Beth Anne has more than 20 years of academic experience in molecular biology, neurobiology, cell biology, developmental biology, cancer biology, and signal transduction. Her research focused on the understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in DNA damage repair following treatment with radiation and chemo-therapeutic agents. Her work in DNA damage signaling has led to publications in major scientific journals, including Nature and Science. The National Institute of Health, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and the Beckman Laser Institute funded Beth Anne’s research initiatives.

While at the Salk Institute, her son, Nicholas Conor, was diagnosed in 2005 with high-risk neuroblastoma. Beth Anne and her husband, Michael N. Boddy (a Faculty member at The Scripps Research Institute), challenged the current treatment protocol for high-risk MYC-N non-amplified neuroblastoma patients by tailoring their son's therapy based on molecular markers versus relying on clinical pathology. As a result, Nicholas Conor has been cancer free for 5 years with no detectable long-term side effects. In 2007 following her son’s treatment, Beth Anne co-founded TNCI. While completing her MBA studies at the UCSD Rady School of Management, she developed an innovative business model, TACTiC^TM (The Acceleration of Cancer Treatments in Children), to move discoveries that would benefit children with cancer out of academia and into commercialization. TACTiC^TM has been featured in PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Personalized Medicine publications, the Burrill Report, California Health Institute’s Biomedical Industry 2010 Report, and FasterCures’ Partnering for Cures 2010 conference. Beth Anne is an inaugural member of the TNCI Board of Directors, served as VP of Operations from 2007 to 2009 and currently, the Institute’s CEO. Under her leadership, TNCI has formed collaborations with AltheaDx, CollabRx, GeneKey, Life Technologies, Gydle, Molecular Response, National Cancer Institute and CureSearch for Children’s Cancer.

Beth Anne received a DLA Piper-Athena Full Scholarship to attend the UCSD Rady School of Management where she earned her MBA (Business Development and Marketing) in 2009. Additionally, Beth holds a PhD (Macromolecular Cellular Structure and Chemistry) from The Scripps Research Institute - La Jolla Kellogg School of Science and Technology, a Masters in Microbiology and Immunology from University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, and a Bachelors of Science (Biology) from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

Martin has served in the life sciences industry for over twenty (20) years. Prior to TNCI, he was co-founder and Chief Executive Officer for U P Laboratories in San Diego for the production of proprietary patented synthetic peptides (Excitation Secretion Uncoupling Peptides – ESUP) as an alternative to botulinum neurotoxin (BoTox®) for topical anti-aging/wrinkle inhibition and hyperhidrosis. Earlier, he was Senior Vice President for Business Development at InSilicoMed, a start-up company providing bioengineering simulation tools for cardiology and ophthalmic therapy applications; Senior Vice President of Business Development for RegeneMed, a company creating three-dimensional (3D) liver tissue for drug discovery applications; Co-founder and Chief Business Officer/Co-founding member for Salvino-Flex LLC wherein he facilitated the research and development of a chest tube insertion device, eventually selling the company.

He also was Vice President of Development for Science and Engineering Associates for the research and commercialization of theranostics applications in cervical and ovarian cancer. Martin has further served as medical economist for Roche, Respironics, and Toshiba America plus was the co-founder/CEO of a counter-intelligence device which as showcased worldwide on BBC, NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox – receiving an 11-minute lead story, and then helped solve a crime in a 2004 episode of CSI Miami.

Martin’s education consists of a PhD in Public Policy from the University of California, Riverside, an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School, and a certificate in healthcare management from the University of California, San Diego.

Martin brings over 17 years of academic, commercial and technology development experience to The Nicholas Conor Institute. He is also a Professor at the Proteogenomics Research Institute for Systems medicine in San Diego, where his laboratory uses proteomics and genomics to discover novel biomarkers of cancer and degenerative disease though a systems biology approach that includes proteomics and genomics. His area of interest is in the personalization of therapies that take into consideration a patient’s unique physiology and genetic make-up when selecting a treatment. The ultimate hope of this approach is to reduce the toxicity of treatment while optimizing its efficacy.

The paradigm of personalized medicine promises to be applicable to the field of pediatric oncology. Martin’s role at TNCI is on discovering new technologies to enable the better treatment of children with cancer, matching their unique genetic make-up and tumor physiology to available treatment options. It is this approach that is central to the Mission of the Institute – discovering and applying new scientific approaches designed to effectively treat cancer while minimizing the toxicity of the treatments.

Martin previously served on the faculties of the University of Montreal, McGill University and the Salk Institute. He also held senior management position at several biotechnology companies, including the genome companies Illumina and Diversa. He has made significant contributions to the field of cell biology, clinical biomarker discovery, proteomics and genomics. Among his recent discoveries are biomarkers for cancer, respiratory disease and neurodegenerative disorders. Martin hopes that after rigorous clinical studies, some of these biomarkers can be utilized as future molecular diagnostic assays to enable personalized medicine. Martin’s grant-funded work has been recognized by the 2003 Tier I Canada Research Chair, the 1998 Pew Scholar Award and the 1997 Basil O'Connor Starter Scholar Award. He has edited one book on RNAi, is author on over 32 publications in leading scientific journals and is listed on numerous patent applications. He is Editor-in-Chief of the scientific journal Proteome Science. He was a postdoctoral fellow in molecular and cell biology in the laboratory of Dr. Randy Schekman at the HHMI and University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Latterich earned his Ph.D. in cell biology and a B.Sc. in biochemistry and molecular biology from Durham University, U.K.

Dr. Willert is a senior attending Physician in Hematology/Oncology at Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego/UC San Diego. She is active in both Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplant Clinic and Clinical Oncology Divisions. Her group performs sibling and unrelated bone marrow and cord blood transplants. Dr. Willert received her bachelor’s degree from UC San Diego and her medical degree from UC San Francisco. Dr. Willert then completed her residency in Pediatrics at Children’s Hospital Oakland.  From there she completed a fellowship in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital/Stanford University Medical Center. During her fellowship at Stanford, Dr. Willert worked with Dr. Roel Nusse (Developmental/Stem Cell Biology) and Dr. Patrick Brown (Microarray Analysis). Dr. Willert left her bench/basic science career in order to dedicate herself to the clinical care and management of pediatric hematology/oncology bone marrow transplant patients.

Dr. Willert is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and boarded in her subspecialty.  She is also an active member of numerous regional and national organizations that pertain to hematology and oncology, cancer research and women in medicine including the American Society of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology (ASPHO), American Society of Bone Marrow transplantation (ASBMT), Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplant Consortium (PBMTC), and the American Society of Hematology (ASH). Dr. Willert holds an academic appointment as Assistant Clinical Professor at UC San Diego and chairs both the solid tumor and neuro-oncology tumor boards at Rady Children’s Hospital.

Dr. Willert remains particularly interested in developmental/stem cell biology and the role of the inappropriate maintenance of a stem cell phenotype (highly proliferative, poorly differentiated) in pediatric tumorigenesis/leukemogenesis. Dr. Willert has published numerous journal articles, book chapters and has spoken nationally on these subjects. She also pursues her other special interests in pediatric solid tumors and leukemia.

Joe has 20 years of ever increasing entrepreneurial management experience primarily in the transportation, healthcare and high-tech hardware and software sectors where he led international multi-disciplinary teams for Virgin Atlantic Airways, LTD., CPlane Inc. and WideOrbit, Inc.   He was the Founder, President and CEO for Strombus Integration Consulting where he developed a brand and go to market strategy, and provided business development efforts that generated 75% of the consulting services offered in the healthcare and high-tech sectors.  He has managed programs for SAIC, Sutter Healthcare, Kaiser Permanente, Sun Microsystems, Digex, Inc. (now Verizon), Silicon Energy, and many others.  Joseph has also held positions for multi-national organizations as the Director of Product Management and Quality Management for CPlane, Inc. and WideOrbit, Inc, where he managed geographically dispersed teams in various countries.

Joe attended the University of California, San Diego Rady School of Management where he met Beth Anne Baber (TNCI Co-founder).  After achieving his MBA in 2009, Joe engaged with Beth in a business and marketing strategy role and quickly took on the finance and technology leadership roles generating and supporting a sustainable business model to meet the collaborative mission of this non-profit 501(c)3 Institute. In addition to his MBA from UCSD with concentrations in marketing and finance, he also holds a certificate in accounting and has led the implementation of finance and accounting systems in a wide variety of industries. Joe is a well-rounded visionary and practitioner with a passion for strategic planning and support of results-based development programs for non-profit organizations.  He was instrumental in chairing a “Donate Time at Work” program at Strombus Integration Consulting, where employees signed up to assist the “Meals on Wheels” program in San Francisco and Oakland and was a featured speaker on National Public Radio in 2000.

Tom is the Managing Shareholder & CEO of Optima Law Group and has more than 22 years experience in biotechnology, biomedical and technology law and business.  He founded Optima Law Group to provide intellectual property, corporate, securities, transactional, litigation, tax and regulatory legal counsel to companies and not-for-profit institutions seeking collaborative, personalized service. 

Tom is Counsel to or a Board Member for several for profit and not-for-profit organizations, including The Nicholas Conor Institute and The California Center for Sustainable Energy.  Prior to Optima, Tom served as Vice President and General Counsel at the Salk Institute, General Counsel of Molecular Biosystems, Associate General Counsel for Ligand Pharmaceuticals, Intellectual Property Counsel for 3M Corporation and was an Associate with the firm of Merchant & Gould in Minneapolis.  With a unique ability to place scientific issues into a business context, Tom is often called on to provide guidance related to business development, transactional and corporate partnering matters in addition to legal strategy and implementation. 

Tom obtained his J.D. from the University of Oregon, his M.S. from Iowa State University and B.S. in Biology and Chemistry, from the University of Wisconsin.

Fede has worked for 13 years in the semiconductors industry serving in different capacities from design, project management and product management. He has gained a deep understanding of the challenges of a mature industry with a consolidated place in the value chain. Over time he has developed a sense for what it takes to accomplish higher goals, and by force of nature, he likes to challenge assumptions. In his last capacity as product manager he has focused on leveraging IP portfolios to address the market place with novel solutions in the microelectronics arena. He is a natural “connector” and has an inclination for business development, which is instrumental for defining the partnerships necessary to develop complex projects. He has worked to serve and increase the business of companies such as Nokia Mobile Phones, Calearo Antenne, Amplifon, Siemens, and Western Digital.

Fede is motivated to investigate the market to start the process that will eventually generate a product roadmap and a long-term product strategy. His interest goes beyond the mere front end of the marketing process, as he also likes to sell “ideas” to  stakeholders and to find the compelling visual that can show how the value is generated and delivered to the customers.

Fede received his MBA from the UCSD Rady School of Management with a specialization in marketing. His focus was on innovation and introduction of new products and services.

Until his retirement, Holt practiced oral, implant, periodontal, and endodontic surgery, as well as oral oncology, fixed and removable prosthodontal placement, cosmetic and functional reconstruction, and community dentistry. During the period of his practice he was a contributing member of Doctors Without Borders, and traveled throughout Central America to give much needed treatment to children and adults in need.  As a result of the availability of Ryan White Funds in the early 1990’s, he developed the model for in office treatment of patients with HIV-AIDS in the Coachella Valley to assist the Desert AIDS Project; this model later became the standard for treatment of these patients nationwide.  Until his retirement, Holt maintained practices in Beverly Hills and Palm Desert, California and was on staff at five hospitals in Los Angeles and Riverside Counties.

Holt is a well-rounded and passionate advocate of community and healthcare integration and services to those in need; a supporter of programs designed to help the most vulnerable amongst us, the very young and the very old.  In his role as Volunteer Coordinator for The Nicholas Conor Institute, he developed the guidelines for volunteer service, and is responsible for the recruitment and placement of volunteers. He is also a volunteer at Sharp Grossmont Hospital, San Diego, where he is a founding member of their Eleventh Hour Program; being a comforting and/or spiritual presence in assisting patients who are without family or friends in their final hours. The development and implementation of this program has allowed him an outlet for his passion of being involved with and aiding those in need.

Holt attended California State University Fullerton and the University of California Irvine as a pre-medical/pre-dental Bioscience major, and a dual major in Architecture.  He holds a Doctor of Dental Surgery Degree from the University of Southern California School of Dentistry and continued his training in oral surgery at the Keck School of Medicine, the Los Angeles County - University of Southern California Medical Center, and at the University of Michigan Medical Center.

THE NICHOLAS CONOR INSTITUTE
3525 Del Mar Heights Road, #946 • San Diego, California 92130
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