Summit Chair
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Emmett T. Cunningham, Jr., MD, PhD, MPHPartner, Clarus Ventures, LLC
Dr. Cunningham joined Clarus Ventures with more than 20 years experience in the biomedical and biopharmaceutical sectors. Prior to Clarus, Dr. Cunningham was the Senior Vice President, Medical Strategy at Eyetech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYET), where he helped build and lead the team that developed and commercialized Macugen, a first-in-class product for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration. Prior to Eyetech, Dr. Cunningham was at Pfizer, Inc, where he was responsible for the clinical development of early phase central nervous system compounds and the in-licensing of early and late-stage therapeutic candidates in ophthalmology.
Dr. Cunningham is an internationally recognized specialist in infectious and inflammatory eye disease with over 200 publications. He is an Adjunct Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology at Stanford University, was Clinical Professor and Director of the Uveitis service at NYU from 2002 to 2005, and was Director of both the Uveitis Service and the Kimura Ocular Immunology Laboratory at the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) from 1995 to 2001. Dr. Cunningham received an MD and MPH in epidemiology and statistics from Johns Hopkins University, a PhD in neuroscience from the University of California at San Diego (UCSD) for work done at The Salk Institute, and completed both a residency in ophthalmology and fellowship training in Corneal Disease and Uveitis at UCSF.
Dr. Cunningham is a member of the Board of Directors for SARcode Inc., a member of the Scientific Advisory Boards of ESBAtech AG and Comentis Inc., and a Board observer for Ferrokin Biosciences, Pearl Therapeutics Inc., Taligen Therapeutics Inc., and Zogenix, Inc.
Meeting Co-Chairs
William Link, PhD
Managing Director
Versant Ventures
Bill Link specializes in early-stage investing in medical devices at Versant. Prior to co-founding Versant Ventures, Bill was a general partner at Brentwood Venture Capital. He has a proven record of building and operating large, successful medical product companies. With extensive knowledge...
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Gilbert Kliman, MD
Managing Director
InterWest Partners
Dr. Gil Kliman joined InterWest's life sciences team in 1996. He invests in a broad array of life sciences opportunities with a special interest in ophthalmology and medical devices. He has been a major investor in Epocrates (EPOC), Glaukos, IntraLase (ILSE), LenSx Lasers, Neuronetics, NeuroPace, ......
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Advisory Board Members
Mark S. Blumenkranz, MDProfessor & Chairman,
Department of Ophthalmology
Stanford University
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Sabri Markabi, MD Chief Medical Officer and
Senior Vice President R&D
Alcon Laboratories, Inc.
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Scott M. Whitcup, MD Executive Vice President, Research & Development and Chief Scientific Officer Allergan, Inc.
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