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Dr. Dina has been our President and a member of our Board of Directors since May 1997 and our Chief Executive Officer since May 1998. From 1982 until he joined us in 1997, Dr. Dina was an employee of Chiron Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company. At Chiron, Dr. Dina held a series of positions with increasing responsibility. He ultimately served as president of Chiron Vaccines (formerly Biocine Company), which he directed from its inception in 1987. Under Dr. Dina's direction, Chiron Vaccines received the first-ever approval of an adjuvanted influenza vaccine in Italy, successfully completed development of the first genetically engineered pertussis vaccine, and conducted clinical trials for vaccines to prevent HIV, herpes simplex type II, cytomegalovirus, and hepatitis B infections. The virology group he directed was responsible for several key scientific findings, including the discovery, cloning, and sequencing of the hepatitis C virus, and the cloning and sequencing of the viral genomes for HIV and hepatitis A viruses. Prior to joining Chiron, Dr. Dina was employed at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, New York, as an assistant professor of genetics from 1977 to 1982. He received his M.D. from the University of Genova Medical School in Italy. | 