John S. Kovach, MD founded Lixte and has been its sole administrative officer. Dr. Kovach has directed leading National Cancer Institute–designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota and City of Hope National Medical Center, Los Angeles, California. He has extensive experience in medical oncology, anti-cancer drug pharmacology, and in applied medical research, particularly, the early evaluation of new anti-cancer drugs and the development and management of multi-disciplinary highly productive cancer research teams. Dr. Kovach, in consultation with Lixte’s advisors and board, is responsible for the selection and prioritization of the scientific directions and goals of Lixte. Philip F. Palmedo, PhD is a physicist, entrepreneur, and corporate manager. He founded and continues as Chairman of the International Resources Group (IRG), an international consultancy in energy, natural resources and economic development. Dr. Palmedo designed and was the first President of the Long Island Research Institute formed by Brookhaven National Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, and Stony Brook University to facilitate the commercialization of technologies. In 1988 Dr. Palmedo joined in the formation of Kepler Financial Management, Ltd., a quantitative financial research and trading company. He was President and Managing Director until 1991 when Renaissance Technologies Corporation acquired the company. In 2005 he co-founded the quantitative hedge fund, Kepler Asset Management, and serves as Chairman and Managing Director of the firm. Dr. Palmedo served on the boards of Asset Management Advisors and the Teton Trust Company and is currently a member of the Board of Directors of EHR Investments and the Gyrodyne Corporation of America. He also served on the Board of Trustees of Williams College and of the Stony Brook (University) Foundation and chaired the Foundation’s Investment Committee. Mel Sorensen, MD is currently Board Director, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ascenta Therapeutics. He is a highly experienced leader and administrator in cancer therapeutics and cancer drug development. Under his leadership, in less than three years Ascenta was transformed from a 5-person start-up with a single preclinical program into a clinical-stage company with over 65 full time employees and facilities in the US and China and development programs against three distinct targets. Trained as a medical oncologist, Dr. Sorensen has dedicated his career to clinical cancer research and cancer drug development. After completing his oncology fellowship at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN in 1988, Dr. Sorensen spent seven years at the National Cancer Institute's (NCI) Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program (CTEP). At CTEP, he managed collaborations between companies developing new anti-cancer agents and academic clinics and clinical cooperative groups. He had responsibility for over 40 research compounds. Following NCI, Dr. Sorensen spent nearly eight years at large pharmaceutical companies in leadership roles in oncology clinical development and medical affairs. He established Bayer’s first clinical oncology department and oversaw multiple clinical trials (Phase 1, 2 and 3) of novel agents. He subsequently joined GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) as Vice-President, Global Leader and North American Head of Clinical Development and Medical Affairs for Oncology, where he recruited a large team of physicians and scientists and led global clinical development of chemotherapeutic agents. While at GSK and Bayer, he was very active in business development, facilitating several in-licensing agreements and joint collaborations (including Onyx, SB, Corixa, Nippon Kayaku, and Hoffmann-La Roche).