Advisors

Manu S. Nair is Vice Chair, High Value Opportunities, Corporate Development in the Department of Business Development at Mayo Clinic. Mr. Nair leads the business development efforts focusing on high-value opportunities that are of highest strategic importance to Mayo Clinic.

Prior to assuming this role, Mr. Nair served as vice president of Technology Ventures for the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF) in Oklahoma City. He was in charge of developing/ commercializing OMRF's technologies, establishing strategic industry collaborations, and managing the innovation fund dedicated to such development efforts.

Mr. Nair started his technology commercialization career at OMRF in 2004 and was involved in OMRF’s intellectual property (IP) commercialization and startup company efforts. He later joined Mayo Clinic Ventures (MCV), the technology commercialization and investment arm of Mayo Clinic, where he served as a technology licensing manager and subsequently as senior licensing manager. He managed a diverse portfolio of technologies and was in charge of related IP protection, development and commercialization, including company formation and technology-based investments. He also led MCV’s international collaboration and funding initiatives.

Appointed by the governor of Oklahoma, Mr. Nair served as vice chair of the Oklahoma Science and Technology R&D Board. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Legal Assistance of Olmsted County, Rochester, Minnesota and the Midwest University Research Network. He currently serves on the board of vMocion, LLC and the USA Healthcare Alliance, and is a member of the External Advisory Committee for the NIH-funded SE XLerator Network Hub. In addition, Mr. Nair serves as a business consultant/advisor for several U.S. and international entities, including prominent research institutes and technology companies.

Mr. Nair received his MBA from Lamar University in Texas and an advanced degree in law from the University of New Hampshire School of Law focusing on intellectual property, commerce and technology laws.

Following his medical training in Pathology and Rheumatology at the National University of Singapore and the Singapore General Hospital in Singapore, Dr. Mohan undertook his doctoral thesis work focusing on the cellular immunology of lupus at Tufts University, Boston. His post-doctoral training focused on the genetic analysis of murine lupus. As an independent investigator, his laboratory’s research efforts have concentrated on elucidating the cellular, molecular, and genetic players leading to murine lupus nephritis, with corresponding translational studies in human lupus nephritis. His more recent work has focused on translating findings from basic biology towards the early diagnosis of end-organ involvement in autoimmune diseases. Dr. Mohan’s ongoing studies are aimed at tapping leads from proteomic platforms to mine new biomarkers and targets in chronic rheumatic diseases and selected cancers, and to apply the latest bioengineering technologies to advance the management of these ailments.

In his recent tenure as an endowed Professor of Medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dr. Mohan held the McGee Chair in Arthritis Research and the Walter and Helen Bader Professorship in Autoimmunity. He currently holds the Cullen Distinguished Professorship at the University of Houston, in Houston, TX. Dr. Mohan is an elected member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation and the Henry Kunkel Society. He has published ~250 articles, largely in the area of autoimmunity and biomarkers.

Dr. Niewold is a physician-scientist working as a human geneticist and translational researcher, bridging the traditional gap between the basic and clinical sciences. His work has been recognized for important contributions to the genetic basis of systemic lupus erythematosus and the role of type I interferon in the pathogenesis of this disease. Dr. Niewold is the Vice Chair for Research in the HSS Department of Medicine, and his interests involve the use of personalized medicine in the treatment of autoimmune disorders.

Dr. Putterman’s major research interests are in the field of immunology and autoimmune diseases, and specifically the identification and characterization of novel mechanisms, biomarkers, and treatment approaches to immune mediated nephritis, neuropsychiatric lupus, and systemic lupus erythematosus. Dr. Putterman’s laboratory has received funding from the National Institute of Health, Alliance for Lupus Research, Lupus Research Institute, Arthritis Foundation, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Biogen Idec, and he has published more than 200 articles and book chapters in the medical and scientific literature. He was elected to the American Society of Clinical Investigation, and is a member of the American College of Rheumatology and the American Association of Immunologists. Dr. Putterman has served on multiple NIH and international study sections, and is currently a member of several editorial boards.

Don Thomas, M.D., FACP, FACR is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the Uniformed Services of the University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, and is in private practice at Arthritis and Pain Associates of PG County, Greenbelt, MD. His practice concentration is in autoimmune diseases, especially lupus and Sjogren’s. He is passionate about teaching others, including patients. He is author of the highly acclaimed “The Lupus Encyclopedia: A Comprehensive Guide for Patients and Family Members.”

Dr. Axtell is an Associate Member in the Division of Arthritis and Clinical Immunology at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation and is an Adjunct Faculty Member at Oklahoma University Health Science Center. His research focuses on cellular and molecular immunology, with a particular emphasis on the pathophysiology and biomarker discovery of multiple sclerosis (MS) and neuromyelitis optica (NMO). His work has been highlighted by publications of high impact manuscripts and issued patents and has provided key insights into development of personalized medicine approaches for treating neuro-inflammatory diseases like NMO and MS.

Jeffrey Dunn, M.D. serves as Professor of Clinical Neurology and Chief of the Division of Neuroimmunology at the Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. He has served as Principal Investigator for more than 30 clinical trials, has co-authored more than 50 peer-reviewed articles and abstracts, and has received numerous teaching awards. He was elected Chair of the MS Section of the American Academy of Neurology and serves on the National Medical Advisory Board of the NMSS.

Gabriel Pardo, MD, FAAN, is the Director of the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Center of Excellence, and Associate Member of the OMRF Arthritis and Clinical Immunology Research Program. After medical school, he completed training in ophthalmology, neurology and neuroophthalmology. Dr. Pardo has been dedicated to patient care and research in neurommunology for over 2 decades. He has served on many national professional committees, including the National Clinical Advisory Board of the National MS Society.

His research interests focus on identifying objectives markers of disease activity and progression, advanced clinical and translational research, and optimization of ambulatory function. His clinical goals include providing MS patients with access to multidisciplinary comprehensive care, education, and clinical research in order to ensure successful treatment outcomes. His research has been widely published and he serves as a reviewer for several major peer-reviewed biomedical journals.

Among other recognitions, Dr. Pardo is an inductee of the Volunteer Hall of Fame of the National MS Society under the Health Professionals/Research category and received the Labe C. Scheinberg award from the CMSC Foundation.

Dr. Steinman's research focuses on what provokes relapses and remissions in multiple sclerosis (MS), and on the quest for antigen specific therapy in type 1 diabetes, neuromyelitis optica and myasthenia gravis. He is taking forward a pivotal clinical trial with antigen specific tolerization therapy for type 1 diabetes. Steinman was senior author on the 1992 Nature article that led to the drug Tysabri, approved for MS and Crohn’s disease.
Dr. Steinman graduated from Dartmouth College, Magna Cum Laude in Physics. His MD is from Harvard Medical School. He was a post-doctoral fellow in chemical immunology fellow at the Weizmann Institute of Science. After neurology residency he remained on the faculty in 1980. He has received numerous honors, including the John M. Dystel Prize in 2004, the Javits Neuroscience Investigator Award from the NINDS twice, the Charcot Prize in MS research, and the Cerami Prize in Translational Medicine. Steinman is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, and the National Academy of Medicine.
Dr. Steinman cofounded several biotech companies, including Neurocrine, Atreca, Katexco, and Tolerion. He was a Director of Centocor from 1988 until its sale to Johnson and Johnson.

Dr. Wu is a clinician and research investigator with a laboratory dedicated to understanding the regulation of adaptive immune responses in the central nervous system during health and disease. His basic science and clinical research has been funded by the NIH, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Doris Duke Foundation, Barnes Jewish Foundation, and Hope Center for Neurologic Diseases.