Science Team
K. David Becker, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer
Dr. Becker graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1979 and acquired his doctorate in biology from San Diego State University and U.C. San Diego in 1991. Dr. Becker has extensive experience in the genetics of Drosophila, mouse and humans. After leaving UCSD, Dr. Becker was a scientist at Mitokor working on quantitative analysis of changes in gene expression while studying the role of mitochondria in neurodegenerative disease and type 2 diabetes. Dr. Becker joined Torrey Pines Therapeutics, then Neurogenetics, in July 2000 where he led a team of scientists in the discovery and validation of genes that contribute to the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Becker and his research colleagues received public kudos from Time Magazine for their efforts by receiving the No. 5 medical breakthrough of 2008.
Michael Nova, M.D., Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Nova is currently the Chief Medical Officer of Pathway Genomics. His scientific career began as a research associate at the Salk Institute in the laboratory of Nobel Laureate Roger Guillemin, where he studied the genetics and proteomics of Human Growth Factors. Michael was the Founder/CEO of Discovery Partners Inc. (Nasdaq: DPII), which completed a successful $150M IPO and marketed wireless drug discovery technology and radiofrequency combinatorial chemistry to large pharmaceutical companies. He then founded the wireless sensory network company Graviton, where he was responsible for raising $60 million in capital from venture groups such as Kleiner Perkins and InQtel and additional corporate equity partners such as Sun, Qualcomm, Siemens, Omron, Mitsui, Shell and Motorola. Dr. Nova was also a 2007 World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer Award Winner.
Dr. Nova has over 20 issued patents, many in drug discovery, as well as wireless and internet information technologies. He has numerous publications in peer-reviewed journals, and is a Board Certified Dermatopathologist licensed in California. Dr. Nova has degrees in biochemistry, physics, and medicine from the University of California, Berkeley, as well as the Albert Einstein University in New York. He is a practicing physician at the CLIA-licensed laboratory of Dermatopathology Associates of San Diego. In his minimal spare time, Michael likes to surf big waves in Indonesia, and he helped start and currently manages a WHO-sanctioned basic care clinic in the Fijian town of Nabila.
James R. Nickel, M.D., Medical Director
Dr. Nickel has extensive experience as a laboratory director and pathologist for private laboratories, hospitals and pharmaceutical companies. He is Board certified in anatomic and clinical pathology as well as in dermatopathology. He has been the laboratory director for CLIA-certified laboratories in California, Hawaii, Louisiana, and North Carolina, and he was the founding director for several of them. He has also been the laboratory director or medical director for various pharmaceutical companies including Bayer Corporation’s Quality Assurance Testing Laboratory, Alpha Therapeutic Corporation and Vivus Inc.
Dr. Nickel received his undergraduate degree in chemistry from Stanford University, his medical degree from UCLA School of Medicine, and his specialty training at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He has served on the clinical faculty of multiple universities including Johns Hopkins University, Tulane University and the University of California at San Diego.
Linda Wasserman, M.D., Ph.D., Director of Clinical Genetics
Dr. Wasserman earned a doctorate in psychology from UCLA and practiced psychology in Boston, in the Department of Psychiatry at the Massachusetts General Hospital prior to becoming Chief Psychologist at the Children's Inpatient Unit of the San Diego County Mental Health Services. She received her medical degree and residency training in anatomic pathology from the University of California, San Diego. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship in genetics and molecular oncology at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, also located at the University of California, San Diego. She is board certified in anatomic pathology and molecular genetic pathology. While serving as Clinical Professor of Medicine at UCSD, her responsibilities included being Director of the Clinical Cancer Genetics Care Unit, the DNA Sequencing and the Molecular Pathology Shared Resources at the Moores UCSD Cancer Center, and being Director of the clinical Molecular Genetics Laboratory at UCSD. Her research interests have included genetic predictors of outcome in prostate and breast cancer as well as genetic predictors of risk for development of breast cancer.
Victoria L. Magnuson, Ph.D., Molecular Geneticist
Dr. Magnuson is a molecular geneticist with a doctorate and 15 years of experience in implementing large-scale complex disease human genetics projects in government, industry and academia. Her expertise includes genotyping and sequencing laboratory management, genetic data analyses and administering research grants and budgets. Dr. Magnuson received her doctorate in molecular and cellular biology from the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio in 1992. Her postdoctoral advisor was Dr. Francis Collins at the National Human Genome Research Institute, where she studied type 2 diabetes mellitus as part of the international Finland-United States Investigation of NIDDM Genetics (FUSION) project. In 1998, Dr. Magnuson moved to Corning Inc. where she led teams to build cDNA-based high-density microarrays for Corning Microarray Technology. In 2002, Dr. Magnuson joined the Department of Pediatrics as an assistant professor at the Medical College of Wisconsin, Max McGee National Research Center for Juvenile Diabetes, Human and Molecular Genetics Center, Children's Hospital and Children's Research Institute in Milwaukee, Wisc. There she served as the lead molecular geneticist and co-investigator on a $6.5M Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International grant to study the genetics of type 1 diabetes mellitus.
Corinna Herrnstadt Howell, Ph.D., Genetic Genealogist
Dr. Herrnstadt Howell holds a master’s degree in biology and a doctorate (magna cum laude) in molecular biology, from the University of Düsseldorf, Germany. She has 25 years of hands-on experience in the biotechnology, biopharmaceutical and life science industries. As founding member of the scientific management team at MitoKor, Dr. Herrnstadt Howell directed the Molecular Biology and Genomics Programs involved in diagnostics and target discovery in neurodegenerative and metabolic diseases. She developed the company’s leadership in the field of mitochondrial genetics and disease. Dr. Herrnstadt Howell was a co-founder of Invitrogen, where she served as Research Director and Chief Scientific Officer and was responsible for the development and launch of a series of breakthrough products for molecular biology research. She was co-inventor of the TA-Cloning® System and the 1991 finalist of the UCSD CONNECT Most Innovative Product Award.
Dr. Herrnstadt Howell is an expert in the field of mitochondrial genetics, disease and evolution. She is the co-founder of Matrilinex LLC., a consulting services company in the fields of mitochondrial disease and diagnosis, mitochondrial pharmacogenetics, forensic identification, molecular anthropology, human genealogy and ancestry. Dr. Herrnstadt Howell has an extensive publications record with 17 issued patents and more than 30 scientific publications.
Neil Howell, Ph.D., Genetic Genealogist
Dr. Howell holds a bachelor’s degree in zoology from the University of Kansas and a doctorate in molecular biology from the University of Wisconsin. He held postdoctoral positions at Monash University in Australia (where he was a Fulbright-Hays fellow) and at Harvard Medical School. Following a career in academia, including 18 years at the University of Texas Medical Branch where he rose to Professor with Tenure (and where he retains an appointment as Professor Emeritus), Dr. Howell switched to a career in biotechnology and drug development. His 16-year corporate background includes financing experience at start-up, early rounds, mezzanine and IPO preparation levels, most recently as Vice President of Research for MITOKOR and MIGENIX Corp., San Diego. His ongoing research in mitochondrial genetic disorders involves active collaborations with Douglass M. Turnbull and Patrick Chinnery (University of Newcastle) and David Mackey (University of Tasmania).
Dr. Howell is an expert in mitochondrial genetics with more than 140 scientific publications in mitochondrial genetics and evolution, bioenergetics and cellular energy metabolism, and neurodegenerative disorders. He is the co-founder of Matrilinex, LLC., a consulting services company in the fields of mitochondrial disease and diagnosis, mitochondrial pharmacogenetics, forensic identification, molecular anthropology, human genealogy and ancestry.
Rudolph E. Tanzi, Ph.D., Scientific Advisor
Director, Genetics and Aging Research Unit, MassGeneral Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital Professor of Neurology (Neuroscience), Harvard Medical School
Dr. Rudolph Tanzi is the Joseph and Rose Kennedy Distinguished Professor of Neurology at Harvard University, and Director of the Genetics and Aging Research Unit consisting of eight laboratories in the MassGeneral Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH).
Dr. Tanzi has been investigating the molecular genetics of human neurodegenerative and psychiatric disease since 1980 when he participated in the pioneering study at MGH that led to location of the Huntington's disease gene, the first disease gene to be found by genetic linkage analysis. Since 1982, Dr. Tanzi has focused his studies on Alzheimer's disease (AD) and since 1997, autism spectrum disorders. He isolated the first familial Alzheimer's disease (FAD) gene, known as the amyloid ß-protein (A4) precursor (APP) in 1987, and another in 1995, called presenilin 2. He also collaborated on the isolation of the second FAD gene, presenilin 1.
In 1993, Dr. Tanzi isolated the gene responsible for the neurological disorder known as Wilson's disease. Over the past 25 years, he has collaborated on studies identifying several other neurodegenerative disease genes including those causing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and neurofibromatosis. Dr. Tanzi is currently carrying out genome-wide association screens to identify novel genes associated with both AD and autism spectrum disorders. Dr. Tanzi is also a co-founder of the “Metal Hypothesis of Alzheimer's Disease.” His laboratory first discovered that the metals zinc and copper are necessary for the formation of neurotoxic assemblies of the AD-associated peptide, Aß, the main component of ß-amyloid deposits in brains of AD patients. These studies have led to successful clinical trials for treating and preventing AD by targeting Aß-metal interactions. Dr. Tanzi has also been involved in the first efforts to develop gamma-secretase modulators as therapeutics for AD.
Dr. Tanzi has co-authored over 340 research articles and reviews, including three of the top 10 most cited papers in AD research. He is also a co-author of a popular trade book on Alzheimer's disease, Decoding Darkness: The Search for the Genetic Causes of Alzheimer's Disease. Dr. Tanzi has received several awards for his work including the two highest awards for Alzheimer's disease research: the Metropolitan Life Foundation Award and the Potamkin Prize. He has also received a Pew Scholarship, the Alzheimer's Association T.L.L. Temple Award, the Reagan National Alzheimer's Disease Research Award, an NIH MERIT Award, the "Oneness of Humanity" Global Award, previously won by Hillary Clinton and Mikhail Gorbachev.
In 2007, he was included on the list of the "Harvard 100: Most Influential Alumni" of over 240,000 living alumni. His invited honorary lectures include a Nobel Forum Lecture, AAAS keynote lecture, Grass Lecture, Smithsonian Institution Distinguished Lecture in Genomics, and the Society for Neuroscience Public Lecture. Dr. Tanzi is an AAAS Fellow, serves as Chairman of the Cure Alzheimer's Fund Research Consortium, is a member of the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives, and serves on over 40 editorial and scientific advisory boards.
John C. Reed, M.D., Ph.D., Scientific Advisor
Dr. Reed is President and Chief Executive Officer of Burnham Institute for Medical Research, where he has worked as a scientist and leader for over 15 years. Dr. Reed is also Professor and Donald Bren Presidential Chair at Burnham, with adjunct professor appointments at several universities. Dr. Reed’s scientific accomplishments include authorship of over 700 research publications and more than 50 book chapters. He was recently recognized as the world’s most highly cited scientist by the Institute for Scientific Information for his research publications between 1995 and 2005 in the broad field of cell biology and also in the field of general biomedicine. Dr. Reed is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, and has been awarded over 70 research grants for his work. He is a named inventor for over 70 patents and the founder or co-founder of four biotechnology companies. Dr. Reed has served as an advisor to numerous biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, and has also served on the Boards of Directors of several public and private biotechnology companies and life sciences organizations.
Genetic Counselors
Melinda "Mindi" Lassman, M.A. '75, M.S. '77
Mindi graduated in 1977 from UC Berkeley with a master’s degree in genetic counseling. She brings to Pathway many years of experience as a genetic counselor. Mindi has worked in a wide variety of settings including traditional clinics, public policy and management. While at North Bay Regional Center, she worked with developmentally disabled individuals and their families.
At the Sickle Cell Center at San Francisco General Hospital, she provided counseling regarding hemoglobinopathies to a diverse population, which included many newly arrived Southeast Asians. More recently, she worked in the UC San Diego prenatal clinic providing counseling and information about amniocentesis and other tests.
She was Chief of Prenatal Screening Services for the California Department of Health, managing the triple marker screening program and setting standards for prenatal diagnosis services for pregnant women in the state. Other experience includes directing an NIH-sponsored research project on the role of vitamins in neural tube defects and coordinating a federal project to establish standards for genetic services for the three-state region of California, Nevada and Hawaii.
Emily Enns, M.S.
Emily joined the Pathway team as a genetic counselor in 2009. She worked toward her goal of becoming a genetic counselor while attending the University of California, Santa Cruz, where she graduated in 2006 with a bachelor’s degree in molecular, cellular and developmental biology. Emily went on to pursue her master’s degree in genetic counseling at California State University, Northridge, graduating in 2008. During her graduate studies, she gained real-world experience through genetic counseling internships at many hospitals throughout California, including Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and Kaiser Permanente in San Francisco.
In addition, Emily has worked in the biotech field at Santa Cruz Biotechnology Inc. She has volunteered with youth development programs in northern California and with crisis counseling agencies such as Suicide Prevention Services of the Central Coast and Planned Parenthood. Emily’s original research article, “Examining the Relationship Between Genetic Counselors’ Attitudes Toward Deaf People and the Genetic Counseling Session,” was recently published in the April 2010 edition of the Journal of Genetic Counseling.