Bioscience Symposium Speaker Information

George W. Carmany III '62

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George Carmany '62 began his business career with Bankers Trust Company in its International Banking Department.  He held senior positions at the American Express Company and subsequently formed G.W. Carmany and Company, an advisory business in financial services and life sciences.  Mr. Carmany retired as a Director of Sun Life Financial, Toronto, Canada, in 2010, and served until 2005 as chairman of Helicon Therapeutics, a biotechnology company founded by the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Roche Pharmaceuticals and OSI Pharmaceuticals.  Mr. Carmany is the past chairman of The New England Medical Center; a member of The President’s Circle of the National Academies; a trustee and member of the Executive Committee of Bentley University; a member of the Executive Committee of the Alumni Council of Amherst College; and past chairman of the Board of Associates of The Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research. 

Carmany, together with Gerald R. Fink '62, are the founders and organizers of the Gerald R. Fink '62 Bioscience Symposium.

Curt Civin '70

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Curt Civin'70 is Professor of Pediatrics and Physiology and Director of the Center for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine at the University of Maryland’s School of Medicine.  His breakthrough discovery of the CD34 lympho-hematopoietic stem cell antigen and monoclonal antibody has facilitated basic research in stem cell biology and leukemia and has led to improved stem cell transplantation for thousands of patients.  These discoveries have led to multiple honors for Civin, including the 1999 National Inventor of the Year Award and the 2009 Karl Landsteiner Award.

Gerald R. Fink '62

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Gerald R. Fink '62 is a founding member of the Whitehead Institute and the American Cancer Society Professor of Genetics at MIT. He was director of the Whitehead Institute from 1990 to 2001. His research focuses on the molecular biology of yeast and fungal infectious disease. He was the first to describe transformation in fungi---the stable uptake of DNA into the genome of yeast cells.  He is past president of the Genetics Society of America. Among his many awards are the National Academy of Sciences Award in Molecular Biology, a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Medal of the Genetics Society of America, Emil Christian Hansen Award (Denmark), the Yale Science and Engineering Award, the Yale Wilbur Lucius Cross Medal, the 2001 George Beadle Award, and the 2010 Gruber Award in Genetics. Fink has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Institute of Medicine and the American Philosophical Society. Fink has been the founder of two biotechnology companies, Myco Pharmaceuticals and Ironwood Pharmaceuticals.

Fink, together with George Carmany '62, are the founders and organizers of the Gerald R. Fink '62 Bioscience Symposium.

Rudolf Jaenisch

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Rudolf Jaenisch is a founding member of the Whitehead Institute at MIT, where he is also a Professor of Biology.  His research focuses on epigenetic regulation of gene expression.  Most recently, he has focused his efforts on induced pluripotent stem (IPS) cells, which appear identical to embryonic stem cells but can be created from adult cells without using an egg.  His laboratory produced the first transgenic animal model and was the first to demonstrate that therapeutic cloning could correct genetic defects in mice.  He is the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including elected memberships in the National Academies of Science, the Institute of Medicine, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Claudia Kalb '85

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Claudia Kalb '85 is a senior writer at Newsweek magazine.  She has reported on a wide range of medical and scientific issues, including stem cells, autism, reproductive medicine, HIV/AIDS and childhood obesity.  Her stories have been featured on the cover of Newsweek several times, and one of them was a National Magazine Award finalist in 2007.  Prior to becoming a senior writer, Kalb worked as a general editor and correspondent for the magazine.  She is the recipient of several journalism fellowships, including the John S. Knight Fellowship at Stanford University.