Our Team

Dr. Cravatt is the Norton B. Gilula professor of chemical biology in the department of chemistry at The Scripps Research Institute. His research is focused on chemical proteomic technologies for protein and drug discovery, with particular interest in cancer and the nervous system. Dr. Cravatt is a co-founder of Activx Biosciences (acquired by Kyorin), Abide Therapeutics (acquired by Lundbeck) and Vividion Therapeutics (acquired by Bayer). His honors include the Eli Lilly Award in biological chemistry, the ASBMB Merck Award, the AACR Award for Outstanding Achievement in Chemistry in Cancer Research, the Wolf Prize in Chemistry, and memberships in the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Medicine, and American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Cravatt received his BS in biological sciences and BA in history from Stanford University, and a PhD from The Scripps Research Institute.

Dr. Darnell is professor of cancer biology, head of the laboratory of molecular neuro-oncology and senior physician at Rockefeller University Hospital. He is also an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, a senior visiting fellow at MITRE, and the founding director and CEO emeritus of the New York Genome Center. Dr. Darnell is a physician scientist who has pioneered next-generation approaches to understanding RNA genomics in human disease. His work on disease mechanisms of tumor immunity and autoimmune brain disease led to the basic discovery that neurons have unique systems for regulating RNA metabolism, and the development of a new tool, HITS-CLIP, to study RNA regulation in vivo, which he has applied to discovering the mechanism by which the Fmr1 protein inhibits neuronal translation. Dr. Darnell’s ongoing work focuses on harnessing big data and molecular genetics to apply his scientific discoveries to clinical care. Dr. Darnell holds bachelor’s degrees in biology and chemistry from Columbia University and an MD/PhD in molecular biology from Washington University. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Dr. McCormick, PhD, is professor at the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center where he previously served as director until 2014. Prior to UCSF, Dr. McCormick held research leadership positions at Cetus and Chiron, before founding Onyx Pharmaceuticals. At Onyx, he initiated drug discovery efforts that led to the approval of Nexavar® in renal cell and liver cancer. Dr. McCormick’s group also led to the identification of the CDK4 kinase inhibitor, Ibrance®, approved for advanced breast cancer. Dr. McCormick’s research centers on targeting Ras proteins and their regulators, including the NF1 protein neurofibromin. He is the author of 398 scientific publications and holds 20 issued patents. He has served as president for the American Association for Cancer Research and since 2013, led the National Cancer Institute’s RAS initiative overseeing the national effort to develop therapies against Ras-driven cancers. Dr. McCormick received his BSc in biochemistry from the University of Birmingham and PhD in biochemistry from the University of Cambridge. He is a fellow of the Royal Society and member of the National Academy of Sciences.

Dr. Strulovici was most recently the founding director of the center for personalized medicine at Weitzmann Institute of Science, focused on novel technologies in genomics, proteomics, bioinformatics and chemical biology to advance personalized medicine and life sciences in Israel. Before that, she was chief technical officer and vice president of research at Ipierian. She has a track record of building and leading outstanding teams, while integrating innovative processes into seamless, successful enterprises in start-up and large pharma environments. At Merck Research Laboratories, Dr. Strulovici served as vice president of basic research in charge of early drug discovery of lead compounds for Merck Worldwide. She previously served as director of research & development at Tularik, Dr. Strulovici received her PhD from Weitzmann Institute in reproductive endocrinology.

Dr. Schlessinger is a professor of pharmacology at Yale University School of Medicine, and until July 2022, had served as chair of the department of pharmacology at Yale since 2001. He was previously director of the Skirball Institute for Biomolecular Medicine, and professor and chair of the department of pharmacology at NYU Medical School. Prior to NYU, he was a member of the Weizmann Institute of Science and professor of cancer research in the department of immunology. He has co-founded multiple biotechnology companies, including Sugen, Plexxikon, Kolltan Pharmaceuticals and Inozyme Pharma. Dr. Schlessinger received a PhD in biophysics from the Weizmann Institute of Science.

Dr. Hanahan is a distinguished scholar in the Lausanne Branch of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research and emeritus professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL). From 1988 to 2010, he was a professor of biochemistry at UCSF in San Francisco. He began his scientific career at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, where he developed one of the first transgenic mouse models of cancer. Known as one of the pioneers who helped propel the functional genetic era of cancer research, Dr. Hanahan co-wrote the ‘Hallmarks of Cancer’ series, a seminal resource in cancer research. His current research includes genetic signatures and physical cues in the microenvironment that modulate tumor invasion and metastasis, with the goal of advancing knowledge of cancer mechanisms and therapeutic applications. He received the American Association of Cancer Research’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014 and has been elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, the Institute of Medicine, the US National Academy of Science, and the European Molecular Biology Organization. Dr. Hanahan received a bachelor’s degree in physics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a PhD in biophysics from Harvard, as well as an honorary degree from the University of Dundee (UK).