SAN DIEGO, Feb. 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Human Longevity, Inc. (HLI), the genomics-based, technology-driven company, announced today the appointment of several key people for its oncology genomics program. Kenneth J. Bloom, M.D. will join the company as the new head of oncology and immunotherapy; Stephen P. Schoenberger, Ph.D. will lead cancer vaccine efforts and Ezra Cohen, M.D., who is also Associate Director and Professor of Medicine, Moores Cancer Center, University of California, San Diego, will be a staff oncologist.
HLI recently announced its oncology program which includes the development of comprehensive whole germline and tumor genome analysis, as well as tumor and germline exome analysis products.
"We are excited to have Ken, Stephen and Ezra on the HLI team and are confident their combined clinical and scientific expertise will greatly enhance our oncology program. We have been working over the last year on developing our oncology program with help from Ezra. We will look to Ken and his team to further develop and commercialize this important area of our business," said J. Craig Venter, Ph.D., Co-founder and CEO, HLI.
Dr. Bloom has more than 30 years of clinical and business experience and has been an early adopter and big proponent of information technology to revolutionize pathology and other areas of medicine. He is also a prolific and renowned researcher and lecturer in pathology, cancer, telemedicine, and informatics.
He comes to HLI most recently from GE Healthcare where he was since 2011 as Chief Medical Officer, In Vitro Diagnostics, Life Sciences. There he had oversight of Medical Affairs, Clinical Pathology Services, Pharma Pathology Services, Bioinformatics and Research and Development. He was also President and CEO of Clarient Pathology Services, the professional group contracted to provide pathology services to Clarient Diagnostic Services and SeqWright. In these roles he led the overall development and execution of the medical and scientific strategy, aligning them with the overall GE mission and business strategy. Prior to Clarient, Dr. Bloom was with US Labs where he was Senior Medical Director since 2002.
In addition to Dr. Bloom's extensive business experience, he has held a series of impressive academic medical posts including Clinical Professor of Pathology at University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine; and Associate Professor of Pathology at Rush Medical College. During the last 15 years he has held more than 10 appointed positions at Rush Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center, one of the leading cancer research hospitals in the United States, including Director of Laboratory Operations, Director of Immunohistochemistry, and Director of Information Services for Rush Cancer Center.
Dr. Bloom received his M.D. from Rush Medical College and his B.A. from Grinnell College.
Ezra Cohen, M.D., is a board-certified oncologist and cancer researcher who cares for patients with all types of head and neck cancers, including esophageal, thyroid and salivary gland cancers. Dr. Cohen is also an internationally recognized expert on novel cancer therapies and co-leads the Solid Tumor Therapeutics program at Moores Cancer Center. Much of his clinical work has focused on squamous cell carcinomas and cancers of the thyroid, salivary gland, and HPV-related oropharyngeal cancers. Dr. Cohen has been consulting with HLI for approximately a year as the company has been developing its oncology program and will continue this work in his new part time role.
Dr. Cohen serves as co-chair of the National Cancer Institute Head and Neck Cancer Steering Committee, which oversees NCI-funded clinical research in this disease. He is also editor-in-chief of Oral Oncology, the most respected specialty journal in head and neck cancer. A frequent speaker at national and international meetings, he has authored more than 150 peer-reviewed papers and has been the principal investigator of multiple clinical trials of new drugs in all phases of development.
Dr. Cohen earned his medical degree at University of Toronto. He completed residencies in family medicine at the University of Toronto and in internal medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He completed a hematology/oncology fellowship at the University of Chicago and was a member of the faculty there for 12 years until moving to UC San Diego in January 2014.
Stephen Schoenberger, Ph.D., an expert in immunology and oncology, is heading the cancer vaccine efforts at HLI. He is also currently Professor in Cellular Immunology at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology and an Adjunct Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology and Oncology at UC San Diego, Moores Cancer Center. Schoenberger has authored nearly 100 scientific papers, along with numerous reviews and book chapters. He received his Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics and his BS in Microbiology from the University of California, Los Angeles.
About Human Longevity, Inc.
Human Longevity, Inc. (HLI) is the genomics-based, technology-driven company creating the world's largest and most comprehensive database of whole genome, phenotype and clinical data. HLI is developing and applying large scale computing and machine learning to make novel discoveries to revolutionize the practice of medicine. HLI's business also includes the HLI Health Nucleus, a genomic powered clinical research center which uses whole genome sequence analysis, advanced clinical imaging and innovative machine learning, along with curated personal health information, to deliver the most complete picture of individual health. For more information, please visit http://www.humanlongevity.com or http://www.healthnucleus.com.
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