I have worked in biotechnology for over two decades as an investor, operator, and founder. I started my career in small company biotech and now have moved back and forth multiple times between operating roles and venture capital. All told I’ve been involved in founding or funding over 20 companies, which collectively have been responsible for seven approved drugs, with many more programs currently in clinical development. At Curie.Bio, I am responsible for our Breakout Fund. The Breakout Fund has two goals. First, to help scale our seed stage companies to move their programs through transformative clinical data. Second, to identify Series A opportunities from outside our own seed ecosystem where Curie’s talented team of drug hunters and developers can give us an edge in diligence or improve a company’s chances of success. Most recently, before joining Curie.Bio, I was a co-founder, founding CEO, and later chairman of IDRx, a company focused on precision oncology. I also co-founded Forge Life Science Partners, a venture capital fund focused on translational stage therapeutic opportunities. Most people in biotech know me from my time at F-Prime Capital where I spent over a decade focused on company formation and Series A investing.

Gwyn Bebb is Senior Vice President, Global Head of Oncology at Parexel where he leads the company’s global oncology strategy, oversees high-impact clinical programs, and drives innovation in cancer treatment. Before joining Parexel, Gwyn was a Clinical Research Medical Director at Amgen, where he shepherded a first-in-class bispecific T-cell-engaging immunotherapeutic molecule through to Phase III trials and a novel small-molecule inhibitor through early to late transition. Gwyn also spent 20 years in clinical research as a professor of medicine and oncology at the University of Calgary. In this role, he established the Precision Oncology and Experimental Therapeutics program. He also served as director of the Clinical Trials Unit at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre. He also founded the provincial Glans-Look lung cancer database to examine associations between real-world patient outcomes and the molecular markers being studied by his students. Gwyn completed his internal medicine residency at the University of British Columbia and medical oncology fellowships at the British Columbia Cancer Agency. He has a medical degree from the University of Oxford, a doctorate in Molecular Pathology from the University of British Columbia, and an undergraduate degree in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge.

Jamil joined SV in 2024 as a Partner on the Biotech team and currently sits on the board of AdvanCell. Jamil is a life science investor and company builder focused on advancing break-through science into transformational medicines for patients. Prior to joining SV, Jamil was a Partner at 5AM Ventures, a US-based life sciences venture fund, where he was responsible for investing in biotech companies across therapeutic areas and modalities and ranging from company creation to later, clinical-stage companies. Over his career, Jamil has been involved in over twenty private financings, seven public offerings, and three M&A transactions. He has operated in six venture-backed startups and contributed to the advancement of multiple FDA approved products. Select investments and operating roles include Akouos (NASDAQ: AKUS, acquired by Eli Lilly), Aprea (NASDAQ: APRE), Kinaset Therapeutics, Nido Biosciences, RallyBio (NASDAQ: RLYB), Sage Therapeutics (NASDAQ: SAGE), Transave Inhalation Therapeutics (merged with Insmed) and several stealth biotech startups. Jamil brings a wealth of entrepreneurial and operational expertise from his time building companies like Sage Therapeutics and Nido Biosciences.

Kireina Bell Sancho is a writer, breast cancer survivor, patient advocate, and social worker with a two-decade career dedicated to serving others. Diagnosed in 2016 with a BRCA1-positive aggressive breast cancer, she underwent chemotherapy, surgery, radiation, and preventive procedures before reaching remission. Throughout her recovery, she embraced creative healing. Her journey inspired her to serve as Co-Chair of Dana-Farber’s Adult Patient and Family Advisory Council (PFAC), where she helped amplify patient voices in program development, equity, and research inclusion. Kireina holds a Master’s in Social Work and spent twenty years working with the Latino immigrant population across health-related fields. Her career has spanned roles as a domestic violence advocate at Brigham & Women’s Hospital, frontline work in Ecuador on human trafficking and migration issues, and later in the pharmaceutical sector supporting patients, caregivers, and health teams navigating rare diseases. Upon reaching six years cancer-free, she chose to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming a writer. She is currently working on two memoirs: • A love story that intertwines her cancer diagnosis, her history with mental illness, and the transformative power of love. • A deeply personal account of building a family through egg donation and surrogacy, exploring resilience, community and new beginnings.

Fawzi Benzaghou is a seasoned oncology leader with deep industry and regulatory experience spanning all stages of global drug development. Most recently, Fawzi served as Senior Vice President, Global Head of Oncology R&D at Ipsen. During his tenure there, Fawzi led the development of several currently approved treatments, including Cabometyx® (cabozantinib) across several solid tumor types and Onivyde® in pancreatic cancer, and participated in numerous IND submissions. At Ipsen, he held multiple senior global roles including Vice President of Late-Stage Oncology, Vice President of Innovation Oncology and Global Asset Lead for various oncology products. Prior to his roles at Ipsen, Fawzi worked as Head of Development at a European-based clinical-stage biotech focused on oncology therapies, notably leading the successful European approval of a prostate cancer therapy. Fawzi is a board-certified pediatric surgeon and a graduate from Paris University, where he practiced for several years obtaining as well several certificates in oncology and clinical research. He also holds a master’s degree in strategy and management in health industries from ESSEC Business School and is a graduate of Harvard Business School. Fawzi is a member of several scientific societies including the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the European Society for Medical Oncology, and is a co-author of several peer-reviewed publications.

Biotech research leader focused on bringing innovative new medicines to cancer patients. Immunology, oncology, and drug discovery subject-matter expert with >20 years' experience across a range of drug modalities and from target ID through clinical POC. Extensive successful track record of building great teams, promoting rigorous science, and delivering on the pipeline. Currently Senior Vice President of immuno-oncology at Bicycle Therapeutics, a platform company focused on constrained peptides. Formerly a Director of Oncology Discovery research at Merck & Co.

Polly leads Oncology business development activities, including search and evaluation, transactions and alliance management. She also leads the development and execution of a fully integrated Oncology R&D BD strategy. Within this role, Polly has overseen the in-licensing of multiple small and large molecules, collaboration agreements, as well as the acquisitions of Gracell Biotechnologies and Fusion Pharmaceuticals, bringing in new therapeutics and complementary capabilities that are pivotal for advancing AstraZeneca’s Oncology strategy. Polly is a highly experienced leader with 19 years’ experience in the industry, focussed on Oncology across business development, strategy, analytics and finance. With deep disease expertise and strong leadership skills, she previously held roles as VP Head of Strategy, where she led a team of 80+ people, and Head of Tumour Strategy for the Oncology Business Unit at AstraZeneca. After earning a bachelor’s degree in maths and physics from the University of Bristol, Polly qualified as a Chartered Management Accountant while working as a Business Analyst in finance at AstraZeneca. She has studied and worked in the UK, France and USA, and currently resides in Boston, MA.

Eric Burak is the Chief Technology Officer of Fusion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., (a Member of the AstraZeneca Group) where he has been responsible for all CMC and supply chain, quality, non-clinical development for Fusion’s radiopharmaceutical programs. Overall, Eric has more than 30 years of pharmaceutical research and development experience in both biotech and large pharmaceutical companies. Eric was Fusion’s founding Chief Scientific Officer in 2017, where he led all internal research efforts. Prior to joining Fusion, Eric held various positions including Chief Scientific Officer for the Centre for Probe Development and Commercialization and Vice President of Preclinical and Early Clinical Development at Rib-X Pharmaceuticals, Inc., where he was responsible for preclinical R&D, manufacturing and clinical operations. Eric holds a PhD in Analytical Chemistry from Temple University and a BSc in Chemistry from Drexel University.

Josh Carpenter leads development strategy for the 775-acre SPEROS innovation district in Pasco County and oversees strategic alignment between SPEROS and Moffitt. He brings deep experience in translational research, biotech commercialization, and economic development. Prior to joining Moffitt, he was president and CEO of Southern Research, where he secured over $100 million for biotech initiatives and helped designate Birmingham as a Regional Tech Hub. He also served in city leadership in Birmingham, launched the Birmingham Promise scholarship initiative, and held academic roles at UAB. He is a Rhodes Scholar with a doctorate in political economy from Oxford. Carpenter is recognized for his leadership in health policy and economic competitiveness.

Chris Coburn is CIO, Mass General Brigham (formally Partners HealthCare System). Mass General Brigham consists of Harvard University affiliates Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, and McLean Hospital. Mass General Brigham is the nation’s largest academic research enterprise with over $13 billion in annual revenue, 1.5 million patient visits, and $2.4 billion in research expenditures. It also has a managed-care organization, outpatient facilities, and community hospitals. Mass General Brigham's 3700 faculty are appointed at Harvard Medical School. Mr. Coburn leads a team of more than 125 tasked with the worldwide commercial application of the unique capabilities and discoveries of all Mass General Brigham's 74,000 employees. His unit’s business development responsibilities include investing, company creation, innovation management, industry collaborations, and licensing. Commercialization revenue exceeds $130 million annually and more than 225 companies have been spun-off from Mass General Brigham in the last decade. Largescale industry collaborations have been established in areas such as AI and drug development. Provider strategy and operational consulting have been delivered to clients in nearly 40 countries. His group also manages a nearly $200 million venture fund. Prior to joining Mass General Brigham, Mr. Coburn was founding director of Cleveland Clinic Innovations and served for 13 years as its executive leader. During his tenure Cleveland Clinic spun off 57 companies that raised more than $700 million in equity financing. There were none before Coburn’s arrival. His team also managed an innovation alliance network in which Cleveland Clinic directly supported technology commercialization for healthcare systems throughout the United States. Mr. Coburn has been a member of numerous corporate and community boards including Explorys (acquired by IBM), Autonomic Technologies, and the U.S. Enrichment Corporation (NYSE:USU).

Stephen Curtis, PhD, is Senior Director of New Ventures at BrightEdge, the innovation and impact investing arm of the American Cancer Society (ACS). In this role, Steve leads strategic initiatives across BrightEdge’s innovation acceleration programs — supporting emerging oncology-focused entrepreneurs — and its core impact investing strategy of backing mission-aligned healthcare startups that can deliver both financial returns and patient-centric impact. He brings nearly two decades of experience spanning oncology research, biotech operations, business development, company creation, and venture capital. Before joining BrightEdge, Steve was Managing Director of MPM Capital’s Oncology Innovations Fund — a hybrid venture/philanthropy investment collaboration with Dana-Farber Cancer Institute — through which he launched and invested in multiple biotech companies. Previously, he was Senior Director of Business Development at Eli Lilly and Company, overseeing several of Lilly’s limited partnership relationships with top-tier venture funds, direct strategic investments in biotech companies, and shared-risk collaborations. Earlier in his career, he co-led the Bioscience Ventures group at 2M Companies, the Dallas-based family office of Morton H. Meyerson, and led Technology Evaluation and In-Licensing at Reata Pharmaceuticals. Steve is a Kauffman Fellow and former co-chair of the Life Sciences and Healthcare Special Interest Group. He currently volunteers on the Follicular Lymphoma Foundation’s Allocation Advisory Board, the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation’s IBD Ventures Advisory Committee, and the Milken Institute’s FasterCures TRAIN initiative. He earned his PhD from Harvard Medical School and holds dual Bachelor of Science degrees in Biological Sciences and in Applied Economics and Management from Cornell University.

Kevin DeGeeter has rejoined Ladenburg Thalmann as a Managing Director in our Equity Research department, effective June 2025. In this role, Kevin will lead equity research coverage of oncology, infectious disease, and cell therapy companies, focusing on businesses with market capitalizations ranging from $50 million to $5 billion. Kevin brings over 20 years of experience in both buyside and sell side research, with a strong track record in biotechnology and molecular diagnostics. Prior to rejoining Ladenburg Thalmann, he was an Analyst at Oppenheimer & Co., where he covered small-cap molecular diagnostics and biotech stocks. His career also includes roles at J.P. Morgan, PaineWebber, Natexis Bleichroeder, and Manning & Napier Advisors. In addition to his research credentials, Kevin served as CFO of Nabsys, a life science tools company that was later acquired by Hitachi Ltd. Kevin holds a BA in Economics from Colgate University.

Dr. Flaherty is Director of Clinical Research at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. As described in the more than 300 peer reviewed primary research reports he has authored or co-authored, Dr. Flaherty and colleagues made several seminal observations that have defined the treatment of melanoma when they established the efficacy of BRAF, MEK and combined BRAF/MEK inhibition in patients with metastatic melanoma in a series of New England Journal of Medicine articles for which Dr. Flaherty was the first or senior author. He was the principal investigator of the NCI MATCH trial, the first NCI-sponsored trial assigning patients to targeted therapy independent of tumor type on the basis of DNA sequencing detection of oncogenes. Dr. Flaherty joined the NCI Board of Scientific Advisors in 2018 (chair 2021-23), AACR Board of Directors in 2019, and was elected President of AACR in 2025. Dr. Flaherty co-founded Loxo Oncology in 2013 and Scorpion Therapeutics in 2020, serving on the board of directors through the acquisitions of both by Eli Lilly in 2019 and 2025. He co-founded X4 Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: XFOR), privately held Strata Oncology (2015), Apricity Oncology (2017), Gyges Oncology (2020), Khora Therapeutics (2024), and Monimoi Therapeutics (2025). He has served on the boards of directors for Clovis Oncology, Kinnate BioPharma, and Checkmate Pharmaceuticals (until its acquisition by Regeneron in 2022), along with Loxo Oncology, Strata Oncology and Scorpion Therapeutics.

Anna French, D.Phil., joined Qiming US in 2017 from the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), where she was a healthcare management consultant advising leading pharmaceutical and biotech companies on their strategy and operations, with a focus in advanced therapies. Previously, she led a global industry-academic consortium centered on cell therapy commercialization, the Centre for the Advancement of Sustainable Medical Innovation (CASMI)’s Translational Stem Cell Consortium, a partnership between Oxford University and University College London. Anna is a Managing Partner with the fund and currently serves on the boards of Umoja Biopharma, Empirico Inc., Auron Therapeutics, Entact Bio, and several stealth company incubations. She led Qiming’s investment in Cadent Therapeutics (acquired by Novartis) and Jasper Therapeutics (NASDAQ:JSPR). Anna earned a D.Phil. from the University of Oxford, UK, where her research focused on the hematological differentiation of human-induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. She has authored over 20 publications in the field of stem cell research. Anna received her BSc in Biochemistry with first class honors from the University of Bristol.

Munir Ghesani, MD, FACNM, FACR, FSNMMI, serves as the Medical Director and Chief Medical Officer of United Theranostics in Princeton. He has completed training in internal medicine, nuclear medicine, and diagnostic radiology. Previously, Dr. Ghesani held the position of Systems Chief of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging at the Mount Sinai Health System in New York and continues to serve as an adjunct faculty member at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. With over 25 years of dedicated experience, Dr. Ghesani is actively involved in clinical practice, research, clinical trials, and education, with a primary focus on nuclear medicine, molecular imaging, and innovative targeted radiopharmaceutical therapies. His expertise has earned him recognition from Castle Connolly as one of the Top Doctors in the New York Metro Area, along with numerous other accolades in the field of nuclear medicine. Dr. Ghesani has contributed to over 200 publications in peer-reviewed journals and serves as the Editor-in-Chief of a comprehensive three-part book on nuclear medicine and molecular imaging. He is also a highly sought-after speaker, having delivered more than 200 presentations at regional, national, and international conferences. Dr. Ghesani has demonstrated exceptional leadership throughout his career, holding significant roles such as the Past President of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI), Past President of the Education and Research Foundation of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Past Chairman of the American Board of Nuclear Medicine, Past Chairman of the Government Relations Committee and the FDA Task Force of the SNMMI, and Past Chairman of the Nuclear Medicine and PET Accreditation Committee of the American College of Radiology. His commitment to mentorship was recognized in January 2020 when he received the ACNM Personal Best Mentor of the Year award. He has also been honored as a Fellow of the American College of Nuclear Medicine (FACNM, 2006), the American College of Radiology (FACR, 2018), and the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (FSNMMI, 2023).

Dr. Brian Goodman has spent the past decade as an entrepreneur and investor in biotech. Before joining Vida, he was a Partner at MPM BioImpact and served on the investment committee of the BioVentures Fund where he focused on company creation as well as traditional venture investments. Dr. Goodman is a co-founder of Aktis Oncology (and currently serves as an Advisor to the company) and ReNAgade Therapeutics (acquired by Orna Therapeutics). He served on the board of directors of Orna Therapeutics, Seawolf Therapeutics, and Antiva Biosciences. Dr. Goodman has played key leadership roles at portfolio companies during the early stages of development, including leading Business Development at Orna and ReNAgade and serving as Chief Operations Officer and Chief Business Officer at Aktis Oncology. Prior to joining MPM BioImpact, he cofounded Evelo Biosciences (IPO), led the innovation and technology team there, and was a Senior Associate at Flagship Pioneering. He has worked across a diverse span of science, drug discovery and development including RNA medicines, nonviral nucleic acid delivery, radiopharmaceuticals, the microbiome, and extracellular vesicles and is an inventor on multiple patents. He holds a PhD in Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology from Harvard Medical School, and BS and BA degrees in biochemistry and economics, respectively, from Brandeis University.

Luba Greenwood is a distinguished executive, investor, and company builder with over 20 years of experience in the healthcare and tech sectors. Luba has served as the Chief Executive Officer and Chair of the Board of Kojin Therapeutics, a leader in ferroptosis. She was previously the Managing Partner of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute Venture Fund, Binney Street Capital (BSC), which she has founded, investing and building companies across therapeutics, diagnostics, and digital sectors. She has also served as a lecturer at Harvard University in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Ms. Greenwood has extensive board experience globally and serves on public and private boards, across multiple industries, including healthcare and tech, and has successfully contributed to the growth and profitability of numerous organizations, bringing her operational, industry, and financing expertise. She has a proven track record of building world-class teams and companies, building SABs with renown scientists and industry leaders, driving digital transformation and artificial intelligence initiatives, guiding companies through mergers & acquisitions, complex business development transactions, financing, and organizational change and scaling. With a strong understanding of board dynamics and corporate governance best practices, and as a former lawyer, she has also guided organizations through compliance, activist actions, and human resources challenges. She has served as Chair of the board as well as on the Compensation, Audit, and Nomination committees of a number of companies including In8Bio (INAB), BenchSci, Swiss-based Stalicla, Abcam (Abcam), where she has spearheaded the sale to Danaher (DHR), and non-profit, Massachusetts Biotechnology Council (MassBio). Ms. Greenwood has previously served in leadership roles at Google Life Sciences (Verily) and as Vice President of Global Business Development and Mergers & Acquisitions at Roche, where she also led diagnostics BD and established and led the East Coast Innovation Hub. Luba has led $5B+ in M&A, BD deals, and investments across multiple therapeutic areas, diagnostics, life sciences, and tech sectors globally. She has also co-founded and advised biotech and digital health companies in the immunotherapy, AI/ML, women's health, and microbiome space, including Luca Biologics. Her invaluable contributions to the healthcare industry have earned her recognition as a thought leader and a trusted advisor to CEOs of leading academic centers worldwide, including the Dana Farber Institute and Wyss Center for Bio and Neuroengineering in Geneva. She is a Thought Leader for the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) Catalyst and serves on Investor Committee for the National Cancer Institute. With a background as a former lawyer at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr and expertise in regulatory, policy, and intellectual property matters, Ms. Greenwood brings a unique perspective to the table. Her commitment to advocating for women in science and technology has garnered several awards and honors, including the Science Club for Girls Catalyst Award.

Dr. Hong brings over twenty years of experience in life science investing. She is a Co-Founder and Co-Owner of Cold Spring Bio, a boutique provider of drug discovery and investment advisory services. Previously, she was a Partner on the Ventures Investment team of Novo Holdings. Prior to Novo Holdings, Dr. Hong was a Senior Investment Director at Takeda Ventures, Inc. Prior to TVI, she was an Associate, Principal, and Partner at ProQuest Investments. She has co-founded multiple biotech companies, including Riva Therapeutics, and has served as a board director or observer on Obsidian Therapeutics, Arcellx (Nasdaq:ACLX), BioRexis Pharmaceutical Corp. (acquired by Pfizer), Gloucester Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Celgene) and LEAD Therapeutics (acquired by BioMarin), among others. Prior to joining ProQuest, Dr. Hong led numerous research projects in mammalian cancer genetics and genomics in the laboratory of Dr. Eric Lander at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research. Dr. Hong earned her PhD in Biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and holds a BS in Chemistry and a BA in Molecular Biology from the University of California at Berkeley, where she graduated with honors and as a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

A serial start-up CEO, Eric has led AIQ through three rounds of equity financing, team construction, product commercialization, and international expansion. Previously a global general manager at GE Healthcare and an international manager for Baxter, Eric has extensive experience in a broad range of markets. Eric has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Rice University and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Business. His success stems from building small teams of superstars.

Jeff Hummel is VP Clinical Affairs at Illumacell Inc. where he leads early-stage clinical development of a breakthrough red-light therapy device. He holds a Ph.D. in Medical Oncology from the University of Toronto, Ontario Cancer Institute, Canada and brings 30 years academic and industry experience in clinical cancer research. Jeff has an authentic passion for promoting novel, less toxic therapies for patients to help improve quality of life along the treatment journey. As a co-founder and innovator, he shares Illumacell’s vision to one day beat cancer with light, through the design of high-intensity LED light devices capable of delivering non-invasive, therapeutic energy deeper into the body. By helping lead a small but dedicated team, Jeff is expanding phase I studies for this exciting, natural and alternative cancer therapy.

Rachel Humphrey has over 25 years of experience in clinical drug development, particularly in the field of cancer treatments and immunotherapies. Currently she serves as President and Founding CEO of Normunity, a Boston-based biotech focused on immune-oncology. Highlights of her career include leading the development of multiple blockbuster cancer therapies: the CTLA-4 inhibiting immunotherapy Yervoy® (ipilimumab) at BMS, the PD-L1 inhibiting immunotherapy Imfinzi® (durvalumab) at AstraZeneca, and the kinase inhibitor cancer drug Nexavar® (sorafenib) at Bayer. After working at these big pharmaceutical companies, Rachel took her drug development expertise to emerging biotech companies, where she served in the role of Chief Medical Officer at Black Diamond Therapeutics, CytomX Therapeutics and Mirati Therapeutics, respectively. She previously served on the Board of Directors of CytomX Therapeutics and Xilio Therapeutics, respectively, and currently serves on the Board of Directors of Pyxis Therapeutics and Sporos Bioventures. Rachel started her career as an oncology fellow and staff physician at the National Cancer Institute. She received her training in internal medicine at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, her MD from Case Western Reserve Medical School, and her BA from Harvard University.

Dr. Huseynov is an Equity Research Analyst covering Biotechnology companies. Prior to joining Ladenburg, he was Managing Director, Senior Equity Research Analyst at Benchmark Company, LLC, covering large-, mid-, and small-cap biotech companies. Before Benchmark, Dr. Huseynov worked on the Biotechnology Equity Research team at Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Prior to Oppenheimer, he worked as a strategy consultant at Syneos Health Consulting where he advised biopharma companies in R&D, clinical, commercial, valuation, and market access projects, and as a corporate strategist at Teva Pharmaceuticals. Earlier in his career, he was a practicing physician and entrepreneur. Dr. Huseynov holds an MBA degree from The Fuqua School of Business, Duke University, an M.D. from Azerbaijan Medical University, and an MS in International Economic Relations from Khazar University. He is a CFA Charterholder.

Chelsea Place Johnson is a principal and focuses on new company formation across areas of unmet medical need. Chelsea is a co-founder and board observer at Judo Bio and a board observer at K36 Therapeutics, Lifordi Immunotherapeutics, Rectify Pharmaceuticals, Renasant Bio, Vima Therapeutics, and several stealth newcos. Chelsea was previously a board observer at Chroma Medicine, Scorpion Therapeutics (acquired by Eli Lilly), and Sionna Therapeutics (NASDAQ: SION). Prior to joining Atlas Venture in 2019, Chelsea was a member of the founding team at Tango Therapeutics, where she worked in business development. Prior to Tango, Chelsea was a senior associate at Third Rock Ventures where she contributed to the formation of multiple new biotech companies. Chelsea obtained her PhD from the Biological and Biomedical Sciences program at Harvard University where she received the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award. Her doctoral work in the lab of Dr. Levi Garraway focused on genomic and functional genomic studies of uveal melanoma. Chelsea received a BA in biology from Dartmouth College and was elected Phi Beta Kappa.

Jeff Jones is a Managing Director and Senior Analyst covering Biotechnology at Oppenheimer. He covers ~20 small to mid-cap biopharma companies, principally in the oncology and I&I spaces, and leads Oppenheimer’s coverage of the targeted radiopharmaceutical space. Prior to joining Oppenheimer, Jeff Founded and ran One Health Advisors, LLC which provided strategic advisory services for the human and animal biopharma sector. Prior to founding One Health, Jeff served in a variety of roles within biotechnology companies, including Vice President of Business Development at Aratana Therapeutics and Chief Operating Officer at Pharmathene. Jeff received a B.A. in Biology from the University of Virginia, and a Ph.D. in Cell and Molecular Biology from Baylor College of Medicine. He also holds an MBA from Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management.

Peter Kolchinsky, PhD, is a Founder of and a Managing Partner at RA Capital. He is active in both public and private investments in companies developing drugs, medical devices, diagnostics, and research tools and serves as a board member for various public and privately-held companies. Peter served on the Board of Global Science and Technology for the National Academy of Sciences and is the author of “The Great American Drug Deal” and “The Entrepreneur’s Guide to a Biotech Startup”. He founded the non-profit No Patient Left Behind to advocate for healthcare reforms that would solve affordability and promote continued biomedical innovation. Peter holds a BA from Cornell University and a PhD in Virology from Harvard University.

Manoja Ratnayake Lecamwasam, PhD, MBA is the System Vice President, Intellectual Property and Life Sciences Innovation at CommonSpirit Health. In her role managing the IP function, Dr. Lecamwasam provides leadership and guidance to develop IP-related strategic and operational initiatives for CommonSpirit Health and manages a team of IP professionals who are responsible for the evaluation, protection and commercialization of CommonSpirit Health’s IP and internal innovations. Dr. Lecamwasam also leads the Strategic Innovation functions’ evaluation of innovative life sciences products and services prior to their introduction to CommonSpirit Health stakeholders. Currently, Dr. Lecamwasam is the Chair of the CommonSpirit Life Sciences Innovation Council and is an executive member of the PCORI Health System Implementation Initiative (HSII) Grant Steering Committee at CommonSpirit. Additionally, Dr. Lecamwasam is the Board Chair of the CommonSpirit Precision Medicine Alliance (PMA) which was established to provide system-level support for current and future precision/personalized medicine-based decision support tools/innovations and best practices in the CommonSpirit Health regions and markets. Previously, Dr. Lecamwasam served as the Executive Director, Intellectual Property and Strategic Innovation for Dignity Health. Prior to joining Dignity Health (then Catholic Healthcare West), Dr. Lecamwasam served as a Senior Licensing Manager and Licensing Associate in the Office of Corporate Sponsored Research and Licensing at Massachusetts General Hospital/Partners Healthcare. Dr. Lecamwasam holds a PhD degree in Molecular Microbiology from Tufts University School of Medicine, MBA from the University of Phoenix, Phoenix, AZ, MSc degree in Molecular Biology from Northeastern University, MA and a BA with honors in Biology from Mills College in Oakland, CA.

Liz brings over 25 years industry experience and over the past 20 years has focused her work on business development at large pharmaceutical companies. She has been with Merck for over ten years and is currently the Head of the Merck Boston Innovation Hub, the European Innovation Hub, and the Discovery Transactions team which are Business Development & Licensing teams focused on early-stage therapeutics (prior to human proof-of-concept) as well as accessing innovative research and technologies through collaboration, licensing, or M&A in the academic, pharma, and biotech community. During her time at Merck, in addition to leading her team through multiple important deals, she has led transactions including the acquisition of Themis Bioscience and the collaboration with Astex and Taiho Pharmaceuticals, among others. Previous to Merck, she spent nine years at the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR) on the business development team. During her time at NIBR, her roles included search and evaluation activities as well as leading the negotiation of licensing, collaboration, and M&A transactions including Novartis’ acquisition of CoStim Pharmaceuticals and licensing deals with Servier, Peptidream, among others. Liz also has industry experience in scientific roles, given her time at companies such as AVEO Pharmaceuticals, Akceli, Millennium, and Genzyme. Liz has Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in biotechnology from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and a Master of Business Administration from the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College.

Dr. Lonberg is currently CEO, Tripeaks Therapeutics, and Executive in Residence at Canaan Partners. Prior to 2020, he was Senior Vice President, Oncology Discovery Biology, at Bristol-Myers Squibb, where he led drug discovery efforts for both targeted and immuno-oncology agents. Dr. Lonberg began his career in the biotechnology/ pharmaceutical industry, leading the GenPharm International research group that developed genetically engineered strains of mice with germline configuration human immunoglobulin genes. These transgenic animals have been used to discover more than three dozen clinical-stage human sequence antibodies, including 15 FDA-approved products. GenPharm International was acquired by Medarex in 1997, and then by Bristol-Myers Squibb in 2009. In 1998, Dr. Lonberg’s drug discovery group at Medarex began to focus on antibody therapies that target and modulate immune-attenuating pathways to activate patient immune responses to cancer cells (so-called "checkpoint blockade" therapies). Ipilimumab, which began clinical testing in 2000, was the first-ever checkpoint blockade cancer therapy to enter clinical development and to gain regulatory approval. Ipilimumab, approved in 2011, was also the first drug to demonstrate, in a randomized clinical trial, a survival benefit for patients with metastatic melanoma. A second checkpoint blockade cancer therapeutic, nivolumab, entered clinical development in 2006 and gained regulatory approval in 2014. A third checkpoint blockade cancer therapeutic, relatlimab, entered clinical development in 2013 and gained regulatory approval as a combination product with nivolumab in 2022. Dr. Lonberg received his PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Harvard University (Cambridge, MA) in 1985, where he studied under Dr. Walter Gilbert. He was a postdoctoral fellow at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (New York, NY) and was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2015.

Lori Lyons-Williams currently serves as President and CEO at Abdera Therapeutics, a clinical stage radiotherapeutic company. Prior to Abera, Lori was President and COO at Neumora Therapeutics and earlier served as chief commercial officer at Dermira until a successful exit to Eli Lilly. She has a commercial leadership background and spent 15 years at Allergan where she was a general manager and launched many indications for BOTOX. Lori serves as chair of the board of RAPT Therapeutics and as independent director on the Contineum Therapeutics board of directors. Lori was Pre-Med at Virginia Tech and holds an MBA from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.

Dr. Shiva Malek is Global Disease Area Head of Oncology at the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, the preclinical and early clinical innovation engine of Novartis. Previously, Dr. Malek was Vice President of Discovery Oncology at Genentech, accountable for oncology research and the company's targeted therapeutics oncology research portfolio. She joined Genentech in 2006 as one of the first scientists in its newly established small-molecule discovery team, and previously held positions of increasing responsibility at Vertex Pharmaceuticals and Exelixis. Dr. Malek is a world leader in RAS/RAF biology whose work has been critical to the discovery and validation of drug targets across multiple kinase signaling pathways in cancer. In 2021, she was selected by Endpoints as one of 20 top women leaders in biopharma R&D. In 2025, she was the winner of the AACR Award for Outstanding Achievement in Chemistry in Cancer Research. Shiva earned her Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of California San Diego.

Ron brings almost 30 years of experience working with biomarkers, technologies, and computational approaches for pharmaceutical and diagnostics programs. After leading the development of genomics technologies and novel platforms for several biotech companies, Ron worked for Johnson & Johnson and Merck, where he developed diagnostics and companion diagnostics, and pharmacodynamic and predictive biomarkers, respectively. Prior to Illumina Ventures, he was vice president and global head of Oncology Biomarker Development and Companion Diagnostics at Genentech. Since joining Illumina Ventures in January 2023, Ron has led early stage investing (pre-seed and Seed) and serves on the Board of Directors on a gene therapy delivery company, an engineered bacterial cell company and for several companies in stealth mode. He invests in therapeutics, life science tools and diagnostics, with a strong interest in the convergence of AI and high throughput biology. Ron obtained his bachelor’s degree from The Johns Hopkins University, his Ph.D. from the University of Maryland and his Master of Business Administration from Lehigh University.

Melissa McCracken, PhD, joined Nextech Invest Ltd. in 2019. Melissa is a scientist by training with a passion for emerging technologies in cancer therapies. Melissa is a board member of TYRA Biosciences (NASDAQ: TYRA), Alpha-9 Oncology, AIRNA, Alterome Therapeutics, Ambagon Therapeutics, A2 Biotherapeutics, Be Biopharma, K36 Therapeutics and a previous board member of ImaginAb and board observer of ProfoundBio, Silverback Therapeutics (now ARS Pharma NASDAQ:SPRY) and IconOVir Bio. Melissa was a Kauffman Fellow in Class 25. Prior to Nextech, Melissa was a senior associate at Third Rock Ventures focusing on scientific due diligence, partnership development and new company formation in oncology and immunology. Melissa helped build and launch Celsius Therapeutics (now AbbVie), a company focused on discovering precision therapeutics for oncology and autoimmune. Melissa has also worked within larger biotech organizations completing multiple internships in research and development at Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN). Melissa holds a BS in biochemistry and molecular biology from University of California, Davis, a PhD in molecular and medical pharmacology from University of California, Los Angeles with her research focused on engineered immunity for cancer. Melissa also completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University where her research focused on immuno-oncology.

Nate currently leads the Relationship Management team in the Northeast for SVB’s biopharma practice. His team is focused on supporting companies post-Series A with operating banking services, lending facilities, and industry networking. He has spent more than the last decade providing venture debt to companies across life sciences and healthcare, both at SVB and K2 HealthVentures; supporting the innovation ecosystem in the greater Boston area with >$1Bn in total commitments across the sectors.

Tom Miller is a global healthcare industry leader and an experienced and visionary CEO. He graduated from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell and then received a Masters degree in Medical Physics from the Harvard University/MIT Health Sciences and Technology Program. Tom initially pursued an academic career, working at Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Swiss Institute for Nuclear Research (now the Paul Scherer Institute), Brookhaven National Laboratory, and the Massachusetts General Hospital. Tom then joined Siemens Medical Systems where, after 9 years, he became the first non-German CEO of a German factory and business unit. He left Siemens after 15 years to become CEO of the global medical operations of Carl Zeiss. After completing a successful turnaround, he joined Analogic Corporation as CEO. After three years and a doubling of the stock price, Tom left to help establish and become CEO of LightLab Imaging, a leader in the field of cardiovascular optical coherence tomography. Subsequently, after a profitable sale of LightLab to a Japanese company, Tom re-joined Siemens, where he became a member of the operating board and CEO of the Customer Solutions Division of Siemens Healthcare, responsible for 26,000 employees in over 130 countries. Tom is a frequent speaker on healthcare technology and business at such venues as the National Press Club, the National Library of Medicine, the National Institute of Health, and the American Hospital Association. He was selected by the diagnostic imaging industry to provide Congressional testimony to the House Health Sub-Committee in June of 2009 and to speak on breast cancer technology at the European Parliament in 2012. Sponsored by the American Hospital Association, Tom gave the keynote speech on Sustainable Healthcare and Precision Medicine at the Health Executive Forum in Arizona in 2013; he also gave a keynote speech at the 2013 Arab Health meeting in Dubai on the same topic. In addition, Tom gave the 2013 commencement address at the India Institute of Technology in Roorkee, and keynote addresses to the Chinese Private Hospital Association in 2014 in Wuhan, the Innovation for Health Conference in 2015 in Amsterdam, the 2015 TiE Leapfrog Conference in Bangalore, and the 2016 World Executive Healthcare Forum in Montreal. Tom is a director or chairman at ten diagnostic or medical technology companies.

Jeffrey K. Mills, Ph.D. is a Principal with the firm whose practice focuses on biotechnology, pharmaceutical, drug delivery, nanotechnology, and aesthetic and medical device matters.

Dr. Mills has extensive legal experience in patent prosecution, licensing, due diligence and opinion work, as well as experience in litigation support and interference proceedings. Prior to co-founding the firm, Dr. Mills spent over a decade as a technical specialist, student associate and then as an associate and partner at two different D.C. intellectual property boutiques.

Dr. Mills has presented at international meetings on legal topics including freedom-to-operate, enablement, patentable subject matter and obviousness. He has also published and presented extensively in the areas of drug delivery and biological materials characterization.

Dr. Mills graduated from Duke University (B.S.E. in biomedical engineering; certificate in genetics) and received his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering and materials science, also from Duke University. He received his J.D. from the George Washington University Law School, with honors.

Dr. Mills is admitted to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and in Virginia and the District of Columbia.

Dr. Margo Monroe counsels start-ups, private and public companies, venture capitals, and world-class academic research institutions in a wide range of technologies at the intersection of life sciences and engineering, with an emphasis on engineered cell or gene-editing based therapies, diagnostics, and targeted delivery technologies.

Margo helps clients quickly understand, evaluate, and respond to patent issues that arise in the context of business deals and/or during R&D of new products and technologies, while also securing strong worldwide patent protection for assets, including those whose major uses provide unique business opportunities. Margo has advised clients through various phases of due diligence, including mergers and acquisitions, partnerships, fundraising, and IPOs, many of which have required strategic navigation of complex technical landscapes and emerging legal issues. Margo also counsels clients with respect to third party risks, IP landscape issues, and freedom-to-operate analyses to assist with R&D and/or business decisions.

Her clients appreciate her ability to distill complex data into understandable and actionable formats.

Manu S. Nair is Associate Chief Business Development Officer at Mayo Clinic. Mr. Nair leads the business development efforts focusing on US clinical practice and high-value opportunities that are of highest strategic importance to Mayo Clinic. Prior to assuming this role, Mr. Nair served as vice president of Technology Ventures for the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF) in Oklahoma City. He was in charge of developing and commercializing OMRF’s technologies, establishing strategic industry collaborations, and managing the innovation fund dedicated to such development efforts. Mr. Nair started his technology commercialization career at OMRF in 2004 and was involved in OMRF’s intellectual property (IP) commercialization and startup company efforts. He later joined Mayo Clinic Ventures (MCV), the technology commercialization and investment arm of Mayo Clinic, where he served as a technology licensing manager and subsequently as senior licensing manager. He managed a diverse portfolio of technologies and was in charge of related IP protection, development and commercialization, including company formation and technology-based investments. He also led MCV’s international collaboration and funding initiatives. Appointed by the governor of Oklahoma, Mr. Nair served as vice chair of the Oklahoma Science and Technology R&D Board. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Legal Assistance of Olmsted County, Rochester, Minnesota and the Midwest University Research Network. He currently serves on the boards of Jupiter Bioventures, Nucleus Radiopharma, vMocion and the USA Healthcare Alliance, serves on the business advisory board of Progentec Diagnostics, and is a member of the External Advisory Committee for the NIH-funded SE XLerator Network Hub. In addition, Mr. Nair serves as a business consultant for several U.S. and international entities, including prominent research institutes and technology companies. Mr. Nair received his MBA from Lamar University in Texas and an advanced degree in law from the University of New Hampshire School of Law focusing on intellectual property, commerce and technology laws.

Aaron is a Partner in the Boston office of Novo Holdings Venture Investments (US) Inc. He focuses on financing of private therapeutic drug development startups. Previously, Aaron was Managing Director at the Novartis Venture Fund, and helped launch a digital health investment program at Novartis, called dRx Capital. Before working as an investment professional, Aaron worked on across multiple Research & Development units within Novartis. Aaron earned a BA at Cornell, a PhD at UPenn, post-doc at the Karolinska Institutet, and MD from Tufts.

Kendalle Burlin O’Connell is a seasoned and effective executive who has received wide acclaim for her leadership of MassBio, the world’s largest biopharma membership organization, where she drives the strategy to grow the industry and support member companies as CEO and president. Kendalle has expanded MassBio’s innovation offerings to include an entrepreneurial accelerator, as well as partnering and investor events, and was the driving force behind the launch of Bioversity and its first workforce training center in Dorchester where 96 percent of enrolled students are Black or Latino. She is an outspoken advocate for government policies that enable healthcare innovation and unlock breakthrough therapies for patients. Kendalle has earned numerous accolades for her leadership, including top recognitions from Boston Magazine and the Boston Business Journal, and serves on the Boards of The Boston Foundation and the American Cancer Society, where she is Vice Chair for the Eastern New England region, among others.

Michael J. Partsch has over 34 years of experience in venture investing and start-up company development in the life sciences industry. During those years he has developed a highly refined skill at forming and interacting with entrepreneurial management teams, particularly excelling in the area of university-based spinouts. Mike’s venture capital experience spans four firms: Accuitive Medical Ventures, Versant Ventures, EDF Ventures, and the CEO Venture Fund. Additionally, Mike was selected as a Kauffman Fellow, a two-year post-graduate fellowship in venture capital sponsored by the Kauffman Foundation. In 2018, Mike became the inaugural Chief Venture Officer at the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF). In this role, he manages a venture fund and portfolio exceeding $200 million while leading new initiatives focused on company creation. He currently serves on the boards of AIQ Solutions, Atrility Medical, Gregor Diagnostics, and Promiss Diagnostics. Previously, Mike founded AcceleMed Management, Inc., where he played multiple roles in the development of innovative medical device technologies. AcceleMed specialized in sourcing, founding, and managing early-stage medical device companies, with Nalu Medical (www.nalumed.com) being a notable example. Additionally, he served as an independent board member for MyoScience (Menlo Park). As a co-founder of Accuitive Medical Ventures (AMV), Mike was instrumental in devising the firm’s investment strategy, raising its first $55 million fund, and overseeing investments in 10 portfolio companies. At AMV, he focused on medical device investments, contributing significantly to companies like AcuFocus, MyoScience, and Neuronetics. He also played a key role in raising $105 million for AMV’s follow-on second fund, AMV II. Before AMV, Mike spent three years with Versant Ventures, a $650 million healthcare-focused venture fund. At Versant, he focused on medical devices, contributing to investments in IntraLase Corp. (NASDAQ: ILSE), Glaukos, Confirma, Cameron Health, AcuFocus, NeoVista, Inogen, and Second Sight. During his Kauffman Fellowship at EDF Ventures in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Mike served as interim CFO of IntraLase Corp. (NASDAQ: ILSE) and founded HandyLab, Inc., which was later acquired by Becton Dickinson for $275 million. Continuing his persistent habit of working while going to school, Mike reviewed deal flow and performed due diligence at the CEO Venture Fund in Pittsburgh, while completing his MBA. Following his MBA, Mike contributed to entrepreneurship education as a co-developer and instructor of the James R. Swartz Entrepreneurship Boot Camp—a two-week intensive program for MBA students at Carnegie Mellon University. This bootcamp ran for three consecutive years, proving the value of this education for incoming MBA students at Carnegie Mellon University and was eventually incorporated in the university’s pre-MBA general curriculum. Mike's entrepreneurial journey began at the University of Pennsylvania, where he co-founded Neose Technologies as an undergraduate. After graduation, he continued as a scientist, helping lay the foundation for Neose’s early biochemistry projects. Neose went public in 1996 (NASDAQ: NTEC). Mike holds a Bachelor's degree from the University of Pennsylvania, with a dual major in Biology and Philosophy of Science and a minor in Chemistry. He also earned an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University, with dual concentrations in Finance and Entrepreneurship.

Marie-Claire is a Partner on the Pfizer Ventures Team and an Executive Director in Worldwide Business Development at Pfizer. She is responsible for investing in early-stage biotech companies and supporting them in advancing emerging science to deliver new medicines to patients. Marie-Claire is on the Board of Directors for Curve Therapeutics, DEM Biopharma, Grey Wolf Therapeutics, Mozart Therapeutics, Normunity and TRIMTECH Therapeutics and holds observer positions on the boards of Mediar Therapeutics, Capstan Therapeutics, Crossbow Therapeutics, and TRex Bio. She has 25 years of experience at Pfizer holding various leadership positions supporting small molecule discovery. As part of her former responsibilities, Marie-Claire founded and led the Primary Pharmacology Group for 13 years during which time they were responsible for the identification of nirmatrelvir (Paxlovid), abrocitinib (Cibinqo), ritlecitinib (Litfulo), and additional small molecule therapeutics that are currently in the clinic. She also has experience leading hit identification, high throughput ADME, compound management, data support and management, genetically modified models, preclinical imaging, and biobanking. Marie-Claire holds a BPharmHons degree in Pharmacy and a PhD in Physiology & Pharmacology from the University of Nottingham, U.K. She conducted postdoctoral work at Yale University in the department of Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry and the department of Molecular Psychiatry. She was recognized as a PhRMA ‘We Work for Health’ Champion in 2018. She is a member of The Royal Pharmaceutical Society, Immediate Past-Chair of the Board of Directors for United Way of Southeastern CT, and Chair of the Board of Trustees for Lawrence and Memorial Hospital.

Eric Poma, Ph.D. has served as Chief Executive Officer and board director of Calidi since April 2025 and brings more than 30 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, with a strong record of capital fundraising, big pharma collaboration agreements, and clinical program development. Prior to joining Calidi, Dr. Poma served as CEO of Molecular Templates (NASDAQ: MTEM), a clinical-stage biotech focused on the development of a novel class of therapeutic agents with unique biology in oncology. At Molecular Templates he raised over $250 million in equity financing and secured over $150 million in strategic capital through agreements with Takeda, Vertex and BMS. He previously served as Vice President, Business Development of Innovive Pharmaceuticals. Prior to that he held various senior level positions at Imclone Systems, Inc., primarily in business development. Earlier, Dr. Poma served as a Healthcare & Biotechnology Analyst with the healthcare fund Eagle Growth Investors, LLC. Dr. Poma received a Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, an M.B.A. from the Leonard N. Stern School of Business and a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Until recently, Michal served as Senior VP at Johnson & Johnson, leading the East North America J&J Innovation team in sourcing, evaluating, and executing partnerships and investment deals with the most promising early-stage healthcare innovations in the region, with the goal of advancing them into J&J’s product pipelines to benefit patients. Previously, Michal held senior leadership roles at Harvard University, overseeing technology development and strategic partnerships at Harvard Medical School. There, she initiated, negotiated, and managed numerous high-impact industry licenses and alliances, helped launch successful startups, and contributed to a cultural shift toward scientific entrepreneurship among faculty and trainees. Earlier in her career, Michal held executive roles in the biotech and tech industries, including at Compugen Ltd (NASDAQ: CGEN). During her current sabbatical, Michal remains active in the innovation ecosystem as an advisor and mentor, and as a member of the Board of Directors of MassBio and the Kendall Square Association (KSA). Her contributions to the innovation ecosystem were recognized by the Inaugural Kendall Square Association Founders Award. Michal holds a Bachelor's degree in Medicine from Hebrew University, MSc and PhD degrees from the Weizmann Institute of Science, and an MBA from INSTEAD in Fontainebleau, France.

Dan Pryma, MD is Vice President, Global Clinical Development at Eli Lilly & Co overseeing clinical development of the radioligand therapy portfolio. He is a nuclear medicine physician and was previously the Gerd Muehllehner Professor of Radiology and Chief of the Division of Nuclear Medicine Imaging and Therapy at the Perelman School of Medicine as well as the Associate Director for Clinical Research of the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania.

Robert Radinsky, Ph.D. is Vice President, Global Head, Oncology External Innovation at J&J Innovative Medicine. In this role, the team is responsible for identifying and fostering innovation that supports the Oncology Therapeutic Area / Disease Area Stronghold strategies. Over the last 10 years, the team has been responsible for over 220 executed deals including licenses, acquisitions and agreements. Prior to the current role, Robert represented the Oncology Therapeutic Area at Johnson & Johnson Innovation, North America. Preceding this role, he led Discovery Research, Oncology Therapeutic Area for Janssen/J&J Research & Development. Robert has had a very successful oncology research career in both academics and industry. Prior to joining J&J, he was Executive Director, Oncology Research at Amgen Inc., where he led groups at multiple research sites including Thousand Oaks, California, and Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was responsible, in part, for research and/or pharmacology for numerous active targeted therapeutic anti-cancer programs (protein, small molecule and nanotechnology modalities), culminating with multiple candidates in clinical trials and an approved drug, Panitumumab, for the treatment of colorectal carcinoma. Before joining industry 25 years ago, Robert was on the faculty at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas first serving as an American Cancer Society Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Cell Biology and eventually ascending to a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Cancer Biology. He continued as an Adjunct Professor at the MD Anderson Cancer Center after joining the industry. Robert has published more than 145 peer-reviewed articles, holds multiple patents, and is a present/past member of numerous societies, including the American Association for Cancer Research, Board of Directors for the Metastasis Research Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Scientific Advisory Board and the Aspen Cancer Conference. He is/was an Editorial Member and/or ad hoc reviewer for more than 20 scientific journals and has served on review panels for a number of granting agencies, including the National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute, the Department of Defense Prostate and Breast Cancer Research Programs, and the Veterans Administration Merit Review Board. Robert earned his doctorate in Molecular Biology and Microbiology from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio and Bachelor of Science degree in Cell and Developmental Biology from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Dr. Rahma joined AstraZeneca in 2021 as Vice President and Global Clinical Strategy Head of GI Oncology. He leads a large team with an ambitious goal to transform GI Oncology leveraging the exciting and diverse AZ Pipeline. Dr. Rahma received his medical degree from University of Damascus in 1998. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine at East Carolina University followed by Geriatrics Fellowship at University of Hawaii. He joined the National Cancer Institute (NCI) as a Cancer Immunology Research Fellow in the Vaccine Branch in 2009 and completed a Fellowship in Medical Oncology in 2013 specializing in Gastrointestinal (GI) Oncology. He established the Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Cancer Oncology Program at University of Virginia prior to joining the Center for Immuno-Oncology and Gastroenterology Cancer Center at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School where he was the Clinical Director for the Center of Therapeutic Innovation. Dr. Rahma spent his academic career in immunotherapy drug development leading many clinical trials in pancreatic and colorectal cancer. He authored over 100 peer-reviewed articles and chapters.

Victoria Richon is currently the CEO at Entact Bio, a preclinical stage biotechnology company dedicated to creating new medicines for patients by enhancing protein function. Prior to joining Entact, Dr. Richon was the President and CEO of Ribon Therapeutics, a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of first-in-class cancer and inflammatory disease medicines. Previously, she was the Vice President and Global Head of Oncology Research and Translational Medicine at Sanofi where she was responsible for the oncology drug discovery and translational medicine portfolio. Prior to Sanofi, Dr. Richon was Vice President of Biological Sciences at Epizyme, Inc., a biotechnology company pioneering the discovery and development of novel therapeutics focused on epigenetics, including Tazverik, the first EZH2 inhibitor approved by the FDA for the treatment of advanced epithelioid sarcoma and follicular lymphoma. Earlier in her career, she was Founder and Executive Director of Aton Pharma which was acquired by Merck & Co. Aton was formed to develop HDAC inhibitors, including Zolinza, the first HDAC inhibitor approved by the FDA. Dr. Richon is a member of the Board of Directors of HotSpot Therapeutics, Inc. and Auron Therapeutics, Inc. and serves on the MD Anderson Moon Shots Program Scientific Advisory Board.

Matthew Roden is President and Chief Executive Officer at Aktis Oncology, and a member of the Aktis Board of Directors. Matt is also an Executive Partner at MPM BioImpact and serves on the Boards of Directors of ORNA Therapeutics and a stealth NewCo. Matt’s career has spanned senior leadership roles in the biopharma industry, the healthcare equity capital markets, and in basic science as an immunologist and structural biologist. Prior to Aktis Oncology and MPM, Matt was a senior leader at Bristol Myers Squibb, serving as SVP and Head of Enterprise Strategy, as Head of Strategic Corporate Development, accountable for mergers and acquisitions, and as Head of Global BD Assessment, leading business development search and evaluation activities worldwide for all therapeutic categories. Matt served on the R&D Leadership Team representing External Innovation and led teams on business development transactions cumulatively valued at over $125 billion. Prior to his corporate leadership career, Matt was a leading equity research analyst covering the global biotechnology sector at UBS and J.P. Morgan. He holds a PhD from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and was a pre-doctoral fellow at the National Cancer Institute. In his free time, Matt enjoys tackling home improvement projects and spending time with his family sailing or on the ski slopes.

Jason is an investor with the Private Investments team focusing on mid- to late-stage private biotech companies developing clinically impactful new medicines. He is responsible for sourcing investment opportunities, leading due diligence, evaluating and negotiating deal terms, and managing the investments until their exit. Jason leverages his investor network and scientific background to identify and diligence private investment opportunities. He partners across the private and public investment teams to build a detailed, integrated understanding of how individual investments align with scientific innovation, clinical developments, and broader market dynamics. Prior to joining Wellington Management in 2024, Jason was a Partner with MRL Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Merck (2022 – 2024). Jason began his investing career at 5AM Ventures (2017 – 2022) where he started in early-stage biotech venture capital and venture creation, and from 2020 – 2022 helped establish the firm’s public investment activities. Before this, he conducted cancer research at the Broad Institute with Levi Garraway from 2014 - 2016. Jason earned his PhD in biomedical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania in 2014 as a Howard Hughs Medical Institute fellow, and his BS in bioengineering from the University of California in Irvine as a UCLEADS scholar in 2007. Jason volunteers as a member of the Scientific Advisory Board for the nonprofit Every Cure and previously volunteered as the Chief Scientific Officer and a member of the Scientific Advisory Board for the nonprofit Castleman Disease Collaborative Network.

Catherine Sabatos-Peyton, Ph.D., is Larkspur Biosciences’ Chief Executive Officer and a 2024 Termeer Fellow. Prior to joining Larkspur, Catherine was Executive Director and Head of Immune Modulation at Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR), overseeing strategy and development of immunotherapy programs through development into Ph1-3 clinical trials. Catherine joined Novartis in 2014 from the acquisition of CoStim Pharmaceuticals where she was Director of Immunology, developing the cancer checkpoint antibodies that became part of the Novartis pipeline. Catherine was a Fulbright Fellow at the University of Oxford. She earned her Ph.D. from Harvard University and went on to a postdoctoral fellowship at UCSF, followed by a fellowship at the University of Bristol, under sponsorship from the UK Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Dr. Said is the Founder and CEO of Outcomes4Me, a health technology company focused on empowering cancer patients with personalized, evidence-based navigation and improving outcomes through better access to innovation. Prior to founding Outcomes4Me, she was Senior Vice President of Global Market Access & Policy at Novartis Pharmaceuticals and Vice President of Strategy & External Innovation at Sanofi. Dr. Said is a strong advocate for life sciences innovation and serves on the Board of Directors of Transgene, Pieris Pharmaceuticals, and Home Biosciences. She was a founding member of the Boston Consulting Group Strategy Institute. Dr. Said trained at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, earning dual degrees in Biology and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science with a minor in Economics. She also holds a Master of Science in Toxicology, a Master of Engineering in Electrical Engineering, and Computer Science, and a Doctor of Science in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, and Systems Biology, all from MIT.

Eduardo has over 15 years of business development and finance experience. Prior to joining RayzeBio, he served as Executive Director of M&A at Bristol Myers Squibb, where he executed multiple strategic transactions, including the acquisition of RayzeBio. Prior to BMS, Eduardo spent over a decade at GE executing various BD transactions, including in the Pharma Diagnostics and Radiopharma sectors. Eduardo is a graduate of the University of Brasília (Brazil) and holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business.

Marc Sedam is the Vice President of Technology Opportunities & Ventures at NYU Langone Health and New York University, a role he has held since 2021. With over 30 years of experience in biotech and technology commercialization, he is recognized internationally for his expertise in innovation, early-stage startup support, and technology transfer. At NYU, he oversees a team of 40 professionals managing $1.3 billion in annual research, 1,500 patents, 250 startups, and directs a $25 million venture fund that invests in startup opportunities that have the potential to positively impact human health. Before joining NYU, Marc was Vice Provost for Innovation and New Ventures at the University of New Hampshire, where he spearheaded the launch of a nationally recognized COVID screening lab in less than 100 days. He is a former Chair of AUTM, founding director of the Peter T. Paul Entrepreneurship Center, and has held leadership positions at Qualyst, Inc. and UNC-Chapel Hill’s technology transfer office. Marc holds a B.S. in biochemistry and an MBA focused on entrepreneurship from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Aaditya has over a decade of experience investing in life science companies across public and private markets. He joined Temasek, a preeminent Singapore-based global investment firm, in 2025 as a Vice President on the North American Healthcare and Life Sciences team. Temasek’s Life Sciences focus is dedicated to advancing transformative scientific discoveries into life-changing treatments. Prior to joining Temasek, Aaditya was a Senior Analyst at Sofinnova Investments, a leading US-based life sciences investment fund, where he was responsible for managing a global biopharma-focused portfolio. His earlier life science investing experience include roles at Foresite Capital and Citadel Global Equities, where he backed several public and private companies across therapeutics and diagnostics. Aaditya started his career as a biotech investment banker at Centerview Partners, advising on over $15bln of aggregate M&A deal value. Aaditya received his M.S.E. and B.S.E in Bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania.

After receiving her PhD in Neuropharmacology, Fei’s industrial career began in 2007 at Theravance as an in vivo pharmacologist and led a lab in driving multiple research projects from exploratory, lead optimization to DC nomination and IND filing. Joining Boehringer Ingelheim in 2015, she has steadily taken on roles of increasing responsibility in research. During the 13 years she spent in the R&D organizations, Fei and her team have contributed to two approved products and many assets in the clinical pipeline ranging from Ph1 to Ph3. In 2020, she joined the Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund USA as an Investment Director and took over the Managing Director role in 2021 to lead the US Operations. Fei has served/is serving a Board role at ProTgen, Rgenta Therapeutics, ArrePath, xCures, STRM. Bio, Libra and Abexxa Biologics.

Neil P. Shull, Ph.D. is a Partner with the firm. He has more than 20 years' experience in the preparation and prosecution of U.S. and foreign patent applications in the fields of biotechnology, biochemistry, gene therapy, chemistry, pharmaceuticals and consumer products. He also is experienced in patent strategy, due diligence and opinions regarding freedom-to-operate, infringement, and validity. Neil has significant experience representing both patent owners and petitioners during inter partes review proceedings which helps to guide his prosecution work.

Dave Stevenson is COO & Managing Director and a founding partner of Merck GHI Fund since inception in 2010. GHI Fund invests venture capital in start-up companies that improve health care as well as those that improve pharmaceutical operations specifically. Dave is responsible for identifying opportunities in clinical trials and also manages the GHI portfolio and operations. Dave brings more than 25 years of healthcare strategy and operations expertise to the GHI team. Dave started his career with Novartis where he built their first clinical trial management system. He holds an MBA from Vanderbilt University and a BA from Washington University.

Laura Tadvalkar is a Managing Director on the Venture Team at RA Capital Management. Laura primarily works on new company creation and early-stage investments, and serves as a Board Director for Be Biopharma, Hemab Therapeutics, Hyku Biosciences, and Typewriter Therapeutics. Prior to RA, Laura was a Principal at MP Healthcare Venture Management. Prior to MP, she was a Consultant at Clarion Healthcare. Laura holds a BS in Chemistry from Yale University and a PhD in Chemical Biology from Harvard University.

Geoff Towle is an accomplished executive with two decades of experience in bringing innovative cancer care solutions to market.  He joined Novartis in 2023 to build and scale the U.S. Radioligand Therapy (RLT) business, overseeing full P&L responsibility for commercial and medical functions.  Geoff now serves in a global enterprise leadership role, driving RLT Therapeutic Area Strategy across the organization to unlock the full potential of RLTs in transforming cancer care.  Previously, he spent over a decade at Astellas, where he was instrumental in building the Oncology business unit to become the company's largest and fastest-growing segment, now generating $8B in annual revenue.  Geoff holds an MBA from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Science from Bryant University.  He is an active leader in the radiopharmaceutical community, serving as a Board Director for the Council on Radionuclides & Radiopharmaceuticals (CORAR) and as Board Co-Chair for the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) Value Initiative Industry Alliance.

Steve brings over 25 years of experience as a CEO, entrepreneur, and venture capitalist across biotech and medical devices working with companies from company formation through R&D, clinical, regulatory, and commercial launch. As Managing Director of the Novartis Venture Fund for twelve years, he was actively engaged in all investment decisions across the $800M global portfolio. Prior to Novartis, Steve was on the life science team at Prism Venture Partners, a $1.25B family of funds. He began his venture career as a Kauffman Fellow with Mid-Atlantic Venture Funds. Steve has consulted to Genentech Neuroscience Innovation evaluating novel approaches to treating neurological diseases including neuromuscular, precision psychiatry, and drug delivery. He is an advisor to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, a member of the Product Development Review Council for the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT), an Expert-in-Residence to Digitalis Commons supporting ARPA-H’s innovation initiative, and an advisor to the Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute.

John Wu, PhD is a Managing Director and Partner in BCG’s Boston office, where he leads the Biopharma sector in North America. He combines strategic acumen with deep scientific expertise to help global life sciences clients address their most critical R&D and organizational challenges. John has advised multinational pharmaceutical and biotech companies on enterprise and R&D strategies across oncology, immunology, neuroscience, and rare diseases. He is BCG’s topic expert on advanced modalities, including cell and gene therapy, gene editing, antibody–drug conjugates, protein degradation, and radioligand therapies. His work spans R&D strategy, portfolio optimization, clinical trial acceleration, regulatory transformation, due diligence, and operating model redesign. A molecular biologist and biophysicist by training, John holds a PhD in Engineering and Physical Biology from Harvard University and a BS in Biology from MIT. He has authored multiple first-author publications in Cell and PNAS on genome organization and epigenomic regulation.

Elcin Zan, MD is the Chair of Nuclear Medicine at Cleveland Clinic. Elcin focuses on exploring the full potential of Radiopharmaceutical Therapies in oncology to meaningfully improve patient outcomes in clinic and research. Elcin and her team develop AGI tools to study the collective intelligence of cancer from cells to body-wide networks integrating pathology and PET diagnostics.