BREAST IMPLANT - Key Persons

Alan Mendelson was elected to the Board of Directors of the National Research Center for Women & Families in June 2006. He is a venture capitalist in Hartford, Conn., where he is the founder and managing general partner of Axiom Venture Partners. Axiom has over $200 million under management and invests in both information technology and the life sciences. Mendelson heads the life science practice. Prior to founding Axiom, Mendelson served as vice president for Aetna Life and Casualty for about 25 years. In this capacity, he oversaw many projects including Aetna's $135 million venture program, which generated over $300 million of profits. He also helped to create MBIA, the country's largest municipal bond insurance company and he worked directly on over three billion dollars of corporate loans. Mendelson successfully worked with the chief information officer to formulate strategy and policy regarding Aetna's $27.5 billion commercial mortgage loan portfolio. During this time, he also initiated and served as president and CEO of Aetna, Jacobs, and Ramo, a venture capital deal sharing arrangement. He has dedicated more than two decades of his career to technology policy and development in Connecticut. As the finance committee vice chairman of the State's first High Technology Task Force in 1984, Mendelson created Connecticut Seed Ventures and two Centers of Excellence. He has served on the Advisory Board of Connecticut Innovations since 1989, and is currently a board member of the Connecticut Technology Council. In his industry roles for the State, he has received the Distinguished Service Award from Connecticut Innovations and the Leadership Award from the Connecticut Venture Group, of which he was a past president. Mendelson currently serves on the Board of the MIT Enterprise Forum and the Advisory Council of Claremont College's Keck Graduate Institute, which offers a master's degree in Bioscience. He also is treasurer and a Board of Trustee member of the Jewish Community Foundation, a director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford, and chairman of the Board of Trinity College Hillel.?? Mendelson graduated Phi Beta Kappa, with a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Trinity College. He received, with honors, his LLD degree from the University of Connecticut.

Job Titles:

• Director
• Medical Director of the Health Access Program

Benjamin Gitterman, MD is Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Public Health at George Washington University and Children's National Medical Center in Washington D.C. His major activities have included Child Health and Advocacy, with a focus on issues in the Health Promotion of underserved and disadvantaged children, Children's Environmental Health and Community Health focused training and program development. He recently completed a term as Chair of the Executive Committee of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Council on Community Pediatrics. He is the Past-President of the District of Columbia Chapter of the AAP and currently a member of the Academy's Workgroup on Child Poverty and is one of the lead authors of the 2016 AAP Policy Statement on Childhood Poverty. Dr. Gitterman has been the director of fellowship training in Community Oriented Primary Care/General Academic Pediatrics at Children's National Medical Center and George Washington University. He founded and was both P.I. and program director of the post-graduate fellowship to bridge the gap between primary care and public health. He was a founding Co-Director of the Mid-Atlantic Center for Children's Health and the Environment, one of 10 federally funded Pediatric Environmental Health Centers in the United States. He is currently a member of the Governor's Council on Children's Health and the Environment for the State of Maryland. and was on the Scientific Advisory Board of the U.S. EPA for Children's Environmental Health. He has been a member of the AAP Committee on Children's Environmental Health and has spoken nationally and internationally in this area, particularly with regard to advocacy and education. Dr Gitterman has been the Medical Director of the Health Access Program, a medical-legal collaborative linking the Children's National Medical Center and the Children's Law Center of Washington D.C. He was a member of the Medical Advisory Board of the National Center for Medical Legal Partnerships. He has also been the founding Medical Director of Project Health (now Health Leads) , a collaboration between GWU and Children's National, linking college undergraduates , Pediatric mentors and community health programs. He also volunteers overseas annually with Operation Smile. He received his B.S. degree from City College of NY and his M.D. degree from SUNY Buffalo. He completed his Pediatrics residency and chief residency at the Residency Program in Social Medicine at Montefiore Hospital and Medical Center in New York.

Job Titles:

• President Emeritus of the Milbank Memorial Fund

Daniel M. Fox, PhD is president emeritus of the Milbank Memorial Fund. He also serves as Associate editor of Policy for the American Public Health Association and Affiliate Professor of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Oregon Health and Science University. He is a widely published author of books and articles in scholarly journals on health services research, health and social policy, law, medicine, economic, cultural and intellectual history, and the history of medicine and health. His most recent book is The Convergence of Science and Governance: Research, Health Policy and American States (University of California Press, 2010). Dr. Fox previously served in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, held government positions in New York and Massachusetts, and was a faculty member and administrator at Harvard and Stony Brook Universities. He holds AB, AM and PhD degrees from Harvard University.

Job Titles:

• Key Staff Member
• President

Diana Zuckerman received her PhD in psychology from Ohio State University and was a post-doctoral fellow in epidemiology and public health at Yale Medical School. She started her career on the faculty of Vassar College and then directed a research project on children as a faculty member at Yale University. After a post-doctoral training at Yale Medical School, she took a position at Harvard directing a groundbreaking research study of college students. Dr. Zuckerman left her academic career in 1983 to come to Washington, D.C. as a Congressional Science Fellow in a program run by the American Association of the Advancement of Science. After spending the year as a staff member in the House of Representatives, she spent the next ten years working as a Congressional staffer in the House and Senate and at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, working to improve federal health programs and policies for adults and children. She initiated highly influential Congressional hearings on a wide range of health issues, including cancer prevention and treatment and the safety of medical products. In 1995, Dr. Zuckerman served as a senior policy advisor in the White House, working for First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and the Office of Science and Technology Policy. Since 1996, she has served in leadership positions at numerous nonprofit organizations and has been in her current position at NCHR since 1999. While in her current position, Dr. Zuckerman was a fellow at the University of Pennsylvania Center for Bioethics for several years. She is currently on the Board of Directors of two nonprofit organizations - the Congressionally mandated Reagan Udall Foundation and the Alliance for a Stronger FDA. She was previously the chair of the Women's Health Promotion Council, appointed by the Governor of Maryland. Dr. Zuckerman is the author of five books, several book chapters, dozens of articles in medical and academic journals, and in newspapers across the country. Her policy work has resulted in news coverage on all the major TV networks, including ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox News, public television, "60 Minutes," "20/20," "Voice of America," National Public Radio, and in major U.S. print media such as The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Washington Times, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, USA Today, Detroit Free Press, New York Daily News, Newsweek, Time, U.S. News and World Report, Family Circle, New Yorker, Glamour, Self, as well as many other newspapers, magazines, and radio programs. She is the proud mother of two adult children.

Job Titles:

• Professor

Dr. Nancy Hardt is professor of pathology, immunology, and laboratory medicine and of obstetrics and gynecology, as well as the recently appointed Senior Associate Dean for External Affairs at the University of Florida College of Medicine. As Dean, she is involved in legislative issues, women's health initiatives, and expansion of the capabilities of the East Side clinic, and will develop a center of excellence in minority health care disparities. In 2006-2007, Dr. Hardt was a Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellow, working as Health Policy Advisor with Senator Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico and as a key staffer on health issues in the office of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. Dr. Hardt is boarded in both Pathology and Obstetrics and Gynecology. She served on the full-time faculty at the university for nearly 20 years, rising to the rank of Professor with tenure and Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs and Managed Care. She has held a number of key leadership positions, including serving as Co-Director, Center for Research on Women's Health. In 2002, she moved to the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, where she served as the Director of the Institute for Women's Health. Dr. Hardt has been recognized for her outstanding contributions by many organizations, including the National Board of Medical Examiners Distinguished Service Award in 2006 and being named as one of "50 Women Who Make a Difference" in Memphis in 2005.

Job Titles:

• Research Professor at the George Washington University School of Public Health

Dr. Susan F. Wood is Research Professor at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services, where her work focuses on the use of scientific knowledge in public policy. She is also Director of the Jacob's Institute of Women's Health at GWU. Dr. Wood served as Director of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Office of Women's Health from November 2000 through August 2005. She championed women's health both inside and outside the FDA, and then resigned on principle over FDA's delay of approval of emergency contraception for over-the-counter sale. Previously, Dr. Wood was the Director for Policy and Program Development at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office on Women's Health, where she led the development of policy for the Office. She also coordinated the activities of the Public Health Service Coordinating Committee on Women's Health. From 1990 to 1995, Dr. Wood worked on Capitol Hill for the Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues, an organization of Members of Congress dedicated to legislation that promotes legal, economic, and health equity for women. Prior to coming to Capitol Hill, Dr. Wood was a research scientist at the John Hopkins University School of Medicine, in the Department of Neuroscience, where her research focused on cellular mechanisms of sensory transduction. She received her Ph.D. in biology from Boston University at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA, where she carried out basic research on the biochemistry of vision. Dr. Wood has received numerous awards in recognition of her work. She is married and has a daughter.

Dr. Susanne Wilke is a venture capitalist and former bio-tech executive and entrepreneur who is dedicated to investing in and bringing to market drugs that make a difference in patients' lives. She is the former CEO and Board Member of Neurotrope Bioscience, Inc., a clinical stage biotech company focused on regenerative strategies to improve memory and cognition of Alzheimer's patients. Dr. Wilke has expertise in all aspects of the drug development process, including research, clinical, regulatory, IP and commercialization, with a particular focus on cancer treatment and prevention. In addition to her position as CEO of Neurotrope, Dr. Wilke co-founded and worked as a Managing Director of CrossBridge International, an international advisory firm supporting early-stage, high-growth biomedical companies. Dr. Wilke has spent five years as a Venture Capitalist, at Schroder Ventures Life Sciences and at NGN Capital. She was also the co-founder an early stage immune-oncology company, Pin Pharma, and served on the scientific advisory committee of Immunomics, an allergy and immuno-oncology company with technology out of Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Wilke has a personal experience with a loved one who died after being misdiagnosed, and this has influenced her strong interest in the importance of providing informed consent and accurate information to patients and health professionals. Dr. Wilke holds a dual Ph.D. in chemistry, biochemistry with focus on drug development from the University of Illinois, an MBA from Dartmouth College and a BA from Loyola University in Illinois. Dr. Wilke served as a Kauffman Fellow, a prestigious two year fellowship in Venture Capital.

Gwendolyn Lewis, a former sociology professor with important positions in the National Research Council, National Science Foundation, and U.S. Department of Agriculture, was a professional photographer who volunteered her time as our photographer since our founding in 1999 until she died from cancer in 2012.

Job Titles:

• Member of the NATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD
• Psychologist and Author

Job Titles:

• Member of the NATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD
• Author

Job Titles:

• Key Staff Member
• Senior Fellow

Jessica Copeland, MD, MPH is a Senior Fellow working on a broad range of health issues, with particular expertise in cardiovascular and lung health. Training as a cardiothoracic surgeon, she received her MD from University of Washington and MPH from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Dr. Copeland has a key role scrutinizing research that has important implications for health policy and public health, working with NCHR research and policy staff. Prior to her current position, Dr. Copeland conducted studies on lung cancer screening, health disparities in lung cancer, and the application of novel technology in surgical treatment. She received competitive funding for her research and has been a key speaker at several national conferences. Dr. Copeland also helped to establish several community public health programs in an effort to increase access to healthcare and reduce healthcare disparities. In addition, she has worked with the Red Cross in conjunction with the Global Health Department at the University of Washington to establish a practical and sustainable trauma response initiative appropriate for a resource limited setting in Pitágoras, Peru. She can be contacted at jc@center4research.org.

Job Titles:

• Partner at the Law Firm Reed Smith

Judy Harris is partner at the law firm Reed Smith, and former Managing Partner of Reed Smith's D.C. office. She concentrates on telecommunications, internet issues, trade regulation, and consumer protection matters before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and Commerce and Justice Departments, in the courts and on Capitol Hill. Prior to her current position, Ms. Harris served as Director of the Office of Legislative and Inter-Governmental Affairs at the FCC. She was in charge of the Commission's work with Capitol Hill and the Clinton Administration during the debate on children's television, digital T.V. and connecting classrooms to the Internet, among many other issues. Before her appointment at the FCC, Ms. Harris' practice focused on litigation and antitrust counseling, primarily with respect to the healthcare and communications industries, and included the defense and prosecution of class action lawsuits, and grand jury, merger and other investigations involving the Antitrust Division and the FTC. She previously served as a senior trial attorney with the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice. Her first job after graduating from Yale Law School was as a law clerk to the Honorable James A. Belson, now a senior judge on the D.C. Court of Appeals. Ms. Harris is married to Norman Ornstein, an author, political analyst, and commentator.

Job Titles:

• Member of the NATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD
• Retired

Job Titles:

• Member of the NATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD
• Retired

Job Titles:

• Freelance Writer

Mary Hager is a freelance writer who retired from Newsweek after serving as a Contributing Editor and correspondent for the Washington Bureau. Ms. Hager's recent work includes commission reports to the President and Congress on arthritis and epilepsy, and articles for publications such as Self Magazine, Eco, Longevity, American Psychologist, Impact 21, Consumer's Digest, America's Agenda, National Wildlife, World Almanac, Collier's Yearbook, and Grolier's Medicine and Health Yearbook. Ms. Hager received her M.A. in journalism and communications from Stanford University and was a Sloan-Rockefeller Advanced Science Writing Fellow at the Columbia University School of Journalism. She has received many awards for her work, including the Balance in Journalism Award of the National Environmental Development Association, the Page One Award of the New York Newspaper Guild, the Searle Award of the American Medical Writers Association, and national awards from the National Mental Health Association, the National Easter Seal Society, and Action on Smoking or Health. Ms. Hager was a member of the U.S. Delegation to the U.S./Japan Common Agenda Conference on Environmental Education in 1997, was named a Senator John Heinz Fellow in Environmental Reporting in 2000, and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Institute of Journalism and Natural Resources.

Job Titles:

• Member of the NATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD
• Actress and Director

Omega Logan Silva, M.D., is professor emeritus of medicine at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. She is a long-standing advocate for universal health care and a committed supporter of the advancement of women in medicine. Dr. Silva is a member of dozens of local and national committees and organizations and from 2000 to 2002 served as president of the American Medical Women's Association. She has served on six separate advisory groups for the National Institutes of Health and was a consultant to the Food and Drug Administration's Immunology Section from 1981 to 1989. Dr. Silva has also served on the board of directors for the Howard University Medical Alumni Association, the National Association of Veterans Affairs Physicians, the American Medical Women's Association and the Foundation for the History of Women in Medicine.

Job Titles:

• Member of the NATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD

Job Titles:

• Member of the NATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD
• Director of the Institute for Research on Social Problems

Job Titles:

• Member of the NATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD
• President, Klemm Analysis Group

Job Titles:

• Counsel at Mayer Brown

Sarah Deutsch is Counsel at Mayer Brown, providing counseling and advocacy for a number of Fortune 100 clients in the areas of online liability, intellectual property, and Internet policy. Sarah was formerly Vice President and Deputy Counsel for Verizon Communications where she managed Verizon's intellectual property practice for over 23 years. Much of her career has been devoted to working on consumer-facing legal and policy issues, including IP policy, online privacy, and combating online fraud and abuse. Sarah was a past recipient of Public Knowledge's President Award for Protecting the Free Flow of Information on the Internet. She has also done pro bono work for the Massachusetts Advocates for Children and partnered with Wired Safety, a nonprofit devoted to keeping children safe online and combatting cyber-bullying. Sarah currently serves on the Board of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, an organization devoted to protecting civil liberties in the digital world. Sarah has practiced law for over 30 years. Sarah holds a BA from Emory University and a JD from American University's Washington College of Law, where she was on the Law Review and was the first Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of International Law and Policy. She spent the year after graduating college working at the Office of Jimmy Carter in Atlanta, Georgia. Sarah and her husband have two children and live in Northern Virginia.

Job Titles:

• Key Staff Member
• Health Policy Associate

Sophia Phillips is our Health Policy Associate. She is focused on supporting our health policy work by serving as a resource to Members of Congress and Congressional staff on a range of policy issues. Sophia is responsible for monitoring, tracking, and analyzing active legislation and regulatory changes within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, including public health agencies such as the FDA, NIH, and CMS. Sophia previously interned at Public Citizen in their Access to Medicines Program, where she was actively engaged in policy work on drug pricing and COVID-19 vaccine recipe sharing. She was also a research assistant with PharmedOut, a Georgetown University Medical Center project that works to educate healthcare professionals and the public on pharmaceutical marketing practices and their impact on public health. She received her Master's of Science in Health and the Public Interest from Georgetown University, where she was trained in health advocacy. Sophia earned her B.A. in Psychology from the State University of New York at Geneseo. She can be contacted at sp@center4research.org.

Job Titles:

• Public Health Fellow

Tayyiaba Farooq, MS is our Public Health Fellow, focusing on a wide range of issues including tracking and analyzing federal policies, guidelines, and rules of agencies such as the FDA, EPA, and CMS. She also works with patients harmed by implanted medical devices, helping them to navigate the health insurance system and receive necessary medical care. Prior to joining NCHR, Tayyiaba interned with Public Citizen's Access to Medicines group in 2019, working on issues such as single-payer healthcare and insulin affordability. In 2020, she served as a project manager for the "Free the Vaccine Campaign," which served to increase access to the COVID-19 vaccine in lower and middle-income countries through creative action. Tayyiaba also has worked with the nonprofit Universities Allied for Essential Medicines (UAEM) since early 2020, an organization dedicated to making licensing policies around health technologies more socially equitable. She has served as a lead on their "Take Back Our Medicines Campaign," helping students across North America advocate at their universities for lower drug prices internationally. Tayyiaba currently serves as a member of UAEM's North American Coordinating Committee and will help NCHR partner with those efforts. Tayyiaba recently completed a Master's of Science in Medical Sciences from Boston University, with her research thesis focusing on diagnostic methods used for kidney transplant patients. She previously earned a B.S. in Biological Sciences and a B.A. in Government and Politics from the University of Maryland, College Park. Tayyiaba can be contacted at tf@center4research.org.