OvaScience Adds NYU President to Board

Cambridge, Mass.-based OvaScience, which makes new treatment options for fertility, has invited John E. Sexton Ph.D., president of New York University (NYU), to its board of directors.

“John’s leadership has been instrumental in elevating the global recognition of NYU, including establishing world-class campuses as well as academic and research sites internationally,” said Michelle Dipp, M.D., Ph.D., CEO and co-founder of OvaScience. “His personal passion for our mission to bring new fertility treatments to patients and his ability to build successful international operations will be assets to OvaScience as we expand our global presence.”

“I personally understand the difficulty many people face when undergoing in vitro fertilization and why innovations in fertility are so desperately needed,” said Sexton. “OvaScience’s technology is founded in strong science that has already yielded a new treatment designed to enhance IVF, and I am pleased to join the board as the company prepares to introduce future fertility treatments to patients.”

Sexton is the fifteenth President of NYU, serving in the role since 2001. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a past member of the Executive Committee of the Association of American Universities. He previously served as the chairman of the board of the federal Reserve Bank of New York and Chair of the Federal Reserve Systems Council of Chairs. He was awarded the TIAA-CREF Hesburgh Award for Leadership Excellence, the Foreign Policy Association Medal, the NASPA President’s Award for advancing the quality of student life at NYU, and was named one of the “Top Ten College Presidents” by TIME magazine. Earlier in his career at NYU, he was the dean and Benjamin Butler Professor of Law at NYU School of Law. Prior to NYU, Sexton was law clerk to Chief Justice Warren Burger of the United States Supreme Court and to Judges David Bazelon and Harold Leventhal of the United States Court of Appeals. Additionally, Sexton served as special master supervising pretrial proceedings in the Love Canal litigation. He also served as professor of religion and department chair at Saint Francis College. Sexton is a published author of several books, chapters, articles and Supreme Court briefs. He holds a B.A. in history from Fordham College, an M.A. in comparative religion and a Ph.D. in history of American religion from Fordham University, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.