Institute of Human Virology Names New Board Members
NBA Hall of Famer Among New Members
January 3, 2006
(BALTIMORE, MD) – The Institute of Human Virology (IHV) has named three
new members to its Board of Advisors; Lenny Wilkens, NBA Hall of Fame player
and coach; Dr. Chris Y.H. Tan, former director of the Institute of Molecular
and Cell Biology (IMCB) in Singapore; and Franco Nuschese, president of Georgetown
Entertainment Group, LLC.
Dr. Robert Gallo, founder
and director of the IHV and a co-discoverer of HIV, said "These members
bring a wealth of new perspectives and a commitment to IHV's mission that will
be an invaluable asset to the Institute."
Lenny Wilkens
is the only person to ever be inducted into the Basketball
Hall of Fame as both an NBA player and coach. He also holds
the rare distinction of having coached all the teams that
he represented during his 15 seasons as an NBA player: Seattle
Supersonics, Portland Trail Blazers, Cleveland Cavaliers,
Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors and the New York Knicks.
Wilkens served as an assistant coach to the 1992 gold medal-winning
USA basketball team and led the 1996 USA Basketball Dream
Team to a gold medal.
He is involved with several community initiatives including the NBA Stay in
School Program, Shoes for Kids, March of Dimes, Arthur Ashe Foundation, Make
A Wish Foundation, Seattle Community College, Odessa Brown Children's Clinic
and the Lenny Wilkens Scholarship Fund. Coach Wilkens resides in Seattle.
Franco Nuschese,
hospitality entrepreneur and native Italian, is president of Georgetown Entertainment
Group LLC, the management company for Cafe Milano in Georgetown. Nuschese opened
Café Milano in November 1992, which soared to top-status rank, attracting
Hollywood celebrities, politicians, diplomats, classical and popular entertainers,
professional athletes, international journalists and famous broadcasters.
"I am eager to help this important work that is so much in the headlines
today, especially with new viruses that threaten our society today," Nuschese
said of his recent appointment.
Nuschese is a member of the advisory board for LifeLink MD, Inc.; the board
of the Washington National Opera; the boxing committee for the D.C. Sports and
Entertainment Commission; and a trustee of The American Academy of Hospitality
Sciences. Nuschese also participates and donates to various civic and charitable
organizations within the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, where he resides.
Dr. Chris Tan founded the Institute
of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB) in Singapore. He provides expertise
in science foundation evaluations, infectious diseases, cell and cancer biology,
building research establishments through an extensive international network
of academia, hospitals, government, industry and the investment community. Dr.
Tan is the recipient of many prestigious awards including the Singapore National
Day Gold Award, Centre for Excellence Professorship Award form the University
of Tokyo, Nikkei Prize for Technological Innovations and the National Sci &
Tech Board Medal for Distinguished Contribution to Biotech. Dr. Tan is currently
senior counselor for the Asia-Pacific International Molecular Biology Network.
He travels extensively to promote research collaborations between North America
and Asia.
IHV is a center of the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute (UMBI)
and affiliated with the University
of Maryland School of Medicine.
Related Information on IHV.org
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