Arnold Cohen, MD, is Chairman of Obstetrics and Gynecology (Ob/Gyn) at Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia. Prior to his appointment, he served as Chairman of Einstein's Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine. Dr. Cohen's career also includes serving as Director of Obstetrics and Maternal-Fetal Medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Cohen is board certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology as well as Maternal-Fetal Medicine. Dr. Cohen trained in Ob/Gyn and Maternal-Fetal Medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. He has been a Professor of Ob/Gyn at Jefferson Medical College and the University of Pennsylvania, and his major academic interest has been in the management of high-risk pregnant patients with medical complications of pregnancy.

Dr. Cohen's career also includes the position of Corporate Medical Director of Women's Health at U.S. Healthcare, which later became Aetna, responsible for the development and implementation of all Women's Health Care programs for 18.5 million members. He has been President of many local and national Perinatal and Obstetric associations and committees, including the Philadelphia Perinatal Society and the Pennsylvania Section of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG). He has been Chairman of ACOG's Committee on Course Coordination, a board member of the Society for Maternal Fetal Medicine, a member of the Coding and Government Relations Committee and Chair of the Medical Liability Committee.

Dr. Cohen is past President of the Obstetrical Society of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Perinatal Society. Currently, he chairs a subcommittee for the Philadelphia Commissioner of Health on the impact of obstetrical care unit closures on the quality of care patients receive in Philadelphia.

Dr. Joanne Armstrong is Senior Medical Director of Aetna's Women's Health Programs and Services and advises the company on reimbursement policies regarding genetics. In that role, she is the clinical and strategic lead for genomic medicine-related activities. In 2007, she was awarded the Aetna Way of Excellence Platinum Award for innovation in design, development and implementation of genetic counseling and testing services.

She also serves as Assistant Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Baylor College of Medicine, a position she has held since 1999. Dr. Armstrong is board certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. She has served as staff physician for the Harris County Hospital District in Houston, TX. Prior to this, Dr. Armstrong was a practicing obstetrician/gynecologist and Assistant Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Jefferson Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.

Dr. Armstrong completed her BA at Cornell University, a Master of Public Health degree in Epidemiology at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, and her MD degree at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey at New Jersey Medical School. She completed residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Women and Infants' Hospital, Brown University, Providence, RI.

She has presented at numerous national and international meetings and has published on a range of topics in women's and reproductive health, as well as genetics policy and clinical issues. Dr. Armstrong is a member of the Board of Directors of the Personalized Medicine Coalition, a group that addresses policy and business issues in genetic medicine.

Janis Biermann joined the March of Dimes in August 2000 as Director of the National Folic Acid Campaign and then directed the transition to the Prematurity Campaign. She is currently the Senior Vice President of the Education and Health Promotion Department and is responsible for the Prematurity Campaign, the Pregnancy and Newborn Health Education Center and Hispanic outreach. In addition, Ms. Biermann oversees product marketing, sales and operations, nursing education, mission content of the web, mission marketing, worksite wellness, and folic acid promotion.

Prior to joining the March of Dimes, she was Administrator of the University of Massachusetts Cancer Center in Worcester, MA. Ms. Biermann also was Managing Editor of Experimental Hematology, a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal. Before the University of Massachusetts experience, she was Senior Vice President, Director of Program Services for the national Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in New York City, and had oversight for research, professional and public education, family support services, community services and patient aid.

Ms. Biermann earned a BS degree in Biology from Mary Washington College and a master's degree in Rehabilitatio Counseling from Virginia Commonwealth University. She was previously credentialed as a rehabilitation counselor, genetic counselor and community health education specialist.

Joel Charrow, MD, is a medical geneticist and Director of Genetics, Birth Defects and Metabolism and the Genetics Laboratory at Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago, IL. He is Professor of Pediatrics at the Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University.

Dr. Charrow is board certified in Pediatrics, Clinical Genetics, and Biochemical Genetics. His clinical interests are mainly in the area of biochemical genetics (inborn errors of metabolism), neurofibromatosis (a set of genetic disorders that cause tumors to grow along nerves and can affect the development of bones and skin), and skeletal dysplasias (abnormal bone and cartilage development characterized by short stature). He is co-director of the Neurofibromatosis Clinic and the Skeletal Dysplasia Center at Children's Memorial Hospital. Dr. Charrow has been involved with lysosomal storage disorders since the beginning of his career, directing both research and diagnostic laboratories in this area. He currently directs Comprehensive Gaucher, Fabry and Pompe Disease Programs at Children's Memorial Hospital.

Dr. Charrow's research interests include studying the natural history of genetic disorders, with concentration on neurofibromatosis, Gaucher disease, Fabry disease and other lysosomal storage disorders. He is a founding fellow of the American College of Medical Genetics and founded the Jewish Genetic Disorders Program at Children's Memorial Hospital. Dr. Charrow is a member of the Board of Directors and a founder of the Chicago Center for Jewish Genetic Disorders.

Dr. Charrow's bibliography includes more than 60 peer-reviewed publications on lysosomal storage disorders, neurofibromatosis and skeletal dysplasias. He has written over 25 book chapters and review articles.

Louis Elsas II, MD, is Professor of Pediatrics and of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine. He is also Interim Chairman, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Dr. Elsas is Emeritus Director of the Dr. John T. Macdonald Foundation Center for Medical Genetics.

Dr. Elsas is board certified in the following clinical areas: Internal Medicine; Medical Genetics in Clinical & Biochemical Genetics, and in Medical Genetics in Clinical Molecular Genetics.

He was Director of the post-doctoral training program in Medical Genetics at University of Miami, and was also Director of the residency program in Medical Genetics. Currently, he holds clinical appointments at Jackson Memorial Hospital & University of Miami Hospitals & Clinics and is consultant in Medical Genetics to Miami Children's Hospital. In addition, Dr. Elsas has served as Director of the Miami GeneCure Diagnostic Laboratories.

For more than 30 years, he was Director of the Division of Medical Genetics at Emory University and for 20 years he was Professor of Pediatrics and Biochemistry at Emory. He is now Professor Emeritus.

In the early 1970s, Dr. Elsas initiated the screening for Tay-Sachs disease and held mass screenings in the Atlanta community. In addition, he established a Medical Genetics Center at Emory University with laboratory testing, clinical diagnosis and therapy, and genetic counseling for Jewish genetic diseases.

Dr. Elsas has authored and co-authored dozens of book chapters, more than 180 journal articles and exhibitions. In addition, he has conducted research studies funded by the state of Florida, the federal government, as well as through private foundations. He is an active reviewer of a wide variety of professional manuscripts.

He is a founding fellow of the American College of Medical Genetics, board member of HELIX, and also is a Board of Trustee of the Howard School and a Board of Trustee of the Atlanta Chapter of UNICEF.

The prolific two-time Academy Award® nominated producer Richard Gladstein is the founder and President of the Los Angeles based motion picture company FilmColony. Incorporated in 1995, FilmColony is committed to working with a broad range of distinct filmmakers to tell compelling and unique stories. In all, Gladstein's films have received 22 Academy Award® nominations and four wins.

He is a two-time Academy Award® nominated film producer for his productions of Finding Neverland and the Cider House Rules. His other film credits include Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium, The Nanny Diaries, The Bourne Identity, Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction.

Richard Gladstein is the Founder and President of the Bloom's Syndrome Foundation, dedicated to funding scientific and medical research in search of a cure or treatment for Bloom's Syndrome, a Jewish genetic disorder which affects his son Milo.

Prior to the formation of FilmColony, Gladstein served as Head of Production for Miramax Films from 1993 through 1995, supervising the company's motion picture development and production. From 1987 – 1993, Gladstein was Vice President of Production and Acquisitions at LIVE Entertainment. Additionally, Gladstein was the Director of Acquisitions and Distribution for Angelika Films in New York.

Gladstein graduated from Boston University in 1983 with a BS in Communications. He resides in Los Angeles with his wife Lauri, a musician, and their sons Milo and Gus.

Kenneth W. Goodman, PhD, is Co-Director of the University of Miami’s Ethics Programs, including its Business Ethics Program. He is also Founder and Director of the Bioethics Program and its Pan American Bioethics Initiative. These Ethics Programs recently have been designated as a World Health Organization Collaborating Center in Ethics and Global Health Policy, one of only six in the world and the only Center in the United States.

Dr. Goodman is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Miami, with appointments in the Department of Philosophy, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, School of Nursing and Health Studies, and Department of Anesthesiology.

He chairs Ethics Committees for the the American College of Epidemiology and the American Medical Informatics Association, for which he co-founded the Ethical, Legal and Social Issues Working Group. Dr. Goodman has been elected a Fellow of the American College of Medical Informatics.

Dr. Goodman’s research has emphasized issues in health information technology, including bioinformatics or the use of computers in genetics, and in epidemiology and public health. He has published a book about ethics and evidence-based medicine for Cambridge University Press, co-authored a book of case studies in ethics and health computing for Springer-Verlag, and co-authored another volume of case studies in ethics in public health for the American Public Health Association. Also, he has authored a book on artificial intelligence, edited a book on ethics and medical computing, co-edited a volume on artificial intelligence, and published and presented articles in bioethics, the philosophy of science, and computing. In addition, Dr. Goodman has edited a forthcoming book on the Terri Schiavo case for Oxford University Press.

Current funded work includes an NIH grant to help expand research ethics education around the Americas.

Marvin E. Goldberg is the Irving & Irene Bard Professor of Marketing in the Smeal College of Business at Penn State University, where he served as Chairman of the Marketing Department from 2000 to 2006 and as Interim Dean in 1999-2000. Dr. Goldberg has been at Penn State since 1991; prior to that he was a Professor in the faculty of Management at McGill University. Dr. Goldberg holds a PhD in Marketing from the University of Illinois, an MA in Sociology from Columbia University and a BA from McGill University.

Dr. Goldberg's research has focused on assessing factors contributing to the effectiveness of advertising. Much of his work has involved the study of advertising's effects on children and adolescents. He has explored strategies for making young people more vigilant with regard to tobacco and alcohol advertising.

His research has been published in a wide variety of scholarly journals, including the Journals of: Consumer Research, Consumer Psychology, Marketing Research, and Public Policy and Marketing. He is co-editor of "Social Marketing: Theoretical and Practical Perspectives" (Erlbaum 1997). His recent publications include: "Heightening Adolescent Vigilance towards Alcohol Advertising to Forestall Alcohol Usage" (with Neidermeier, Bechtel and Gorn) in the Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, "Creating an Environment in Which Youths are Encouraged to Eat a Healthier Diet" (with Gunasti), also in the Journal of Public Policy and Marketing and "Assessing the Relationship Between Tobacco Advertising and Adolescent Smoking Behavior: Convergent Evidence" in the Handbook of Consumer Psychology.

Dr. Goldberg is the Inaugural winner (in 2006) of the Richard Pollay Prize for Excellence in the Study of Marketing in the Public Interest. He has won the Thomas C. Kinnear/Journal of Public Policy & Marketing (JPPM) Award for the years 2007 and 2008.

Dr. Goldberg has just completed a two-year term as a consultant to the National Center for Health Marketing of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). He is past President of the Society for Consumer Psychology and Co-Founder of the Innovations in Social Marketing (ISM) organization. Dr. Goldberg is a Fellow of the Society for Consumer Psychology (SCP), and currently serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Consumer Research; the Journal of Public Policy & Marketing and the Social Marketing Quarterly.

Ms. Javitt is the Law and Policy Director at the Genetics and Public Policy Center, and a Research Scholar in the Berman Institute of Bioethics, both at Johns Hopkins University. She is also an Adjunct Professor at the Georgetown University Law Center. At the Genetics and Public Policy Center, she has been responsible for developing policy options to guide the development and use of reproductive technologies, and is currently leading an initiative to improve oversight of genetic testing quality.

She has served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at both the University of Maryland School of Law where she taught Food and Drug Law and Genetics and Law, and at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health where she co-taught Health Law and Regulation.

Earlier in her career, Ms. Javitt was a Greenwall Fellow in Bioethics and Health Policy at Johns Hopkins and Georgetown Universities. She was an Associate at Covington & Burling in Washington, DC, where she specialized in FDA regulatory issues.

Ms. Javitt's career also includes serving as a law clerk to the Honorable Gary L. Taylor, U.S. District Court, Central District of California. She has written on a variety of science regulatory and legal issues, including direct-to-consumer advertising of genetic testing and FDA regulation of biotechnology.

Ms. Javitt holds the Juris Doctor (JD) cum laude, from Harvard Law School, a Master's of Public Health (MPH) from the Johns Hopkins University and a BA, magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from Columbia College.

Lois B. Victor is a trustee of Albert Einstein Healthcare Network and the founder of the Victor Centers for Jewish Genetic Diseases in partnership with Albert Einstein Healthcare Network. Ms. Victor lost two children to a Jewish genetic disease. She is committed in her mission to ensure that no family endures the heartache of a preventable illness by making sure that Jews of childbearing age be tested and get the information they need to have healthy children. Through her leadership and support, the Victor Centers serve this purpose, raising awareness and offering clinical expertise in the areas of genetic screening and counseling.

The first Victor Center was dedicated in 2002 at Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia. The Einstein Victor Center model was so successful that a second Center was established in 2005 at the Floating Hospital for Children at Tufts Medical Center in Boston. In 2007, a third Center was launched in partnership with the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

Lois Victor is a tireless health advocate who participates in many of the activities of the three Victor Center programs.

She is a native of Boston and a long-time resident of South Florida.

Paul Root Wolpe, PhD, is the Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Bioethics, Raymond Schinazi Distinguished Research Professor of Jewish Bioethics, Professor of Medicine, Pediatrics, and Sociology, and the Director of the Center for Ethics at Emory University. Dr. Wolpe also serves as the first Chief of Bioethics for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), where he is responsible for formulating policy on bioethical issues and safeguarding research subjects.

He is Co-Editor of the American Journal of Bioethics, the premier scholarly journal in bioethics, and sits on the editorial boards of over a dozen professional journals in medicine and ethics. Dr. Wolpe is past President of the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities, a Fellow of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, the country's oldest medical society, and is the first National Bioethics Advisor to Planned Parenthood Association of America.

Dr. Wolpe recently moved to Emory from the University of Pennsylvania, where he was on the faculty for over 20 years in the Departments of Psychiatry, Sociology, and Medical Ethics. He was a Senior Fellow of Penn's Center for Bioethics, and directed the Scattergood Program for the Applied Ethics of Behavioral Health and the Program in Psychiatry and Ethics at the School of Medicine.

He has authored over 100 articles, editorials and book chapters in sociology, medicine, and bioethics. His work focuses on the social, religious, and ideological impact of technology on the human condition. Considered one of the founders of the field of neuroethics, which examines the ethical implications of neuroscience, Dr. Wolpe also writes about other emerging technologies such as genetic engineering, nanotechnology, and prosthetics. His teaching and publications range across the fields of bioethics and sociology, including death and dying, genetics and eugenics, sexuality and gender, mental health and illness, alternative medicine, and bioethics in extreme environments such as space. He is the author of the textbook Sexuality and Gender in Society, is editor and a key author of the end-of-life guide Behoref Hayamin: In the Winter of Life.

Dr. Wolpe sits on a number of national and international non-profit organizational boards and working groups, and is a consultant to academic institutions and the biomedical industry.