The Termeer Foundation Expands Board of Directors

Oct 15, 2020

BOSTON, October 15, 2020 – The Termeer Foundation, a nonprofit organization focused on connecting life science innovators and catalyzing the creation of new medicines, today announced the expansion of its Board of Directors. The foundation added Gail Maderis, President and CEO of Antiva Biosciences; John Maraganore, CEO and Director at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals; and Joan Reede, M.D., Dean for Diversity and Community Partnership at Harvard Medical School to the board.

“We are honored to have Gail Maderis, John Maraganore and Joan Reede join The Termeer Foundation Board of Directors and help us advance our vision of connecting the world of healthcare innovators until every patient has a cure,” said Belinda Termeer, President and Co-Founder of The Termeer Foundation. “Their combined expertise spanning entrepreneurship, organizational leadership, mentoring, diversity and strategy will be instrumental in helping us build this foundation.”

Gail Maderis currently serves as President and CEO of Antiva Biosciences and as a member of the Board of Directors at Valitor Inc., the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), and the California Life Sciences Institute. She is also a Trustee of the University of California Berkeley Foundation. Gail has over 20 years of leadership experience in biopharmaceutical companies, including at Genzyme Corporation, where she worked closely with Henri Termeer. Previously, Gail led BayBio, the industry organization representing and supporting Northern California’s life science community. She also previously served as President and CEO of Five Prime Therapeutics, Inc., and held senior executive positions at Genzyme, including Founder and President of Genzyme Molecular Oncology (GZMO). Gail also practiced management and strategy consulting with Bain & Co. She received a BS in business from UC Berkeley and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

John Maraganore serves as CEO and Director at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Chair of the Board for Agios Pharmaceuticals, co-chair of the Termeer Tribute Committee, and member of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) Executive Committee. John brings The Termeer Foundation extensive experience gained from building and managing the translation of RNAi from a Nobel Prize-winning discovery into an innovative, entirely new class of medicines, and in the process creating one of the biopharmaceutical industry’s largest and arguably most successful companies. John has served as the CEO and a Director of Alnylam since 2002. Prior to Alnylam, John served as an officer and a member of the management team for Millennium Pharmaceuticals, and prior to that he held various positions at Biogen, where he invented and led the discovery and development of ANGIOMAX® (bivalirudin) for injection, formerly HIRULOG™ and currently marketed by The Medicines Company. Prior to Biogen, John was a scientist at ZymoGenetics, Inc., and the Upjohn Company. John also formerly served as Chair of the Board of Directors for the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO). John received his MS and PhD in biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Chicago.

Joan Reede, M.D., serves as Dean for Diversity and Community Partnership at Harvard Medical School, and President of the Biomedical Science Careers Program. Joan brings to The Termeer Foundation a lifelong passion for and experience with mentoring and supporting diversity in the biosciences. She is Harvard Medical School’s first Dean for Diversity and Community Partnership, responsible for the development and management of a comprehensive program that provides leadership, guidance, and support to promote the increased recruitment, retention, and advancement of underrepresented minority faculty. She also serves in a number of other positions, including Faculty Director of Community Outreach at HMS, Professor at HMS and at Harvard’s Chan School of Public Health, and Assistant in Health Policy at Massachusetts General Hospital. While at HMS, Joan created more than 20 diversity and leadership-focused programs, including founding the HMS Minority Faculty Development Program and the Biomedical Careers Program. Before joining Harvard, she served as the medical director of a Boston community health center and worked as a pediatrician in community and academic health centers, juvenile prisons, and public schools. She has held a number of advisory roles including serving on the Health and Human Services Advisory Committee on Minority Health and the Secretary’s Advisory Committee to the Director of NIH. Joan graduated from Brown University and Mount Sinai School of Medicine. She holds an MPH and an MS in Health Policy Management from Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, and an MBA from Boston University.

Also joining The Termeer Foundation as a Board Observer is Adriana Termeer. The new appointees join existing board members Belinda Termeer and Alan Walts, Treasurer, Secretary, Mentor and Co-Founder of The Termeer Foundation and Venture Partner with Advent Life Sciences.

About The Termeer Foundation

The Termeer Foundation is a nonprofit organization working to connect the world of healthcare innovators until every patient has a cure. We build and support an ever-expanding network of biotech entrepreneurs, CEOs, academics, and other innovators because we believe that helping people succeed will ultimately help their innovations reach patients. Our support includes mentoring, networking, professional development, and financial grants intended to facilitate connections, break down silos, strengthen skillsets and ultimately enable a diverse array of current and future healthcare leaders who bring much-needed solutions to patients. Find out more about The Termeer Foundation and how you can support, engage with, and join our network at www.termeerfoundation.org or on LinkedIn @TermeerFoundation.

Contact:
Erica Mawby-Roche
Termeer Foundation
erica@termeerfoundation.org

Termeer Institute Announces 2026 Transatlantic Connections Award Honorees

Shana Wang of PathCision Medicine and Arno Bisschop of Genewity Named as This Year's Recipients

The Termeer Institute today announced the recipients of the 2026 Transatlantic Connections Award (TAC), recognizing two life sciences entrepreneurs — one in the United States and one in the Netherlands — whose work has the potential to strengthen the relationship and thought partnership between the two regions’ life sciences communities.

This year’s honorees are Shana Wang, co-founder and CEO of PathCision Medicine (United States), and Arno Bisschop, CEO of Genewity (Netherlands). Both honorees join the Class of 2026 Termeer Fellows and become members of the Termeer network. Each will receive support to travel to and engage with the life sciences community in the other’s region.

The Transatlantic Connections Award was established in 2021 with support from the Termeer Institute and Health-Holland, and is rooted in the Massachusetts–Netherlands life sciences partnership formalized through a 2019 memorandum of understanding between the Massachusetts Office of International Trade and Investment and the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy.

“Scientific discovery knows no borders, and the Transatlantic Connections Award reflects that belief,” said Catharine Smith, CEO of the Termeer Institute. “Shana and Arno each bring deep expertise and a patient-first orientation to their work. We look forward to seeing the connections they build as members of the Termeer network and the exchange of ideas that will follow.”

Shana Wang, Co-Founder and CEO, PathCision Medicine

Shana Wang, co-founder and CEO of PathCision Medicine, brings a background in analytics, strategy and operational leadership to her work in life sciences. Prior to founding PathCision, she served as head of marketing and analytics at a femtech company, where she led cross-functional teams to launch new products and implemented data-driven strategies to support market growth. Earlier in her career, she worked in strategy and analytics consulting, advising Fortune 500 companies and developing predictive models to support data-informed decisions. She holds an M.A. in computational and applied mathematics from Rice University and a B.A. in economics and English from Wellesley College.

“Being named a Transatlantic Connections Award honoree is an extraordinary opportunity to learn from and contribute to a community of leaders united by a commitment to patients,” said Shana Wang, co-founder and CEO of PathCision Medicine. “I look forward to building connections across the Atlantic and bringing those perspectives to the work we are doing.”

Arno Bisschop, CEO, Genewity

Arno Bisschop is a medical doctor and entrepreneur in health and life sciences. Trained at the Amsterdam University Medical Center, he holds a PhD in orthopedic and neurosurgery and a master’s degree in management and policy in health and life sciences. Over the past decade, Bisschop has co-founded and exited several health care companies. He currently serves as CEO of Genewity, a clinical-stage company developing gene therapies for patients around the world.

“I am honored to receive the Transatlantic Connections Award and to join the Termeer Fellows community,” said Arno Bisschop, CEO of Genewity. “Collaboration across regions is essential to advancing the science and solutions that patients need, and I look forward to building those connections.”

Wang and Bisschop join a Termeer network that includes more than 600 life science industry leaders— mentors, advisors, board members and community partners — spanning nine countries and united by a shared commitment to patient-centered innovation. Fellows across the program’s history have collectively raised $3.45 billion in funding, with 73% remaining in their roles as CEOs and 87% of their companies continuing to advance. The exchange of ideas and experiences across borders is central to how the Institute drives progress, with the ultimate goal that every patient has a cure.

About the Transatlantic Connections Award 

The Transatlantic Connections Award recognizes one U.S.-based and one Netherlands-based life sciences entrepreneur annually. Honorees become members of the Termeer Fellows class and the broader Termeer network, and receive support to engage with the life sciences community in the other’s region. The award was established in 2021 with support from the Termeer Institute and Health-Holland.

About the Termeer Institute 

The Termeer Institute supports and empowers brilliant life science innovators through values-driven leadership programming, including mentorship, network development and thought leadership to advance groundbreaking, patient-centric solutions. Learn more at termeerinstitute.org.