PATH welcomes two new members to its board of directors

PATH's board of directors has voted to appoint two new members: Dr. Laurie Michaels and Dr. Peter G. Smith. Drs. Michaels and Smith will deepen the expertise of the board, particularly in the areas of vaccine research and safety, create greater flexibility between donors and grantees, and strengthen relationships among nonprofit, academic, multilateral, and philanthropic groups.

"I am delighted to welcome Dr. Laurie Michaels and Dr. Peter Smith, two individuals with impressive knowledge and backgrounds, as they join the PATH board of directors," said Dean Allen, chair of PATH's board of directors. "We look forward to their contributions and guidance toward PATH's innovative and impactful approach to addressing some of the greatest challenges in global health."

Laurie Michaels, PhD, is an individual philanthropist based in Aspen, Colorado. Prior to founding Open Road Alliance, a private philanthropic fund, in 2012, Dr. Michaels maintained a practice in clinical psychology.

Dr. Michaels supports change within the philanthropic sector. Through Open Road Alliance, she advocates for greater transparency in the relationship between donors and nonprofits by highlighting the need for better risk management in grant making. She is a regular contributor to the Chronicle of Philanthropy and a guest speaker at forums such as Fail Forward, Clinton Global Initiative, and Washington Women's Foundation.

Dr. Michaels currently serves on the board of Search for Common Ground. She served on the board of the Aspen Community Foundation for 12 years and was its board chair for 4 years, ending in 2013.

Dr. Michaels earned a BA from Williams College and holds a PhD in Counseling Psychology from Colorado State University.

Peter Smith, CBE, BSc, DSc, FMedSci, is a professor of tropical epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). He graduated in mathematics and statistics from City University, London, and in 1965 joined the Medical Research Council's Statistical Research Unit in London. Since then he has worked on various aspects of epidemiological and statistical research, moving to LSHTM in 1979. Research interests include large-scale intervention studies against tropical diseases, including vaccine trials. From 1996 to 2004 he served on, and from 1999 to 2004 chaired, the UK Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee, which advised the UK government on the epidemic of bovine spongiform encephalopathy ("Mad cow" disease) and related issues.

Dr. Smith has chaired the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety and from 2009 to 2015 chaired the WHO Global Malaria Programme/Initiative for Vaccine Research Joint Technical Expert Group on Malaria Vaccines in Pivotal Phase 3 Trials and Beyond. He has served on the Scientific Advisory Board of the International Vaccine Institute in Korea and the Board of Management of the Medicines for Malaria Venture. He currently chairs the Programme Board for Global Health and Vaccination Research (GLOBVAC) of the Research Council of Norway. He has served as the deputy chair of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics and from 2004 to 2014 was a governor of the Wellcome Trust.

• Our board of directors.

Posted March 16, 2016.