Dr. Desirée Cox, MD, MPhil, PhD
CEO and Founder, The HEALinc
Affiliate Faculty Member, Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA
Chair of the Joint National Stem Cell Ethics Committee (NSCEC) and National Medical Ethics Committee of The Bahamas
Dr. Desirée Cox, MD, MPhil, PhD is a Rhodes Scholar, medical doctor, creative artist, and internationally respected thought leader in future health and regenerative medicine. Educated at McGill University (Canada), Oxford University (UK) and Cambridge University (UK), Dr. Desirée is the Founder and CEO of The HEALinc and The HEALinc Future Health Innovation Summit (www.healincsummit.com). She is also the CEO of ArtRegen, CEO of the Biotech R&D company BioPep and an Affiliate member of Rutgers University, Graduates Studies Faculty, New Jersey, USA. She is the first Rhodes Scholar from The Bahamas and the first woman Rhodes Scholar from the British Caribbean. She lives in the USA and The Bahamas.
As an innovator, her career in the UK, Europe, North America, The Bahamas, and Latin America has spanned clinical medicine, academia, research and development, regulatory sciences, and the design, development, and implementation of high–impact health and social enterprises. Dr. Cox is a thought leader in future health innovation with 20+ years in the healthcare space and an impressive, rare and unique range of skills and capacities integrating the sciences and the arts. Her experience in healthcare consulting includes consulting for biotech companies and major pharmaceutical companies, including Amgen, GSK and Novartis, on pipeline therapeutic products and medical devices.
In October 2017, she was honored by Oxford University as one of six alumni to have their portrait hung in the Great Hall at Pembroke College. She was one of 5 recipients of the 2019 International Advocacy Action Award at the World Stem Cell Summit in Miami, Florida. She was also a presenter at the 2018 Vatican ‘Unite to Cure’ Conference.
Since 2014, she has been spearheading the development of a regulatory system and ecosystem in The Bahamas for accelerated patient access to stem cell, regenerative medicine and other future health technologies manufactured in the US and Europe, Latin America and Asia. At the 40th Independence Celebrations in 2013, the Bahamas Government honored Dr. Cox by issuing a 70-cent stamp into circulation bearing her photograph.