Scottsdale, AZ, June 28, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Provista Diagnostics, Inc., a provider of oncology-based diagnostic tests and clinical laboratory services to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, announced today the formation of a Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) comprised of recognized leaders in the fields of oncology and biomarker research. The SAB, which includes physicians and medical researchers, will provide critical strategic input on scientific, clinical, product development and commercialization matters.
"Provista is proud to have assembled such an impressive group of renowned scientists from the medical and research community. Their vast experience will be advantageous in not only guiding our current activities but also in evaluating and developing future opportunities," said Dr. David E. Reese, President and Chief Executive Officer of Provista. Dr. Reese further commented, "To have brought together such a highly esteemed group to serve on our Scientific Advisory Board is a validation of the importance of the company's mission and our development of cancer diagnostics."
Scientific Advisory Board Members
Karen Anderson, M.D., Ph.D.
Dr. Anderson, a clinical translational research scientist with an extensive research background, is an Associate Professor in Biodesign's Virginia G. Piper Center for Personalized Diagnostics at Arizona State University. In addition to her work at Biodesign, Dr. Anderson has a joint appointment with the Mayo Clinic Arizona as a medical oncologist with a specialization in breast cancer. Her research focuses on the development of immunodiagnostics and immunotherapies for cancer and has developed specific immune-based biomarkers for the early detection of breast, ovarian, and HPV-associated cancers. Dr. Anderson earned her M.D., Ph.D. from Duke University School of Medicine, and completed a residency in internal medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital with a training fellowship in hematology/oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
Carlos L. Arteaga, M.D.
Carlos L. Arteaga, a renowned medical oncologist who currently serves as Associate Director for Clinical Research and Director of the Breast Cancer Program of the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center and is Professor of Medicine and Cancer Biology in the Division of Hematology-Oncology at Vanderbilt. Dr. Arteaga is the recipient of several honors and awards andhas been widely published, credited with over 200 publications in the areas of oncogene signaling as well as the development of molecular therapeutics in breast cancer. Dr. Arteaga obtained his medical degree from the University of Guayaquil in Guayaquil, Ecuador. He trained in Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology at Emory University and the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in San Antonio, respectively.
Robert Benezra, Ph.D.
Dr. Benezra is a Member at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in the Department of Cell Biology and a Professor of Biology at Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences in New York City. Before joining Sloan-Kettering, Dr. Benezra worked at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle where he identified the Id proteins as dominant negative regulators of the helix-loop-helix protein family and has since gone on to identify these proteins as key regulators of tumor growth, angiogenesis and metastasis. Dr. Benezra obtained his Ph.D. from Columbia University in New York.
Andrew Dannenberg, M.D.
Dr. Dannenberg, the Henry R. Erle, MD-Roberts Family Professor of Medicine, is Director of the Weill Cornell Cancer Center. Dr. Dannenberg received his medical degree from Washington University in St. Louis and served as a medical resident and fellow at The New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center. His laboratory is focused on elucidating the mechanisms underlying the inflammation-cancer connection with an emphasis on prostaglandin biology. Dr. Dannenberg has authored more than 150 scientific articles, as well as edited several books and journals. In 2011, he was awarded the American Association for Cancer Research-Prevent Cancer Foundation award for excellence in cancer prevention research. He is a member of the Association of American Physicians (AAP), the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI), and the American Association for Cancer Research. He previously chaired the Program Committee of the AACR "Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research" meeting and serves on the editorial boards of several journals including Cancer Prevention Research and Journal of Clinical Oncology.
J oshua LaBaer, M.D., Ph.D.
Dr. LaBaer is considered one of the nation's foremost investigators in the rapidly expanding field of personalized medicine, including the discovery and validation of biomarkers. Dr. LaBaer serves as the Virginia G. Piper Chair of Personalized Medicine and directs The Biodesign Institute, Personalized Diagnostics at Arizona State University. Formerly, he was founder and director of the Harvard Institute of Proteomics. Dr. LaBaer is a member of the National Cancer Institute's Board of Scientific Advisors and serves as chair of the National Cancer Institute's Early Detection Research Network Executive Committee and Co-Chair of its Steering Committee. Dr. LaBaer holds a BS from the University of California, Berkeley and earned his medical degree and a doctorate in biochemistry and biophysics from the University of California School of Medicine, San Francisco.
Provista Diagnostics invites interested readers to visit our website at www.provistadx.com to find out more about the Company and our technology.
About Provista Diagnostics, Inc.
Provista Diagnostics, Inc., a Delaware company, develops and commercializes breakthrough, easy to administer blood-based diagnostic tests for early oncology-related disease state recognition and detection purposes. The Company's focus is on oncology-related diagnostics where a significantly high, unmet clinical need for such testing products exists. Near term development and commercialization efforts focus on women's cancers such as breast and ovarian cancer.
Safe Harbor Statement
Statements contained in this communication not relating to historical facts are forward-looking statements that are intended to fall within the safe harbor rule for such statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The information contained in the forward-looking statements is inherently uncertain, and Provista's actual results may differ materially due to a number of factors, many of which are beyond Provista's ability to predict or control, including among others, viability and effectiveness of our sales approach and overall marketing strategies, the outcome of development or regulatory review of our products, commercial success or acceptance by the medical community, competitive responses, our ability to raise additional capital, and the ability to successfully file a registration statement with the SEC. These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events to differ from the forward-looking statements. Provista operates in a highly competitive and rapidly changing business and regulatory environment, thus new or unforeseen risks may arise. Accordingly, investors should not place any reliance on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results. Except as is expressly required by the federal securities laws, Provista undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, changed circumstances or future events or for any other reason.