Matt Browne and David L. Szekeres have been appointed to the Institute’s Board of Trustees.
Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP) today announced that Matt Browne, a partner in Cooley LLP’s San Diego office; and David L. Szekeres, senior vice president, Business Development, and general counsel for Heron Therapeutics, Inc., have been appointed to the Institute’s Board of Trustees.
“I look forward to working with Matt and David, who each bring valuable expertise from their extensive work in the life science sector,” says Kristiina Vuori, MD, PhD, president of SBP. “Both of them have already supported our Institute by co-chairing our annual Bring It! fundraiser along with their wives, Juli Oh and Sarah Szekeres. This year will be their third year as co-chairs for the event. Their passion for biomedical research that leads to improving human health will be an asset to the continuing success of the Institute.”
Browne adds, “SBP is a world-class leader in conducting biomedical research that changes lives. I look forward to working closely with Kristiina and the Institute’s Board to help advance SBP’s mission of improving human health.”
Comments Szekeres, “I have long admired SBP’s vision of finding cures for human disease and improving quality of life by answering fundamental biological questions. I am pleased to be able to help guide the future direction of this prestigious research institute as an official Board member.”
More information about each trustee follows:
Matt Browne
Browne has been with Cooley LLP since 1999, assisting clients in numerous industries on a broad variety of transactional and general corporate matters, including mergers and acquisitions, securities offerings and structured financings.
In addition to SBP, Browne serves on the Board of Directors of the San Diego Venture Group and Verb Surgical, a robotics surgery company.
Browne obtained a JD from Harvard Law School and a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science from Yale University.
David L. Szekeres
Szekeres has more than two decades of experience in the global life sciences industry as a finance and business development executive, deal maker, legal counsel and Board member. Before joining Heron Therapeutics, Szekeres served as chief business officer, principal financial officer and general counsel at Regulus Therapeutics Inc. Previous to this role, Szekeres served as head of Mergers and Acquisitions, Securities and Governance, at Life Technologies Corporation through its acquisition by Thermo Fisher Scientific. Prior to this position, Szekeres served as corporate attorney at a number of law firms, including Latham & Watkins LLP; and served as senior associate in Investment Banking at Robertson Stephens.
In addition to his role on SBP’s Board, Szekeres serves as chair of the Board of Directors of Annai Systems, a genomic data solutions company; and chair of the Board of Directors of Animantis, LLC, a software company applying cloud-based artificial intelligence to drug discovery and development. He served on the Board of Directors of Edico Genome Inc. until its acquisition by Illumina, and Patara Pharma, until its acquisition by Roivant Sciences.
Szekeres obtained a JD degree from Duke University School of Law and a bachelor’s degree in criminology, law and society from the University of California, Irvine.