The below signers are writing to express our strong support for locating the Advanced Research Project Agency for Health (ARPA-H) in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Massachusetts has the density of resources necessary for ARPA-H to thrive— talent, leading research universities, teaching hospitals, and life sciences companies.

President Biden envisions ARPA-H as a dynamic organization centered around risk tolerance, a sense of urgency, and a mandate to push the limits of biomedical and health research. ARPA-H’s success will rely on talent. No other state has the necessary pool of cross-disciplinary talent in biomedical and other scientific fields, engineering, computation, and technology – across academia and industry – who can fill those rotating roles quickly and on a regular basis.

ARPA-H was created to move scientific breakthroughs forward more quickly to solve global health challenges. Massachusetts boasts innovative organizations that are not only driving cutting edge research and development but are also well versed in technology transfer and commercialization. 

We support the Coalition for Health Advances and Research in Massachusetts (CHARM) and its effort to bring ARPA-H to Massachusetts.

Peter Abbink
PhD, Batavia Biosciences, Inc

Nancy C. Andrews, M.D., Ph.D.
Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer, Boston Children’s Hospital

Joseph E. Aoun
President, Northeastern University

Todd Applebaum
Managing Director, Converge Consulting, LLC

Jay Ash
CEO, Massachusetts Competitive Partnership

Lawrence S. Bacow
President, Harvard University

Katjana Ballantyne
Mayor, City of Somerville, MA

Gilda A. Barabino
President, Olin College

Sylvia Beaulieu
Director, Fort Point Project Management

William Bedell
Business Development Manager, Wyss Institute at Harvard University

Patrick Bilbo
Chief Operating Officer, Organogenesis Holdings, Canton MA

Joseph Boncore
CEO, MassBio

Catherine Bouthillier
Sr. Manager – Healthcare Partnerships, WPI

James T. Brett
President & CEO, The New England Council

Aimee Brewer
President & CEO, Sturdy Memorial Hospital

Robert A. Brown
President, Boston University

Jeffrey Champagne
Managing Consultant, PA Consulting Group, Mass Medic, M2D2, MedTech Association

Julie Chen
Chancellor, University of Massachusetts Lowell

Derrick Chery
Director of Operations, HJ Russell & Company

JD Chesloff
President & CEO, Massachusetts Business Roundtable

Michael F. Collins, M.D.
Chancellor, UMass Chan Medical School

Nicholas Covino
President, William James College

John J. Cronin
State Senator, Massachusetts Senate

Mahesh Daas
President, Boston Architectural College

Michael Dandorph
President & CEO, Tufts Medicine

Paul Danis
CEO, Consortium for Top-Down Proteomics, Inc.

Eric Dickson, M.D.
President & CEO, UMass Memorial Health

Steven R. DiSalvo, Ph.D.
President, Endicott College

Harry Dumay
President, College of Our Lady of the Elms

Michael G. Fantom
Executive Director, New England FIRST

Mark A. Fuller, Ph.D.
Chancellor, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

Joseph S. Gentile
Board Chairman, iVexSol Inc

Birgit Girshick
Chief Operating Officer, Charles River Labs

Ari Glantz
Executive Director, New England Venture Capital Association

Laurie H. Glimcher, M.D.
President & CEO, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Adrian Gottschalk
President & CEO, Foghorn Therapeutics

Stephen Grant
CEO, Phixed, Inc.

Laurie Halloran
President & CEO, Halloran Consulting Group, Inc.

Antoinette Hays
President, Regis College

Christine Heenan
Executive Partner, Flagship Pioneering

Christopher E. Hopey, Ph.D.
President, Merrimack College

Lily S. Hsu
President, Laboure College of Healthcare

Segun Idowu
Chief of Economic Opportunity & Inclusion, City of Boston, Office of Mayor Michelle Wu

Chris Ilsley
CEO, Regional Life Science Incubator

Brian Johnson
President, Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council (MassMEDIC)

Paula A. Johnson, M.D., MPH
President, Wellesley College

Paul R. Joy
Co-Chair, Belmont Economic Development Committee

Marisa Kelly
President, Suffolk University

Julie Kim
President, U.S. Business Unit and U.S. Country Head, Takeda

William P. Leahy, S.J.
President, Boston College

David K. Lee
CEO, Servier Pharmaceuticals

Jeff Leiden, M.D., Ph.D.
Executive Chairman, Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Ron Liebowitz
President, Brandeis University

Antony Loebel, M.D.
President & CEO, Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Stephen V. Mackey
President & CEO, Somerville Chamber of Commerce

Maud S. Mandel
President, Williams College

Gretchen E. Manning
CEO, Ronald McDonald House Charities of New England

Alexander Margulis
COO, Mansfield Bio-Incubator

Ronald Mariano
Speaker, Massachusetts House of Representatives

Tony Martignetti
Chief Inspiration Officer, Inspired Purpose Coaching

Robert J. McCarron
President & CEO, Association of Independent Colleges & Universities in Massachusetts

Kathleen McCartney
President, Smith College

Patricia McMullin
Executive Director, Conference of Boston Teaching Hospitals

Marty Meehan
President, University of Massachusetts

Paula Milone-Nuzzo
President, MGH Institute of Health Professions

Anthony P. Monaco
President, Tufts University

Chris Nichol
VP Strategic Alliances, THRIVE

Howard Purcell
President & CEO, New England College of Optometry

L. Rafael Reif
President, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Tim Ritchie
President, Museum of Science, Boston

Darlene Rodowicz
President & CEO, Berkshire Health Systems

James E. Rooney
President & CEO, Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce

Rick Russell
CEO, Tract Bio

Karen E. Spilka
Senate President, Massachusetts Senate

Dr. Kurt Steinberg
President, Montserrat College of Art

Marcelo Suarez-Orozco
Chancellor, University of Massachusetts Boston

Kumble Subbaswamy
Chancellor, UMass Amherst

Gyongyi Szabo, M.D., Ph.D.
Chief Academic Officer, Beth Israel Lahey Health and Beth Israel Medical Center

Beverly Daniel Tatum
Interim President, Mount Holyoke College

Stephen W. Thomas
Senior Vice President, VHB, Inc. Engineers Scientists Planners

Kenneth L. Turner
President & CEO, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center

Steve Walsh
President & CEO, Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association

Jon Weaver
President & CEO, Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives

Michaele Whelan
President, Wheaton College

Ed Wingenbach
President, Hampshire College

Elizabeth Wood
CEO, JURA Bio, Inc.

Richard Yazbeck
President & CEO, NED Medical, Inc.

Join the CHARM Coalition

Add your name to the sign-on letter in support of siting ARPA-H’s headquarters in Massachusetts. 

The letter as originally delivered to stakeholders on October 20, 2022 is available as a PDF: