Dr. Robin L. Smith, age 55, is a business leader, entrepreneur, medical doctor and philanthropist uniquely positioned to assist public companies and health care systems to advance and be successful in the rapidly evolving health care industry. She received her B.A. degree from Yale University and her M.D. degree from the Yale School of Medicine. Dr. Smith holds an M.B.A. degree from the Wharton School of Business and completed the Stanford University Directors Program. In 2019, Dr. Smith received an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Thomas Jefferson Medical College. She is a trailblazer in the fields of regenerative medicine and predictive analytics and has focused on turnarounds, M&A and disruptive innovations driving interest and growth.
She has extensive experience serving on the boards of directors and board committees, including, audit, nominating and governance, compensation and science and technology committees of multiple public companies. She currently serves on the board of directors of Sorrento Therapeutics (NASDAQ: SRNE), ServiceSource International, Inc. (NASDAQ: SREV), Celularity Inc, a Celgene spin-out focused on cancer and regenerative medicine, as well as Vcinity, Inc. Dr. Smith had also served as chairman of the board of directors of MYnd Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ: MYND now EMMA), and as an independent board director of Rockwell Medical (NASDAQ: RMTI), Seelos Therapeutics (NASDAQ: SEEL), Signal Genetics (NASDAQ: SGNL) and BioXcel Corp. From 2006 until 2015, Dr. Smith was chairman and chief executive officer of the Neostem (NASDAQ: NBS), where she pioneered the company’s innovative business model combining proprietary cell therapy development with successful contract development and manufacturing organization that was sold to Hitachi at 8x the price it had been acquired. During her 9 years of tenure, the company won an array of industry awards and received business recognition including a first-place ranking in the tri-state area (2 years in a row), and eleventh place nationally, on Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500 and Frost & Sullivan’s North American Cell Therapeutics Technology Innovation Leadership Award.
Dr. Smith co-authored “Cells Are the New Cure” (2017) and “The Healing Cell: How the Greatest Revolution in Medical History Is Changing Your Life” (2013). She was appointed as clinical associate professor, Department of Medicine at the Rutgers, New Jersey Medical School in 2017. She has also been widely recognized for her leadership in health care and as a female entrepreneur. Most recently, Dr. Smith received the Regenerative Medicine Foundation (RMF) 2019 Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Action Award for International Diplomacy in 2019 and the 2018 HEALinc Future Health Humanitarian Award, the Business Intelligence Group’s Woman of the Year Award in 2018 and the 2018 Gold Stevie® Award for Woman of the Year – Government or Non-Profit. In April 2016, Pope Francis awarded Dr. Smith Dame Commander with Star Pontifical Equestrian Order of Saint Sylvester Pope and Martyr. In May 2017, she was awarded the Lifetime Achievement in Healthcare and Science Award by The National Museum of Catholic Art and Library.
Dr. Smith is also active in many nonprofit organizations. She is the founder, president and chairman of the board of the Cura Foundation, a charitable organization, and a member of the board of trustees of the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine (ARM) Foundation, Unite to Prevent Cancer (UTPC) Foundation and the Alliance for Cell Therapy Now. She also serves on Sanford Health’s International Board and the board of overseers of the New York University Langone Medical Center in New York. She had previously served on the board of trustees of the New York University Langone Medical Center and was chairman of the board of directors of the New York University Hospital for Joint Diseases.
