About NYSTEM

Funding Committee

Richard F. Daines, M.D., is the fourteenth New York State Health Commissioner. Prior to becoming Commissioner, Dr. Daines was the President and CEO of St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center from January 1, 2002 until January 2007. Previous to joining the Hospital Center as Medical Director in 2000, he served as Senior Vice President for Professional Affairs of St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx, New York since 1994 and the Medical Director from 1987 to 1999. Dr. Daines received a Bachelor of History degree from Utah State University in 1974 and served as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Bolivia, 1970-1972. He received his medical degree from Cornell University Medical College in 1978. He served a residency in internal medicine at New York Hospital and is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Critical Care Medicine (1987-1997).

Kenneth Adams, M.B.A., is President and CEO of The Business Council of New York State, which represents more than 3,000 member businesses, chambers of commerce and professional and trade associations. The Business Council’s mission is to create an economic renaissance for New York State by shaping public policy to improve New York's economy. Prior to joining The Business Council in November, 2006, Mr. Adams was the President of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce. Under his leadership, the Brooklyn Chamber more than doubled its membership and significantly increased the impact of its marketing, advocacy and small business services. Mr. Adams substantially increased the Chamber’s annual budget, launched 10 new economic development initiatives and improved the Chamber’s relationships with government officials. Before joining the Brooklyn Chamber in 1995, he was the Director of the MetroTech Business Improvement District in Downtown Brooklyn. Under Mr. Adams’ leadership, the BID augmented its services, improved community relations and received citywide recognition for its management and programs. He was the founding Executive Director of New York Cares, which he ran from 1988 to 1994, managing the organization’s growth from 500 to 6,000 volunteers serving in citywide social service and community revitalization projects.  He also was appointed by the governor to serve on the Commission to Modernize the Regulation of Financial Services and the Children’s Cabinet Advisory Group.

Bradford C. Berk, M.D., Ph.D., is the Senior Vice President for Health Sciences at the University of Rochester and CEO of the Medical Center and Strong Health. Dr. Berk received his medical and doctoral degrees from the University of Rochester. He has served on the faculties of Harvard Medical School, Emory University, and the University of Washington. He previously was Chairman of Medicine (1999-2006) and Chief of the Cardiology Unit (1998-2003) at the University of Rochester. In addition, he was Director of the AB Cardiovascular Research Institute.  Dr. Berk is a fellow of the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology, and a member of the Association of American Physicians. Dr. Berk is past-president of the North American Vascular Biology Organization (NAVBO).  He is Consulting Editor for Circulation and Circulation Research and is on the editorial boards of ATVB and the Journal of Clinical Investigation. Dr. Berk has published more than 200 articles, chapters and books. His research interests include:  molecular biology of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system; regulation of endothelial cell function especially by shear stress; the role of oxidative stress in vascular injury biology and the genetic mechanisms of vascular remodeling.

Richard W. Dutton, Ph.D., was born in Great Britain, where he earned a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from London University, London, and a Masters of Arts and Bachelor of Arts degree in Biochemistry from the Cambridge University, Cambridge. He spent many years as a Professor in the Department of Biology, for the University of San Diego, including service as Department Chair from 1986-1988, and is currently a member of the Trudeau Institute, Inc., in Saranac Lake, New York. He served as President of the American Association of Immunologists (AAI) and was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award for his distinguished scientific accomplishment and extraordinary service to the AAI in April, 2004.  In the past he has held membership in various organizations and received many awards, such as the American Cancer Society Faculty Research Award.  He has more than 200 publications to date, and was elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science 2007.

Robin Anthony Elliott, M.A., has been Executive Director of the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, Inc. since October, 1996.  He has been active in development, communications and not-for-profit management in New York City for more than 35 years, serving as Vice President for Development and External Affairs at Teachers College, Columbia University (1988-95) and at Hunter College, The City University of New York (1982-88); as Deputy to the Chancellor for University Relations at the City University of New York (1979-82); and as Director of Information and Education for Planned Parenthood Federation of America (1971-79).  Mr. Elliott grew up in southern England and received his B.A. from Magdalen College, Oxford University and his M.A. in American Government and Politics from Columbia University. Avocationally, he is active in reproductive health and rights, including as Member of the Board of Directors of Advocates for Youth, a Washington-based organization he co-founded in 1980, and has served on the vestry of St. Michael’s Church on West 99th Street and the boards of directors of the St. Cecilia Chorus and Community Health Charities.  Until recently, he was Chair of New Yorkers for the Advancement of Medical Research, a pro-stem cell research coalition of disease advocacy groups, scientists and universities and citizens’ groups. 

Gerald D. Fischbach, M.D., is the Scientific Director of The Simons Foundation, where he oversees the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative. Formerly Dean of the Faculties of Health Sciences at Columbia University, and former Director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) from 1998-2001, he received his M.D. degree in 1965 from Cornell University Medical School and interned at the University of Washington Hospital in Seattle. He began his research career at the NIH, serving from 1966 to 1973. He subsequently served on the faculty of Harvard Medical School, first as Associate Professor of Pharmacology from 1973 – 1978, and then as Professor until 1981. He then was the Edison Professor of Neurobiology and Head of the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology at Washington University School of Medicine. In 1990, he returned to Harvard where he was the Nathan Marsh Pusey Professor of Neurobiology and Chairman of the Neurobiology Departments of Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital until 1998. Throughout his career, Dr. Fischbach has studied the formation and maintenance of synapses, the contacts between nerve cells and their targets through which information is transferred in the nervous system. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Science, the Institute of Medicine, a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a non-resident Fellow of the Salk Institute, and past-President of the Society of Neuroscience.

David C. Hohn, M.D., is President Emeritus and Executive Director of Health Policy at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI), where he served for 10 years as President and CEO. Dr. Hohn continues his national leadership role in health policy issues, especially as they relate to cancer research and treatment and training the next generation of cancer specialists. During his tenure as RPCI President, Dr. Hohn was widely credited with re-establishing the Institute as a leader in the national cancer community. He implemented the Institute’s first strategic plan focused on making RPCI internationally and nationally competitive in cancer science; led the restructuring of RPCI as a public benefit corporation; stabilized funding and increased revenue; recruited over 160 senior leadership faculty, top-tier clinicians and scientists; completed the $250 million renovation and rebuilding of the Institute campus; and implemented an innovative managed care strategy which opened regional access to RPCI. As Principal Investigator of the National Cancer Institute Cancer’s Center Support Grant, Dr. Hohn led the successful renewal of Roswell Park’s designation as a comprehensive cancer center – a designation the Institute has held continuously since 1974. Dr. Hohn came to RPCI from the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center where, as Vice President for Patient Care from 1993 to 1997, his responsibilities included oversight of all clinical departments, clinical research programs and the protocol office.

Bruce Holm, Ph.D., is Executive Director of the NYS Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics & Life Sciences. He also is Senior Vice Provost and Professor in the Departments of Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Pharmacology and Toxicology at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Dr. Holm’s research centers on the development of therapeutics for treatment of critical care patients, and he has co-founded two biotechnology companies that have developed and received Food and Drug Administration approval for life-saving drugs used in both newborn infants and adults. He holds several patents for lung surfactant replacement drugs currently on the market. He received a Research Career Award from the Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health in 1991, and has been principal investigator on a variety of NIH, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Defense, NASA and Markey Trust funded projects totaling more than $50 million in current active federal grant support. Dr. Holm has published more than 250 papers, book chapters and abstracts on such topics as the biology of lung development; the use of surfactant therapy; and molecular therapeutics in acute diseases.

Hilda Hutcherson, M.D., FACOG, is the Associate Dean in the Office of Diversity and a Clinical Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. Dr. Hutcherson is a fellow in the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and a member of the National Association of Medical Minority Educators, National Medical Association, North American Menopause Society and the American Medical Women’s Association.  She is the former director of the Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology Program and Co-Director of the Center for Women’s Health at Columbia University Medical Center. Dr. Hutcherson serves on the Advisory Boards of the Columbia University Summer Research Fellowship Program, the Doris Duke Clinical Research Fellowship Program, the Associated Medical Schools Diversity and Community Affairs, and the New York City Health Literacy Fellowship.  She has received numerous awards for teaching and patient advocacy. Dr. Hutcherson has maintained a clinical practice in Obstetrics and Gynecology since 1985.

Michael A. Stocker, M.D., M.P.H., was the Chief Executive Officer of Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield from 1994 until 2005, when Empire was acquired by WellPoint, a company composed of 14 Blue Cross Blue Shield plans across the country. Dr. Stocker retired from WellPoint in April of 2007. Prior to joining Empire, Dr. Stocker was President of CIGNA Health Plans. He also served as Executive Vice President and General Manager of U.S. Healthcare for the New York market.  He was Medical Director at ANCHOR, a staff model HMO at Rush Presbyterian St. Luke’s Medical Center in Chicago for five years. He also was Associate Chairman and Program Director of the Department of Family Practice at Cook County Hospital in Chicago and practiced medicine in Chicago for 12 years.  Dr. Stocker earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame and his medical degree from the Medical College of Wisconsin. He received his residency training at the Mayo Clinic and at the University of California and is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Family Practice.  He also received a Master of Public Health from the University of Michigan. Dr. Stocker is a member of several boards and organizations including the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health. 

Harold Varmus, M.D., former Director of the National Institutes of Health and co-recipient of the 1989 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, has served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City since January 2000. Dr. Varmus received the Nobel Prize (jointly with Michael Bishop) for elucidating the molecular and genetic mechanisms that underlie the transformation of a normal cell to a cancerous one. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine and has received the National Medal of Science, the Vannevar Bush Award, and several honorary degrees.  In addition to authoring over 300 scientific papers and four books, Dr. Varmus has been an advisor to the Federal government, pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms, and many academic institutions. He served on the World Health Organization’s Commission on Macroeconomics and Health from 2000 to 2002; is a co-founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Public Library of Science; chairs the Scientific Board of the Grand Challenges in Global Health at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; and is involved in initiatives to promote science in developing countries, including the Global Science Corps. His research at the Sloan-Kettering Institute mainly addresses molecular mechanisms of oncogenesis, using mouse models of human cancer.

Madelyn Wils is Executive Vice President of the Planning, Development and Maritime Division of the New York City Economic Development Corp. She is responsible for most of the city’s area- wide revitalization plans throughout the five boroughs. Prior to joining NYCEDC, Ms. Wils served as President of the Tribeca Film Institute. She managed the expansion of the organization, from programming a 10-day film festival into a diverse institution offering year-round cultural and educational events. From 2000 to 2005, she served as Chair of Community Board One in Lower Manhattan, where she played an integral role in the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan. Ms. Wils led the development of the Master Concept Plan for the East River Waterfront, and was awarded “The Visionary Award” from the New York League of Conservation Voters for her efforts. She negotiated significant capital projects for her community, including new schools and parks, community facilities, Little League fields and a library in Battery Park City. Ms. Wils was a founding board member of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation and The Hudson River Park Trust. She has served on other boards, including the Alliance for Downtown New York, the Battery Conservancy and the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council.