of Michigan and his Doctor of Medicine from The Johns Hopkins University.

Susan L. Rossmann, M.D., Ph.D.

Dr. Susan L. Rossmann is president of the NMDP Council, representing donor centers. She is the chief medical officer of the Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center in Houston, Texas; an adjunct associate professor at Baylor College of Medicine; and on the pathology staff at The Methodist Hospital in Houston. Rossmann serves as chair of the Scientific, Medical and Technical Committee of America's Blood Centers. She is a member of the Donor History Questionnaire Task Force and several ad hoc committees of the AABB, an international association of blood banks. Rossmann is also a delegate from the Harris County Medical Society to the Texas Medical Association (TMA) and a member of the Blood and Tissue Usage Committee of the TMA. Rossmann received her Bachelor of Arts from Mount Holyoke College, her Ph.D. in biological anthropology from the University of Michigan and Doctor of Medicine from Baylor College of Medicine.

Randal K. Wada, M.D.

Dr. Randal K. Wada is associate professor at both the Cancer Research Center and the John A. Burns School of Medicine at the University of Hawaii. He was an advisor to the NMDP's Continuous Process Improvement and Minority Affairs committees. Wada's laboratory research interest is in oncogene regulation and differentiation therapy of neuroblastoma, a common childhood tumor. He is the director of the Pediatric Stem Cell Transplant Program at Kapi'olani Medical Center. In addition to his research, clinical and teaching activities, he serves as the medical director for the Hawaii Bone Marrow Donor Registry and the Hawaii Cord Blood Bank. Wada received Bachelor of Arts and Master of Science degrees from Northwestern University, and earned his Doctor of Medicine from Emory University. He completed his postgraduate training in pediatrics at Children's Hospital of Los Angeles, with sub-specialty training in cancer immunology and hematology/oncology at UCLA.

John P. Whiteley

John P. Whiteley's involvement with the NMDP began in March 2000 when he was diagnosed with chronic myelomonocytic leukemia, myelodysplastic syndrome and acute myelogenous leukemia, which are now in remission. Whiteley is a retired police lieutenant from the City of Orange Police Department in Southern California. He teaches criminal law and sergeants' school at the Golden West College Criminal Justice Training Center. Since May 2000, he has been actively involved with Officers Give Hope (OGH), an organization dedicated to hosting marrow drives throughout the law enforcement community in California. He has helped OGH conduct numerous drives that have added more than 10,000 potential donors to the NMDP Registry. Whiteley earned Bachelor of Arts degrees in history and political science, and a Master of Arts in political science from Long Beach State University. Whiteley joined the NMDP board of directors in 2004 and has been a member of the Strategic Planning and Audit committees.

John R. Wingard, M.D.

Dr. John R. Wingard is the Price Eminent Scholar and professor of medicine and pediatrics at the University of Florida. He is director of the Bone Marrow Transplant Program at the University of Florida, deputy director of the University of Florida Shands Cancer Center and medical director for the LifeCord Cord Blood Program in Florida. His transplantation research includes authoring three books, 38 book chapters and nearly 300 articles in professional journals. He is on the editorial board of three journals and is the editor of the periodical: Blood and Marrow Transplant Reviews. As a seasoned leader with extensive knowledge in blood and marrow transplantation, Wingard is a member and chair of several national committees. For more than a decade he has been a National Institute of Health reviewer for ad hoc site visits and has been a consultant for the Social Security Administration, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Defense. Wingard earned his Bachelor of Arts at Yale University and his Doctor of Medicine from The Johns Hopkins University.