Our Team

Marsha Fanucci, Chair

Ms. Fanucci brings a track-record of overseeing strategies for growth, capital allocation and profitability at biopharmaceutical companies.  She has had a long career of leadership in public company strategy, finance and corporate development, most recently in a variety of executive roles at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, including CFO and vice president of corporate development and strategy. Prior to Millennium, Ms. Fanucci was vice president of corporate development and strategy at Genzyme Corporation. Ms. Fanucci serves on the board of directors of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Syros Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Forma Therapeutics, Inc. She previously served on the board of directors of Ironwood and Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Ms. Fanucci received her B.S. in pharmacy from West Virginia University and her M.B.A. from Northeastern University. 

Peter Hecht, PhD

Dr. Hecht served as the co-founder and chief executive officer of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals from 1998 to 2019. Under his leadership, Ironwood grew from nine Ph.D. scientists to a commercial biotechnology company that discovered, developed and is now commercializing LINZESS^® – the branded prescription market leader in its class. Additionally, during his tenure the company pioneered new areas of science, delivered a promising development portfolio with multiple innovative drug candidates and established a valuable network of global partnerships. Through a combination of private and public equity, structured debt and partnerships, Dr. Hecht and his team raised over one billion dollars to fund these efforts. He also served on the Ironwood board from 1998 to 2019, and currently serves on the board of Kallyope Inc., a privately held biotechnology company.  Prior to founding Ironwood, Dr. Hecht was a research fellow at Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research. Dr. Hecht earned a B.S. in mathematics and an M.S. in biology from Stanford University, and a Ph.D. in molecular biology from the University of California at Berkeley. 

Kevin Churchwell, MD

Dr. Churchwell brings over 25 years of experience as a clinician, researcher, hospital executive and administrator, as well as a valuable perspective in designing and implementing patient treatments. He currently serves as president and chief operating officer at Boston Children’s Hospital where he has been since August 2013. He is also the Robert and Dan Smith Associate Professor of Anesthesia at Harvard Medical School. Previously, he served as chief executive officer of Nemours/Alfred I. DuPont Hospital for Children from 2010 to 2013 and as chief executive officer and executive director for the Monroe Carrell Jr. Children’s Hospital, part of the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, from 2007 to 2010. Dr. Churchwell has been a clinician and faculty member at Boston Children’s Hospital and Vanderbilt University Medical Center since 1993. Dr. Churchwell graduated with a B.S. in Biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and received his M.D. from Vanderbilt Medical School.

George Conrades

Mr. Conrades brings four decades of board and executive officer experience in high-growth, technology-intensive enterprises. Mr. Conrades has served in leadership roles for both Fortune 50 enterprises and entrepreneurial start-up companies. He is currently an executive advisor to Akamai Technologies, Inc, having previously served Akamai as chairman (2010 to 2018), executive chairman (2005 to 2010) chief executive officer and chairman (1999 to 2005), and a director (1998 to 2018). Prior to Akamai, Mr. Conrades served as executive vice president of GTE and president of GTE Internetworking, as chief executive officer of BBN Corporation, and senior vice president at IBM and a member of IBM’s corporate management board. Mr. Conrades is a managing partner at Longfellow Venture Partners and is partner emeritus at Polaris Partners. Mr. Conrades currently serves on the board of Oracle Corporation. He serves as life trustee on the board of Ohio Wesleyan University. Mr. Conrades received a B.A. in physics and mathematics from Ohio Wesleyan University and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago.

Ole Isacson, MD, PhD

Dr. Isacson brings extensive medical and scientific insight with a deep understanding of central nervous system (CNS) diseases, and experience leading the R&D function of a multinational biopharmaceutical company. He currently serves as the professor of neurology and neuroscience at Harvard Medical School, a principal faculty member at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute. He is the founding director of the Neuroregeneration Institute at McLean Hospital, where he has served as a director since 2010. From 2016 to 2017, Dr. Isacson served as chief scientific officer and senior vice president for Pfizer’s Neuroscience and Pain Worldwide R&D Division. He served as Editor In Chief of the journal Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience and is on the board of numerous scientific journals. He is a founding member and past President of the American Society for Neural Transplantation and Repair, and past President of the international Cell Transplantation Society. He serves as a reviewer and advisor to the NIH, DOD, FDA, Industry and many patient community groups, and was elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in 2014. He is the author or co-author of over 300 scientific research publications and three books in neuroscience and neurology.  Dr. Isacson received his Medical Bachelor and Doctor of Medicine degrees from the University of Lund in Sweden. 

Stephanie Lovell

Ms. Lovell brings extensive leadership experience in healthcare insurance, reimbursement and healthcare provision and associated governmental policy and regulatory affairs. She is currently Chief Legal Officer and Executive Vice President, Medicare of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, where she joined as senior vice president and general counsel in 2011. From 2007 to 2011, she served as senior vice president of administration and general counsel for Boston Medical Center, New England’s largest hospital and an innovator in serving diverse communities. She also previously served as first assistant attorney general for the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General and as executive director of the Massachusetts State Ethics Commission. Ms. Lovell currently serves as a director of the New England Law Foundation and The Partnership, Inc., and as a trustee of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. She also is a member of the investment committee of Goodwill Industries of Massachusetts. Ms. Lovell received a B.A. in philosophy from Hamilton College and a J.D. from Boston University School of Law.

Terrance McGuire

Mr. McGuire brings over 35 years of biotechnology venture capital experience as co-founder and general partner of Polaris Partners, where he has provided early stage funding and leadership counsel for over 80 medical and information technology companies. Prior to starting Polaris Partners, Mr. McGuire spent seven years at Burr, Egan, Deleage & Co., investing in early stage medical and information technology companies.  Mr. McGuire currently serves on the boards of Adimab and Alector.  He is a member of the boards of The Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College, The David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and The Arthur Rock Center for Entrepreneurship at Harvard Business School. Mr. McGuire has previously served on the boards of Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Acceleron Pharma, Arsanis, and Pulmatrix, among others. Mr. McGuire was formerly chair of the National Venture Capital Association.  In 2020, he was honored by the NVCA with the Outstanding Service Award.  In 2015, Mr. McGuire was listed as one of Scientific American’s Worldview 100 visionaries who continue to reshape biotechnology and the world. He is also a recipient of the Massachusetts Society for Medical Research Award, and the Albert Einstein Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Life Sciences, awarded by Harvard and the City of Jerusalem. He was awarded honorary doctorate degrees from Ohio Wesleyan University and Canisius College for his work in translational science. Mr. McGuire earned a B.S. in physics and economics from Hobart College, an M.S. in engineering from The Thayer School at Dartmouth College, and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Michael Mendelsohn, MD

Dr. Mendelsohn brings over 30 years of experience as an academic and industry leader in R&D, as well as expertise as a cardiovascular physician-scientist and as a consultant to leading research efforts for multinational biopharmaceutical companies. Dr. Mendelsohn founded and currently serves as executive chairman and president of Cardurion Pharmaceuticals. He is also currently a senior advisor and consultant to the chief medical and scientific officer of Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. Dr. Mendelsohn was the global head of cardiovascular research at Merck Research Laboratories from 2010 to 2013. From 1993 to 2010, he was on the faculty at Tufts Medical Center and Tufts University School of Medicine, where he was founder and executive director of the Molecular Cardiology Research Institute and served as the first chief scientific officer at Tufts. Previously, he was on the cardiovascular faculty at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Dr. Mendelsohn also serves as a director of Foghorn Therapeutics, Inc. and previously served on the board of directors of Regado Biosciences Inc. Dr. Mendelsohn received a B.A. in chemistry and English from Amherst College and a M.D. from Harvard Medical School.

Amy Schulman

Ms. Schulman brings extensive leadership in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, including commercial strategy, corporate development, strategic transactions and capability building. Ms. Schulman is a healthcare investor and managing partner at Polaris Partners. She is also co-founder and Managing Partner of the affiliate fund, LS Polaris Innovation Fund, which was formed in 2017. She currently serves as executive chair of SQZ Biotech, as well as Lyndra Therapeutics, where she was a co-founder and the company’s initial CEO. She also represents Polaris as a Director of Cyclerion (NASDAQ: CYCN), Dewpoint Therapeutics, Kallyope, Volastra, Thirty Madison and ByHeart. Ms. Schulman joined Polaris in 2014, at which time she assumed the role of CEO of Arsia Therapeutics, a Polaris-backed company later acquired by Eagle Pharmaceuticals. Prior to joining Polaris, Ms. Schulman was the general counsel of Pfizer, president of Pfizer Nutrition, and was instrumental in its sale to Nestle for $11.85 billion in 2012. Soon after, she became the President of Pfizer Consumer Healthcare. Ms. Schulman has received numerous awards including 2019 PharmaVoice 100, Xconomy’s 2017 Newcomer Award, Scientific American’s 2015 Worldview 100 List, Fierce Biotech’s 2014 Top 15 Women in Biotech, and Fortune Magazine’s 2013 50 Most Powerful Women in Business. She is a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School and serves on the Board of Directors of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ALNY) and Mount Sinai Hospital. She is also a Member of Singapore’s Health and Biomedical Sciences International Advisory Council. Ms. Schulman is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Wesleyan University with a joint degree in philosophy and English and earned her J.D. from Yale Law School.