Thomas Monath

Bio

Dr. Thomas Monath is a partner with Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. He joined the firm in 2006 as a team member with the Pandemic and Biodefense Fund, which advances innovation in infectious diseases and pandemic preparedness. An active advisor, board member and public policy advocate, Tom assists portfolio companies developing novel vaccines, antiviral drugs, rapid diagnostics and disease surveillance techniques. In addition to his KPCB role, Tom is an adjunct professor at the Harvard School of Public Health. Before joining KPCB, Tom was chief scientific officer and an executive director at Acambis, a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company, from 1992 to 2006. He directed R&D on dengue, West Nile, Japanese encephalitis, yellow fever and Clostridium difficile, as well as on smallpox vaccine for defense against bioterrorism. In 1992, Tom retired as a U.S. Army colonel following 24 years in the uniformed services. From 1973 to 1988, he served as director of the Division of Vector-Borne Viral Diseases, Centers for Disease Control; and from 1989 to 1992, he served as chief of the Virology Division, U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID). Tom received his undergraduate degree from Harvard College and his M.D. from Harvard Medical School, then trained in internal medicine at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital. He has served on numerous government and international committees on infectious diseases and biosecurity, World Health Organization expert committees and the (U.S) National Vaccines Advisory Committee. He has published 40 patents on various products, written more than 380 papers and edited six books on the epidemiology, immunology and pathogenesis of viruses and on vaccine development. He also serves on the editorial boards of five scientific journals. Tom received the Nathanial A. Young Award (1984), the Richard M. Taylor Award (1996) and the Walter Reed Medal (2002) from the American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene. He also served as president of that Society from 2004 to 2005.