Governance Group biographies

Jeffrey S. Flier, MD, became the 21st Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at Harvard University on September 1, 2007. Dr. Flier, an endocrinologist and an authority on the molecular causes of obesity and diabetes, is also the Carolyn Shields Walker Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Previously he had served as Harvard Medical School Faculty Dean for Academic Programs and Chief Academic Officer for Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, a Harvard teaching affiliate.

Joseph B. Martin, MD, PhD, co-founder and co-chair of the Harvard NeuroDiscovery Center, is the Edward R. and Anne G. Lefler Professor of Neurobiology and the former Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Harvard Medical School (1997-2007). Dr. Martin began his career in academic medicine at McGill University, where he became chair of the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery in 1977. In 1978, he joined the faculty of Harvard Medical School as the Bullard Professor of Neurology and chief of the Neurology Service at Massachusetts General Hospital. In 1984, he was appointed the Julieanne Dorn Professor of Neurology at Harvard.  Dr. Martin served as dean of the School of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) from 1989 to 1993, and was elected Chancellor of UCSF for four years until returning to Harvard. 

Dennis J. Selkoe, MD, co-founder and co-chair of the Havard NeuroDiscovery Center, is the Vincent and Stella Coates Professor of Neurologic Diseases at Harvard Medical School and co-director of Center for Neurologic Diseases, Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Dr. Selkoe has devoted his career to medical research, specifically related to molecular approaches to the study of neurodegenerative disease. Dr. Selkoe’s contributions continue to break new ground toward the understanding of Alzheimer’s disease.  For example, Dr. Selkoe and his collaborators conducted extensive research on the hallmark legion of Alzheimer’s disease, the amyloid plaque, as well as the amyloid ß-protein. Dr. Selkoe was the principal founding scientist of Athena Neurosciences, now Elan Pharmaceuticals.

Daniel G. Ennis, MBA, MPA, is Harvard Medical School's Executive Dean for Administration and is responsible for oversight for all of the school’s administration function and activities. Prior to HMS, Mr. Ennis was Harvard's Associate Vice President for Finance and Financial Planning. He and his staff worked closely with the President, Provost and Chief Financial Officer on many academic and financial planning initiatives. His functional leadership responsibilities included the budgets and Financial Planning Treasury, Allston Finance and Institutional Research of the University treasury's function, and financial planning for the development of the multi-billion dollar Allston campus. Prior to joining Harvard, Mr. Ennis worked as an Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company. While with that firm, he helped lead a functional effectiveness review of Harvard University’s central administration. He also managed and participated in a variety of strategic planning projects for both private and public sector clients. Mr. Ennis graduated with a Masters in Business Administration from Harvard Business School and a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. He worked at Goldman, Sachs & Co. as a financial analyst and completed his undergraduate degree at Boston College.

Bradley T. Hyman, MD, PhD, is the John B. Penney, Jr. Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital where he has a clinical practice in the Memory and Disorder Unit and is the Director of the Massachusetts Alzheimer Disease Research Center. His clinical career is devoted towards the care of patients with dementia. His research laboratory is pursuing research in Alzheimer’s disease, and other neurodegenerative diseases, with a goal of understanding the neuropathophysiologic and genetic factors that underlie dementia. Dr. Hyman’s laboratory is developing methods to examine clinical-pathological correlates and biomarkers in AD, as well as animal and cell models to explore the natural history of the diseases. A recent focus has been the use of advanced microscopy methods – including multiphoton microscopy for in vivo imaging of plaques, tangles, and synuclein aggregates, as well as FRET methods to detect protein-protein interactions and protein conformation. Dr. Hyman received a B.A. in chemistry from Northeastern University and a PhD in Biochemistry and MD from the University of Iowa, where he also did residency in neurology and fellowships in Behavioral neurology and neuropathology. He joined the faculty at Harvard Medical School in 1989. Dr. Hyman has received the Potamkin Award, a Metropolitan Life Award, a Brookdale Foundation fellowship, an Alzheimer Association Faculty Scholar Award, an Alzheimer Association Pioneer Award, and a National Institute on Aging Merit Award.

Adrian J. Ivinson, PhD, is the director of the Harvard NeuroDiscovery Center since its founding in 2001.  Dr. Ivinson was previously special advisor to the Provost of Harvard University. Prior to his positions at Harvard University, Dr. Ivinson held a number of leadership roles at the prestigious Nature Publishing Group, including Editor-in-Chief of the journal Nature Medicine and Publisher.  Dr. Ivinson is a geneticist by training and has devoted his career to translating research into effective medical interventions.