Lecia Brown, Ph.D.
Originally from Jamaica, Board member Dr. Lecia Brown immigrated to the U.S. when she was nine years old. Excelling in STEM education, Lecia later worked at the National Institutes of Allergies and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), the University of Louisville, SickKids Hospital in Toronto, GlaxoSmithKline Vaccines and as a part of the Future Leaders Program in Vaccines Research and Development . Today, she works at Moderna as Senior Manager of Clinical Trial Diversity. Her doctoral research focused on HIV associated neurocognitive disorders taking her to Kenya and Malawi in Sub-Saharan Africa. She was named a McKnight Doctoral Fellow to pursue her research in Kenya. Although passionate about research, she started a non-profit LAMB Foundation, the umbrella organization of all her philanthropic programs focusing on areas of health, athletics and education/scholarship. Lecia is also a board member of Bridge Kids International, a global organization that helps young people of Africa and the African Diaspora utilize their socially entrepreneurial spirit to increase economic development, education, environmental, girls’ rights, and health challenges to build sustainable communities.
The Honorable James Greenwood
Member of the Board, the Honorable James C. Greenwood is Senior Policy Advisor and Chair of DLA Piper’s newly created Life Sciences, Health, Policy and Regulatory subgroup. From 2005 to 2020, he served as President and CEO of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) in Washington, D.C., the largest biotechnology industry trade association globally. Prior to that Jim served in the U.S. House of Representatives (R-PA) and Pennsylvania State Senate. During his time in Congress, he was a senior member of the Energy and Commerce Committee and widely viewed as a leader on healthcare and the environment. He crafted legislation to reform the Food and Drug Administration, to create the pediatric exclusivity and pediatric autism research acts and he led the fight in Congress to allow stem cell research to be conducted by US scientists to treat disease. Jim is longstanding advocate for STEM education and the role that biotechnology does and will continue to play in bringing solutions to some of the most pressing global issues in health, sustainability and the environment.
Heidi Jarvis, M.Ed.
Board member Heidi Jarvis brings more than 25 years of executive leadership experience in business development, public and private partnerships, economic development, and government and industry relations. Her leadership has advanced academia, industry, and non-profit organizations. Heidi’s experience includes Vice President for Business Development at the Idaho Technology Council, Director for Advancement for Strategic University Initiatives, Arts, and Letters at Idaho State University and adjunct faculty, Director/Corporate and External Relations at Washington State University. Heidi is currently CEO, Texas Partners for Philanthropy, U. Texas San Antonio. She additionally serves as an adjudicator for the Institute’s BioGENEius International Challenge and BioGENEius Women Innovators Mentor.
Lawrence Mahan, Ph.D.
President (pro bono) of the Biotechnology Institute and member of the Board, Lawrence Mahan, Ph.D. specialties include technology evaluation, entrepreneur guidance and business strategy creation with a domestic and international track record in business alliance development. His expertise draws upon more than 20 years as an accomplished senior scientist in biomedical research spanning the University of California, San Diego and later, the National Institutes of Health. His research has encompassed cellular and molecular biology, pharmacology, functional genomics, proteomics, and genetic engineering in the fields of neuroscience and immunology with additional experience in biomedical device engineering principals and bioinformatics. He has more than 100 published articles and abstracts and holds four US. patents with others pending and has been an invited speaker globally on his scientific research and industry development in the biosciences. Larry currently serves as CEO of OB Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a late preclinical stage company developing novel therapeutics for brain injury related seizures.