Press Releases

Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason (BRI) is pleased to announce the addition of four members to its Board of Directors: Claire Bonilla, Brian Kotzin, MD, Erin Talbott, and Steven Ziegler, PhD. Their terms of service are effective this month.

Ms. Bonilla is CEO of Sightlife, Inc., a global health organization focused on eliminating corneal blindness. Prior to joining Sightlife, Ms. Bonilla managed Microsoft corporate groups in governance, operations, compliance and disaster response. In addition to her board role with BRI, Ms. Bonilla serves on the CorneaGen Board of Directors, was Vice Chair of the Washington Global Health Alliance, and served on the Puget Sound Leadership Council and the Puget Sound Leadership Board of Medical Teams International. She is a graduate of Willamette University and the University of Munich and received her Master’s in International Development from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Dr. Kotzin, a board-certified rheumatologist and internist with more than 30 years of experience in immunology and inflammation, is a consultant and senior vice president at Nektar Therapeutics. He served at Amgen as vice president and head of the Inflammation Therapeutic Area, directing global development efforts for Amgen product candidates. Before joining Amgen, Dr. Kotzin was head of Clinical Immunology in the Department of Medicine and director of the Autoimmunity Center of Excellence at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver. Dr. Kotzin is an elected Master of the American College of Rheumatology and serves on several biotechnology company boards. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Southern California and his medical degree from Stanford University.

Ms. Talbott is Director of Marketing & Communications Director for Expeditors, a global logistics company headquartered in Seattle. She joined the company in 2009 and was previously a Senior Lecturer in the Albers School of Business & Economics at Seattle University where she taught Executive MBA, MBA, and undergraduate students the principles of marketing strategy, consumer behavior, and brand management. Ms.Talbott received her master’s degree from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. She is the chair of BRI’s new Ambassadors Council.

Dr. Ziegler is Director of Academic Affairs and Member of the Center for Fundamental Immunology at BRI and an Affiliate Professor in the Department of Immunology at the University of Washington School of Medicine. He first joined the institute as an Associate Member in 1997, leading a lab that focuses on factors that control normal immune regulation and those that contribute to disease development and progression. . Dr. Ziegler graduated with honors from the University of Michigan and received his PhD in molecular biology from UCLA. Following post-doctoral training at the UW, Dr. Ziegler spent five years as a staff scientist at Immunex, followed by three years as the Director of Immunology/Molecular Biology at Darwin Molecular.

About Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason

Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason (BRI) is a world-renowned, non-profit research institute committed to advancing the science that will predict, prevent, reverse and cure diseases of the immune system. BRI researchers uniquely study the immune system in both health and disease, with the ultimate goal of achieving a healthy immune system for each individual. Diseases we study include type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s and colitis as well as allergies and cancer. BRI accelerates discovery through laboratory breakthroughs in immunology that can be translated to clinical therapies. A leader of collaborative initiatives such as the Immune Tolerance Network and Type 1 Diabetes TrialNet, BRI frequently partners with global research institutes, pharmaceutical and biotech companies.

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Media Contact

Christi B. Nichols/Community Engagement Specialist
Marketing Communications & External Relations
cnichols@benaroyaresearch.org / 206-342-6519