Organization Profile
Our leadership team brings together a diverse set of backgrounds necessary to realize this goal.
Leadership
Chonnettia Jones, PhD
President and Executive Director
With over two decades of experience in the nonprofit sector, Chonnettia has held leadership roles in mission-driven organizations in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States, where she has contributed to advancing science and health research. Previously at Michael Smith Health Research BC, Chonnettia directed strategic initiatives and funding programs to drive impactful outcomes in health research across British Columbia. During her tenure at the Wellcome Trust, she played a pivotal role in evaluating the effectiveness of global health research funding. While at the Janelia Research Campus of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, she managed an international collaborative program that developed cutting-edge tools to tackle complex problems in biomedical research.
Chonnettia earned her PhD in Biochemistry, Cell, and Developmental Biology from Emory University. Through her professional and volunteer engagements, she advocates for transformative and positive change in the global research ecosystem.
Daniela Bourges-Waldegg, PhD
Executive Vice President and Chief Digital and Technology Officer
Daniela is a computer scientist and technology leader with over 20 years of experience building software systems. Prior to joining Addgene, Daniela worked in various clinical, healthcare, and biomedical informatics ventures including as Director of Informatics Technology for the Harvard Clinical and Translational Sciences Center of the Harvard Medical School. Daniela holds MS and PhD degrees in Computer Science from the Université de Rennes, France, and a BS in electrical engineering from Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana in Mexico City.
Melina Fan, PhD
Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer
Melina is a co-founder of Addgene. Melina received her PhD in Cell Biology from Harvard University, where she studied diabetes and metabolism. Melina has worked at Genetics Institute in Cambridge, MA and Sequana Therapeutics in San Diego, CA. She earned a BS in Biology from MIT.
Tracy Kiernan
Chief People Officer
Tracy joined Addgene in 2014. She received her BS in Nutritional Sciences from the University of Arizona. After graduating, she discovered a passion for working with people and helping them reach their potential so she started her career in human resources. Tracy brings over 20 years of HR experience previously working in the consulting and legal industries.
Eric Perkins, PhD
Senior Director of Organizational Transformation
Eric joined Addgene as a Senior Scientist in 2008 after a post-doc at Harvard University studying DNA replication. He holds BS degrees in Biotechnology and English Literature from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. His PhD in Genetics and Molecular Biology was completed in the Lineberger Cancer Center at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, where he studied DNA repair and V(D)J Recombination.
Marcy Patrick, PhD
Senior Director of Production (Lab Operations)
Marcy joined Addgene in 2011 and has previously worked as a Senior Scientist and the Director of QC/QA for the organization. She holds a BA in Biology from Cornell University and a PhD in Microbiology & Immunology from the University of Michigan, where she studied the Type II Secretion ATPase in V. cholerae.
Board of Directors
Khandan Baradaran, PhD
Dr. Baradaran was Head of Quality at Dimension Therapeutics, which was acquired by Ultragenyx in 2017. Dr. Baradaran has extensive expertise in the areas of viral safety, gene therapy vector development, vaccine development, and assay technologies, and has held positions of increasing responsibility in regulatory affairs, quality control, and quality at Shire, Biogen, Dyax Corp., and Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics. Khandan received her BA degree in molecular biology from Wellesley College and her PhD in virology from Harvard University.
Joanna Brownstein, MBA, MSW
Ms. Brownstein is the Principal of Brownstein Consulting specializing in operations and product management for companies in healthcare, technology, and education. She received her MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management. Previously she served as Director of Customer Operations and of Product Management at KYRUUS and was Associate Director of the eagle-i consortium at the Harvard Medical School Center for Biomedical Informatics.
-
Julie Cicalese
Ms. Cicalese served as the Chief Human Resources Officer for Harvard Medical School where she brought leadership teams together to advance the mission of the school. She was also a member of the Northeast Human Resources Association, Association of American Medical Colleges and the Society for Human Resource Management and SHRM Certified Professional (SHRM-CP). Julie currently serves on the advisory board for Art in Giving, a 501c3 public charity raising funds for childhood cancer through the sale of art. Past volunteer appointments included the Belmont Human Rights Commission and mediator for the Massachusetts small claims court summary process. Julie is dedicated to volunteerism and ran the Mayor’s Midnight Sun Marathon in Anchorage, for the Leukemia Society, the Boston Marathon for the MGH Pediatric Oncology, and the Chicago Marathon to benefit Neurofibromatosis, New England.
Kenneth Fan, MA
Mr. Fan is a co-founder of Addgene. Kenneth received his Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Engineering from Tufts University and his Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy, with a focus on international technology management, from the Fletcher School at Tufts. From 2004 to 2015, Kenneth led business efforts at Addgene as the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer. Prior to Addgene, Kenneth was an investment banking analyst at Credit Suisse’s Technology Group in Palo Alto, CA.
Karen Katz, JD, M.Ed
Ms. Katz is the Deputy Director, Office of Behavioral Health, Executive Officer of Health and Human Services, Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Karen graduated with highest honors from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and obtained her JD from Boston University School of Law, where she was on law review. She clerked for Juan R. Torruella, U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals. Karen also is a mental health clinician. She served as in-house counsel at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital and was associated with Hale & Dorr and Crowell & Morning.
Michael Koeris, PhD
Dr. Koeris co-founded Sample6 and has been its Vice President of Business Development since 2015. He helped invent the Sample6 technology while in Jim Collins' lab at Boston University. Mike previously worked at KPMG Consulting and McKinsey & Company in Germany, as well as Flagship Ventures in Cambridge, MA. He is a visiting scholar with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in the Biomedical Engineering Department at Boston University as well as at MIT.
Bart Newland, JD
Bart is an attorney with extensive and diverse IP and corporate experience. He earned his B.S. degree in Microbiology from UMass Amherst and his JD degree from William and Mary Law School. Bart has been a partner and shareholder in a prominent Washington DC-based law firm, Vice President at Genzyme Corporation, Senior Vice President and Chief IP Counsel at Biogen, and now serves as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Atalanta Therapeutics.
Carl Paratore, MBA, CPA
Mr. Paratore serves as the General Auditor at Tufts Health Plan. In that capacity he leads the Internal Audit function and is responsible for bringing a systematic and disciplined approach to evaluating and improving the effectiveness of the Plan's risk management, control, and governance processes. Prior to Tufts Health Plan, Carl worked at both MetLife & Ernst & Young, LLP, auditing insurance, finance and high-tech industries. He has earned both an MBA in finance and a BS in accounting from Babson College. He is a certified public accountant (CPA), certified information systems auditor (CISA), and certified health insurance executive (CHIE). He is a member of both the Internal Institute of Auditors and the Information Systems Audit and Control Association. Lastly, Carl also serves on the Board of Advisors and Audit Committee at the Greater Boston Food Bank and participates locally in Read To A Child's "Lunchtime Reading Program" in Cambridge, MA.
David Root, PhD
Dr. Root is the Director of the RNA Interference platform and project leader of The RNAi Consortium (TRC) at the Broad Institute. He oversees the development and production of RNAi libraries, the development of RNAi screening methodologies, and the execution of RNAi-based mammalian genetic screens. Dave received his PhD degree in Physical Chemistry from Stanford University.
Frank Stegmeier, PhD
Dr. Stegmeier is the Chief Scientific Officer at KSQ Therapeutics, a biotechnology company that that has built an industry-leading CRISPRomics platform to discover and develop next generation cancer medicines. Prior to joining KSQ Therapeutics, Frank served as Head of Global Oncology Target Discovery at the Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research (NIBR), where he was responsible for developing the early oncology drug discovery portfolio. Frank earned his PhD in biology from MIT and was a Helen Hay Whitney postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School.
Luk H. Vandenberghe, PhD
Dr. Vandenberghe is Associate Professor at Mass Eye and Ear and Harvard Medical School. He is the Grousbeck Family Chair in Gene Therapy, Director of the Grousbeck Gene Therapy Center, Associate Director of the Ocular Genomics Institute, and an Associate Member at the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT. Luk received his training in molecular virology and engineering at the University of Leuven and University of Pennsylvania. His work focuses on mechanistic studies, engineering, and translation of AAV gene therapies.
Board of Directors Alumni
Addgene would like to thank the alumni of its Board of Directors for their years of dedicated service.
David Brook, JD (2007-2015)
Judy Tsai Chuk, PhD (2007-2015)
Connie Cepko, PhD (2007-2019)
Darrell Kotton, PhD (2016-2019)
Kristin Darby, MBA, CPA, CFE, CHCIO (2013-2019)
Joanne Kamens, PhD (Executive Director 2011-2021)
Benjie Chen, PhD (2004-2021)