Scientific Advisory Board

Robert A. Newman, PhD

Chairman, Salient Pharmaceuticals Scientific Advisory Board

Chief Science Officer, New Chapter, Inc.

Professor Emeritus, MD Anderson Cancer Center

Dr. Newman attended undergraduate college at the University of Rhode Island and then graduate school at the University of Connecticut, obtaining MS and PhD degrees in pharmacology and toxicology. His research during his postdoctoral studies involved cardiovascular pharmacology with an emphasis on blood vessel biochemistry.

Later in his career, Dr. Newman took a position as head of the Section of Pharmacology at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC). During his 24 years there, he developed the institution’s first analytical laboratory devoted to detection and quantization of drugs, drug metabolites and small molecules. He also established a clinical pharmacology unit and the Pharmaceutical Development Center, capable of taking a drug from the chemists’ bench to the clinic. His own drug (PBI-05204) was developed there and is in a Phase I trial at MDACC.

Dr. Newman is currently employed as Chief Science Officer for NewChapter, Inc., a nutraceutical company in Vermont. His involvement with Salient Pharmaceuticals includes guiding the initial research at MDACC confirming CASAD's binding capabilities.

John G. Bartlett, MD

Founding Director, Center for Biodefense Strategies

Professor of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

John G. Bartlett, MD, is a professor of medicine in the Division of The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He served as Chief of the Infectious Disease Division at the school for 26 years, stepping down in July of 2006.  He is an uncompensated member of the Salient SAB.

Dr. Bartlett has worked in several areas of research, all related to his specialty in infectious diseases. His major research interests have included anaerobic infections, pathogenic mechanisms of Bacteroides fragilis, anaerobic pulmonary infections, and Clostridium difficile-associated colitis. Since moving to Johns Hopkins, his major interests have been HIV/AIDS, managed care of patients with HIV infection and bioterrorism.

Dr. Bartlett is a member of the Institute of Medicine, a master of the American College of Physicians, past president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), and a recipient of the Kass Award from the IDSA. In 2005, Dr. Bartlett was awarded the Alexander Fleming Award by the IDSA and the Finland Award from the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID).

Dr. Bartlett has authored over 500 articles and reviews, more than 280 book chapters, and over 60 editions of 18 books. He participates as an editorial board member for numerous journals, including Anaerobe and Biosecurity and Bioterrorism.

Al B. Benson III, MD, FACP

Professor of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Al B. Benson III, M.D is a Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology/Oncology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, Illinois. He is also the Associate Director for Clinical Investigations and Chair of the Clinical Protocol Scientific Review and Monitoring System for the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, a National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, at Northwestern University. In addition, he is an Attending Physician at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, a Staff Physician at VA Chicago Health Care System, and a Consultant to the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.

Dr. Benson earned his medical degree at the State University of New York at Buffalo, following which he completed an Internal Medicine Residency at the University of Wisconsin Hospitals in Madison, Wisconsin. He was an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Illinois and Co-Medical Director for the National Public Health Service in Champaign, Illinois. He then served as a Clinical Oncology Fellow at the University of Wisconsin Clinical Cancer Center, where he received an American Cancer Society Fellowship Award.

Dr. Benson is active on numerous professional committees, often serving as an officer. He has served on a number of committees for the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and is currently a member of the Task Force on Quality of Cancer Care, the Co-Chair of ASCO’s Colorectal Cancer Guidelines Subcommittee, the Stage II Colon Cancer Guidelines Panel and the Guidelines Panel for use of Radiofrequency Ablation for Colorectal Cancer Hepatic Metastases. He is also the Chair of the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Gastrointestinal and Data Monitoring Committees. In addition, he is a member of several medical societies, and is a past President of the Illinois Medical Oncology Society, a Trustee and President-Elect for the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC), and a member of the Board of Directors of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), now serving as chair. He is the past President of the International Society of GI Oncology (ISGIO).

Dr. Benson’s research is primarily in the areas of gastrointestinal cancer clinical trials, cancer clinical trials, biologic therapies, Phase I cancer clinical trials and cancer guideline development. He has authored or coauthored numerous reports, reviews and book chapters focusing on these topics. His research in biologics, cancer therapy and cancer prevention has been awarded funding from a variety of sources, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Robert H. Carpenter, DVM

Chief Science Officer, Salient Pharmaceuticals

President, Texas Enterosorbents, Inc.

Dr. Carpenter is President and CEO of Texas Enterosorbents, Inc. (TxESI) and Co-founder of Salient Pharmaceuticals Incorporated. He is the inventor of TxESI's technologies, including Salient’s anti-diarrhea potential. He is an adjunct professor at Texas A&M University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Carpenter’s prior experience includes Regulatory Affairs Team Leader for ADViSYS, Inc., Medical Director at Shotwell and Carr, Inc., and Associate Research Director at Carrington Laboratories Inc. He was also part of the original faculty at the UT System M. D. Anderson Cancer Center Science Park. Captain Carpenter served 4 years (1972-76) in the USAF Veterinary Corps, where he was Chief Surgeon at the Military Working Dog Center at Lackland AFB, TX and an instructor in the USAF School of Aerospace Medicine at Brooks AFB, TX. Dr. Carpenter has been the principal inventor or collaborator on more than 200 patents and publications. He has degrees in Veterinary Science, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and Laboratory Animal Medicine specialty from Texas A&M University.

H. Andrew Hansen II, MD

Central Texas Cardiovascular Surgery

Medical Director, Salient Pharmaceuticals

Dr. Hansen is a board certified cardiovascular surgeon with Central Texas Cardiovascular Surgery in College Station, Texas and is on staff of the College Station Medical Center. Dr. Hansen is also a clinical professor of surgery at the Texas A&M University Health Science Center. During his career, Dr. Hansen has been involved with a number of firsts, including the region's first robotically-assisted coronary artery bypass, the first implantation of the Jarvik Acute Ventricular Assist Device in Texas, and the second surgeon in Texas and fifth in the nation to perform robotic TMR (Transmyocardial Laser Revascularization). He serves as director of The Central Texas Vein Center and is a member of a number of professional societies. He holds a BS in Zoology, an MBA from Texas A&M University and a Doctor of Medicine degree from the Texas Tech University School of Medicine.

Timothy D. Phillips, PhD

Professor, Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Texas A&M University

Professor, Intercollegiate Faculty of Toxicology, Texas A&M University

Intercollegiate Faculty of Food Science, Texas A&M University

Timothy D. Phillips, PhD is a professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Texas A&M University. He also holds appointments at the Texas A&M Health Science Center and on the Faculty of Toxicology and Faculty of Food Science. He has recently served as Director of the Center for Food Safety and Chair of the Faculty of Toxicology at Texas A&M University. He is also a Fellow in the Academy of Toxicological Sciences and Associate Editor of Food Additives & Contaminants, the number one journal in mycotoxicology.

Dr. Phillips’ research interests include food safety and environmental toxicology. In particular he is deeply involved with the development and evaluation of chemical and biological methods to detect and detoxify food-borne and environmental toxins and microbes; molecular and kinetic assessment of the mechanisms involved in the toxic actions/interactions of mycotoxins, corresponding metabolites and polysubstituted derivatives; multifunctional detoxifying clays and matrix-immobilized clay composites for the sorption and inactivation of hazardous mycotoxins and environmental contaminants; molecular modeling and thermodynamics of surface-toxin interactions.

His pioneering research led to the initial development work for Salient’s CASAD product. His leadership of human studies in the US and Africa has demonstrated the safety of our base product in humans and animals. It has also formed the basis for the pre-clinical work that led to the Company’s current human studies. Dr. Phillips is the world’s leading expert on human uses of Salient’s base compound.

Dr. Phillips holds a BS in General Science from Mississippi State University, an MS in Science Education and Chemistry from the University of Southern Mississippi and a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Southern Mississippi.

William J. Sandborn, MD

Dorothy A. Adair Professor of Gastrointestinal Research , Mayo Clinic

Professor of Medicine, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine

Vice Chairman of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Mayo Clinic

Dr. William Sandborn completed medical school and an internal medicine residency at Loma Linda University in Loma Linda California. He completed a gastroenterology fellowship at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota in 1993. He is Professor of Medicine and the Dorothy A. Adair Professor of Gastrointestinal Research at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, as well as the Vice Chairman of  Gastroenterology and Hepatology Division at Mayo Clinic, and the Associate Director of Research at Mayo Clinic responsible for collaboration with the Office of Intellectual Property. He is chairman of the International Organization of Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Dr. Sandborn has published more than 300 peer-reviewed articles, including articles in the New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet, Journal of the American Medical Association, the Annals of Internal Medicine, and Gastroenterology. His research interests are clinical trials and clinical pharmacology related to inflammatory bowel disease.

C. Adam Zong, PhD, MBA

Head of Hematology Portfolio, Bristol-Myers Squibb

Dr. Zong is an expert in pharmaceutical product development, clinical trial operations, regulatory affairs, intellectual property management, licensing and business development, marketing and commercialization, and product life cycle management. Currently he is head of Hematology Portfolio at Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS), leading BMS's hematology-oncology pipeline development and portfolio strategy.  His past experiences include leading the Global Oncology Franchise Development Department of Schering-Plough Pharmaceuticals, the New Product Development Group at Pfizer and a role in new business development for Yoshitomi (now Mitsubishi). In his professional career, he has led 30+ clinical development programs and pharmaceutical product launches. He is also the inventor/co-inventor of six pharmaceutical patents. Dr. Zong graduated from Fudan University in Shanghai and received his PhD degree in oncology/virology from The Rockefeller University. Dr. Zong also received an MBA degree from The Wharton School.