Mimi is a member of Spencer Stuart's Life Sciences Practice and is based in the San Francisco office. Her search experience has given her the opportunity to complete assignments for organizations ranging from emerging life science companies to multinational biotechnology and pharmaceutical firms. She has executed searches for senior executives in general management, basic, discovery and clinical research, product development and a variety of commercial positions.
Mimi began her search career in 1994 with another international executive search firm in its pharmaceutical and life sciences practice. Previously, Mimi served as vice president of operations and co-founder at Avigen, a startup gene therapy company. For two years prior, she was the director of cell biology at Somatix Therapy Corporation, a publicly-held company focused on gene therapy. Earlier in her career, Mimi held a series of positions at Triton Biosciences, where she conducted pioneering research on a novel therapy for cancer, targeting the Her2/neu oncogene. These studies were the first demonstration of synergistic toxicity between a monoclonal antibody to the Her2/neu protein and certain chemotherapeutic drugs (Hancock, et. al.; Cancer Research; 51, 4574-4580, 1991). This therapeutic approach was ultimately developed and marketed for the treatment of breast cancer. Mimi began her career in healthcare with Peralta Cancer Research Institute as a staff scientist.
Mimi received her B.A. with honors in biological sciences from the University of Chicago and her Ph.D. in genetics from the University of California (Berkeley). She was a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University and a recipient of a Damon Runyon Walter Winchell Cancer Fund Fellowship.