Featured Speakers

Dr. Victor Dzau
Chancellor for Health Affairs, Duke University
President and CEO, Duke University Health System

Prior to his July 2004 appointment at Duke University, Dr. Victor Dzau most recently served as the Hersey Professor of the Theory and Practice of Physic (Medicine) at Harvard Medical School, Chairman of the Department of Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Physician-in-Chief and Director of Research at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston. Dzau’s academic interests are in cardiovascular translational research and in cell- and gene-based therapies. He is an enthusiastic supporter of innovation and entrepreneurship at academic institutions and is himself the holder of several patents and founder of two companies (Corgentech and Clingenix). He is a leading science advisor to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. He currently serves on the boards of directors of Genzyme, Corgentech and Optobionics. Dr. Dzau also serves on the Advisory Committee to the Director of NIH and chaired the NIH cardiovascular Advisory Committee. He holds memberships in the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences and The European Academy of Sciences and Arts and is the recipient of numerous honors and awards.

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David Malakoff
Technology and Science Correspondent
National Public Radio (NPR)

David Malakoff joined NPR in December of 2004 as the technology and science correspondent for NPR’s science desk. His stories about how science and technology impact people’s daily lives can be heard on all NPR news programs. Before coming to NPR, the Washington, D.C., native wrote about scientific discoveries and the politics behind them, for seven years at Science Magazine. Malakoff was drawn to NPR by its in-depth science coverage and ability to draw listeners into a story. He was inspired to become a journalist in part by listening to NPR’s Ira Flatow (host of NPR’s Talk of the Nation Science Friday), Robert Krulwich and NPR Science Reporter Richard Harris. He has taken on editing at NPR as a new step in his career.

Malakoff earned his bachelor’s degree in Human Ecology from the College of Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine.

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Dr. Henri B. Meier
Chairman of the Board of Directors
HBM Partners AG and HBM BioVentures AG

Dr. Henri B. Meier is currently Chairman of the Board of Directors of HBM Partners AG and HBM BioVentures AG. HBM Partners, based in Zurich, Switzerland, is a leading provider of investment advisory services in the global life sciences sector. HBM BioVentures, advised by HBM Partners, is one of the largest investment vehicles in Europe dedicated primarily to later-stage, private equity life science investments with portfolio companies mainly in Western Europe and the United States.

Prior to his current chairman responsibilities, Dr. Meier was CFO of Roche, one of the world’s leading research-focused healthcare groups in the fields of pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. He retired after 15 years in 2000 and remained an active member of the board of directors until 2004. While at Roche, Dr. Meier was instrumental in engineering the success of major acquisitions such as Genentech, Syntex and Boehringer Mannheim. He was the architect of Roche’s modern financial structure and accounting and shaped the success of the entire company.

Prior to Roche, Dr. Meier was a member of the Executive Board of the Handelsbank/National Westminster Bank (Zurich). He began his career at the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation in Washington D.C., where he held several positions including economist, financial analyst and division chief. Dr. Meier chaired until mid 2005 among others, the Board of Directors of Givaudan AG and was member of the Board of Directors of Roche Holding Ltd, EUFRA Holding AG, Grand Hotel Victoria-Jungfrau AG, IHAG Holding AG, Privatbank IHAG AG and Züblin Immobilien Holding AG.

Dr. Meier is the recipient of many awards in international finance and M&A and is the author of many articles and books.

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Dr. Tanja Popovic
Acting Associate Director for Science
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Since February 2004, Dr. Popovic has been serving as Acting Associate Director for Science, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Popovic grew up and was educated in Croatia, a small central European country. With a medical degree, masters in clinical pharmacology, doctorate in microbiology and completed residence in clinical microbiology, she first joined CDC in 1989 as a Fulbright Postdoctoral Fellow. Since then she has served as the Chief of the Diphtheria Reference Unit, Chief of the Epidemiologic Investigations/Anthrax Laboratory and Co-director of the WHO Collaborating Center for Prevention and Control of Bacterial Meningitis at the CDC’s National Center for Infectious Diseases. She was a WHO consultant for bacterial meningitis and diphtheria in Russia and throughout Africa. For 6 years, she was CDC’s lead subject matter expert on laboratory aspects of anthrax. With her staff, she developed laboratory manuals for the National Laboratory Response Network and trained laboratory scientists in all 50 states to isolate and identify B. anthracis. She also led laboratory efforts to perform thousands of confirmatory and molecular subtyping tests during the 2001 anthrax investigation.

As Acting Associate Director for Science, she provided key contribution to the FY2004 Health Protection Initiative Program Announcements for extramural research and to establishing of the CDC’s Office of Public Health research. She co-chaired the CDC’s Futures Initiative Public Health Research Workgroup and Public Health Research Implementation Team. She recently completed an executive leadership course at Harvard’s JFK School of Government. Most recently, she has been asked to serve on the Executive Steering Committee of the National Interagency Biodefense Campus. Popovic is widely published and has many scientific accomplishments to her name. She has received numerous awards for her contributions in the scientific and public health arenas.