The Advisory Board

Gregory M. Pastores, MD

Associate Professor, Neurology and Pediatrics
Director, Neurogenetics Laboratory

New York University School of Medicine

Dr. Pastores received an MD from the University of Sto. Tomas, Manila, Philippines, 1979-1983. He completed a Pediatrics and Molecular Genetics Residency at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, 1986-1992 and a Medical Genetics Fellowship at the Mayo Clinic\Foundation, 1989-1991. He has received a Young Pediatric Investigator Award, Mount Sinai Child Health Research Center, NIH (5 P30 HD28822), 1996-1997, and a Minority Clinical Associate Physician Award, Mount Sinai General Clinical Research Center, National Center for Research Resources, NIH (5M01-RR0071). He has published more than 120 papers, two textbooks, and 14 book chapters and is serving as an reviewer and editorial board member of a number of reputed journals.

Deborah Fein, PhD

Developmental Neuropsychologist

University of Connecticut

Deborah Fein, PhD, is a clinical neuropsychologist who has engaged in autism research for 35 years at Boston University School of Medicine and at the University of Connecticut. She is currently a Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor in the Departments of Psychology and Pediatrics at the University of Connecticut. Her research is supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and numerous private foundations. She has investigated multiple areas of autism including: biochemical abnormalities, brain waves, language and memory, cognitive skills, sensory abnormalities, outcome, early detection and theoretical issues concerning diagnosis. She has published well over 100 articles and book chapters, mostly on autism, and is the co-author of a recent book for teachers, Autism in Your Classroom, as well as a widely used screening tool, the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT). She has served on the Board of Directors of the American Association for Clinical Neuropsychology, and the Science Advisory Board of Autism Speaks, and as Associate Editor of the journal Neuropsychology, and Secretary of the International Society for Autism Research.

Jeremy M. Silverman, PhD

Professor, Department of Psychiatry

The Mount Sinai Medical Center, Mount Sinai School of Medicine New York City, NY

Dr. Silverman joined the Psychiatry Department faculty at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in 1987. His major research interests pertain to the genetics of psychiatric disorders and, more specifically, the improved delineation of phenotypes and endophenotypes (intermediate phenotypes) associated with autism, schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease, and successful cognitive aging in order to strengthen gene-finding strategies. Dr. Silverman is also interested in the identification of non-genetic risk and protective factors associated with these conditions. He has led many federal and privately funded projects in these and related areas and authored 200+ peer-reviewed scientific publications.

Alexander Kolevzon, MD

Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics

Clinical Director, Seaver Autism Center of Research and Treatment
Mount Sinai School of Medicine

Dr. Kolevzon was appointed to the faculty at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in 2005 as Director of Clinical Services in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry before joining the Seaver Autism Center as Clinical Director in 2007. Dr. Kolevzon has published numerous papers on autism and has extensive clinical expertise in the psychopharmacology of autism and related conditions. His research is focused on developing new pharmacological treatments for autism. Demonstrating a deep commitment to medical student and residency training and education, he serves as the Associate Residency Training Director in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and co-Director of the Beatrix Hamburg Medical Student Training Fellowship in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (sponsored by the Klingenstein Third Generation Foundation). He has written three books designed for medical student and resident education and is co-editor of the Textbook of Autism Spectrum Disorders, published by the American Psychiatric Press. He is an active teacher, mentor, and clinical supervisor and has received many teaching awards as well as a grant to support innovative educational endeavors.

Danielle Laraque, MD

Chair, Department of Pediatrics
Vice President of the Infants & Children’s Hospital of Brooklyn

Maimonides, Brooklyn, NY

Prior to joining Maimonides, Dr. Laraque was Chief of the Division of General Pediatrics and Vice Chair for Public Policy and Advocacy at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics. Her academic appointments included Professor of Pediatrics, Professor of Preventive Medicine, and the endowed Debra and Leon Black Professor of Pediatrics.

Dr. Laraque received her Bachelor of Science in Chemistry at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA 1976) and completed her medical studies at UCLA, where she received the Roy Markus Scholarship (1977-1981). Her internship and residency were completed at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia where she was also a Robert Wood Johnson Fellow in General Academic Pediatrics (1984-86). Her fellowship research focused on lead poisoning and calcium status in children.

Dr. Laraque went on to direct the joint Mount Sinai Faculty Development Program for Primary Care and Clinician Research Fellowship (General Academic Pediatrics and General Internal Medicine), and over a decade of service she trained countless fellows, residents and medical students. She is a nationally and internationally recognized expert in injury prevention, child abuse, adolescent health risk behaviors, and health care delivery in underserved communities. Recently she has focused on system changes to integrate the identification, diagnosis and treatment of children's mental health problems in primary care settings.

She is the Immediate-Past-President of the Academic Pediatric Association (APA) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) District II (New York State) Vice Chair (2004-2010). She was the AAP representative as the 2001 United States Public Health Service Primary Care Policy Fellow and a former member of the National Institute of Mental Health Standing Committee on Interventions for Disorders Involving Children and Their Families (2006-2010).

Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Dr. Laraque emigrated to the United States in 1962. She is fluent in French, Creole, Italian and English. Dr. Laraque is married to Luigi Arena, MD, PhD and is the mother of two children, Marc Anthony and Julia Marie.

Lawrence Fitzgerald, PhD

President & CEO, Mend Therapeutics, Inc.

President, LW Fitzgerald Consulting, LLC

Dr. Fitzgerald is an accomplished scientist, executive leader, and entrepreneur with more than 19 years experience in strategic and operational leadership in research and development and commercialization for pharma, biotech and non-profit organizations. He is currently President and CEO, and Co-founder of Mend Therapeutics, Inc. (MEND). MEND is a breakthrough non-profit pharmaceutical company dedicated to the treatment of diabetes and its complications by promoting prevention and early detection, expanding access to quality medical care, and developing life-changing therapies, especially in emerging markets. He is also President and Owner of LW Fitzgerald Consulting LLC, a consulting practice focused on providing expert strategic and operational advice and services for a variety of clients (pharma, NGO, government, start-up companies and venture capital firms) engaged in drug discovery and healthcare innovation.

Immediately previous to MEND, Dr. Fitzgerald was one of the first employees and Vice President of Research for Sage Therapeutics (IPO, July 2014) where he was responsible for overseeing research and development and early marketing activities for experimental drugs for CNS disorders, including break-though medicines for the treatment of severe epilepsies and Fragile X disorder. Previous to Sage, he held numerous executive and senior manager positions in R&D in the pharmaceutical industry overseeing projects and portfolios dedicated to discovery of new drugs for CNS diseases, including autism spectrum disorders (ASD). He was Founder and Senior Director of Pfizer Autism Research Center, the first of its kind dedicated to ASD in the industry. With this collection of experience and professional reach within the healthcare innovation and supporting financial capital communities, Dr. Fitzgerald is a uniquely qualified partner for GeneticaLens to provide corporate strategic, marketing and financial advice.