Kuslima Shogen, an internationally recognized thought-leader in ribonuclease-based therapeutics, is CEO, Chairman of the Board and Director of Alfacell Corporation, a biotechnology firm that has been a pioneer in the research, development and commercialization of ribonucleases.

With the help of her professor and mentor, Shogen formed Alfacell in 1981 to pursue research that she had initiated while working on her honors thesis at Fairleigh Dickinson University. During her studies, she discovered a relationship between the protein found in leopard frog eggs and the inhibition of solid tumors. Alfacell’s lead investigational drug candidate, ONCONASE(R) (ranpirnase), is a direct descendant of Shogen’s undergraduate research. It has been successfully administered to over 850 patients with a variety of solid tumors, and is currently being evaluated in a Phase IIIb trial for malignant mesothelioma (MM) and a Phase I / II trial in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC).

Prior to Alfacell, Shogen was founder and president of a biomedical research consortium specializing in Good Laboratory Practices and animal toxicology. She also served as a consultant for Lever Brothers Research Group.

Shogen has received numerous awards for her achievements in biology, including the Sigma Xi first prize from the Scientific Research Society of North America in 1974 and first prize for the most outstanding research paper in biology at the Eastern College Science Conferences competitions in 1972, 1973, and 1974.

In 1998, Shogen was inducted into The Pinnacle, the highest honor Fairleigh Dickinson bestows on its alumni. She earned her BS in biology and her MS in biology at Fairleigh Dickinson.

As one of the first women to found and lead a biotechnology company, she was named to the first annual PharmaVOICE 100 List of the Most Inspiring People. In October 2005, Alfacell received a “Pioneer Award” from the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation. The award was introduced by the Foundation to honor companies that have made substantial contributions to the field of mesothelioma research.