Board of Directors

Arnold S. Leonard, M.D., Ph.D., Chairman

Dr. Leonard attended the University of Minnesota, graduating from the Medical School in 1955 and receiving his Ph.D. in 1963. While in medical school, he worked in the operating room during the first open-heart surgery. After completing residency in General Surgery, he was specifically chosen by Dr. Wangensteen to seek specialty training in Pediatric Surgery.

He conducted the first thorascopic surgical procedure at the University of Minnesota, breaking into the minimally invasive surgery arena and leading the way to the development of advanced laparoscopic and thoracoscopic techniques. Dr. Leonard has developed several medical devices including a novel long-term central venous access catheter that is the most popular long term central catheter used today in the United States for the delivery of chemotherapeutic agents in cancer patients. He has contributed to the understanding of metastatic Wilm's tumor and its role of neoadjuvant chemotherapy — a move by the Children's Cancer Research Committee that has literally saved thousands of lives throughout the world. He also developed a method to expose the spine from an anterior approach — a technique that has revolutionized the treatment of scoliosis. Dr. Leonard also developed a novel method to correct chest deformities; Pectus Excavatum and Pectus Carinatum. To date, he has performed over 1500 of such repairs and is considered to be one of the world's experts in the treatment of such deformities. Surgical protocols that he developed concerning the treatment of children with cystic fibrosis are now employed nationwide.

He has given over 60 national and international talks and authored over 250 peer-reviewed publications. Dr. Leonard's research laboratory has received two American College of Surgeons awards and the Watson Award from the University of Minnesota for innovative approaches in boosting the immune system. He holds an Endowed Chair in Pediatric Surgery in the Department of Surgery at the University of Minnesota and continues to research Genetic Engineering and synergism for tumors with nutraceuticals for immune boosting.

Daniel A. Saltman, M.D., Ph.D., Vice Chairman, Treasurer and Secretary

Dr Saltzman is the Chief of Pediatric Surgery and Associate Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics at the University of Minnesota, where he also holds the Arnold S. Leonard M.D. Ph.D. Chair in Pediatric Surgery. He is a practicing pediatric surgeon at University of Minnesota Children's Hospital in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In addition to practicing medicine, Dr. Saltzman is actively involved in medical research. He, along with Dr. Leonard, runs the bioengineering lab at the University of Minnesota Surgery Department. He has authored numerous publications and presentations, and has won several prestigious awards including the American Surgical Association Foundation Fellowship Award. His research is focused on the use of attenuated salmonella vectors for the delivery of Interleukin-2 to unresectable tumors. This is a new and innovative cancer treatment modality, for which he has submitted an application to the FDA to begin the first phase of human clinical trials.

Steve Bryant, Trustee

Paul Sires, Trustee

Dr. David E. Samuel, Trustee

Gerald E. Helget, Trustee

Michele Eichler, Trustee

M.R. James, Trustee