Advisory Board

Richard A. Houghten

President, CEO and Founder
Torrey Pines Institute of Molecular Studies

Richard Houghten, Ph.D., is President, CEO and Founder of Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies, a not-for-profit medical research organization. The Institute began operations in 1989 and has become internationally recognized for its scientific contributions. He has held positions at the University of California, San Francisco, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and The Scripps Research Institute. Houghten serves as a Senate Appointee on the Biomedical Research Advisory Council for the State of Florida’s Department of Health.

His many awards include the 2004 Ralph Hirschmann Award in Peptide Chemistry by the American Chemical Society, the 2005 Bruce Merrifield Award by the American Peptide Society, and UCSD Connect’s Athena Pinnacle Award for Empowering Women in the Workplace. He has over 500 publications, 87 U.S. and 47 foreign patents. Houghten is an American Association of Pharmaceutical Sciences Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Fellow, and a Charter Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors. He was inducted into the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame in 2018.

Richard Jove

Former Director
Cell Therapies Institute, Nova Southeastern University

Richard Jove, PhD, received his predoctoral training at Columbia University and postdoctoral training at Rockefeller University, New York. He began his career as an Assistant to Associate Professor with Tenure at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Subsequently, Dr. Jove helped establish the Moffitt Cancer Center as Professor and Director of the Molecular Oncology Program. He then was Deputy Director of the NCI Comprehensive Cancer Center and Director of the Beckman Research Institute at City of Hope in Los Angeles. Jove served as the director of the Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute of Florida from 2013-2015. In October of 2015 Jove became Distinguished Research Professor and Research Institute Director at Nova Southeastern University.

Arthur Molella

Director Emeritus, Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center
for the Study of Invention & Innovation

Arthur Molella, Ph.D., was the founding director, now emeritus, of the Smithsonian Institution’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation at the National Museum of American History. He received his Ph.D. in the history of science from Cornell University and a Doctor of Science, honoris causa, from Westminster University, U.K (2005). At the National Museum of American History, he served variously as curator of electricity, chairman of the Department of History of Science and Technology, and assistant director for History. At Johns Hopkins University, he has served as Senior Lecturer, Dept. History of Science, and currently Lecturer M.A. in Museum Studies, On-Line, Advanced Academic Programs. He was head curator of the Smithsonian’s Science in American Life exhibition, co-curator of the international exhibition, Nobel Voices. He is co-sponsor of the International Eco-City Initiative. He has published and lectured widely on the history of science, invention, technology, and modern technological culture. His recent books include Invented Edens: Techno-Cities of the 20th Century (MIT, 2008), Places of Invention (Smithsonian, 2015), and World’s Fairs on the Eve of War (Pittsburgh, 2015). He has published many articles and reviews, supplied on request. In addition to serving on the board of the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame, he is on the Executive Advisory Board of the National Academy of Inventors. He also served for many years on the board of the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

Janet E. Petro

Deputy Director
John F. Kennedy Space Center

Janet E. Petro is the deputy director of NASA’s John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Appointed to the deputy director position in April 2007, she shares responsibility with the center director in managing the Kennedy team of approximately 8,600 civil service and contractor employees, determining and implementing center policy and managing and executing Kennedy missions and agency program responsibilities. She served a 12-month appointment at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., as the deputy associate administrator and acting director for the Office of Evaluation. Petro began her professional career as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army after graduating in 1981 from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., with a Bachelor of Science in engineering. She served in the U.S. Army’s aviation branch with various assignments overseas in Germany. She also holds a Master of Science in business administration from Boston University’s Metropolitan College.

Prior to joining NASA, Petro served in various management positions for Science Applications International Corp., also known as SAIC, and McDonnell Douglas Aerospace Corporation. At SAIC, Petro held a number of positions, including program/project manager, division manager, and deputy operations manager for several entities within the corporation’s operations. She interfaced with NASA, the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Navy and commercial entities on numerous aerospace and military programs. As the interface to senior-level government customers, Petro was responsible for overseeing program and project managers and providing operational guidance on various technical programs.

At McDonnell Douglas Aerospace, Petro advanced from mechanical engineer and cargo manager for processing classified payloads for space shuttle and expendable vehicles; to program manager for executing a classified, multimillion-dollar U.S. Department of Defense program, integrating payloads onto various space vehicles at U.S. Air Force and NASA facilities; to senior manager in Advance Products Division; to senior manager for Communications and Data Systems Division. Originally from Detroit, Mich., she now resides with her family in Indian Harbour Beach, Fla.

Mark Sharpe

Executive Director,
Tampa Innovation Alliance (!P)

Mark Sharpe is Chief Potential Officer for Tampa !p, an Innovation Partnership whose mission is to create a vibrant, magnetic place to live, work, study, play and stay in the 19-square mile area bounded by Busch Boulevard, Bearrs Avenue, Interstate 275 and Interstate 75. The region includes parts of Tampa, Temple Terrace and unincorporated Hillsborough County and is anchored by some of the most ground-breaking, innovative institutions in the world.

In 2015, Mark successfully negotiated $2 million from Hillsborough County to be designated for the development of an innovation district in the !p area. His team secured $1.25 million from the State of Florida for transportation, community engagement, and branding, and he led a multifaceted collaborative effort to win a $3.8 million TechHire Grant and designation by the White House as a TechHire Community in 2016.

In fewer than three years Mark and his staff have grown membership in the !p from just 4 to over 230 business and community members, anchored by the University of South Florida, Florida Hospital, Busch Gardens, Moffitt Cancer Center, RD Management, LLC, and the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital.

Prior to leading the Tampa, Mark served for 10 years as a Hillsborough County Commissioner before reaching his term limit. In 2010, he joined forces with Tampa Mayor, Pam Iorio to lead a referendum effort for a 1-penny sales tax for transportation improvements. While the referendum was unsuccessful, improved transportation has been identified as one of the key priorities of the Tampa !p and Mark continues to work toward innovative solutions that will help people get around more efficiently. In 2018 he supported efforts which led to the successful passage of the Hillsborough County transportation ballot initiative.

Mark is passionate about applying innovation to overcome challenges. He founded the company, Hog Back – named after a geologic formation of narrow crested, steep sloped, hard-to-climb hills –  to help others clear obstacles and find success. He is a 20-year Navy veteran with a BS from Florida State University in Multinational Business and an MA from the University of South Florida in Strategic Studies.  Mark is married to Stephanie, a high school English teacher, and they are parents of three children.