Pioneering Science Research: Our New CSO

By Matt Wilsey

It’s been a whirlwind 12 months for the Foundation. Thanks to the generosity of our friends and supporters, we’ve accomplished a staggering amount in a short period of time. And it’s because of your support and encouragement that I’m able to make another exciting announcement today. Our Foundation has hired a Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) to further our quest to cure NGLY1. We are incredibly excited to introduce all of you to our CSO, Dr. Kevin Lee.

Photo caption: Kevin meeting Grace for the 1st time. She wasn't interested in talking science today. Instead, she was focused on DJ'ing some of her favorite songs for Kevin.

Previously, Dr. Lee served as Executive Director of the Lawrence Ellison Foundation (formerly the Ellison Medical Foundation), a philanthropic organization supporting biomedical research on the fundamental mechanisms of aging, age-related diseases, and neuroscience. The Foundation was established by Larry Ellison, the Executive Chairman and founding CEO of Oracle.

Dr. Lee is a graduate of the University of Michigan and received his Ph.D. in biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His career spans over 25 years of research experience in molecular genetics and neurobiology in biotechnology, academic research and not-for-profit settings. He served previously as Deputy Executive Director of the Ellison Medical Foundation from 2007-2012. Prior to joining the Ellison Medical Foundation, Dr. Lee was Executive Vice President-Research of Sentigen Biosciences. He was responsible for the start-up and development of the New York City-based biotechnology company, leading to its acquisition by Invitrogen Corporation in 2006. He has served as a member of the Scientific Review Board for the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative in New York. Dr. Lee’s scientific research career utilized genetic approaches to learn how neurons in the brain are “wired up” during development to make functional circuits that relay sensory information and control behavior. He worked with Dr. Thomas Jessell in the Center for Neurobiology and Behavior at Columbia University, where he studied the specification, axonal projection, and functional connectivity of nerve cells in the spinal cord. He is the recipient of biotechnology patents & is the author of numerous research publications.

We are thrilled Kevin will be leading all of our scientific endeavors moving forward. This is a major leap forward for our community. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. Many more exciting things are happening in 2016. Please stay tuned! We hope you continue to follow us on the journey to cure NGLY1.