– USA, CA – Karius, Inc. a world leader in liquid biopsy for infectious diseases, today announced the appointments of Dr. Ned Sharpless (M.D.) and Liz O’Farrell to its Board of Directors.
Sharpless brings his extensive knowledge of oncology and genetic research to enhance Karius’ research and development efforts. Chairing the Audit Committee, O’Farrell’s financial and operational expertise will play a key role in strategic growth, reinforcing Karius’ global leadership position in infectious disease detection.
About Dr. Norman Sharpless
Dr. Norman Sharpless, highly regarded for his contributions to healthcare leadership and patient-centric innovation, served as the Director of the National Cancer Institute from 2017 to 2022. His achievements include the prioritization of the Childhood Cancer Data Initiative and the Cancer Moonshot program, along with the introduction of the NCI’s Equity and Inclusion Program in response to the 2020 calls for racial justice. In 2019, Sharpless served as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Acting Commissioner for seven months. His tenure focused on the opioid crisis, youth e-cigarette use, new drug approvals, and leading the FDA’s COVID-19 response, including emergency authorization of vaccines and treatments, before resuming his role as the director of NCI.
“Infection causes so much suffering in patients with cancer, and our ability to treat infection remains imperfect,” said Dr. Sharpless. “I am excited by the Karius approach to help clinicians diagnose infectious disease, relying on next-generation sequencing and artificial intelligence to identify deadly pathogens sooner and with much greater sensitivity than standard approaches. I believe this technology can transform the management of infection in patients with cancer and other diseases, and am excited to play a role in its development as a member of the Board.”
About Elizabeth O’Farrell.
Former Eli Lilly executive, Liz O’Farrell, has more than two decades of global responsibility within a multinational public company. Known for fostering a positive work culture and driving transformative change through collaboration, her financial and business acumen is an asset to Karius.
“I’m very excited to have the opportunity to join the Karius Board of Directors at such an exciting time for the company,” said Liz O’Farrell. “I look forward to leveraging my financial and operational experience to support the Karius team in their mission to improve the lives of patients with undiagnosed infectious disease.”
About Dr. Norman Sharpless
Dr. Sharpless most recently held the position of the Director of the National Cancer Institute, spearheading initiatives to advance cancer research, prevention, and treatment. Previously, he served as the Acting Commissioner for Food and Drugs at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2019 and as the director of the University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center from 2014 to 2017. Dr. Sharpless began his clinical training at Massachusetts General Hospital and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and co-founded G1 Therapeutics and Jupiter BioVentures. Dr. Sharpless is a graduate of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine where he is now the Professor of Cancer Policy and Innovation.
About Elizabeth O’Farrell
Ms. O’Farrell’s successful career spanned 24 years at Eli Lilly, where she held several executive management positions including General Auditor, CFO of Lilly USA, and SVP of Policy and Finance. Her final role before retiring in 2017 was as Chief Procurement Officer and Head of Global Shared Services. She possesses a wide range of experience in accounting and reporting, FP&A, operational finance and audit. Elizabeth also serves as the Audit Committee Chair on two other Boards, namely Geron Corp (where she also serves as Lead Independent Director) and Lensar Inc. Additionally, she holds the position of Chairperson at PDL BioPharma (private) and serves as a Board Director, audit committee member and compensation committee member at Genmab A/S. Elizabeth earned an MBA in Management Information Systems and a BA in Accounting from Indiana University Bloomington.
About Karius
Karius Inc., a global leader in liquid biopsy for infectious diseases, harnesses metagenomics, next-generation sequencing, and artificial intelligence (AI) to help enhance the precision and speed of pathogen diagnosis. The Karius Test, used in over 300 healthcare institutions–including 90+ transplant centers and 40+ children’s hospitals across the United States–identifies more than 1,000 pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites from a single blood draw typically within a day of sample receipt.
For more information : https://kariusdx.com/
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