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| W.R.
(Dick) Leopold, Ph.D. |
| Chief
Executive Officer, President and Director, MIR Preclinical
Services |
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Dr.
Leopold has more than 30 years of research and management
experience in the field of cancer research and drug
development. Dr. Leopold has extensive professional
experience in cancer drug discovery and evaluation,
target validation, clinical development of anticancer
agents, contract research, toxicology, and engineering.
His personal research interests have focused on
various technologies for in vivo evaluation of anticancer
potential and the in vivo assessment of drug function
at the molecular level. Prior to joining MIR, Dr.
Leopold was Executive Director of Cancer Pharmacology
and Therapeutic Area Site Leader for Oncology at
Pfizer's Ann Arbor Laboratories. He was a co-founder
of the Cancer Drug Discovery Program at Parke-Davis
in 1982, assuming leadership of the program in 1989.
During his tenure at Parke-Davis/Pfizer, more than
18 novel agents spanning at least 10 mechanistic
classes were discovered and developed to clinical
trial. Upon completion of his Ph.D., Dr. Leopold
joined the Chemotherapy Division of Southern Research
Institute as a Research Oncologist where he also
worked in the Toxicology Division as a Research
Toxicologist. Dr. Leopold received his Ph.D. in
Oncology from the McArdle Institute for Cancer Research
at the University of Wisconsin. He also holds a
M.S. in Biochemistry and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering,
both from the University of Illinois.
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| William
Elliott, Ph.D. |
| Vice
President of Pharmacology and Quality Assurance, MIR Preclinical
Services |
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Dr.
Elliott has more than 22 years of experience in
the field of cancer research, cancer drug evaluation,
and drug development. Dr. Elliott has extensive
experience in the field of in vivo drug evaluation
and cancer cell biochemistry. Prior to joining MIR,
Dr. Elliott was an Associate Research Fellow, leading
the in vivo Cancer Pharmacology effort at Pfizer's
Ann Arbor Laboratories. Dr. Elliott joined Parke-Davis
in 1987, assuming the group leader position in 1991.
During his career at Parke-Davis/Pfizer, more than
13 compounds from a number of mechanistic classes
were discovered and advanced to clinical trial,
based in part upon the pre-clinical studies from
Dr. Elliott's Laboratory. Dr. Elliott received post-doctoral
training in Biochemistry at the Laboratory for Experimental
Oncology at the Indiana University School of Medicine
and University of Massachusetts Medical School.
Dr. Elliott received his Ph.D. in Cancer Research
from the Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacology,
Purdue University School of Pharmacy.
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| Patrick
McConville, Ph.D. |
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| Director
of Imaging Services, MIR Preclinical Services |
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Dr.
McConville has over 12 years of Biomedical Magnetic Resonance
Imaging (MRI) research experience, a field in which he
has more than ten peer-reviewed publications and a patent.
He received his Ph.D. in Biophysics at the Center for
Medical and Health Physics, Queensland University of Technology
in Brisbane, Australia. Before joining MIR, Dr. McConville
completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the National Institute
on Aging, NIH, using in vivo MRI and MR spectroscopy in
various animal models. Preclinical in vivo imaging remains
the current focus of his personal research interests and
expertise. Dr. McConville is responsible for overseeing
the Imaging Sciences Section, as well as for design and
execution of imaging experiments, image data analysis
and report writing. Dr. McConville is the primary investigator
overseeing the research, development and validation of
MRI, bioluminescence and fluorescence technologies at
MIR.
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| Joe Cornicelli, Ph.D. |
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| Director
of Inflammation Services, MIR Preclinical Services |
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Dr.
Cornicelli has more than 22 years of experience conducting and directing research in the large pharmaceutical industry, involving all aspects of the development pipeline from target identification through early clinical studies. Prior to joining MIR,
Dr. Cornicelli was a Research Fellow in Inflammation Biology at Pfizer's
Ann Arbor Laboratories. Dr. Cornicelli joined Parke-Davis/Pfizer
in 1985 and left to join MIR in 2007. Dr. Cornicelli received post-doctoral
training iat Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
and University of Cincinnati.
Dr. Cornicelli received his Ph.D. in Environmental Health Sciences
from the University of Cincinatti.
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| Erin
Trachet |
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| Manager
of Pharmacology Services, MIR Preclinical Services |
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Ms.
Trachet received her B.S. degree in Biology with a Biochemistry
minor at Eastern Michigan University. Ms. Trachet has
more than 13 years of animal husbandry experience and
is skilled in cancer pharmacology and imaging techniques.
She has worked exclusively in the area of in vivo evaluation
of anticancer drug candidates for more than 6 years at
Parke-Davis, Pfizer, and MIR. Erin is our most experienced
pharmacologist and supervises all of MIR's pharmacology staff.
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| Daniel Everdeen |
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| Manager
of In Vitro Services, MIR Preclinical Services |
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Mr.
Everdeen received his B.S degree in Biochemistry from Michigan State University. He has over 21 years of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry experience; 18
years of which has been in drug discovery. His experience encompasses a large variety of different assays across a broad spectrum of therapeutic areas. Mr. Everdeen has overall responsibility for all in vitro based services performed at MIR.
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CONSULTANTS |
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| Brian
D. Ross, Ph.D. |
| Consultant
and Director, MIR Preclinical Services |
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Dr.
Ross is a Professor of Radiology and Associate Professor
of Biological Chemistry at the University of Michigan
where he serves as Co-Director of the Center for
Molecular Imaging. He received his Ph.D. in Biophysics
from the University of California at Davis along
with B.S. and M.S. degrees in Chemistry. He completed
an American Brain Tumor Postdoctoral Fellowship
in Magnetic Resonance Studies of malignant brain
tumors at the University of Minnesota, Center for
Magnetic Resonance Research.
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| Al
Rehemtulla, Ph.D. |
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| Consultant
and Director, MIR Preclinical Services |
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Dr.
Rehemtulla is an Associate Professor of Radiation
Oncology at the University of Michigan Medical
School. After his doctoral training at the
University of Calgary Medical School, he trained
at the Scripps Research Institute in San Diego
and then joined Genetics Institute in Boston
where he was responsible for the development
of recombinant Factor IX as a therapeutic
agent for Hemophilia B which is a current
$500M product. He received his Ph.D. in Immunology
from the University of Calgary, Canada.
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TECHNICAL
AND ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF |
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| Lisa
M. Engel |
| Manager
of Operations, MIR Preclinical Services |
Ms. Engel has a B.B.A. in Management from Eastern Michigan University. She has 8 years of business administration experience in the pharmaceutical industry and joined MIR after working at Pfizer, Michigan Labs. Lisa is responsible for both Operations and HR Management at MIR.
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| Frank
A. Urban |
| Sr. Manager
of Business Development, MIR Preclinical Services |
Mr.
Urban has 7 years of experience in Molecular Biology
and Biochemistry. Mr. Urban received his B.A. in
Biology, General Science and Physical Science from
Concordia College. He also has a M.S. in Molecular
Biology, and is working on a M.B.A. degree as well as degrees in Web Design and Criminal Justice. Frank is responsible
for MIR's marketing operations, business development,
contract maintenance, licensing and customer relations.
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| Gregory
S. Miller |
| Controller, MIR Preclinical Services |
Mr. Miller has a broad financial background with significant experience in business operations and development, financial accounting, financial analysis and administration over 20 years. Greg has spent most of his career in private industry such as telecommunications He received his B.B.A. from Western Michigan University.
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| Andrea Hammar |
| Accountant, MIR Preclinical Services |
Ms. Hammar has a BA in Marketing from Michigan State University and a MSA in Accounting from Eastern Michigan University. She has over 25 years of experience in commercial lending, accounting and business operations. Ms. Hammar's primary duties include accounts payable, accounts receivable, general ledger account reconciliation and administrative duties.
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| Vinod Kaimal, Ph.D. |
| Scientist Imaging Section, MIR Preclinical Services |
Dr. Vinod Kaimal holds Bachelors and Masters degrees in electrical engineering and a doctorate in Biomedical engineering with a focus on medical imaging. Prior to joining MIR, Dr. Kaimal worked at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital on his doctoral dissertation on magnetic resonance microscopy of tumor-targeted liposomes. At MIR, Dr. Kaimal is responsible for the design, planning and execution of imaging studies across all imaging modalities and associated data analysis and reporting. He is also responsible for the development and validation of new and existing imaging technologies.
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| Richard
Lister |
| Study
Leader, MIR Preclinical Services |
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Mr. Lister holds a B.S. degree in Biology from Eastern
Michigan University and is a certified Laboratory
Animal Technician. Richard has 4 years of animal
husbandry experience, more than 10 years of experience
in pharmacokinetics and drug metabolism at Parke-Davis/Pfizer
and has worked across multiple disease areas. He
has almost 3 years of experience in the in vivo
evaluation of anticancer agents at MIR. Richard
is ALAS certified and a highly skilled small animal
surgeon.
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| Curtis T. Howard |
| Study
Leader, MIR Preclinical Services |
Mr. Howard has more than 25 years of experience in the field of cancer research, drug evaluation, and drug development. Mr. Howard was a Senior Scientist in the in vivo Cancer Pharmacology Department at Pfizer's Ann Arbor Laboratories and has worked exclusively in the area of in vivo evaluation of anticancer drug candidates. Mr. Howard received his Associate degree in Biology from Lawson State College. Curtis performs in vivo pharmacology experiments for anticancer drug evaluation at MIR.
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| Mary Anne Meade |
| Study
Leader, MIR Preclinical Services |
Ms. Meade has 18 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, working at Parke-Davis/Pfizer, in pathology and experimental toxicology, cancer pharmacology and dermatology pharmacology. Additionally she has over nine years of experience as a veterinary technician. Mary Anne has attended Wayne State University, and is a certified AALAS technologist. Ms. Meade performs in vivo pharmacology experiments for anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory drug evaluation at MIR.
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| Meridith Baugher |
| Study
Leader, MIR Preclinical Services |
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Ms. Baugher graduated from Stautzenberger College with an Associates degree in Veterinary Technology and is a Certified Laboratory Animal Technician. She has previous CRO experience in GLP toxicology and has extensive experience in animal surgery. Meridith performs in vivo pharmacology experiments for anti-cancer drug evaluation at MIR.
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| Libby
Ziemke |
| Study
Leader, MIR Preclinical Services |
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Ms.
Ziemke graduated from Western Michigan University with
honors with a degree in Biomedical Sciences and a minor
in Chemistry. She has previous CRO experience in GLP toxicology
as well as GLP experience in veterinary vaccine formulations.
Libby performs
in vivo pharmacology experiments for anti-cancer drug evaluation
at MIR.
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| Mindy
Stuart |
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| Study
Leader, MIR Preclinical Services |
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Ms.
Stuart has an Associates degree in Veterinary Technology from Stautzenberger College and an Associates degree in Business Management from Monroe Community College. She is an AALAS certified lab animal technologist, has previous CRO experience at a GLP toxicology company, and has previous experience in drug discovery at Pfizer. Mindy performs
in vivo pharmacology experiments for anti-cancer drug evaluation
at MIR.
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| Tracey Monterosso |
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| Study
Leader, MIR Preclinical Services |
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Ms. Monterosso graduated from the University of California, San Diego with a B.S. degree in Biochemistry and Cell Biology. She has previous experience in drug discovery at Celgene. Tracey performs in vivo pharmacology experiments for anti-inflammatory drug evaluation at MIR.
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| Matthew
R. Ziemke |
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| Study
Leader, Imaging Services, MIR Preclinical Services |
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Mr.
Ziemke received his B.S. degree in Physiology from Michigan
State University and is ALAT certified. He has previous
CRO preclinical experience in GLP toxicology and performs
MRI and Bioluminescence imaging experiments
at MIR.
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| Deanne
Lister |
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| Study
Leader, Imaging Services, MIR Preclinical Services |
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Ms.
Lister has academic training in chemical and mechanical
engineering and physics. She has over 3
years of animal husbandry and in vivo pharmacology experience
at MIR. Deanne is now working in the Imaging Sciences
section, specializing in µPET and µCT.
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| Michael Woolliscroft |
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| Study
Leader, Imaging Services, MIR Preclinical Services |
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Mr. Woolliscroft received his B.A. in History from the University of Michigan (UM), then went on to complete pre-med requirements, also at UM. During his undergraduate studies, Mr. Woolliscroft worked in the UM Medical School Center for Molecular Imaging where he supported ongoing oncology studies using MRI, CT and bioluminescence imaging modalities. Building on a further three years of experience at MIR focusing on image data acquisition and analysis, Mr. Woolliscroft is now a Study Leader in the Imaging Section at MIR and runs studies across all imaging modalities.
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| Joanne Tricoff |
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| Animal Care Technician , MIR Preclinical Services |
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Joanne Tricoff is a Licensed Veterinary Technician who earned her degree from MSU in 1983. She graduated with honors and received the Superior Clinical Achievement Award presented by Upjohn. She has 24 years experience as a veterinary technician working in clinical settings with small animals. Joanne joined MIR in March 2007 and is currently in charge of Animal Care.
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| Interns and Part Time Employees |
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Nathan
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