The Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute (HWI), an international leader in structural biology located on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, announced that six new members were recently elected to three-year terms on the organization’s Board of Directors.
The new directors are: Mark J. Boyd, Chief of Staff, New York State Assembly Majority Leader Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes; Frank Ewing, Esq., Chief Executive Officer, AML RightSource; Andrei V. Gudkov, Ph.D., D. Sci, Senior Vice President, Research Technology and Innovation, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center; Dan Magnuszewski, Co-Founder & Chief Technology Officer, ACV Auctions; Brenda W. McDuffie, past President & CEO, Buffalo Urban League.; and Nena Ouellet Rich, medical professional and community volunteer.
“The impact of the ground-breaking work being done every day at HWI has never been more clearly in focus than the past 18 months, as the Institute was on the front line in helping the world to understand and treat COVID-19,” said Samuel J. Russo, Chairman of the Board of Directors. “As HWI continues to stand at the leading edge of scientific research with our new Cryo-EM Center and in our National Crystallization Center, our Board of Directors works to provide leadership and support to further expand the impact of the Institute’s work locally, nationally and globally.”
Boyd has nearly 15 years’ government and public service experience. As Chief of Staff to the Majority Leader of the New York State Assembly, he manages more than $12.5 million in capital projects and provides leadership and expertise in the areas of finance, economic development, housing, transportation, and community and government relations, among others. Boyd serves as the Majority Leader’s official representative on several important committees, including the Racial Equity Roundtable, the Empire State Poverty Reduction Initiative, Say Yes to Education Buffalo’s Boys & Young Men of Color Initiative, and New York State’s My Brother’s Keeper Initiative. A graduate of the University at Buffalo, Boyd is a member of Operating Committee for Say Yes Buffalo and the Buffalo & Erie County Naval & Military Park board of directors, and a dedicated volunteer for several community organizations.
Ewing heads the leadership team at AML RightSource, the leading firm solely focused on anti-money laundering, Bank Secrecy Act, and financial crimes compliance solutions. A licensed attorney and an anti-money laundering expert with comprehensive professional experience in global consulting, banking, and law, he has extensive hands-on experience in the areas of anti-money laundering compliance, regulatory enforcement actions, regulatory affairs, internal audit, commercial litigation, corporate investigations, fraud, and risk management. Ewing earned his undergraduate degree at LeMoyne College in Syracuse, New York and his juris doctor at the University of Buffalo Law School.
Gudkov is a pre-eminent cancer researcher who serves as Chair of the Department of Cell Stress Biology, and a member of the senior leadership team for National Cancer Institute (NCI) Cancer Center Support Grant at Roswell Park. He is responsible for building on the basic and translational research strengths of the Cell Stress Biology program in DNA damage and repair, photodynamic therapy, thermal and hypoxic stress and immune modulation. As Senior Vice President, assists the President & CEO in developing and implementing strategic plans for new scientific programs and enhance collaborations in research programs with regional and national academic centers as well as with industry. He earned his doctoral degree in Experimental Oncology at the Cancer Research Center, USSR and a Doctorate of Science (D.Sci) in Molecular Biology at the Moscow State University, USSR. He has authored or co-authored 135 scientific articles and holds 27 patents.
An entrepreneur, software engineer, mentor and investor, Magnuszewski co-founded ACV Auctions, a dealer-to-dealer marketplace for used automobiles, in 2015, the same year in which the company won the $1 million prize at the 43 North business competition. Today, ACV Auctions is publicly listed on the Nasdaq and operates in markets across the country with more than 1,500 people nationwide. A longtime leader in Western New York’s tech community, Magnuszewski previously served as Managing Director at Z80 Labs, a startup incubator and $5 million seed fund in Buffalo, board member of the Upstate Venture Association of New York, and member of the Western New York Computer Science Teachers Association and Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center’s IT Advisory Council. A graduate of the University at Buffalo, he currently serves on the university’s Computer Science Advisory Council.
As head of the Buffalo Urban League from 1998 until her retirement last year, McDuffie led an organization committed to ensuring that African Americans, minorities, and disadvantaged individuals have the opportunity to achieve their full potential, serving more than 20,000 individuals annually. She is currently the chair of the Erie County Industrial Development Agency, and serves on several Boards of Directors, including the University at Buffalo Council, Leadership Buffalo, Independent Health Association, Western New York Foundation, Buffalo State College, Greater Buffalo Savings Bank, Buffalo Niagara Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Trustee Council for Kaleida Health Systems, and several others. McDuffie has received numerous community and civic awards and recognitions throughout her career of service. She received her undergraduate degree from Buffalo State College, and earned a Graduate Certificate in Human Resource Development from the University at Buffalo, School of Management.
Rich shares her passion and experience as a medical professional with the Lotus House Women and Children’s Shelter in Miami, Florida, a center committed to ending child and family homelessness. She is a member of the board and supports several projects within the medical clinic in a volunteer capacity. She has a wide range of experience across the healthcare arena, including: Pediatric and Adult Home Health Care Nurse, Seattle, Washington; Quality Assurance Nurse Consultant, Seattle, Washington; Certified Case Manager- Home Care, Seattle, Washington and Buffalo, NY, and Senior Clinical System Analyst – Siemen’s Corporation, Upstate NY Region. Rich was the Project Manager for the construction of the Hauptmann Woodward Medical Research Institute’s current building in 2003-2005. She earned a Bachelor of Science from the University of Vermont in 1993 and has since held a professional license as a Registered Nurse.