Robert W. Rubin, Ph.D.
Chief Executive Officer
Robert W. Rubin, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer, has over 40 years of experience in research and development, including 21 years in his current role. He came to Lovelace after serving as Vice Provost for Research at the University of Miami. Under Dr. Rubin’s guidance, Lovelace transitioned from a Department of Energy-funded research facility to one of the country’s most preeminent drug development laboratories.
Shannon L. Toma
Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer
Shannon L. Toma, C.P.A., is Executive Vice President and chief operating officer. She is responsible for administrative operations, safety, regulatory, legal and financial compliance. In this role, she works closely with the CEO and senior management to develop and implement the company vision and mission via the strategic plan including new business, acquisitions and strategic partnerships.
Jake McDonald, Ph.D.
Vice President, Applied Sciences
Jake McDonald, Ph.D., is Vice President of Applied Sciences, with more than 20 years of experience in drug development and toxicology/pharmacology. He serves at the Site Director for Lovelace Biomedical. He has over 170 publications and 180 published abstracts, and he has given over 75 presentations at technical meetings. He has served on several National Academy of Science panels as well as serving on numerous advisory and editorial boards for private industry, government and academia. His depth of experience includes pharmaceutics, drug development, toxicology, risk assessment, environmental/occupational hazard assessment, medical countermeasure development and chemical-induced toxicity. Dr. McDonald received a B.S. in biology/environmental chemistry from the University of La Verne in 1996 and a Ph.D. Toxicology from the University of Nevada in 2000.
Steven Belinsky, PhD
Vice President for Research/Professor
Education
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, B.S. 1978 Zoology
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Ph.D. 1984 Toxicology
Biography
Dr. Belinsky is Vice President for Research, Director of the Lung Cancer Program, and co-directs the Cellular and Molecular Oncology Program for the University of New Mexico’s NCI designated Cancer Center. He has worked in the field of tobacco carcinogenesis for >30 years and is an internationally recognized expert in lung cancer and translational studies for early detection of lung cancer. His laboratory was first to demonstrate that tobacco specific nitrosamines cause DNA adducts that accumulate in the lung and lead to mutation of the K-ras oncogene and that silencing of the p16 tumor suppressor gene occurs during development of lung cancer. His current work evaluates epigenetic mechanisms for lung cancer, specifically inactivation of genes and microRNAs through promoter hypermethylation and chromatin remodeling. His research is focused on identifying gene targets and pathways disrupted during the development of this disease. These findings are translated into population-based studies to develop intermediate biomarkers for predicting cancer risk, early detection, prognosis, and response to preventive interventions. His group is using animal models to evaluate novel prevention and therapeutic approaches administered by inhalation to reduce the mortality from lung cancer. Recent new studies are assessing cardiopulmonary health effects of alternative nicotine containing products using in vitro and rodent models. Dr. Belinsky has authored more than 200 publications.
Recent Publications
- Leng, S., Thomas, C.L., Snider, A.M., Picchi, M.A., Chen, W., Willis, D., Carr, T.G., Lin, Y., Jacobson, M.R., and Belinsky, S.A. Radon exposure, IL-6 promoter variants, and risk for lung squamous cell carcinoma in former uranium miners. Environ. Hlth. Persp. 124:445-451, 2016.
- Tellez, C., Juri, D.E., Do, K., Picchi, M. Spira, A., and Belinsky, S.A. Mir-196b is epigenetically silenced during the pre-malignant stage of lung cancer. Cancer Res. 76:4741-4751, 2016.
- Leng, S., Wu, G., Klinge, D.M., Thomas, C.L., Casas, E., Picchi, M.A., Stidley, C.A., Lee, S.J., Aisner, S., Siegfried, J.M., Ramalingam, S., Khuri, F.R., and Karp, D.D., and Belinsky, S.A. Gene methylation biomarkers in sputum as a classifier for lung cancer risk. Oncotarget 8:63978-63985, 2017.
- Leng, S., Diergaarde, B., Picchi, M.A., Wilson, D.O., Gilliland, F.D., Yuan, J-M., Siegfried, J.M., and Belinsky, S.A. Promoter hypermethylation of cancer genes in sputum predicts FEV1 decline and mortality in smokers. Am. J. of Resp. & Crit. Care Med. 198:187-196, 2018.
- Tessema, M., Rossi, M.R., Yingling, C.M., Picchi, M.A., Ramalingam, S.S., and Belinsky, S.A. Common cancer driver mutations and their association with abnormally methylated genes in lung adenocarcinoma from never-smokers. Lung Cancer 123:99-106, 2018.
- Filipczak, P.T., Leng, S., Tellez, C.S., Do, T., Grimes, M.J., Thomas, C.L., Walton-Filipczak, S., Picchi, M.A., and Belinsky, S.A. TET1 is a p53-suppressed oncogene in lung cancer that prevents cellular aging and a target for enhancing therapy-induced senescence. Cancer Res. 79:1758-1768, 2019.
- Teneng, I., Picchi, M.A., Leng, S., Dagucon, C., Ramalingam, S., Tellez, C.S., and Belinsky, S.A. DNA-PKc deficiency drives pre-malignant transformation by reducing DNA repair capacity in concert with reprogramming the epigenome in human bronchial epithelial cells. DNA Repair 79:1-9, 2019.
- Kuehl, P.J., Tellez, C.S., Grimes, M.J., March, T.H., Tessema, M., Revelli, D.A., Mallis, L.M., Dye, W.W., Sniegowski, T., Badenoch, A., Burke, M., Dubose, D., Vodak, D.T., Picchi, M.A., and Belinsky, S.A. 5-Azacytidine inhaled dry powder formulation profoundly improves pharmacokinetics and efficacy for lung cancer therapy through genome reprogramming. Br J Cancer 122:1194-1204, 2020.
- Zhou, Y, Irshad, H., Dye, W.W., Wu, G., Tellez, C.S., and Belinsky, S.A. Voltage and e-liquid composition affect nicotine deposition with the oral cavity and carbonyl formation. Tobacco Control 30: 485-491, 2021.
- Tellez, C.S., Picchi, M.A., Juri, D., Do, Kieu, Desai, D., Amin, S.G., Hutt, J.A., Filipczak, P.T., and Belinsky, S.A. Chromatin remodeling by the histone methyltransferase EZH2 drives lung pre-malignancy and is a target for prevention. Clin. Epigenetics 13:44, 2021.
Edward (Ted) G. Barrett, Ph.D.
Senior Director, Pharmacology
Ted Barrett, Ph.D., is Senior Director, Pharmacology at Lovelace Biomedical. Dr. Barrett has spent most of his career investigating the effects of small molecule, biologic, nucleic acid and medical device technologies in various animal models of disease. His programs aim to translate nonclinical efficacy, pharmacokinetic, and pharmacodynamic data obtained by from species ranging from rodents to nonhuman primates to the human clinical paradigm. Dr. Barrett received his doctorate in toxicology from the University of Rochester and joined Lovelace in 1999.
Philip J. Kuehl, Ph.D.
Director of Scientific Core Laboratories
Philip Kuehl, Ph.D., is a scientist and head of the Scientific Core Laboratories at Lovelace Biomedical. The Scientific Core Laboratories are responsible for the formulation, chemistry, bioanalysis, aerosol engineering solutions, microbial analysis and telemetry systems. Dr. Kuehl is an expert in formulation by all routes, and is renowned for his contributions to pulmonary formulation and respiratory drug development. He has over 45 publications in drug development and formulation, is a managing member of the Inhalation and Nasal Technology Focus Group and ad hoc reviewer of numerous journals. Dr. Kuehl received his B.A. in biochemistry from Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota and a Ph.D. in pharmaceutical sciences (minor in analytical chemistry) from the University of Arizona. Dr. Kuehl joined Lovelace in 2007.
Melanie Doyle-Eisele, Ph.D.
Director of Life Sciences
Melanie Doyle-Eisele, Ph.D., heads the Life Sciences division, which includes study directors and technical and necropsy staff. Dr. Doyle-Eisele has served as study director on over 250 studies, including GLP and non-GLP PK, ADME, safety/toxicity, efficacy and general toxicology/pharmacology studies using animal models ranging from rodents to NHPs. She has expertise in pharmaceutical development applied both to traditional pathways (IND/NDA) and animal rule work performed for development of medical countermeasures. Dr. Doyle-Eisele received a B.S. in chemistry from the University of South Carolina and a Ph.D. in inhalation toxicology and environmental chemistry from the University of North Carolina. Dr. Doyle-Eisele joined Lovelace in 2007.