- Candace Johnson, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of Roswell Park Cancer Institute
- Carl Morrison, MD, DVM, Executive Director Center for Personalized Medicine, Director Molecular Pathology of Roswell Park Cancer Institute and President and Chief Scientific Officer of OmniSeq, LLC
- Buford Sears, Senior Vice President of Specialty Lending at First Niagara Bank (bio below)
- Kenneth Manning, Esq, Partner with Phillips Lytle, LLP (bio below)
Forthcoming additions to our board will include OmniSeq’s incoming CEO, once one is appointed, and two additional directors.
Buford Sears has been Senior Vice President of Specialty Lending at First Niagara Financial Group Inc. since April 2010, overseeing its robust commercial real estate capabilities as well as its equipment finance, healthcare and government banking activities. Mr. Sears has been Western Divisional Manager and Regional President of Western New York at First Niagara Financial Group Inc. since July 2014.
Sears joined First Niagara from M&T Bank, where he managed several specialty lines of business, including health care, government, not for profit and national banking. He has extensive commercial real estate and middle market lending experience and has managed credit risk functions including senior loan and enterprise risk management committees.
Sears graduated with a Masters in international economics from Johns Hopkins and a bachelor’s degree in international studies from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Sears has served as a board member at Hospice Buffalo since 1992 and chaired the board for two terms. He was appointed by the Governor as a Trustee of Roswell Park Cancer Institute and a member of the Berger Commission. He is a past board member of the National Investment Center and the Nichols School.
Sears resides in Buffalo, NY, with his wife Suzanne.
Kenneth A. Manning, a partner with Phillips Lytle LLP, a full service law firm with statewide coverage. Mr. Manning has experience in corporate litigation, personal injury litigation and class actions. A member of the American, New York and Erie County Bar Associations, he is listed in The Best Lawyers in America® and Upstate New York Super Lawyers list, 2007-2014.
Mr. Manning earned his J.D. from University at Buffalo Law School – The State University of New York and his B.S., summa cum laude, from University at Buffalo Engineering School. In addition, he is a member emeritus for the Dean’s Advisory Council of University at Buffalo Law School and is past chair of the Dean’s Advisory Council for the University at Buffalo Engineering School.
