News

Seattle, WA – March 2, 2023

Today, Washington Research Foundation (WRF), a leader in advancing life sciences in Washington state, announced the appointment of two new board members: Carol Dahl, Ph.D., a strategic executive leader with expertise in science and technology innovation, and Desney Tan, Ph.D., vice president and managing director of Microsoft Health Futures.

“We are very pleased to welcome Carol and Desney to the WRF board,” said Tom Daniel, Ph.D., CEO at WRF. “Their vast experiences in the life sciences and innovation ecosystem will provide unique insights and perspective that will be invaluable to the future of WRF and contribute to the foundation’s mission of advancing innovative solutions to benefit society.”

With more than three decades of experience cultivating science and technology-based discovery and innovation, Dahl currently chairs the Program Advisory Council of Grand Challenges Canada and the Nomination Evaluation Committee for the US National Medal of Technology and Innovation. In addition, she serves on the boards of VertueLab, the Fogarty International Center at the National Institutes of Health, and WiSys. Dahl previously served as the executive director of The Lemelson Foundation and founding director of the Global Health Discovery program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

“Through my past endeavors I have witnessed the enormous potential for the future coming from the life sciences, as well as the power of investing in innovation and partnerships,” said Dahl. “Having the opportunity to serve on the WRF board will allow me to continue to support the ecosystem needed to realize this potential.”

Tan is a seasoned executive who has spent his career building and running global innovation teams—leveraging expertise in technology development as well as artificial intelligence and machine learning. He currently serves as vice president and managing director of Microsoft Health Futures, an incubation group that serves as Microsoft’s health and life sciences “moonshot factory.” Tan also holds an affiliate faculty appointment in Computer Science & Engineering at the University of Washington, is senior advisor and chief technologist for Seattle-based life science incubator IntuitiveX, and serves on the boards of ResMed, 1910 Genetics and Artificial.

“WRF plays a unique role in catalyzing innovation, building ecosystems, and accelerating translation into practice, especially in the life sciences. I am thrilled to join the board and contribute to WRF’s impact in the community and the world,” said Tan.

To learn more about WRF’s leadership and board of directors, visit: https://www.wrfseattle.org/about-us/our-team/.

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