PASADENA, Calif.-The California Institute of Technology Board of Trustees has elected three new members: Jon Faiz Kayyem, James F. Rothenberg, and Robert P. Chess.
Jon Faiz Kayyem is a managing partner of the Efficacy Capital family of biotechnology funds. In 1995 he founded Clinical Micro Sensors, which applies electronics and biochemistry to the engineering of electronic detectors for specific DNA sequences, including a carrier screen for cystic fibrosis that has recently received FDA clearance.
Kayyem has published research in the Journal of Organic Chemistry, the Journal of the American Chemical Society, the Journal of Cell Biology, the European Journal of Biochemistry, and Chemistry & Biology, mostly regarding electron flow in organic molecules. He has been awarded 31 U.S. patents covering the bioelectronic detection and analysis of nucleic acids.
Pursuing an interest in the emerging field of genomics, Kayyem received both his bachelor's and master's degrees in molecular biophysics from Yale University, and his PhD in molecular biology from Caltech.
Kayyem serves on the boards of three privately held startup businesses and sits on the boards of trustees of Polytechnic School and the Art Center College of Design, both located in Pasadena.
James F. Rothenberg is chairman and PEO of Capital Research and Management Company (CRMC) and vice chairman of the Growth Fund of America and Fundamental Investors. He is also president of the Investment Company of America.
He received both a bachelor's degree in English and an MBA from Harvard University, to which he was named treasurer in 2004.
Rothenberg is a director of Huntington Memorial Hospital, the RAND Corporation, and KCET. He also serves on the boards of CRMC, the Capital Group Companies, Inc., and American Funds Distributors, Inc.
Robert B. Chess is chairman of Nektar Therapeutics. He is also currently on the faculty of the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
A cofounder and president of the pharmaceutical company Penederm, Inc., Chess has held management positions at Intel Corporation and Metaphor Computer Systems, and he was a member of the White House staff under President George H. W. Bush.
He received his bachelor of science in engineering from Caltech and an MBA from Harvard University.
A trustee of the Committee for Economic Development, Chess belongs to the boards of directors of the Biotechnology Industry Organization and CoTherix, and is chairman of Bio Ventures for Global Health.
Written by Deborah Williams-Hedges