Mahoney Life Sciences Prize

Stefan K. Baier ’03 PhD

Principal Consultant, PlaFooTex Consulting, LLC
University of Bonn | Dipl.-Ing, Food Engineering, 1999
University of Massachusetts Amherst | PhD, Food Science, 2003

Stefan Baier is an expert food material scientist and technical leadership executive, currently the principal consultant at PlaFooTex Consulting LLC, where he advises on technical strategy, R&D capabilities, and delivers scientific insights to enable product innovation for companies within the alternative protein, fermentation, and broader food technology sectors. Stefan also serves as an Adjunct Associate Professor with the University of Queensland’s School of Chemical Engineering in Brisbane, Australia, and is on the editorial board of the Journal of Texture Studies. With over 23 years of food industry experience, Stefan has a uniquely comprehensive perspective, having worked across the full spectrum from B2B to B2C, ingredients and processing to finished products, and from startups to major corporations. His career spans leadership roles at organizations like Aqua Cultured Foods, Inc., Bühler Group AG, Motif FoodWorks, PepsiCo, Frito-Lay NA, and Cargill, providing him with insight into both private and public sectors, and the ability to navigate diverse operational scales and business models. He has contributed to a portfolio of 10+ patents, authored 35+ peer-reviewed publications, and secured over $10 million in research grants. Stefan earned a PhD in Food Science from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and an Engineering degree (Dipl.-Ing) in Food Technology & Engineering from Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms Universität in Bonn, Germany.

Robert L. Buchanan ’82

Co-founder and Board Member, RORA Biologics and Ambulero
University of Massachusetts | BS, Biochemistry, 1982
Suffolk University Law School | JD, Law
UCLA | PhD, Biochemistry

Robert Buchanan is a life sciences entrepreneur, attorney, and biotech executive with more than two decades of experience advancing gene therapy, cell therapy, and biologics programs from academic discovery to clinical development. He is the co founder and a board member at RORA Biologics and Ambulero, two university spin outs developing first in class therapies for rare immune and vascular diseases. He also currently serves as an Entrepreneur in Residence at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine; Co-Founder and Partner at Ventac Partners; and a board member of the Wallace H. Coulter Center for Translational Research. Robert’s earlier career includes senior legal roles at Biogen, where he led IP and licensing efforts for hemophilia, gene therapy, and cell therapy programs, as well as prior positions in international biotech ventures and major law firms. He holds a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from UCLA, a J.D. from Suffolk University Law School, and a B.S. in Biochemistry from UMass Amherst.

David J. Mazzo ’81 MS, ’84 PhD

President and Chief Executive Officer, Lisata Therapeutics
Villanova University | BS, Chemistry, and BA, Interdisciplinary Humanities, 1979
University of Massachusetts Amherst | MS and PhD, Chemistry, 1981 and 1984

David J. Mazzo is the President and CEO of Lisata Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical stage therapeutics development biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery, development, and commercialization of innovative therapies for the treatment of advanced solid tumors and other major diseases. Lisata’s internalizing RGD, or arginylglycylaspartic acid, (iRGD) cyclic peptide product candidate, certepetide, is an investigational drug designed to initiate the C-end rule active transport pathway that allows co-administered or tethered anti-cancer drugs to selectively target and penetrate solid tumors more effectively. Certepetide has also been shown to make the tumor microenvironment less immunosuppressive, to recruit cytotoxic T cells to the tumor and to inhibit the metastatic cascade. Dr. Mazzo is a pharmaceutical executive and strategic leader with broad experience in both large and small companies gained from working in a variety of multicultural and multilingual environments in the USA, Canada, Europe, and Asia. He is recognized for his exceptional strategic, scientific and regulatory expertise, upon which he has amassed a track record of more than 40 years of successful global product development, registration, and launch. Dr. Mazzo earned his PhD in Analytical Chemistry as well as an MS in Chemistry at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He also holds dual degrees [BS in Chemistry and BA in Honors (Interdisciplinary Humanities)] from Villanova University. He complemented his American education with a Research Fellowship at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland.

Michael Rukstalis ’97
Senior Lab Director, TreeFrog Therapeutics 
University of Massachusetts | BS, Biological Sciences, 1997
Purdue University | PhD, Genetics/Biological Sciences, 2003

Michael Rukstalis, PhD is Senior Director and head of the US research laboratory of TreeFrog Therapeutics, a French-based pluripotent stem cell therapy biotechnology company. Michael’s expertise is in combining the basic biology of pluripotent stem cell differentiation with drug discovery principles to develop cell-based therapeutics for the treatment of complex and chronic diseases.
Michael earned his Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1997, followed by a Doctorate in Genetics and Developmental Biology from Purdue University in 2003.  He completed his postdoctoral training with Joel Habener at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard medical school where he worked on the developmental regulation of pancreas regeneration in the context of Type 1 diabetes.
Michael has spent the last 15+ years working in drug discovery and development across a variety of disease areas with roles in large pharm (Pfizer), biotech startups (Sana bio, TreeFrog Therapeutics), and hybrid organizations (Broad Instituted of MIT and Harvard).

Charles H. Sherwood ’72 MS, ’77 PhD

Founder and Former CEO, Anika Therapeutics
Cornell University | BS, Chemical Engineering, 1970
University of Massachusetts Amherst | MS and PhD, Polymer Science, 1972 and 1977

Charles H. Sherwood was the Chief Executive Officer of Anika Therapeutics from 2002 to 2018. From 2002 through July 2017, he also held the title of President. Sherwood joined Anika in 1998 with extensive experience in research, engineering, manufacturing, quality assurance, regulatory affairs, and business management. He first served at Anika in the position of Vice President of Research, Development, and Engineering. Prior to joining Anika, he was a senior director with Chiron Vision, responsible for medical product development and commercialization. From 1982 to 1995, Dr. Sherwood was with IOLAB Corporation, a division of Johnson & Johnson, where he led the Research and Product Development organization. Earlier, he held various technical and management positions with Hughes Aircraft Company and Lord Corporation. He was also on the faculty of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Sherwood holds a BS in chemical engineering from Cornell University, an MS and a PhD in polymer science and engineering from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and a certificate in management from Claremont Graduate School.

Cynthia Arlene (Boyd) Sirard ’91
Chief Medical Officer, Compass Therapeutics 
University of Massachusetts | BS, Zoology, Exercise Science, 1991
Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin U-Med & Science | MD, Physician, 1996

Dr. Cynthia Arlene (Boyd) Sirard is a Board Certified Internist and Medical Oncologist with more than two decades of global leadership in clinical development, regulatory strategy, and medical affairs. Dr. Sirard received her BS from University of Massachusetts Amherst and her MD from Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science. She trained at Harvard Medical School’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, where she completed her residency in Internal Medicine and fellowship in Hematology/Oncology. Her academic foundation has been complemented by extensive experience spanning biopharmaceutical companies, venture capital, and contract research organizations, culminating in her role as Chief Medical Officer at Compass Therapeutics.

Prior to Compass, Dr. Sirard served as the CMO for Leap Therapeutics where she was recognized as the world’s top physician and medical researcher in the area of clinical development of a novel, first in class DKK1 inhibitor (Wnt pathway modulator and an innate immune mediated therapeutic), DKN-01 (sirexatamab). She also held senior leadership positions at Sanofi and Genzyme, where she directed global oncology development programs and contributed to regulatory submissions, product lifecycle strategies, and business development initiatives. Earlier in her career, she gained broad clinical and industry experience at PAREXEL International and as a practicing oncologist in Connecticut.

Dr. Sirard is widely published in oncology and hematology, with an extensive body of peer-reviewed manuscripts and conference presentations. She is an active member of leading professional organizations, including the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the European Society of Medical Oncology. She brings a unique combination of deep scientific expertise, executive leadership, and proven ability to advance innovative therapies in oncology and hematology for the benefit of patients worldwide.
 

Michael Solomon ’92
Investor, Opaleye Management Inc.
University of Massachusetts Amherst | BS, Chemistry, 1992
University of Wisconsin–Madison | PhD, Organic Chemistry

Mike is currently an investor with Opaleye Management Inc. and has served as a member of the Board of Directors of Protara Inc. since May 2018. He previously served as Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors of Ribometrix, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on RNA-targeted small-molecule therapeutics.

Dr. Solomon has nearly 30 years of experience in the biotechnology industry, including extensive experience founding, building, and operating early-stage companies. He has held senior leadership, operating, and discovery roles at Decibel Therapeutics, Epizyme Therapeutics, Ember Therapeutics, Link Medicine, and Hypnion, Inc.; served as a Venture Partner at SV Health Investors; and as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Third Rock Ventures. He began his career at Millennium Pharmaceuticals and has served on the boards of multiple private biotechnology companies.
Dr. Solomon holds a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and completed postdoctoral research at The Scripps Research Institute.

Monica Tan ‘98

Senior Vice President of Product & Design, Science Exchange
University of Massachusetts Amherst | BS, Biology, 1998

Monica Tan is the Senior Vice President of Product and Design at Science Exchange, headquartered in Palo Alto, California. A seasoned expert in creating transformative software experiences, Monica previously served as Director of User Experience Design at cybersecurity firms Anomali and AlienVault (acquired by AT&T in 2018), where she leveraged insights into human psychology and behavior to optimize digital user journeys. She has also collaborated with leading companies such as Intuit, Cisco, Citrix, and Apple. At Science Exchange, she drives end-to-end product development, aligning strategy with market needs to deliver impactful solutions, culminating in an acquisition by Waud Capital Partners. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biology with a minor in Psychology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Carrie Williams ‘02

University of Massachusetts Amherst | BS, Biology, 2002
University of California at Berkeley | MBA, 2009

Carrie brings over 20 years of healthcare experience from several vantage points within the industry. She started her career in biopharma, managing clinical trials for oncology drugs. She then spent time in McKesson’s strategy and business development group before joining Omada Health, where she served as Vice President, Strategy and Business Development and focused heavily on all elements of commercial strategy. She then rejoined McKesson where her investment focus is on digital health, including early stage tech-enabled healthcare services and software companies. Williams earned her MBA from the Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley and has a BS in biology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. 

The Mahoney brothers all received their degrees in Chemistry from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. They went on to become leaders in their own industries and have served as high-level alumni advisers to the campus. The Mahoney brothers encourage the university to think differently about the way it serves its students and promotes the UMass Amherst education. Their commitment to student success is seen in their extraordinary efforts to personally mentor students and train other alumni to do the same, while their family legacy of giving and involvement is seen far and wide throughout the campus. The Mahoney Life Sciences Prize, like all that this family does for its alma mater, seeks to inspire and recognize greatness.

Craig T. Martin

Professor of Chemistry
2025 Recipient

Craig Martin, professor of chemistry at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, was awarded the 2025 Mahoney Life Sciences Prize for his research into synthesizing vaccine quality RNA using a technique that improves its quality and yield while drastically lowering the cost.

Lynne A. McLandsborough, PhD

Distinguished Professor of Food Microbiology and Interim Director of the Center for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment, UMass Amherst 
2024 Recipient

The industry panel awarded the 2024 Mahoney Life Sciences Prize to Lynne McLandsborough, professor of food microbiology and interim director of the Center for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment (CAFE) at UMass Amherst. Her research aims to devise a more effective and efficient cleaning and sanitation method for companies that process low-moisture foods like peanut butter and chocolate. “Outbreaks of salmonellosis associated with low-moisture foods are a persistent problem,” says McLandsborough. The facilities that process these products use a dry cleaning method to clean equipment, which removes residues but doesn’t kill bacteria like salmonella. McLandsborough and her team created an acidified water-in-oil emulsion that significantly increases antimicrobial activity. Using this method, processors can enhance bacteria eradication and sanitize processing lines without waiting for equipment to cool down. Since publication of these findings, McLandsborough has presented this research to M&M Mars and talked with chocolate supplier Barry Callebaut about testing this technology in a chocolate pilot plant.

Learn more about Lynne A. McLandsborough, PhD.

Lynn Adler

Professor, Biology Department
2022 Recipient

Adler, L. S., Barber, N. A., Biller, O. M., & Irwin, R. E. (2020). Flowering plant composition shapes pathogen infection intensity and reproduction in bumble bee colonies. In Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (Vol. 117, Issue 21, pp. 11559–11565). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2000074117

Pathogens pose significant threats to pollinator health and food security. Pollinators can transmit diseases during foraging, but the consequences of plant species composition for infection is unknown. In agroecosystems, flowering strips or hedgerows are often used to augment pollinator habitat. We used canola as a focal crop in tents, and manipulated flowering strip composition using plant species we had previously shown to result in higher or lower bee infection in short-term trials. We also manipulated initial colony infection to assess impacts on foraging behavior. Flowering strips using high-infection plant species nearly doubled bumble bee colony infection intensity compared to low-infection plant species, with intermediate infection in canola-only tents. Both infection treatment and flowering strips reduced visits to canola, but we saw no evidence that infection treatment shifted foraging preferences. Although high-infection flowering strips increased colony infection intensity, colony reproduction was improved with any flowering strips compared to canola alone. The effects of flowering strips on colony reproduction were explained by nectar availability, but the effects of flowering strips on infection intensity were not. Thus, flowering strips benefited colony reproduction by adding floral resources, but certain plant species also come with a risk of increased pathogen infection intensity.

Read more about Lynn Adler.

Margaret A. Riley

Professor, Biology Department
2021 Recipient

Roy, S.M. and Riley, M.A. (2019). Evaluation of the Potential of Colicins to Prevent Extraluminal Contamination of Urinary Catheters by Escherichia Coli. International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents, (54)5, 619-625. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0924857919301840?...

The feasibility of using colicins to create an antimicrobial lubricant to prevent extraluminal catheter contamination during urinary catheter insertion was assessed. Levels of resistance of uropathogenic Escherichia coli to antibiotics and colicins were compared. The results showed that antibiotics and colicins possess similar frequencies of resistance to a single drug, whereas colicins exhibit significantly lower levels of multidrug resistance (22%) than antibiotics (42%). Colicins and antibiotics showed complementary inhibitory activity, with each targeting different subsets of pathogenic isolates. The collateral impact of these two antimicrobials on genera that are members of the fecal/vaginal/urinary microbiome was assessed, with colicins showing significantly less collateral damage than antibiotics. Using a novel colicin, SR4, minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) for a panel of 30 uropathogenic isolates were determined and showed that SR4 achieved the same antimicrobial efficacy as gentamicin using 20-30% less drug. An SR4-impregnated catheter lubricant was created and its ability to prevent extraluminal urinary catheter contamination in vitro was demonstrated. These data indicate that a colicin-impregnated lubricant may provide a viable prophylactic option for preventing catheter-associated urinary tract infections.

Read more about Margaret A. Riley.

Dr. Derek R. Lovley

Distinguished Professor, Department of Microbiology
2020 Recipient

Ueki, T., Walker, D. J. F., Tremblay, P.-L., Nevin, K. P., Ward, J. E., Woodard, T. L., Nonnenmann, S. S., & Lovley, D. R. (2019). Decorating the Outer Surface of Microbially Produced Protein Nanowires with Peptides. ACS Synthetic Biology, 8(8), 1809–1817. https://doi.org/10.1021/acssynbio.9b00131

The potential applications of electrically conductive protein nanowires (e-PNs) harvested from Geobacter sulf urreducens might be greatly expanded if the outer surface of the wires could be modified to confer novel sensing capabilities or to enhance binding to other materials. We developed a simple strategy for functionalizing e-PNs with surface-exposed peptides. The G. sulf urreducens gene for the monomer that assembles into e-PNs was modified to add peptide tags at the carboxyl terminus of the monomer. Strains of G. sulf urreducens were constructed that fabricated synthetic e-PNs with a six-histidine “His-tag” or both the His-tag and a nine-peptide “HA-tag” exposed on the outer surface. Addition of the peptide tags did not diminish e-PN conductivity. The abundance of HA-tag in e-PNs was controlled by placing expression of the gene for the synthetic monomer with the HA-tag under transcriptional regulation. These studies suggest broad possibilities for tailoring e-PN properties for diverse applications.

Read more about Dr. Derek R. Lovley.

S. "Thai" Thayumanavan

Professor, Department of Chemistry
2019 Recipient

Dutta, K., Hu, D., Zhao, B., Ribbe, A. E., Zhuang, J., & Thayumanavan, S. (2017). Templated Self-Assembly of a Covalent Polymer Network for Intracellular Protein Delivery and Traceless Release. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 139(16), 5676–5679. https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.7b01214

Protein-based drugs have great potential for improving our ability to treat disease. In comparison to current drugs that are based on small molecules, drugs composed of proteins are more effective for addressing specific genetic deficiencies without undesirable side effects. However, there are major challenges in delivering proteins into and within a cell. These challenges are related to keeping the protein stable, avoiding unwanted immune system response, and translocating the protein across the cellular membrane.
 
This study presents a novel and practical strategy which simultaneously overcomes all of these challenges. In this strategy, the polymers self-assemble to form a sheath around the protein, analogous to "shrink-wrapping" the protein. The polymer sheath encapsulates proteins, preserves their structure and function during delivery, and releases them when the assembly enters the cell cytosol. The polymers do not provoke an unwanted immune system response, and do not leaving any residue behind. This strategy is applicable to a broad range of proteins, and the sheath can be designed to release its cargo under various conditions. In addition to the applications for protein therapeutics and devices, the technology can be used to design reagents for basic biochemical research. Dr. Thayumanavan is currently working with industry partners toward both applications, in part through his start-up company, Cyta Therapeutics.

Read more about S. "Thai" Thayumanavan.

Jeanne Hardy

Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry
2018 Recipient

Dagbay, K. B., & Hardy, J. A. (2017). Multiple proteolytic events in caspase-6 self-activation impact conformations of discrete structural regions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114(38), E7977–E7986. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1704640114

The challenges wrought by Alzheimer's disease are increasing with the graying of society in the developed world. In the United States, Alzheimer's disease promises to be the single largest medical expense ($1.1 trillion annually) by 2050. Today, no suitable treatments for Alzheimer's disease exist. Associate Professor in Chemistry Jeanne Hardy has been working for more than a decade to understand an important protein involved in Alzheimer's disease, called caspase-6. Recently, Dr. Hardy made important discoveries that may significantly advance our ability to treat this increasingly relevant disease.

People with Alzheimer's disease have tangles associated with the neurons of their brains. There is evidence that the caspase-6 protein is responsible for creating those tangles. Inhibiting caspase-6 could be one of the most promising approaches for treating Alzheimer's disease. In order to do this with a positive outcome, it is important not to inhibit any of the other 11 caspases. This is a major challenge, because all of the caspase proteins perform very similar reactions. 

Dr. Hardy has risen to this challenge. In 2011, the Hardy lab found that one part of caspase-6 can fold into a helix, which no other caspase can do. However, caspase-6 does not maintain a helix shape all of the time, but constantly fluctuates between a helix and a three-strand shape. Last year, the Hardy lab used a state-of-the-art method to take snapshots of what parts of caspase-6 change shape and fluctuate over time. Insights from this study have allowed the Hardy Lab to develop new chemicals, targeting caspase-6 without affecting other caspases. This development represents a pivotal step forward toward treating Alzheimer's disease with caspase-6 inhibitors.