Salk Institute Elects Leaders in Medicine and Corporate Law to Board of Trustees; Names World-Renowned Cell Biologist Non-Resident Fellow

LA JOLLA, Calif., Nov. 29, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Board of Trustees of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies unanimously voted to elect Dr. Benjamin H. Lewis and Ms. Faye H. Russell as new members during its November 19 meeting in La Jolla.

The Salk Institute has also invited the highly accomplished, world-renowned cell biologist Dr. Jennifer Lippincott-Schwartz to join its faculty as a Non-Resident Fellow.

"I am pleased to welcome Dr. Lippincott-Schwartz, Ms. Russell, and Dr. Lewis to the Salk Institute," said Institute President William R. Brody. "Their deep understanding of the importance of basic research will help us expand our vision and take us to the next level."

Dr. Benjamin H. Lewis is an Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine at Columbia University and an attending physician at Columbia University Medical Center, the New York-Presbyterian Hospital in New York. Dr. Lewis has devoted his career to the prevention of cardiovascular disease. His particular focus is on the increased use of lifestyle approaches, medical therapies, and noninvasive, nonradioactive techniques-in particular, ultrasound-for the diagnosis and management of heart-disease patients.

After receiving his B.A. in biological sciences from the University of California at Berkeley, Dr. Lewis attended the University of California at San Francisco Medical School. He then continued his training with an internship at the University of Pennsylvania, followed by his residency at Columbia University Medical Center. After a short sojourn in Boston to complete a two-year fellowship at the Brigham and Women's Hospital, Dr. Lewis returned to Columbia-Presbyterian in 1982. He has remained with Columbia ever since.

Faye H. Russell is a partner in Latham & Watkins' North San Diego office where she assists emerging growth companies in developing and executing acquisition and licensing strategies. In addition, she advises companies on public and private equity and debt financings, including initial public offerings and venture financings. She is a frequent lecturer on intellectual property issues, investor relations, public and private financings, shareholder relations, and general corporate governance, and has been recognized as one of the top 50 IPO lawyers nationwide.

Ms. Russell is a member of the board of directors of Athena San Diego, an organization for executive women in the San Diego life sciences, technology, healthcare, and business communities, and has served on the board of directors of San Diego Venture Group. She has participated in numerous advisory and other programs through CONNECT, a regional program fostering the commercialization of research discoveries through education, mentoring, and access to capital. She also serves on the board of trustees for the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego and the San Diego Public Library Foundation, and previously served on the City of San Diego's Commission for Arts and Culture and the board of trustees for the Museum of Photographic Arts.

Ms. Russell is a graduate of Stanford University. Prior to attending law school at the University of San Diego, Ms. Russell worked in the business world, serving as sales manager and special sections editor for Copley News Service, and in retail advertising sales and circulation for a weekly newspaper. Ms. Russell also serves as vice president for Dow Theory Letters, an international financial newsletter and Web service.

Dr. Jennifer Lippincott-Schwartz is an investigator at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development at NIH in Bethesda, MD, and studies the dynamic nature of cells and their organelles. Known for continually pushing the boundaries of the visible world, Dr. Lippincott-Schwartz is a leading force in the development of superresolution imaging. Her group introduced photoactivation localization microscopy (PALM), which, for the first time, made it possible to track single molecules in living cells.

After receiving her B.A. in psychology and philosophy from Swarthmore College, Dr. Lippincott-Schwartz entered the master's program in biology at Stanford University and later received her doctorate in biochemistry from Johns Hopkins University. After completing post-doctoral research studies at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), she joined NICHD as a staff fellow. She currently heads the Section on Organelle Biology in the Cell Biology and Metabolism Branch at the NICHD.

Dr. Lippincott-Schwartz has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences and the National Institute of Medicine and is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Contact: Kat Kearney, 1-858-453-4100 x1226, [email protected]

SOURCE Salk Institute for Biological Studies