Nonprofit Honors Departing Board Member Mike Bonney

Life Science Cares is pleased to announce the addition of Tiburio Therapeutics Chief Executive Officer Abe Ceesay, former (retired) Global Head of J&J Innovation Robert G. Urban and Quench Bio Chief Executive Officer Samantha Truex to the Board of Directors. The nonprofit honors Mike Bonney, Executive Chair of Kaleido Biosciences,who is stepping back to the Board of Advisors as his work commitments have shifted.

Ceesay brings more than 17 years of experience in biopharmaceutical leadership as well as an established commitment to non-profit organizations in the Boston community to Life Science Cares. He currently is CEO of Tiburio Therapeutics which is a clinical stage company focused in developing novel treatments for rare neuroendocrine tumors and endocrine diseases. Prior to Tiburio, Ceesay served as Chief Operating Officer of scPharmaceuticals and also served in executive commercial roles at both Ironwood Pharmaceuticals and Genzyme. Outside of work, Ceesay also serves on the board for Food For Free and Camp Harbor View both of which are Life Science Cares’ nonprofit partners. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Ithaca College, and a Master of Business Administration from Suffolk University’s Sawyer School of Management.

Urban offers a long personal commitment to philanthropy. After over 25 years in the healthcare industry, in 2018 Urban retired as the Global Head of Johnson & Johnson Innovation, LLC.  Prior to J&J, Urban was at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he was the founding Executive Director of the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research. Previously, Urban held a variety of Co-Founder, CEO and senior leadership roles in the biopharmaceutical industry. Currently, he sits on the boards of the Novo Nordisk Foundation’s BioInnovation Institute in Denmark, Arkuda Therapeutics and Opening Doors Cambodia. Urban holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Microbiology and his PhD in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of Texas system, and was an Irvington Fellow in structural immunology at Harvard University.

As the CEO of Quench Bio and an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Atlas Venture, Truex is known as a go-getter in the industry. She brings nearly 25 years of experience in life sciences. Previously, she was CBO of Padlock Therapeutics and COO for Synlogic. In prior roles, Truex served as vice president of Biogen corporate development, leading M&A and licensing transactions and serving as program executive for preclinical and launch-stage products. Truex sits the board of Hotspot Therapeutics and has been an advisor to several Atlas portfolio companies. Beyond biotech, she chairs the board of Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth. She holds bachelor’s degrees in biology and biomedical engineering at Dartmouth and a Master’s in Business Administration from the Tuck School.

“As a fast-growing and evolving organization, we are thrilled to add the passion and commitment of Abe, Robert & Sam to our Board of Directors,” said Sarah MacDonald, Executive Director of Life Science Cares. “We have seen the devastating impacts of poverty highlighted by this year’s pandemic and intend to grow our impact to continue to meet needs.”

Bonney has helped to guide Life Science Cares’ rollout of the nonprofit’s new strategic plan and expansion into Philadelphia. While his professional commitments increased this year, Bonney remains committed to Life Science Cares as a member of the Board of Advisors and looks forward to supporting the organization as it continues to grow.

“Mike’s thoughtful leadership—and consistent message of thinking big—has been critical to the growth of Life Science Cares’ work and impact in the community. We appreciate his continued support as an Advisor and champion of our work,” MacDonald said.

Life Science Cares’ Board of Directors set the strategic direction of the organization and are responsible for the nonprofit’s fiscal health. As board members, Ceesay, Urban and Truex will help to govern and lead the Boston-based collective’s corporate social responsibility effort as it continues to expand nationwide and ensure the nonprofit delivers on its mission to connect life science companies with nonprofits working to improve the lives of those fighting poverty. For more information about Life Science Cares, visit www.lifesciencecares.org.