Research Bridge Partners Appoints New Members to the Company's Board of Directors

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Aug 08, 2024, 07:45 ET

– CEO Lydia McClure, Ph.D. appointed Board Chair –

DALLAS, Aug. 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Research Bridge Partners, which cultivates novel biomedical startup companies based on the breakthroughs of preeminent innovators at mid-continent research universities, announced the appointment of new members to its board of directors effective July 26, 2024.

Research Bridge Partners Logo (PRNewsfoto/Research Bridge Partners)

Ann M. Arvin, M.D., the Lucille Salter Packard Professor of Pediatrics and Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, Emerita at Stanford University, Lydia Meyer-Turkson, former Head of North America Public Private Partnerships for Philips, and Matt Tremblay, Ph.D., CEO of Blackbird Laboratories, have each been appointed to a renewable three-year term.

Lydia McClure, Ph.D., who was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Research Bridge Partners on October 4, 2023, has been appointed Board Chair.

"Ann, Lydia and Matt each possess a wealth of experience successfully developing and commercializing biomedical innovations, along with a deep personal conviction to save and improve lives in the process," said McClure. "I'm excited about what we'll accomplish together."

Arvin commented: "The mission of Research Bridge Partners to enable the transfer of knowledge created by talented researchers who may have limited resources for the process has my enthusiastic support and I hope to contribute to many new initiatives."

Meyer-Turkson commented: "I look forward to working with my colleagues to build innovative companies out of mid-continent research universities where some of the world's best biomedical research in geographically stranded."

Tremblay commented: "Research Bridge Partners has an impressive track record of success in identifying and enabling ground-breaking technologies to create and grow new biotech companies."

Gil Cloyd, Linda Grais and Reid Hoffman, who co-founded Research Bridge Partners and served as board chair, have each transitioned off of the board of directors.

Isaac Barchas, who co-founded the Research Bridge Partners and preceded McClure as Chief Executive Officer, will remain on the board of directors, which now consists of five members.

About Ann M. Arvin, M.D.
Ann M. Arvin, M.D. is the Lucille Salter Packard Professor of Pediatrics and Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, Emerita at Stanford University, and currently serves as a senior vice president in research at Vir Biotechnology, Inc. Her research interests include the molecular virology and pathogenesis of herpesviruses, with a focus on varicella zoster virus, immune responses of children to viral infections and vaccines and development of viral vaccines.

Arvin was chief of Pediatric Infectious Diseases Division, Stanford Children's Hospital, from 1984 to 2006. She served as the vice provost and dean of research, Stanford University from 2006 to 2018. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Association of American Physicians and the American Pediatric Society. Her service related to infectious diseases, vaccines and policy includes the NIAID Director's Advisory Council; the National Vaccine Advisory Committee, DHHS; the NAS/NRC Committees on Policy and Global Affairs, Science, Technology and Law, Federal Research Regulations, Responsible Science and the Board on Life Sciences; the NAM Committee on the Scientific Uses of Variola Virus; the WHO Steering Committee on Research Related to Measles Vaccines; the NIAID Blue Ribbon Panel on Influenza; the President's Council on Science and Technology H1N1 and Influenza Working Groups and the NIH ACTIV Vaccines Working Group for COVID-19.

About Lydia McClure, Ph.D.
Lydia McClure, Ph.D. is the CEO and Board Chair of Research Bridge Partners. She joined Research Bridge Partners in 2017 as Vice President after serving in various leadership positions with both the National Science Foundation and the Austin Technology Incubator. Prior to her appointment as Chief Executive Officer, she served as Senior Vice President overseeing Research Bridge Partners' venture with Lyda Hill Philanthropies to develop successful biomedical spinouts at UT Southwestern Medical Center, as well as the company's collaboration with the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation to cultivate financial support of their grantees and funded projects as they approach commercialization. Possessing a doctorate in microbiology, McClure advises the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR), Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR), Convergence Accelerator and I-Corps™ regarding the commercialization of biomedical research.

About Lydia Meyer-Turkson
Lydia Meyer-Turkson is the former Head of North America Public Private Partnerships for Philips. An experienced new-business professional in the drug discovery and life sciences sector, she has built and managed commercial teams for foreign technology companies looking to expand in Greater Boston. She has lived and worked in a number of commercial roles of increasing seniority at companies in the U.S., U.K. and Europe. Now she leverages her expertise in new business development and building commercial infrastructure to scale -up companies planning to expand into North America.

About Matt Tremblay, Ph.D.
Matt Tremblay, Ph.D., is the Chief Executive Officer of Blackbird Laboratories, a nonprofit technology development platform, and Managing Director of Blackbird BioVentures, an early stage biotech investment fund. Blackbird aims to catalyze the creation of new medicines and enabling technologies in Baltimore. Prior to joining Blackbird, Tremblay was Chief Operating Officer of The Scripps Research Institute and its drug discovery affiliate Calibr. He earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry at Columbia University. Following postdoctoral work in the laboratory of Peter Schultz, Ph.D., at Scripps Research, he led a group at the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation until helping to launch and run Calibr for 10 years.

About Research Bridge Partners
Research Bridge Partners cultivates novel biomedical startup companies based on the breakthroughs of preeminent innovators at mid-continent research universities—creating high quality investment opportunities that are sourced from geographies with thinner commercialization resources.

We work with preeminent academic researchers nationwide to develop IP, regulatory, business development and product strategies, while establishing effective corporate structures to create portfolio-ready opportunities for downstream investors. Just like their best peers on either coast, mid-continent innovators can now co-found scientific startups that contribute to society's greater good and create economic value, in addition to enhancing the resources of their labs and the opportunities for their colleagues.

SOURCE Research Bridge Partners