Julian Adams, Ph.D., is President of Research and Development and Chief Scientific Officer. Prior to joining Infinity, Dr. Adams was the Senior Vice President, Drug Discovery and Development at Millennium Pharmaceuticals. In this capacity, he had global responsibility for multiple drug discovery programs, including the successful discovery and development of VELCADE®, a proteasome inhibitor for cancer therapy. He joined Millennium through its acquisition of LeukoSite in 1999 where he was Senior Vice President, Research and Development. Dr. Adams joined LeukoSite as a result of its acquisition of ProScript, Inc., where he had served as a member of the founding management team, Executive Vice President of Research and Development, and a member of the Board of Directors. Earlier in his career, Dr. Adams served in various positions, including Director, Medicinal Chemistry at Boehringer Ingelheim, where he successfully discovered the drug Viramune® for HIV. Also, from 1982-1987, he was a Medicinal Chemist at Merck.

Dr. Adams received a B.S. from McGill University and a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the field of synthetic organic chemistry. He has received many awards, including the 2001 Ribbon of Hope Award for VELCADE® from the International Myeloma Foundation. Dr. Adams is an inventor of over 40 patents and has authored over 100 papers and book chapters in peer-reviewed journals. He is the editor of Proteasome Inhibition in Cancer Therapy published in July 2004.

Michael S. Curtis, Ph.D., is Vice President of Pharmaceutical Development with responsibility for manufacturing, formulation, and analytical characterization of Infinity's pre-clinical and clinical drug candidates. Prior to joining Infinity, Dr. Curtis was an Associate Director within the Pharmaceutical and Analytical Development group at Transkayotic Therapies (TKT, currently Shire) where he was responsible for analytical methods development and validation to support the registration of Elaprase® (idursulfase). Before TKT, Dr. Curtis was the Associate Director of Analytical Development at Syntonix Pharmaceuticals where he was involved with advancing the Transceptor® drug delivery technology and in particular its expansion as an oral delivery platform. Prior to Syntonix, he was a member of the Therapeutic Protein Research group at Genzyme working on the development and characterization of the enzyme replacement therapy Myozyme® (alglucosidase alfa). Dr. Curtis began his career at Bristol-Myers Squibb where he held positions of increasing responsibility working in small molecule and biologics development, most significantly on the manufacturing processes for Capoten® (captopril) and Taxol® (paclitaxel) and the early development of Orencia® (abatacept).

Dr. Curtis received his B.S. in Biochemistry from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry and his Ph.D. in Cell and Molecular Biology from Upstate Medical University.

David S. Grayzel, M.D., is Vice President, Clinical Development and Medical Affairs. Dr. Grayzel is currently responsible for leading Infinity's clinical research efforts and oversees both clinical development and clinical operations. Prior to Infinity, he was at Dyax Corp., a biopharmaceutical company focused on antibody and protein therapeutics. At Dyax, he was Director of Corporate Development and Business Operations, responsible for marketing and commercialization strategy for therapeutic products in the development pipeline, including late-stage clinical trials as well as business initiatives for in-licensing of targets, out-licensing of late-stage compounds, and co-development partnerships.

Dr. Grayzel obtained his medical degree at Harvard Medical School and completed his internship and residency training in Internal Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital. Prior to his medical training, Dr. Grayzel was a Curriculum Director at Stanford University Medical Center, creating their first case-based medical ethics curriculum. He holds a B.A. with honors from Stanford University.

Steven H. Holtzman is a founder, Chair, and Chief Executive Officer. From early 1994 - 2001, Mr. Holtzman served as an early leader and the Chief Business Officer of Millennium Pharmaceuticals, a leading biopharmaceutical company. Prior to joining Millennium, from 1986-1994, Mr. Holtzman was a founder, the first employee, and Executive Vice President of DNX Corporation, the first commercial enterprise devoted to the development of agricultural, biomedical, and pharmaceutical applications of transgenic animal technology. Prior to DNX, in the early 1980s, Mr. Holtzman conceived of and was the founding Executive Director of the Ohio Edison Program, the nation's first state government program directed to achieving economic development through funding young technology-based ventures and university/industry collaborative research and development efforts. In the late 1970s, Mr. Holtzman was an instructor and tutor in moral philosophy and the philosophy of language at Corpus Christi College, Oxford University, U.K.

Mr. Holtzman co-founded and from 1995-2000 was the Co-Chair of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) Bioethics Committee. From 1996-2001, he served as a presidential appointee to the National Bioethics Advisory Commission, the principal advisory body to the President and Congress on ethical issues in the biomedical and life sciences. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Anadys Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and of BIO.  He is a Trustee of The Hastings Center for Bioethics and a Trustee of the Berklee College of Music. Mr. Holtzman received his B.A. in Philosophy from Michigan State University and his B.Phil. graduate degree in Philosophy from Oxford University, which he attended as a Rhodes Scholar.

Steven J. Kafka, Ph.D., is Vice President, Finance.
Dr. Kafka oversees investor and public relations, financial planning and analysis, accounting, treasury, purchasing, and business operations. Dr. Kafka joined Infinity from Millennium Pharmaceuticals, where he was Senior Director, Finance. As leader of the Financial Planning and Analysis group at Millennium, he and his team were responsible for corporate business planning, financial management, and product portfolio strategy support. He also served as a member of the VELCADE® leadership team where he helped to establish and guide the product’s U.S. commercial strategy and operations and its global co-development strategy with partner Johnson & Johnson.

Dr. Kafka worked for several years as a senior member of the life sciences practice of Strategic Decisions Group (SDG), a business strategy consulting firm, where he specialized in the pharmaceutical industry. His experience at SDG included leadership of portfolio integration efforts for the merger of two global pharmaceutical firms, establishment of portfolio strategy and ongoing management for the Japanese assets of a global biopharmaceutical firm, and product development strategy projects across a host of therapeutic areas.

John J. Keilty is Vice President, Information Technology and Informatics. Mr. Keilty is responsible for information systems, software development, structural biology, bioinformatics, and clinical informatics. Prior to joining Infinity, Mr. Keilty was an early member of Millennium Pharmaceuticals where he held various roles of increasing responsibility, including Senior Manager of Molecular Research Services with broad ownership for the creation, management, implementation and transfer of much of the company’s core genomic technologies. Many of the developed software applications, algorithms and laboratory procedures were transferred to Millennium’s corporate partners as part of larger business collaborations. Before Millennium, Mr. Keilty worked in the Howard Hughes lab of Michael Green at University of Massachusetts Medical Center, focusing on basic research in transcription and gene splicing.

Mr. Keilty holds a B.A. in biology from Clark University.

Jeanette W. Kohlbrenner is Senior Director, Human Resources. She is responsible for Infinity’s human resource and organizational development functions. Ms. Kohlbrenner joined Infinity with over 15 years of experience in senior human resource roles with life science and medical device companies, ranging from start-up to fully commercial, global organizations. Prior to joining Infinity, Ms. Kohlbrenner was the Business Unit Director of Human Resources for Cambrex Biosciences, with responsibilities for pharmaceutical development and manufacturing locations in the United States. Before Cambrex, Ms. Kohlbrenner was at Syntonix Pharmaceuticals, where she was the Director of Human Resources and a key member of the senior team, working to build the company. Ms. Kohlbrenner also held human resource roles with Genetics Institute/Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, and Hewlett-Packard’s Medical Device business (now Philips Medical). Early in her career, Ms. Kohlbrenner was a compensation and performance management consultant with William Mercer, a global leader in human resource consulting.

Ms. Kohlbrenner holds an M.B.A. from Babson College and a B.A. in Mathematics from Holy Cross.

Vito J. Palombella, Ph.D., is Vice President, Drug Discovery. Prior to joining Infinity, Dr. Palombella was at Syntonix Pharmaceuticals. At Syntonix he was Director of Molecular Biology and Protein Chemistry, responsible for improving and expanding its core Fc receptor-mediated drug delivery technology. Before joining Syntonix, Dr. Palombella was Senior Director of Cell and Molecular Biology at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, which he joined through its acquisition of LeukoSite (where he held the same title) in 1999. Prior to its acquisition by LeukoSite, Dr. Palombella held a number of positions at ProScript, Inc. (between 1994 and 1999). While at ProScript, LeukoSite, and Millennium, Dr. Palombella was involved in the discovery and development of VELCADE®, a proteasome inhibitor for cancer therapy. He also managed a number of additional projects, including research into NF-κB regulation.

Dr. Palombella received a B.S. in Microbiology from Rutgers University and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Viral Oncology and Immunology from the New York University Medical Center. He was also a post-doctoral fellow at Harvard University in the laboratory of Dr. Tom Maniatis.

Adelene Q. Perkins is President and Chief Business Officer.

Ms. Perkins joined Infinity in June of 2002 and brings over 20 years of general management experience in the healthcare, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology industries. At Infinity her leadership responsibilities include product and corporate development, business development, finance, legal, commercial, organization development and human resources, IR/PR, and facilities and operations.

 

Ms. Perkins joined Infinity from TransForm Pharmaceuticals where she served as Vice President of Business and Corporate Development and an early member of the management team that built the company prior to its acquisition by J&J. Prior to TransForm, from 1992-1999, she was at Genetics Institute, now a unit of Wyeth, where she was Vice President of Emerging Businesses and the cofounder and General Manager of the DiscoverEase™ Business Unit. She also formed and served as Chief Executive Officer of MetaMorphix, a joint venture between Genetics Institute and Johns Hopkins University directed at discovering and developing members of the TGF-b superfamily. She joined Genetics Institute in corporate and business development where she led corporate and product strategy initiatives and was responsible for numerous business development transactions, including both in- and out-licensing technologies and products.  From 1985-1992, Ms. Perkins was at Bain & Company, an international strategy consulting firm, where she provided strategic and operational advice to clients in the healthcare industry.

 

Ms. Perkins holds an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Villanova University. She is on the Board of Project Hope and the Villanova University College of Engineering Advisory Board.

Gerald E. Quirk, Esq., is Vice President and General Counsel. He is responsible for Infinity’s legal and compliance initiatives, as well as the company’s intellectual property portfolio. He has extensive experience representing biotechnology companies in connection with securities offerings and SEC compliance activities, mergers and acquisitions, licensing and other collaboration agreements, and product commercialization initiatives. Prior to joining Infinity, Mr. Quirk served in a number of progressively responsible legal and business development positions at Genzyme Corporation, having most recently been responsible for the provision of all non-patent legal services to Genzyme’s oncology, cardiovascular, and medical device businesses.  Mr. Quirk began his career as an associate in the business law department and biotechnology practice group at Palmer & Dodge LLP, a Boston law firm.

Mr. Quirk earned his J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law, an Ed.M. in Educational Administration from Harvard University, and a B.A. in Political Science from Swarthmore College.

Jeffrey K. Tong, Ph.D., is Vice President, Corporate and Product Development. Dr. Tong is responsible for leading Infinity's product development teams and corporate development efforts. Prior to joining Infinity, Dr. Tong was with the Palo Alto office of McKinsey & Company, where his work focused in healthcare with projects for leading biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies in areas of new business building, technology spinouts, and venture investing. Prior to McKinsey, Dr. Tong was a founding researcher of the Harvard Center for Genomics Research.

Dr. Tong received his educational training at the interface of molecular biology, synthetic chemistry, and medicine. His previous research interest was in the area of histone deacetylase biology where he was involved with multiple teams in the identification and functional characterization of novel histone deacetylases and their macromolecular complexes. Dr. Tong holds A.B. and M.M.S. degrees from Harvard College and Harvard Medical School, respectively, as well as A.M. and Ph.D. degrees from Harvard University under the direction of Professor Stuart Schreiber.