Management Archives - Sanford Burnham Prebys

Leadership Type: Management

Dr. Brenner was named president and chief executive officer of Sanford Burnham Prebys in September 2022 after serving as vice chancellor for health sciences at UC San Diego and dean of its school of medicine for an unprecedented 15 years, during which he oversaw the launch and expansion of numerous multidisciplinary efforts, including the Institute for Engineering in Medicine, the Institute for Genomic Medicine, the Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine, the UC San Diego Sanford Clinical Stem Cell Program, and the C3 Cancer Center Consortium (comprising UC San Diego, the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and Sanford Burnham Prebys). 

Previously, he served as chair of the Department of Medicine and Physician-in-Chief of New York Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University and, before that, as Chief of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

As a distinguished physician-scientist, Brenner is a recognized leader in the field of gastroenterology research, with more than 200 peer-reviewed publications, two patents and ranking among Highly Cited Researchers by Web of Science and Clarivate Analytics.

He is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine; past president of the Association of American Physicians and former editor of the journal Gastroenterology (2001 to 2006).

He is currently deputy editor of the journal PNAS Nexus.

 

Education and Training

1988: Fellowship, Gastroenterology, UC San Diego
1986: Fellowship, Genetics & Biochemistry, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, Bethesda, MD
1985: Intern & Residency, Internal Medicine, Yale University
1979: MD, Medicine, Yale University
1975: BS, Biology, Yale University

Awards, Honors and Recognition

2005: Fellow (FACP), American College of Physicians
1986: Bomedical Scholar, Pew Foundation

Other Appointments and Memberships

Alcoholic Beverage Medical Research Foundation
American Society for Clinical Investigation
Association of American Physicians
American College of Physicians
American Gastroenterological Association
American Clinical and Climatological Association

Select Publications

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Gene Hasegawa is the Chief Operating Officer overseeing the Institute’s administrative functions. He is also a principal partner in organizational strategy and alignment.

Gene joins the Institute with over 30 years of experience at UC San Diego, where he was most recently COO for Health Sciences, serving as a primary advisor, operational implementation officer, and key strategic partner in major initiatives to the Vice Chancellor. He was also responsible for the operations of academic affairs, affiliate and industry affairs, basic biomedical research, clinical and translational research, business contracting, business resource management, planning and space management, professional schools’ shared services, and general administration.

On a national level, Gene served as the Principal Business Officer representing the UC San Diego School of Medicine to both the Group on Business Affairs and the Group on Institutional Planning of the American Association for Medical Colleges.

Born and raised in San Diego, Gene received his undergraduate degree from UC San Diego.

Robin serves as the Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Treasurer for Sanford Burnham Prebys and has been working in the non-profit arena for 28 years of which more than 15 have been with Sanford Burnham Prebys. She oversees all accounting, finance, and procurement activities of the Institute, including financial reporting and forecasting, treasury functions, research accounting, indirect cost rate negotiations, annual budgets, and external audits.

Prior to joining Sanford Burnham Prebys, Robin worked at the Salk Institute and the international accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche, LLP, where she worked with several non-profit clients in San Diego.

Robin’s qualifications and professional accreditations include a BS in business administration from Florida State University; Certified Public Accountant (CPA); and Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA).

Dr. Diane Klotz is the Chief Learning Officer at Sanford Burnham Prebys, where she contributes to the educational strategy across all areas and levels of the organization. 

She oversees the Institute’s approach to designing a high-performing education and training function that is responsible for creating and delivering educational, career and professional development, and leadership development programs to equip all personnel to achieve, innovate, and grow. 

Diane also serves as the Institute’s Accreditation Liaison Officer, the Associate Dean of Administration and Professional Development in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and as the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) executive sponsor.

Diane received her PhD in molecular and cellular biology from Tulane University, and pursued  postdoctoral research training at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). 

Outside the lab, Diane has served as a member and chair of the National Postdoctoral Association (NPA) Board of Directors, where she remains active as chair of the NPA Advisory Council. 

She has also served on NIH study sections for the Broadening Experience in Scientific Training (BEST) Award program and served as a member of the NIH BEST External Scientific Panel of advisors. 

She is a certified DiSC® facilitator, Influence Style Indicator™ facilitator, Leadership Process: Motivating Achievement facilitator and MBTI® practitioner, and has achieved comprehensive certification in Conflict Management and Change Management from Kilmann Diagnostics, along with a certificate for Negotiation and Leadership from the Harvard Program on Negotiation.

Kurt Marek, PhD, is chief research development officer at Sanford Burnham Prebys. His duties will include supporting and strengthening the scientific competitiveness of the institute and advancing its mission by advising on funding portfolios, providing strategic direction for research administration and innovation initiatives, and overseeing grant proposal development for principal investigators, faculty, and others.

Marek joined Sanford Burnham Prebys in 2024, coming from Salk Institute for Biological Studies, where he served as executive director of grants development, overseeing grants and contracts, research development and research compliance at the La Jolla-based nonprofit basic research institution.

Prior to joining Salk in 2018, Marek worked for nearly seven years at the National Institutes of Health, first as program director and Small Business Innovation Research coordinator for the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and then as deputy director in the Office of Translational Alliances and Coordination at NHLBI.

He was also an AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the NHLBI (2010-2011).

Marek earned undergraduate degrees in biology and humanities from the University of California San Diego and a doctorate in neuroscience from UC San Francisco, where he was a Howard Hughes predoctoral fellow.

He later studied spinal cord development as a Damon Runyon Cancer Research Fellow at UC San Diego. Working in the lab of Nicholas Spitzer, PhD, Marek used genomics to identify new roles for electrical activity in the nervous system and to characterize the underlying molecular mechanisms.

Adrienne Crown is the chief legal officer at Sanford Burnham Prebys. She provides legal counsel for the Institute, including nonprofit governance, employment matters, contracts, and business development; advises on institutional operations and research administration; and oversees and strategically reviews issues to manage potential risks with regulatory and compliance requirements. She also serves as the Institute’s Corporate Secretary.

Ms. Crown joined Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute in 2010, most recently serving as Deputy General Counsel and Chief of Compliance. Prior to joining the Institute, she was the Managing Editor of Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry and Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters. She received her B.A. in American History from the University of California, San Diego, and her JD cum laude from the Thomas Jefferson School of Law, San Diego

Scott LaFee is vice president of communications, overseeing a talented team responsible for disseminating and promoting the work and achievements of the Institute and its faculty to diverse audiences employing multiple media platforms.

Prior to joining Sanford Burnham Prebys in 2023, Scott was director of media relations and communications for health sciences research at UC San Diego for 13 years. Before that, he was science writer/editor at the San Diego Union-Tribune for 18 years, covering all scientific disciplines, and a contributor to multiple magazines, including New Scientist, Businessweek and People.

With Dilip Jeste, MD, he is co-author of “Wiser: The Scientific Roots of Wisdom, Compassion and What Makes Us Good” (2020); an Emmy Award winner in documentaries; and writes a syndicated health column called Wellnews, which appears in the Union-Tribune and other newspapers.

Scott holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from California State University, Fresno; did post-graduate studies in Florence, Italy and has been a journalism fellow at Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory, Cornell University, UCLA and the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta.

Sandy Liarakos is vice president of philanthropy at Sanford Burnham Prebys, overseeing the strategic philanthropic plan for the institute, building strong relationships with donors, corporations and foundations and working collaboratively with President and CEO David Brenner, MD.

Liarakos joined Sanford Burnham Prebys in 2024, coming from the University of California, Riverside, where she served as Senior Director of Gift Planning, overseeing legacy philanthropy programs for the university and the UC Riverside School of Medicine.

Prior to UC Riverside, Liarakos was senior director, external relations at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies (2017-2022), where she managed the cancer center’s fundraising and  collaborated with national cancer foundations. She has also been part of leadership teams at UC Davis, UC San Diego, San Diego State University, Point Loma Nazarene University, Scripps Health Foundation and Sharp HealthCare. She is a second-generation San Diegan. She graduated from the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. She is a member of Certified Fund Raising Executive International and a Certified Specialist in Planned Giving.