Salk Institute Board of Trustees elects leaders in venture capital and publishing to its membership

November 23, 2009

Salk Institute Board of Trustees elects leaders in venture capital and publishing to its membership

November 23, 2009

LA JOLLA, CA—The Board of Trustees of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies unanimously voted to elect three new members during its November 13 meeting in La Jolla.

Fred Dotzler is a co-founder and Managing Director of De Novo Ventures in Palo Alto, California. De Novo is investing $650 million from three funds in early stage medical device and biotechnology companies. Fred founded Medicus Venture Partners in 1989. He has invested in four companies that achieved market values greater than $1 billion: San Diego-based Biosite (acquired by IMC), Inhale Therapeutic Systems, Omnicell, and Tularik Inc. (acquired by Amgen). Prior to venture capital, Fred served in positions in marketing, finance, and operations for Searle, Millipore, Merrimack Laboratories, and IBM. Fred earned an MBA from the University of Chicago, a master’s equivalent in Economics from the University of Louvain, Belgium, and a bachelor’s degree in Engineering from Iowa State University, where he received a Professional Achievement Citation in Engineering in 2000.

The Salk Board of Trustees also elected literary agent and Rancho Santa Fe resident Linda Chester. She begins her three-year term after having served as liaison to the Board for the Institute’s International Council. Linda is founding president of the Linda Chester Literary Agency, which has bi-coastal offices and has represented many bestselling authors. Her agency represents a wide variety of adult literary and commercial fiction, as well as an array of non-fiction projects in areas that include science, business, finance, history, popular culture, spirituality, and biography. The agency’s clients have included Wally Lamb (She’s Come Undone, I Know This Much Is True, and The Hour I First Believed), Lolly Winston (Good Grief and Happiness Sold Separately), Richard Carlson (of Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff), James Hansen (First man, the first authorized biography of Neil Armstrong), the Thich Nhat Hanh estate, and Linda is currently working with Michael Feinstein. In addition, Linda serves on the board of The La Jolla Playhouse as well as The National Center for Family Literacy.

Mary Jane Salk, who also comes from the publishing world, is replacing Linda Chester as International Council liaison. She has served as editor of Magazine Management and editorial director of Transworld Feature Syndicate, an international magazine consortium. The widow of Dr. Lee Salk, brother to Dr. Jonas Salk, Mary Jane is the author of five young adult books for Chelsea House Publishers, and was associate producer of the feature films Goodbye, New York and Forever Lulu. She currently is a board member of several organizations, including Daytop Village Foundation, the oldest drug-free self-help program in the United States, and The Doe Fund, a cost-effective, holistic program that breaks the cycles of homelessness, addiction, and criminal recidivism in New York City and Philadelphia.

About the Salk Institute for Biological Studies:
The Salk Institute for Biological Studies is one of the world’s preeminent basic research institutions, where internationally renowned faculty probe fundamental life science questions in a unique, collaborative, and creative environment. Focused both on discovery and on mentoring future generations of researchers, Salk scientists make groundbreaking contributions to our understanding of cancer, aging, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, and cardiovascular disorders by studying neuroscience, genetics, cell and plant biology, and related disciplines.

Faculty achievements have been recognized with numerous honors, including Nobel Prizes and memberships in the National Academy of Sciences. Founded in 1960 by polio vaccine pioneer Jonas Salk, M.D., the Institute is an independent nonprofit organization and architectural landmark.