Dena Minning Grayson (born Dena Minning, January 5, 1971) is an American medical doctor, researcher and politician. In 2016, she ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for the
United States House of Representatives for Florida's 9th congressional district.
Early life and education
Dena Minning Grayson was born on January 5, 1971, in
Melbourne, Florida
Melbourne is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. It is located southeast of Orlando. As of th2020 Decennial Census there was a population of 84,678. The municipality is the second-largest in the county by both size and population. ...
. Grayson graduated from
Melbourne High School
Melbourne High School is a government-funded single-sex academically selective secondary day school for boys, located in the Melbourne suburb of South Yarra, Victoria, Australia. Established in 1905, the school caters for boys from Year 9 t ...
in 1988
where she was a member of the varsity soccer team that captured the Florida High School State Championship in 1987.
She earned her Bachelor of Science degree
from the
University of Florida
The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...
in 1992. After graduating from college, Grayson enrolled in the Medical Scientist Training Program at
Washington University School of Medicine
Washington University School of Medicine (WUSM) is the medical school of Washington University in St. Louis in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1891, the School of Medicine has 1,260 students, 604 of which are pursuing a medical degree with or ...
,
[
] where she earned an
MD and a
PhD in biochemistry and molecular cell biology.
In 1999, ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'',
''
Science Daily
''Science Daily'' is an American website launched in 1995 that aggregates press releases and publishes lightly edited press releases (a practice called churnalism) about science, similar to Phys.org and EurekAlert!.
The site was founded by mar ...
'' and the
''Duke Chronicle'' covered research on
Ascaris
''Ascaris'' is a genus of parasite, parasitic nematode worms known as the "small intestinal roundworms", which is a type of parasitic worm. One species, ''Ascaris lumbricoides'', affects humans and causes the disease ascariasis. Another species ...
hemoglobin
that Grayson had published in ''
Nature
Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physics, physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomenon, phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. ...
'', and stated, "The discovery may yield new therapies for diseases such as cancer, in which starving tumors of oxygen is a major therapeutic focus."
Grayson completed her internship in internal medicine at the
University of California, San Francisco
The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a public land-grant research university in San Francisco, California. It is part of the University of California system and is dedicated entirely to health science and life science. It cond ...
.
Career
Grayson has a
(M.D.) degree. In the early 2000s, she shifted her focus to medical research as a way of treating multiple patients by finding cures.
She worked as a biotechnology consultant at MEDACorp from 2002-2003.
From 2003 to 2008, Grayson served as an Associate Director of Licensing and Director of Medical Sciences at
Amgen
Amgen Inc. (formerly Applied Molecular Genetics Inc.) is an American multinational biopharmaceutical Corporation, company headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California. One of the world's largest independent biotechnology companies, Amgen was esta ...
, and worked on developing treatments for cancers, asthma, anemia,
hypercholesterolemia
Hypercholesterolemia, also called high cholesterol, is the presence of high levels of cholesterol in the blood. It is a form of hyperlipidemia (high levels of lipids in the blood), hyperlipoproteinemia (high levels of lipoproteins in the blood), ...
, heart failure, and pain. While at
Amgen
Amgen Inc. (formerly Applied Molecular Genetics Inc.) is an American multinational biopharmaceutical Corporation, company headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California. One of the world's largest independent biotechnology companies, Amgen was esta ...
, she was selected as a Henry Crown Fellow at the
Aspen Institute
The Aspen Institute is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1949 as the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies. The institute's stated aim is the realization of "a free, just, and equitable society" through seminars, policy programs ...
in 2006.
Grayson then served as Vice President of Translational Sciences at 3-V Biosciences from 2008 to 2010,
where she oversaw the development of broad-spectrum antiviral drugs active against deadly viruses. She served as the Vice President of Translational Sciences for AlloCure from 2011 to 2014, where she led research on a mesenchymal stem cell therapy for acute kidney injury. In 2010, Grayson founded MedExpert Consulting, a biotechnology consulting company, where she helped research and develop
BCX4430
Galidesivir (BCX4430, immucillin-A) is an antiviral drug, an adenosine analog (a type of nucleoside analog). It was developed by BioCryst Pharmaceuticals with funding from NIAID, originally intended as a treatment for hepatitis C, but subsequent ...
, a broad-spectrum antiviral drug that is active against
Ebola
Ebola, also known as Ebola virus disease (EVD) and Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF), is a viral hemorrhagic fever in humans and other primates, caused by ebolaviruses. Symptoms typically start anywhere between two days and three weeks after becom ...
,
Marburg
Marburg ( or ) is a university town in the German federal state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district (''Landkreis''). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has a population of approximate ...
,
Yellow Fever
Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. In ...
,
Zika
Zika fever, also known as Zika virus disease or simply Zika, is an infectious disease caused by the Zika virus. Most cases have no symptoms, but when present they are usually mild and can resemble dengue fever. Symptoms may include fever, red ...
, and other deadly viral diseases.
Grayson briefly lobbied for BioCryst Pharmaceuticals for 3 months in 2013 and for 1 month in 2014 to fund research of a treatment for Ebola and other deadly viruses.
In 2014, she was co-author of an article published in
''Nature'' on the efficacy of
BCX4430
Galidesivir (BCX4430, immucillin-A) is an antiviral drug, an adenosine analog (a type of nucleoside analog). It was developed by BioCryst Pharmaceuticals with funding from NIAID, originally intended as a treatment for hepatitis C, but subsequent ...
against
Marburg virus
Marburg virus (MARV) is a hemorrhagic fever virus of the ''Filoviridae'' family of viruses and a member of the species '' Marburg marburgvirus'', genus ''Marburgvirus''. It causes Marburg virus disease in primates, a form of viral hemorrhagic f ...
and of a paper on the activity of
BCX4430
Galidesivir (BCX4430, immucillin-A) is an antiviral drug, an adenosine analog (a type of nucleoside analog). It was developed by BioCryst Pharmaceuticals with funding from NIAID, originally intended as a treatment for hepatitis C, but subsequent ...
against
Yellow Fever
Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. In ...
.
Politics
In 2016, she ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for the
United States House of Representatives for Florida's 9th congressional district.
Since 2016, Grayson is a regular political commentator on
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
, and asked onto media such as
Fox News
The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...
to speak on issues such as the Democrats proposal to reform elections. Grayson attended the
Michael Cohen hearing in February 2019.
Personal
Since 2016, she has been married to former Congressman
Alan Grayson
Alan Mark Grayson (born March 13, 1958) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2009 to 2011 and from 2013 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was defeated for reelection in 2010 by Republican Daniel ...
.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grayson, Dena
1971 births
American lobbyists
American women physicians
Businesspeople from Florida
Florida Democrats
Living people
Melbourne High School alumni
People from Melbourne, Florida
People from Melbourne Beach, Florida
Henry Crown Fellows
21st-century American women