Scientific Advisory
Chris Orvig, professor of chemistry and pharmaceutical sciences, University of British Columbia (UBC)
Dr. Chris Orvig's research focuses on the roles of metal ions in the cause, diagnosis and treatment of human diseases. Dr. Orvig is studying metals such as aluminum, gallium, and indium because of their purported involvement in various neurological conditions and their roles in diagnostic nuclear medicine. Chemical properties of these metals are studied in Dr. Orvig's labs, and their biological properties are researched in collaborative projects. Alongside Dr. John McNeill of UBC's faculty of pharmaceutical sciences, Dr. Orvig examined the insulin-mimetic vanadium compounds, such as bis(maltolato)oxovanadium(IV) (BMOV), for their potential as oral treatments for diabetes. BMOV has become the gold standard in the field because of its significant activity and lack of toxicity. One analogue of BMOV, BEOV or bis(ethylmaltolato)oxovanadium (IV) was developed in collaboration with a local biotech company and has completed phase I human clinical trials. Dr. Orvig received his B.S. from McGill University in 1976. He went on to be a MIT-Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council postgraduate scholar and Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council postdoctoral fellow at University of California, Berkeley. He completed his post-doctoral studies at McMaster University. Dr. Orvig has also received numerous awards, including the Killam Teaching Award, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Research Award, UBC Killam Research Prize, University of Sydney Foundation for Inorganic Chemistry Lecturer and Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Invitation Fellow. Currently, he is a fellow of the Chemical Institute of Canada, director of the Medicinal Inorganic Chemistry Group and professor jointly in chemistry and pharmaceutical sciences at UBC.
John H. McNeill, Ph.D.,
Dr. John McNeil is an expert in the study of vanadium and its effects on diabetes and cardiovascular disease. His lab was one of the first to investigate the underlying mechanisms and to observe that vanadate treatment prevented the onset of diabetic cardiomyopathy. This research set the stage for his subsequent research on vanadium as a treatment for diabetes. His current focus is in the role of insulin resistance in experimental hypertension. Dr. McNeil was elected to the Royal Society of Canada and the International Academy of Cardiovascular Sciences and has received a number of awards for his work including the McNeil Award (Association of Faculties of Pharmacy of Canada), the Upjohn Award (Pharmacological Society of Canada), the Bowman Award (International Academy of Cardiovascular Sciences) and the Biely Award and Killam Prize from UBC. He was president of the Pharmacological Society of Canada, the Western Pharmacology Society, the Association of Deans of Pharmacy, the Canadian Council on Animal Care and the Canadian Foundation for Pharmacy. Dr. McNeill received his B.S. and M.S. from the faculty of pharmacy at the University of Alberta in 1960 and 1962. He taught at the college of pharmacy at Dalhousie University for one year before entering the Ph.D. program at the department of pharmacology at the University of Michigan where he completed his degree in 1967. He joined the college of medicine at Michigan State University as an assistant professor of pharmacology before returning to Canada in 1971 to the faculty of pharmaceutical sciences at UBC. Subsequently, he achieved full professorship and served as associate dean and then as dean until 1996, upon which time he returned to full time teaching and research as professor emeritus at UBC.
Michael C. Scaife, Ph.D.,
Involved in 15 successful product approvals throughout his career, Dr. Scaife brings essential regulatory and product development experience to Akesis. With over 25 years of pharmaceutical product development experience in the United States and Europe, Dr. Scaife most recently served as senior vice president of global regulatory affairs, quality and drug safety at Chiron Biopharma. Prior to that, Dr. Scaife worked as vice president of quality and regulatory affairs at Nektar Therapeutics and as vice president and global head of regulatory affairs and process improvement at Elan Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Scaife started his career in the United States as vice president of regulatory, clinical, quality and strategic evaluation at Novartis' SyStemix & GTI. Prior to Dr. Scaife's work for Novartis in the United States, he served as global therapeutic head of CNS regulatory affairs at Novartis' headquarters in Basel, Switzerland. Prior to Novartis, Dr. Scaife was corporate director of regulatory affairs at Zambon SpA, an Italian pharmaceutical company, and served 10 years at Johnson & Johnson, both in research and as head of medical and regulatory affairs in the United Kingdom. Dr. Scaife graduated from Bath University in 1978 with a bachelor of science in pharmacology and earned his doctor of philosophy in toxicology from Leicester School of Pharmacy in 1981.
Christos Mantzoros, M.D., DSc,
Christos Mantzoros is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and an Associate Professor in Epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health. He serves as the Clinical Research Overseer of the Division of Endocrinology Diabetes and Metabolism at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and the Joslin Diabetes Center and he is a member of the Executive Committee of the Scholars in Clinical Science Program, a postgraduate clinical investigators training program at Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Mantzoros obtained an MD and DSc from the University of Athens Medical School, a Master's in Clinical Epidemiology from Harvard School of Public Health and a Master’s in Medical Sciences (Clinical Investigation) from Harvard Medical School. He has received Board certification in Internal Medicine, Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism and in Clinical Nutrition.
At the Harvard Medical School, he sees patients, teaches and conducts research on obesity and diabetes / metabolic diseases. His main research focus is the physiology, pathophysiology and potential therapeutic significance of adipokines, including leptin and adiponectin. Towards this goal his lab utilizes a range of basic, translational and clinical research tools.
Dr. Mantzoros is an internationally recognized expert on obesity and diabetes and has published two books (one on “Diabetes and Obesity” and one on “Nutrition and Metabolism”), more than 200 original papers, more than 90 chapters and reviews and has received more than 9000 citations. He serves on the Editorial Board of several journals including the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism and has been elected a member of ASCI. He has served as an advisor to Pharmaceutical and Diagnostics companies and has been given several awards including the prestigious American Association of Clinical Endocrinology Frontiers in Science Award, the Novartis Award in Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases, the Lilly Award by the North American Association for the Study of Obesity, the American Society for Nutrition Mead Johnson Award, the HypoCCS award in Paris, France, the Wilhelm Friedrich Bessel Award by the Humboldt Foundation of Germany, The Hygeia Award of the New England Hellenic Medical and Dental Society and the Outstanding Investigator Award by the American Federation of Medical Research. He is also the recipient of the BIDMC and Harvard Medical School award for excellence in Mentoring.
Dr. Mantzoros is the scientific co-founder and Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of InteKrin Metabolic Therapeutics.