M. Ian Philips PhD, DSc, FAHA, BS

Ian Phillips is the Norris Professor of Applied Life Science and Director of the Center for Rare Disease Therapies at the Keck Graduate Institute in Claremont California . He discovered angiotensin in the brain which has contributed to novel therapeutic approaches in brain, cardiovascular and heart diseases.

He pioneered adeno-associated virus vectors, antisense oligonucleotides and hypoxia sensitive gene switches for gene therapy . He holds patents for producing cardiac stem cells, stem cell beacons, and for antisense RNA for novel ACE inhibitors and beta blockers. With YL Tang he genetically modified mesenchymal stem cells for heart repair after myocardial ischemia and discovered stem cell paracrine effects of gene modified stem cells.

As an advocate for patients with rare diseases, Dr Phillips lectures on gene therapy for rare disease, researches on Huntington’s disease and teaches how to write orphan drug designations applications to the FDA. Dr Phillips is a Fellow of the American Association for Science and Fellow of the American Heart Association and a member of the National Academy of Inventors. He is editor of Expert Opinion on Orphan Drugs and Journal of Rare Disorders.