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BOARD OF DIRECTORS

NABR's passionate team of Individuals committed to the advancement of biomedical research.

 

An Experienced and Passionate Team of Individuals Committed to the Advancement
of Biomedical Research

 
LAURIE BRIGNOLO

LAURIE BRIGNOLO

DVM, DACLAM

Laurie Brignolo, DVM, DACLAM is the Executive Director of the Research and Teaching Animal Care Program at the University of California, Davis. She is an assistant professor in the Department of Medicine and Epidemiology in the School of Veterinary medicine. Additionally she serves as the Institutional Attending Veterinarian for UC Davis. She completed her Veterinary degree at the University of Wisconsin, Madison and her Laboratory Animal Medicine Residency at the University of California, Davis. Dr. Brignolo then served as a clinical veterinarian at the California National Primate Research Center for over 17 years before going back to the main UC Davis and serving as the Associate Director of Campus Veterinary Services and Director of the Laboratory Animal Medicine Residency Program before taking on her current role in 2018. She is currently a member of AAALAC Council and a board member of the California Biomedical Research Association. Dr. Brignolo has served as Treasurer, Trustee and Newsletter Editor for the Association of Primate Veterinarians (APV) and has served on several committees in APV and the American Society for Laboratory Animal Practitioners.

Jon Mirsalis

Jon Mirsalis

PhD, D.A.B.T.

Jon C. Mirsalis, PhD, DABT, has more than 35 years of experience in the management and conduct of preclinical development projects for the translation of pharmaceutical products, vaccines, and medical devices into human clinical trials. A large portion of his career has focused on accelerating development of therapies for infectious diseases and biothreat agents, including fast-tracking therapies for influenza, Ebola, plague, anthrax TB, and drug-resistant bacteria. Mirsalis joined SRI in 1981 as a staff scientist, and subsequently served as a program director, department director, laboratory director, associate director, and managing director. He currently serves as VP of SRI’s Translational Development Section, a 90-person group that is the largest contractor of preclinical services to the National Institutes of Health. 

Mirsalis has a broad background in drug development and has personally been involved in the development of more than 70 therapeutics that
have entered clinical trials. Approximately 15 have achieved market approval. Hehas also published extensively in the areas of genetic toxicology, mechanisms of carcinogenesis, development of therapeutics for cancer and infectious disease, and use of transgenic animals; he is the author of more than 200 publications, book chapters, and abstracts.

Before joining SRI, Mirsalis was a postdoctoral fellow at the
Chemical Industry Institute of Toxicology, where he developed the in vivo-in vitro hepatocyte DNA repair assay, which is now used as a screen to identify potential carcinogens by government and industry. Mirsalis regularly lectures on drug development at the University of California-San Francisco, on global
health at Notre Dame University and on biosecurity at Stanford University. He recently completed two terms as Chair of the Board of Directors of the California Biomedical Research Association and in 2020 he joined the Board of the National Association of Biomedical Research. He currently serves on the Advisory Council for theCritical Path Institute’s Predictive Safety Testing Consortium (PSTC) and the Medical CBRN Defense Consortium (MCDC). He has previously served on the Board of Scientific Councilors for the National Toxicology Program and the FDA’s Over-the-Counter Product Review Committee.

Mirsalis received his B.S. degree in zoology/molecular biology from
Kent State University, his M.S. degree in genetics from North Carolina State University, and holds Ph.D. degrees in toxicology and genetics from North Carolina StateUniversity.HehasbeencertifiedbytheAmericanBoardofToxicology since 1983.

He was named an SRI Fellow in 2014.

Gary L. Borkowski

Gary L. Borkowski

D.V.M., M.S.

Gary L. Borkowski, D.V.M., M.S. is Global Director for AAALAC International, and has been in this role since November 2018.  He is responsible for overseeing the accreditation program for AAALAC International, with over 1040 accredited units in 50 countries.  Dr. Borkowski has a long history of service with AAALAC International.  In 1998 he was selected to become an Ad Hoc Consultant to AAALAC, and in the years following he served multiple terms as a member of AAALAC’s Council on Accreditation.  From 2007 through 2011 he also served on the AAALAC International Board of Trustees representing the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science.  Dr. Borkowski received his veterinary degree from Iowa State University and a master’s degree in laboratory animal medicine from Pennsylvania State University.  He has 30 years of experience in academic and pharmaceutical laboratory animal medicine, having worked at Vanderbilt University, Pennsylvania State University, Upstate Medical Center (New York), Monsanto, Pharmacia, Pfizer, and the Eli Lilly Company.  Dr. Borkowski has presented and published on topics such as rodent aseptic surgery, animal facility design and construction, institutional animal care and use committees (IACUCs), electronic medical records, microgravity research, and management and leadership.  Dr. Borkowski previously served as program chair for the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS) Annual Meeting, is past President of the American Society of Laboratory Animal Practitioners (ASLAP) and past president of the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine (ACLAM).

STACEY L. CONARELLO

STACEY L. CONARELLO

VMD, MS, DACLAM

Dr. Stacey Conarello is the Director of Quality Assurance and Animal Welfare at Merck Research Laboratories. Dr. Conarellos is a board certified Laboratory Animal Veterinarian with 20 years of clinical, scientific and regulatory experience with a concentration in regulatory compliance, animal welfare advancement, post-approval monitoring, animal model development, external partner management and document writing.

JUDY DAVIAU

JUDY DAVIAU

DVM, DACLAM

Judy received her undergraduate degree at the California State University at San Bernardino and her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine at the University of California at Davis in 1994. She completed a residency in Laboratory Animal Medicine at UC Davis and was employed as a Clinical Instructor in the Zoological Medicine Service at the Veterinary Medicine Teaching Hospital for the following year. In 1997, she accepted a position as a Clinical Veterinarian at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, PA. She became the Director of the Office of Animal Resources in 2004 and continues in that position. Judy became a Diplomate, American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine in 2001. She maintains professional membership in many organizations including PVMA, ASLAP, APV, DVB-AALAS, AVMA and AALAS. She serves on the Board of the Pennsylvania Society for Biomedical Research and has held various positions including Vice- President, President and AAALAC Member Organization Delegate. She serves as a Scientific Reviewer on NIH panels and has received several NIH grants for facility improvements. In addition to her duties at Thomas Jefferson University, Judy serves as an AAALAC Ad Hoc Site visitor, Adjunct Professor at Drexel University and Consulting Veterinarian at Lankenau Institute for Medical Research.

Marina Emborg

Marina Emborg

M.D., PhD

Marina Emborg obtained her M.D. and Ph.D. at the University of
Buenos Aires. She did her postdoctoral training at Somatix Therapy
Corp. and The Parkinson's Institute in Sunnyvale, California,
followed by a fellowship in the department of Pharmacology at the
University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Since her graduate studies her
focus has been in preclinical models and the development of novel
therapies for Parkinson’s disease. In 2004 she became faculty at
the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where she was the
Director of the Preclinical Parkinson’s Research Program at the
Wisconsin National Primate Research Center. Currently, she is a Professor of Medical
Physics. Dr. Emborg’s research focuses in comprehensive nonhuman primate models
of neurological disorders, gene and cell-based therapies for Parkinson’s and the
development of conceptual frameworks for ethical clinical translation of novel treatments.
She is a member of the UK Parkinson’s College of Experts, past President of the
American Society for Neural Therapy and Repair, and the 2016 recipient of the
Bernard Sanberg Memorial Award for Brain Repair (http://
www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-05/uosf-uow043016.php).

Brian Corning

Brian Corning

DVM, DACLAM

Dr. Brian Corning is the Executive Director of the Harvard Center for
Comparative Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Prior to joining
Harvard, Dr. Corning served as director for both university and
medical center animal research programs and worked in the contract
research industry responsible for global product and service
businesses including scientific and technical consulting. A Diplomate of the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine, Dr. Corning earned his
veterinary degree from Colorado State University, completed his post-doctoral
training in comparative medicine at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a
Master of Business Administration from the Kellogg School of Management at
Northwestern University.

JESSICA N. KEEN

JESSICA N. KEEN

MS, DVM, DACLAM

Jessica Keen joined Zoetis in December 2021 and is the Director of Global Animal Care and Compliance. Prior to joining Zoetis, Jessica served as Attending Veterinarian and Director at Charles River Laboratories (formerly WIL Research). She received her master’s degree in Biological Sciences from the University of South Alabama and her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Auburn University. After graduation from veterinary school, Jessica served as a Veterinary Medical Officer with the USDA- APHIS-Veterinary Services in upstate New York before completing post-doctoral training in comparative medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center. Jessica also worked previously at Marshall BioResources and in private practice in Upstate New York before returning to the laboratory animal medicine field. She is a Diplomate of the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine.

CHRISTOPHER KING

CHRISTOPHER KING

DVM, DACLAM

Christopher S. King, D.V.M., DACLAM, serves as the Associate Vice President for Research Integrity and Safety at the University of Georgia inBio Athens, Georgia, where he is also a Professor of Population Health in the College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. King received his veterinary degree from the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine in Blacksburg, Virginia. He completed an NIH post-doctoral fellowship in laboratory animal medicine at Yale University School of Medicine and subsequently became board certified by the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine. Dr. King currently serves as a member of the AAALAC International Council on Accreditation.

SEAN MAGUIRE

SEAN MAGUIRE

VMD, MS, DACLAM, MRCVS

Sean Maguire is a Director, Integrated Biological Platform Sciences and Associate Fellow at GSK. He has over 30 years’ experience in biomedical research, with a focus on the BioPharma sector, spanning various roles and organizations. He is a diplomate of the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine and a member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.

Sean received his veterinary medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania, did his postdoctoral training in laboratory animal medicine at the SmithKlineBeecham, and earned a Master’s degree in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from Lehigh University.

Sean has been with GSK since 2008, in addition to providing laboratory animal medicine subject matter expertise for both internal and external in vivo efforts, he has been collaborating with therapeutic area investigators in the animal model space, with a current focus on infectious disease and the use non-human primate models.

His professional service includes roles with the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine, American Society of Laboratory Animal Practitioners, International Consortium for Innovation and Quality in Pharmaceutical Development, North American 3Rs Collaborative and AAALAC (joining the Council on Accreditation in 2022).

John Bradfield

John Bradfield

DVM, PhD, DACLAM

John Bradfield is the Attending Veterinarian and Director of Comparative Medicine and the Office of Animal Care and Use at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.  Prior to joining UNMC, he served as Senior Director, for AAALAC-International.  Dr. Bradfield has had many years’ experience with the accreditation process as a Council member of AAALAC International and as Council President.  He has served as Director of the Division of Laboratory Animal Medicine and Attending Veterinarian at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and also as the Chair Department of Comparative Medicine, Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina.   He is a veterinarian and a Diplomate of the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine.  Dr Bradfield also has PhD in experimental pathology with scholarly publications in various areas of laboratory animal medicine, wound healing, vascular and platelet biology.    He has wide-ranging experience in academic laboratory animal medicine, managing animal programs and working with animal care and use committees.  Prior to his career in laboratory animal medicine, Dr Bradfield was a large animal practitioner. 

JOSEPH THULIN

JOSEPH THULIN

DVM, MS

Joseph D. Thulin serves as Assistant Provost for Research and Director of the Biomedical Resource Center at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. He is board certified by the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine (ACLAM). Since 1993, Dr. Thulin has led several animal resource units in both academic and industry settings. He has been professionally active in laboratory animal science and medicine organizations including ACLAM and the American Society of Laboratory Animal Practitioners (ASLAP), serving in numerous appointed and elected leadership roles. He is a past-president of both ASLAP and ACLAM. In addition, he has been affiliated with AAALAC International since 1999, serving as an ad hoc consultant, member of the Council on Accreditation, and Council Member Emeritus. He received his DVM in veterinary medicine and MS in veterinary pathobiology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he also completed his residency training in laboratory animal medicine.

Stephen Heinig

Stephen Heinig


Stephen Heinig is Director of Science Policy at the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), guiding development of policy positions on topics that include funding for basic and clinical research, physician scientists, comparative medicine and animal research, and technology transfer.  He has managed surveys and data analyses projects, and has co-authored articles in ScienceNatureNew England Journal of MedicineJAMA, and other journals. Mr. Heinig has staffed AAMC research policy advisory panels, developing consensus positions and recommendations. He represented the AAMC in a multi-association, 2017 workshop on reforming regulatory burden in animal research.  He maintains weekly communications with AAMC’s extensive network of academic research leaders.  He has an AB from Georgetown University and MA in Science, Technology, and Public Policy from George Washington University.

Kevin McNelly

Kevin McNelly

BS

Kevin McNelly joined Charles River in November 2016 as the
Corporate Vice President, Global Procurement. Mr. McNelly has over
three decades of experience as a global supply chain, strategic
sourcing, and operations executive across multiple industries
including; biotechnology, pharmaceutical (including branded, generics,
large molecule, small molecule, cell therapies, vaccines and plasma),
medical devices, fast moving CPG, food, and service. Mr. McNelly has
has held leadership positions in 3 Fortune 500 and 2 FTSE 100 companies, and has
worked in over 75 countries around the world. Mr. McNelly is an experienced executive
with a proven track record of improving operational performance and delivering financial results. As the head of Global Procurement and Facilities Support, Mr. McNelly is responsible for developing strategic objectives for the procurement of goods and services, global engineering, integrated facilities management and sustainability and EH&S in
support of Charles River’s global business activities.
Prior to joining Charles River, Mr. McNelly was the principal at SCM Solutions Consulting,vLLC. In this role, he helped organizations identify and implement best practices that
delivered substantial results while progressing operational excellence. Prior to that he wasvthe Vice President, Global Supply Chain and Strategic Sourcing at AZ/MedImmune. Hisvexperience in a large biotech organization, working with colleagues to maximize the valuevthey receive from suppliers to ensure that business objectives are achieved, provides a unique perspective for Charles River. Mr. McNelly received a BS in Mechanical
Engineering from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.

Joyce Cohen

Joyce Cohen

VMD, DACLAM

Joyce Cohen is currently the associate director of the Division of Animal Resources at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center. She is also an associate professor in Emory University School of Medicine's Division of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and a diplomate of the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine (DACLAM).

Dr. Cohen received her veterinary medical degree from The University of Pennsylvania and did her postdoctoral training in laboratory animal medicine at the Tri Institutional Program at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Weill Medical College, and Rockefeller University. Dr. Cohen joined the Yerkes National Primate Research Center in 2006 with responsibility for clinical medicine, colony management, residency training, research support, and administration at the Yerkes Field Station. She was appointed the Associate Director of Animal Resources in 2013 and she oversees the Division of Animal Resources, which includes Animal Care, Animal Records, Behavioral Management, Colony Management, Occupational Health and Safety, Research Resources and Veterinary Medicine. Her research interests include a combination of veterinary medicine, collaborative research, and behavioral primatology. She has published research on the incidence of diabetes and helicobacter in sooty mangabeys and is currently engaged in research on the microbiome of the sooty mangabey. She collaborates with investigators on infectious disease studies, such as AIDS, Zika virus and COVID-19 infection. Dr. Cohen manages and is the principal investigator of the NIH-supported Specific Pathogen Free Rhesus monkey breeding colony for Yerkes. Dr. Cohen has been involved in several facility design projects for the benefit of the center's animals at both research sites, including automated feeders attached to socially housed monkey compounds, novel indoor/outdoor research animal housing and is currently the principal investigator overseeing design of a new breeding compound funded by an NIH C06 grant. Dr. Cohen also serves as the Attending Veterinarian on the IACUC and the chair of the Yerkes Animal Allocation Committee (YAAC) that oversees animal assignments and manages distribution of the animal colony to research projects. She is also currently serving as President of the Association of Primate Veterinarians. Dr. Cohen strives to enhance welfare with innovative animal housing while facilitating support of critical research.