March: Innovation Month
Dr. Yael Schwartz is a Massachusetts life science executive and serial entrepreneur with a 25-year broad record of achievement in pharmaceutical drug discovery and development. She built and led several research and product development areas in women’s health, dermatology, CNS disorders and respiratory diseases. Following her stint at Sepracor (Sunovion) where she worked on teams that developed Lunesta® (insomnia), Brovana® (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), Xopenex® (asthma), she founded Hygeia Therapeutics and Canterbury Laboratories. Both companies were acquired and taken public by RestorGenex (RESX). At RestorGenex she was on the Board of Directors and the Executive VP of Preclinical Development. In late 2015 she founded Or-Genix Therapeutics, a company developing non-prescription topical products for aging skin, hair and mucous membranes for women over 40 years of age.
Yael received her Bachelor’s degree from Salem State University, a Master’s in Pharmacology/Toxicology at Northeastern University, and a Ph.D. with honors in Human Physiology from a joint program at WPI and the University of Massachusetts Medical School.
For the past 8 years, Yael has served on the Board of Trustees of Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives (MBI). In 2011, she co-founded a non-profit organization for executive women in the healthcare sector, the NEWISE Club (New England Women in Science Executive’s Club), Boston, MA. She is an Honorary Member of Phi Lambda Sigma, The Pharmacy Leadership Society, for her teaching and mentorship activities at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.
Lenore Rasmussen, PhD, Chair of Board, Founder & CTO
As a PhD level polymer chemist with dual masters in Chemistry and Biology, Lenore has over 10 years of experience working with electroactive polymer (EAP) based materials and actuators, and she is a recognized leader in the EAP industry with multiple peer reviewed publications, patents, and the book "Electroactivity in Polymeric Materials" (http://www.springer.com/us/book/9781461408772). Previously, she worked at the Johnson & Johnson Corporate Biomaterials Center. Lenore is the inventor of Ras Labs Synthetic Muscle™, and provides additional expertise in research and development, patent writing and strategy, grant writing, and FDA roadmaps.
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