Chris J. Viau, Ph.D., DABT, Consultant
Intensity Therapeutics deeply regrets the passing of our longtime toxicology advisor Dr. Chris J. Viau, who passed away December 2021 after a long illness. Chris’ technical skills were outstanding; his work effort, output and quality of the highest level. Without Chris our preclinical programs would never have been as robust. The world has lost an incredible scientist and he will be missed. We mourn for his wife of 42 years, Maureen (Twichell) Viau, and their daughters, Jessica Viau of Grafton, MA, and Allison Radler and her husband Jacob, of North Attleboro, MA. Chris was President of CJV Toxicology, LLC. Dr. Viau had over thirty-five years of applied technical, managerial and leadership expertise in toxicology, safety pharmacology, drug metabolism, pharmacokinetics, and product development across multiple therapeutic areas. He previously worked at Sunovion Pharmaceuticals and Hoechst-Marion Roussel (now Sanofi-Aventis).
Riccardo Lencioni, MD, FSIR, EBIR
Dr. Riccardo Lencioni was most recently professor of clinical radiology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and director of the Interventional Oncology Research Group. Previously Dr. Lencioni was professor and director of Diagnostic Imaging and Intervention at Pisa University School of Medicine in Pisa, Italy. He is the founder of the International Liver Cancer Association (ILCA) and served as the ILCA executive secretary. Dr. Lencioni has also served as chairman of the World Conference of Interventional Oncology, a network of interventional oncologists dedicated to the development of treatment approaches based on imaging, such as intratumoral delivery. He has been involved in the development of recommendations for the research and clinical management of hepatocellular carcinoma, and co-authored the white papers, “Design and Endpoints in Clinical Trials in Hepatocellular Carcinoma” (2008), “Modified RECIST (mRECIST) Assessment for Hepatocellular Carcinoma” (2010), and “EASL-EORTC Clinical Practice Guidelines: Management of Hepatocellular Carcinoma” (2012). Dr. Lencioni has published 190 articles in international peer-reviewed journals and 61 textbook chapters, and is the editor of nine books.
Mario Sznol, MD
Dr. Sznol is currently professor of internal medicine at Yale University School of Medicine, co-director of the Yale Melanoma Program, and co-director of Yale SPORE in Skin Cancer. He is an investigator in several clinical trials at the Yale Cancer Center, including those focusing on immunotherapy and novel agents. Dr. Sznol is an internationally recognized oncology drug developer, with expertise in cancer immunotherapy and the treatment of patients with melanoma and renal cell carcinoma. Dr. Sznol received his undergraduate degree from Rice University, trained in internal medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, and completed a medical oncology fellowship in the Department of Neoplastic Diseases at Mount Sinai Hospital, New York. He spent the next twelve years in the Biologics Evaluation Section (BES), Investigational Drug Branch of the Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and was head of the BES from 1994-1999.
Jay A. Berzofsky, MD, Ph.D
Dr. Berzofsky pioneered characterization of B- and T-cell epitopes and their modification to make epitope-enhanced vaccines, discovered the importance of T cell avidity in viral/tumor clearance, pioneered use of defined molecular adjuvants to alter quality of immune responses, advanced mucosal HIV vaccines, discovered NKT cell regulation of tumor immunity, and blocked negative regulation by TGF-beta, IL-13, and regulatory cells to enhance tumor immunity and vaccine efficacy. He translated these strategies to clinical trials in prostate cancer, melanoma, and HER2-positive cancers. As chief of the National Cancer Institute’s Vaccine Branch, he oversees basic, translational, and clinical research in cancer and retroviral vaccines and immunotherapy.