NDRI Elects Paul M. Lieberman, Ph.D., to Board of Directors

PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Philadelphia-based National Disease Research Interchange (NDRI) announces the election of Paul M. Lieberman, Ph.D., to its Board. Lieberman is the Hilary Koprowski, M.D., Endowed Professor, leader of the Gene Expression and Regulation Program, and director of the Center for Chemical Biology & Translational Medicine at The Wistar Institute, a biomedical research leader in cancer, immunology, infectious disease, and vaccine development. Elected on November 12 to a three-year term, Lieberman will bring his experience and insight to the nation’s leading source of human organs, cells and tissues for research.

Lieberman is a molecular virologist and an expert in gene expression and regulation at Wistar’s Cancer Center. He is best known for his pioneering studies on how certain viruses can persist in the body long-term, leading to cancer. He leads a talented drug-discovery team that created first-in-class molecules directed against Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) as a novel therapeutic approach for potentially treating EBV-associated cancers.

Lieberman earned a B.A. in Chemistry from Cornell University and a Ph.D. in pharmacology/virology from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He completed post-doctoral training at the University of California in Los Angeles. Lieberman’s research has been cited in over 150 publications. In 2018, Lieberman was named a 2018 Fellow of the Association of American Advancement of Sciences (AAAS).

Mary J.C. Hendrix, Ph.D., Chair of the NDRI Board and President of Shepherd University, shared, “We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Lieberman to the NDRI Board of Directors. His scientific expertise and accomplishments and strong commitment to the advancement of research will serve as great contributions to NDRI’s mission.”

“As NDRI’s support for increasingly sophisticated areas of biomedical research continues to expand, Dr. Lieberman’s experience and insight will add great value to our commitment to the broad range of partners that we are privileged to serve,” said Bill Leinweber, NDRI’s President and Chief Executive Officer.

About NDRI:
The National Disease Research Interchange (NDRI) is the nation’s leading source of human tissues, cells and organs for scientific research. A not-for-profit 501 (c) (3) organization founded in 1980, NDRI is funded in part by the National Institutes of Health, public and private foundations and organizations, pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporations. NDRI is a 24/7 operation that partners with a nationwide network of over 130 tissue source sites (TSS), including organ procurement organizations (OPOs), tissue banks, eye banks, and hospitals. The TSS, are distributed throughout the USA, in 45 states, with concentrations in major metropolitan areas on both the east and west coasts. Their wide geographic distribution allows NDRI to provide biospecimens from donor populations with diverse demographics and also facilitates the timely and efficient provision of fresh tissues directly to researchers across the U.S. and around the world. By serving as the liaison between procurement sources and the research community, NDRI is uniquely positioned to support breakthrough advances and discoveries that can affect advances in the treatment and cure of human diseases.

About the Wistar Institute:
The Wistar Institute is an international leader in biomedical research with special expertise in cancer, infectious disease research and vaccine development. Founded in 1892 as the first independent nonprofit biomedical research institute in the United States, Wistar has held the prestigious Cancer Center designation from the National Cancer Institute since 1972. The Institute works actively to ensure that research advances move from the laboratory to the clinic as quickly as possible.