The primary role of the Biological Sciences Alumni Advisory Council (BSAAC) is to act as a sounding board for the department leadership, offering advice and insight to the department head. As generous donors of their time, talent and resources, the committee members gather on campus every semester to meet and interact with our department leadership team, faculty and students.

Meet the BSAAC

Sonia Nasr, PhD

Dr. Sonia J. Nasr is a distinguished Global Therapy Management Professional, and the Founder of GLOVAL. Following completion of her doctorate from the Department of Biological Sciences at Purdue University, Dr. Nasr’s career began in academia as an Assistant Professor at the American University of Beirut, where she earned the prestigious “Women in Science” award from UNESCO and L’Oreal. As a Senior Associate at McKinsey & Company, she transitioned into the industry, advising global pharmaceutical leaders on product launch business strategies. Her tenure at Baxter Healthcare Corporation as Senior Global Marketing Manager solidified her expertise in global therapy management to improve patient treatment outcomes.

 

Matt von Zirkelbach, BS - 2008

Matt von Zirkelbach is a Vice President at Eli Lilly and Co., and Site Head of the Lilly Medicine foundry. A proud Purdue alumnus, Matt holds dual Bachelor of Science degrees in Biological Sciences & Health Sciences and an M.S. in Engineering from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. With 17 years in industry, Matt has held global leadership roles spanning quality oversight, plant management, operational excellence, commercial operations, and data analytics. His expertise drives innovation, accelerates treatments from discovery to the clinic, and builds high-performing teams dedicated to advancing patient care.

  

 

Mark Effron, MD - BS 1974

Dr. Mark Effron received his MD degree from The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine located in Baltimore, MD.  After completing Internships and Residency in Internal Medicine at Northwestern University and a Fellowship in Cardiovascular Diseases at Johns Hopkins and the NIH, he joined the faculty of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and served as Director of the Coronary Care Unit and Cardiovascular Research Laboratory at the Sinai Hospital of Baltimore.  He then entered the pharmaceutical industry where his research focused on the use of drugs affecting blood clotting.  He has recently joined the Ochsner Heart and Vascular Institute, Ochsner Medical Center, New Orleans, LA. and is Associate Professor at the Ochsner Clinical School, University of Queensland (Australia) School of Medicine.

 

Meg Frazer, MD - BS 1980

Dr. Margaret (Meg) Frazer is a Senior Director within the Cardiovascular and Metabolic team at Pfizer while also maintaining an active neurological practice in the Indianapolis area with JWM Neurology.  Dr. Frazer's professional interests include Alzheimer's disease, Multiple Sclerosis and other neurodegenerative diseases, clinical research, and patient disease state management.  She was the founding member of the Central Indiana Neuropathy Support Group and is on the board of directors of the Indiana MS Foundation as well as on the Medical Advisory Board of the Alzheimer’s Association.

 

 

Herman Houin, MD - BS 1979

Dr. Houin completed a General Surgery Residency at Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, MI and a Plastic Surgery Fellowship at Wayne State University. He has been a Plastic Surgeon practicing with the Henry Ford Health System in the Detroit Metropolitan area since 1989. Dr. Houin became a BSAAC member in January, 2008 and maintains interests in agriculture, a biogenetic startup company and flying his Cessna 182.

 

Reid Leonard, PhD 1985

Dr. Reid Leonard, former Chief Operating Officer of Werewolf Therapeutics Inc., recently retired. He played a crucial role in building the company since joining its leadership team in 2019. Prior to Werewolf, Leonard contributed to the successful sale of Potenza Therapeutics, an early-stage immune-oncology company, to Astellas Pharma. With over 25 years of experience at Merck & Co., Leonard's expertise spans research, business development, and venture capital investments.

Leonard holds degrees from Brandeis University and Purdue University, with additional postdoctoral training at the California Institute of Technology.

 

Jennifer Ruby, BS - 1992

Jennifer is Attorney-Owner at Ruby Law, counseling individuals and businesses on legal issues since 2005. The same year, she founded Finances 101 for Young Professionals to provide basic financial and estate planning education.  For her entrepreneurial efforts, Jennifer has been awarded the Indiana Commission for Women’s Torchbearer Award, Junior Achievement’s Indy’s Best and Brightest, and Indianapolis Business Journal’s Forty under 40.  Prior to this, she gained extensive experience in state and local government.  Jennifer holds a Bachelor from Purdue University and a Master of Planning and Doctor of Jurisprudence from Indiana University.  Her credentials include an American Institute of Certified Planners designation, licenses to practice law in Indiana and New Mexico, and a civil mediator registration.

 

Jonathan Snyder, PhD                   

Jonathan Snyder is a Research Scientist at Elanco, the animal health division of Eli Lilly and Company. There, he leads the Virology Research Group where his team focuses on the research and development of novel vaccines designed to protect animals from a myriad of viral pathogens. Jon received his BS in Biology at Purdue in 2005 and worked at Abbott Laboratories in the IVD Assay Technology Support Group until 2007. He then returned to Purdue where he obtained his Ph.D. in 2012. His work, in the laboratory of Richard Kuhn, focused on the assembly pathway of alphaviruses. Following his Ph.D., Jon was a postdoctoral fellow at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN where he studied both the entry pathway of the Hepatitis B virus as well as the rational design of novel oncolytic viruses.

 

Matthew Therkelsen, PhD - 2019

Matt is an experienced biotech investor and entrepreneur with a PhD from Purdue University in structural biology. Matt is Co-Founder & Executive Chairman at two therapeutic ventures, including Laurel Biotherapeutics, a biotech developing treatments for cardiovascular disease. Previously he led business development and corporate development at ElevateBio. He started his career at RA Capital where he co-founded Vesuvio Therapeutics, an internally-incubated company developing treatments for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and was a board observer at Alchemab Therapeutics.