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Kathy Giusti
Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF)
Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium (MMRC)
Kathy Giusti is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) and the Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium (MMRC). Together, the two organizations have developed innovative models that serve to rapidly break down barriers slowing multiple myeloma research and accelerate the development of next-generation treatments. Chief among these are an integrated clinical network of academic centers that collaboratively conduct early-stage clinical trials, as well as a state-of-the-art tissue bank that has advanced the science of biobanking and genomic studies and provides a foundation for the organizations’ pursuit of personalized medicine.
Prior to founding the MMRF, Giusti was a pharmaceutical executive at G.D. Searle & Co., and previously held positions at Merck & Co. and the Gillette Company. Giusti, a multiple myeloma patient, was most recently named to the 2011 TIME 100 List of the world’s most influential people—a recognition she received for the progress she has made in accelerating the way research and drug development are conducted and, ultimately, dramatically improving the outlook for patients with multiple myeloma and other cancers. Giusti has also received a number of other awards for her leadership, including the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Centennial Medal for Distinguished Public Service, the Harvard Business School Alumni Achievement Award, and the Healthcare Businesswomen's Association's Woman of the Year Award.
Giusti’s efforts have been featured on the Today Show, CBS Evening News, CBS This Morning, CNN Money, Fox News, and NBC Nightly News. She has also been recognized by several notable media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, Harvard Business Review, and The Economist.
Giusti currently serves on the Executive Management Committee to Stand Up to Cancer and the Harvard Business School Advisory Board. She has previously served on several other boards, including the President’s National Cancer Advisory Board, the Board of Directors for IMS Health, and the Institute of Medicine's National Cancer Policy Board.
Giusti received her MBA in general management from Harvard Business School and graduated from the University of Vermont magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences.
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Louise M. Perkins, PhD
Chief Scientific Officer
Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation
Louise M. Perkins, PhD, is the Chief Scientific Officer at the MMRF where she is responsible for the strategic development and execution of the MMRF's research agenda. Dr. Perkins brings more than 16 years of pharmaceutical research experience from 2 major companies to the MMRF.
Prior to joining the MMRF, she was the Director of Cancer Research at Bayer Pharmaceuticals in West Haven, CT, where she contributed to advancing novel targeted therapies toward clinical study, including Nexavar® and other innovative signal transduction inhibitors. While at Bayer, she also served as the Director of Research Licensing and was responsible for oncology licensing activities in support of cancer research programs. Prior to joining Bayer, she led a cancer research group at the Schering–Plough Research Institute in Kenilworth, NJ. In this role, she participated in several early-stage research programs including novel target-finding research using human genomics data.
Dr. Perkins graduated from the University of Michigan with a PhD and MS in biological chemistry and conducted postdoctoral studies at Princeton University in the Department of Molecular Biology. She earned her BS in zoology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
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Sandra Wear, RN
Associate Director of Operations
Sandra M. Wear, RN, is the Associate Director of Operations of the MMRC where she is responsible for the execution of pre–clinical and clinical projects within the Consortium. Sandra brings more than 20 years of experience to the MMRC as both an oncology nurse and a senior manager and has vast experience from both the industry and Contract Research Organization (CRO) perspective. She most recently served as Vice President of Regional Monitoring Operations at Endpoint Research in Mississauga, Canada, and the Senior Manager of Clinical Process and Training and the Clinical Trials Manager at MannKind Corporation in Danbury, Conn. Prior to this, she served as the Associate Director of Clinical Operations at Purdue Pharma in Stamford, Conn., and as the Clinical Research Manager at Pharmacia & UpJohn in Don Mills, Ontario, Canada. She received her degree in nursing from Mohawk Nursing College in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. |
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Karen Dietz
In-House Legal Counsel
Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation
Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium
Karen Andrees joined the MMRC in March 2007 as Counsel, Contracts Administration, handling all legal and contractual issues for both the Consortium and the MMRF. She received her JD and MBA degrees from Western New England College School of Law and a Bachelor's degree in justice and law administration from Western Connecticut State University. While a law student, Karen worked as a student attorney with the Scibelli Enterprise Center in Springfield, Mass., handling business legal issues, and as a paralegal with Attorney Richard C. Lubus in New Fairfield, Conn., where she prepared court documents for business, criminal, probate, and civil litigation matters. Previously, Karen was contracts manager for Digital Autobahn in Danbury, Conn., and served as a legislative intern at the Connecticut State Legislature in Hartford.
In addition to her work with the MMRF and MMRC, Karen serves as National Legal Counsel on a pro bono basis for the Junior Chamber International, USA, and its state and local chapters nationwide.
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Bunmi Mfuko
Tissue Bank Coordinator
Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium
Bunmi Mfuko joined the MMRC in May 2007 as the Tissue Bank Coordinator, responsible for managing the flow of samples and related documentation for all preclinical projects including validation, correlative science, and MMRC tissue studies. In addition, she oversees equipment and IT systems associated with tracking of tissues and clinical data. Bunmi has eight years of pharmaceutical experience and came to the MMRC from Bayer Pharmaceuticals in West Haven, CT, where she worked as a clinical data manager contributing to the clinical data operation of a Phase III trail for the regulation of coagulation in orthpedic surgery to prevent deep-vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. Prior to joining Bayer, she was clinical data coordinator at Client Associated Business, Inc., in Milford, CT, where she participated in the data collection and validation of clinical data for the Phase III clinical trial of Lasofoxifene for Pfizer Pharmaceutical. Previously, Bunmi worked as an analytical chemist at Barr Labs in Pomona, NY. She graduated from the University of Massachusetts (Amherst) with a BS in chemistry and food science.
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Staff Members
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