Christopher Damman, M.D., is a board-certified gastroenterologist at the Digestive Health Center at UW Medical Center and a UW associate professor of Gastroenterology and Medicine.
Dr. Damman feels that healing is as much listening compassionately and creating an environment of trust and understanding as it is gathering the facts and treating the illness. He has a particular interest in the microbiome & functional foods, and he explores these themes as Editor-In-Chief at Gut Bites MD, (https://gutbites.org/
). Dr. Damman earned his M.D. from Columbia. He is board certified in both Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology. His research interests involve understanding the role of endogenous gastrointestinal organisms (the microbiota) in health and disease.
Dr. Matin's laboratory studies improvment in prodrug cancer chemotherapy; genetic and protein engineering to improve biological processes, such as bioremediation; microbial biofilms; cellular resistance to antimicrobial agents; and microbial stress response.
Paul joined RAPT Therapeutics in 2016, bringing years of experience building and leading high-performance technical groups in various biopharmaceutical organizations. At RAPT, Paul oversees the teams building and executing assays to guide the chemistry team in developing structure-activity relationships. Additionally, Paul leads the team developing biomarker plans and assays and executing computational analyses to support clinical programs. Paul was Director of Research and Head of the Genome Analysis Unit at Amgen, Inc. During his eleven years at Amgen, he developed and implemented multiple high-throughput platforms for drug discovery and target identification across a broad spectrum of therapeutic areas. Prior to Amgen, Paul held scientific and leadership positions in several smaller companies, which enabled him to exercise his passion for creating novel technology platforms to enable drug discovery. Paul received his B.S. in Genetics and Development from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana before performing graduate research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and earning his Ph.D. in Immunology from Harvard University. He also completed postdoctoral work in Neuroscience at the University of California, San Diego.
Dana has been using flow cytometry as a tool in cancer research and autoimmune disease for over 30 years. She develops and runs cell-based assays as a CRO to give companies access to high complexity flow cytometry. Dana also teaches flow cytometry to scientists around the world. For the past 8 years, she has been developing flow cytometry-based microbial assays as an improved alternative to CFUs. These assays include enumeration and health evaluation of probiotics at many different stages of development.
Jim Kean is a senior technology executive with an innovative career focused on making healthcare easier. Kean has had multiple exits with health technology companies, and has also spent time as a senior executive at Blue Cross Blue Shield.
Jim Kean founded Sapient Health Network that later merged to form the consumer-facing side of WebMD. He exited the company turning a $5m investment into $187m in 3.5 years. In 2010, he launched WellnessFX which he sold to Thorne (THRN) in 2013 for $25m.
I have extensive experience in translational research and clinical trial design, especially in melanoma. My post-doctoral fellowships were at Cleveland Clinic and Indiana University respectively working in basic science labs on fundamental biologic processes. At Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, I trained with Drs David Spriggs, Carol Aghajanian and Paul Chapman gaining a broad understanding of experimental therapeutics. Over the next 7 years, at the Moffitt Cancer Center, A collaboration with Dr Heller has resulted in intratumoral IL12 as a treatment for melanoma. At UCSF, I lead the melanoma program and several early phase and melanoma specific clinical trials as well as collaborating with my colleagues Michael Rosenblum, Max Krummel and Jeff Bluestone at UCSF and with Meromot Singer and Arlene Sharpe at Harvard to analyse scRNA from melanoma patients. Im excited to collaborate with Susana Ortiz on her projects targeting nanoparticles for drug delivery in melanoma and novel kinase dependencies to Treat Metastatic NRAS Tumors
Dr. Lapuerta has over 25 years of biotech experience and has led the development and approval of several medicines. He is currently CEO of biotech startup company 4M Therapeutics, developing new treatments in psychiatry and neurology.
Dr. Lapuerta has significant experience in the development and validation of biomarkers and has done research using machine learning to predict clinical outcomes.
He has over 100 scientific publications, including several contributions to the New England Journal of Medicine. He is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Medical School.
Prof. Dr. Arun K. Bhunia is a Professor of Food Microbiologyat the Department of Food Science and is affiliated with theDepartment of Comparative Pathobiology at the PurdueInstitute of Inflammation, Immunology, and InfectiousDisease (PI4D), and the Purdue University Life Scienceprogram (PULSe). He is Chair of the Interdepartmental FoodScience Graduate Program. His expertise covers microbialpathogenesis (host–pathogen interaction), probioticbioengineering, and foodborne pathogen detection. To date,he has co-authored more than 190 peer-reviewed researchpublications, two textbooks (Fundamental Food Microbiologyand Foodborne Microbial Pathogens—Mechanisms andPathogenesis), he has edited four books, and delivered over148 lectures. He teaches graduate-level courses on foodbornepathogens and the mechanisms of pathogenesis, microbialfoodborne pathogen detection techniques, and intestinalmicrobiology and immunology. He served on the USDANational Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria forFoods (NACMCF; 2013–2017) and has received the PurdueAgriculture Research Award (2003), Purdue Faculty Scholar(2005), Purdue Team Award (2006), IFT R&D Award (2009),Outstanding Graduate Educator Award at Purdue (2013),High-End Foreign Experts Recruitment Program (China)fellowship (2014–2016), Fulbright Specialist (2016–2021), andMaurice Weber Laboratorian Award from IAFP (2017).
Maya Ivanjesku holds master’s degree in chemistry from Polytechnic University, Brooklyn NY (NYU).
One of her passions is creating and developing skincare products. Inspired at the very young age, Maya learned early on that using natural remedies is most effective way to skin longevity.
Her formulation career started at the Estée Lauder companies where she was part of elite team of scientists developing products for Origins, Clinique, Estée Lauder, La Mer, MAC. Over the last 30 years, Maya became a creative visionary, developed formulations for many brands such as TooFaced, Benefit Cosmetics, Laura Mercier, Urban Decay, NARS and Sephora Cosmetics.
Most recently, Maya developed and created one of the first probiotic skincare brands where she was able to incorporate live and active probiotic cultures within the products without the need of refrigeration. Ivanjesku received a patent for this technology.
As a Chief Scientific Officer at M2B Pharma Maya and her team recently launched BLT Numbing cream - a prescription strength numbing cream available without prescription.
Maya is an entrepreneur, consultant and has been speaking at numerous conferences and educational speeches at the prestige spa and esthetician events.
Vandana Sharma, based in Los Angeles, CA, US, is currently a Principal Nutrition Scientist at Pharmavite, bringing experience from previous roles at Sanford-Burnham-Prebys Medical Discovery Institute and Burnham Institute for Medical Research. Vandana Sharma holds a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) @ Institute of Microbial Technology, Chandigarh, India. With a robust skill set that includes Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, Drug Discovery, Assay Development and more, Vandana Sharma contributes valuable insights to the industry.
Ian Pike is the Chief Scientific Officer at Proteome Sciences and has over 30 years’ experience working in the diagnostics and biotechnology sectors. Since joining Proteome Sciences in 2002 he has held a number of roles covering intellectual property management, business development, operational management and is now focused on leading the Company’s scientific strategy to offer clients a flexible, high-quality service.
Marina is interested in the complex interactions between humans and the microbes in and on our bodies as well as understanding how they impact human health. She has experience in both, at the bench and in the world of data science and bioinformatics, so she can communicate easily with many different types of teams. Marina enjoys learning new things and driving forward in this exciting field.
Carl Saab, MS, MA, PhD, Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering & Neurological Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Case Western Reserve University and adjunct Professor, Brown University, Department of Engineering.
Scientific Director, Cleveland Clinic Consortium for Pain.
Dr. Robert Hettich is a distinguished research scientist & leader of the Bioanalytical Mass Spectrometry Group of the Biosciences Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and a joint faculty member in the Microbiology Department at the University of Tennessee. He has over 34 years of experience in biological mass spectrometry. His research interests involve the development and demonstration of advanced mass spectrometry technology for characterizing complex biological mixtures, such as microbial proteomes, and for examining higher order protein structures. He has authored more than 270 publications, and is active in mentoring graduate students, as well as teaching analytical technology and advanced biological mass spectrometry classes. He is an associate editor for Microbiome, a member of the editorial advisory boards of Mass Spectrometry Reviews, BMC Genomics, and Journal of Integrated Omics, and is an active review member on several NIH review study sections, in particular for NIH-GM and NIH-NCI-IMAT.
Bruno Larvol is the founder and CEO of LARVOL, a company providing innovative SaaS solutions to the pharmaceutical and biotech industry that support the oncology sector since 2004.
Embracing a VR-first and remote-always philosophy, Bruno cemented his reputation as a pioneer in the field, showcasing his commitment to innovation by managing LARVOL for an entire year exclusively via VR/AR technology.
Recently, Bruno has also delved into the realm of generative AI – pushing the envelope in how AI can be leveraged in healthcare solutions. His leadership at LARVOL reflects a deep commitment to advancing oncology with cutting-edge technology.
Dr. Ginette Serrero is Chief Executive Officer of Precision Antibody, a custom antibody development company, expert in the design, development, characterization and production of monoclonal antibodies for the treatment and diagnosis of human diseases. She draws on biotech management and research expertise in Oncology and biomarker discovery to guide the company's strategy in both the service division and R&D department for the development of biological targeted therapies with companion tissue and serum diagnostics for breast cancer. Her laboratory discovered Progranulin (GP88) as a marker of recurrence, drug resistance and tumor aggressiveness for several cancers including breast and lung cancer. This led to the development of two companion diagnostics that have been clinically validated for disease prognosis and monitoring of breast and lung cancer patients. She is a trained Biochemist with expertise in target discovery, Pharmaceutical Sciences and Oncology. She is Adjunct Professor at the University of Maryland Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center.
She is inventor on several worldwide patents for targets in Oncology and authored 100 peer-reviewed scientific publications and reviews.
Mark is an enthusiastic and passionate biotechnology entrepreneur with over 25 years experience in the sector. He holds a PhD in Polymer Chemistry for biomedical applications a degree in chemistry.
He was one of the first BBSRC funded scientists to complete the Royal Society of Edinburgh Enterprise Fellowship Schemes run by Scottish Enterprise and was awarded an MBA (entrepreneurship) from the University of Dundee in 2008.
Mark is a scientific founder and Chief Technology Officer at Volition. He is an inventor on several Volition patents, including those related to enrichment of tumour derived cell free circulating nucleosomes and COVID-19 prognosis and both diagnostic and therapeutic patents related to NETosis.
Volition is a multinational epigenetics company, powered by Nu.Q®, our proprietary nucleosome quantification platform. Nu.Q® Discover enables drug developers and researchers access to a range of state-of-the-art assays for rapid epigenetic profiling in disease model development, preclinical testing, and clinical trials.
Backed by his expertise in molecular diagnostics, molecularly targeted drug discovery and development, biochemistry and regulatory compliance, Rob Fraser drives the innovation behind Molecular You's multi-omic AI-powered analytics platform. Under his direction, Molecular You has established an affordable, comprehensive method of measuring hundreds of biomarkers from a single blood sample, and a LLM and ML model to incorporate the world's leading scientific literature and collected data to accurately predict individual and population health risks.
Previously, as the Chief Operating Officer of the Personalized Medicine Initiative, Rob supported the establishment of six new companies including Molecular You. Rob has also been involved in leading drug discovery and development projects at Sanofi, Xenon, Neuromed and CDRD.
Eric A. Ariazi, Ph.D., is a distinguished Translational Medicine Scientist with 25+ years of experience spanning academia and industry. Presently, he lends his deep expertise in biomarkers for epigenetic compounds as a consultant for Volition. Dr. Ariazi’s interest in epigenetics began at Fox Chase Cancer Center where he discovered a novel DNA methylation modulation role for the master transcriptional regulator estrogen receptor-α. Transitioning to industry, Dr. Ariazi played a pivotal role at Freenome, spearheading the development of innovative high-depth cfDNA methylation sequencing assays, now a key intellectual property of the company. His tenure at ORIC Pharmaceuticals as a Senior Principal Scientist was marked by pioneering clinical biomarker strategies, notably for a PRC2 inhibitor utilizing Volition’s innovative Nu.Q™ nucleosome assays. Dr. Ariazi is an author on 29 publications in scientific journals, including reviews and a book chapter, as well as an inventor on 4 issued patents, including 2 on cancer biomarkers.
Myles Walsh has extensive experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, with a focus on business development. Myles is Director of BioPharma Business Development at Predicine since March 2022 and prior to this was Senior BioPharma Business Development Manager at Natera focusing on the Signatera MRD assay. Before joining Natera, Myles worked in various BD roles at Sysmex Inostics, Insys Therapeutics, Inc., and Illumina.
His scientific background includes studying the dengue virus at UMass Medical School and working at multiple biotechnology start-ups. Myles attended Worcester Polytechnic Institute where he pursued a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology & Biotechnology.
Dr. Giacalone is Chief Executive Officer of Vaxiion Therapeutics where he has led the development of the company’s novel bacterial minicell-based oncolytic agent, VAX014, from concept to the clinic. Dr. Giacalone’s has a diverse scientific background, is inventor on over 30 issued patents, and has authored numerous scientific publications in the field of immunology and cancer immunotherapy. Dr. Giacalone received his Ph.D. from University of California, San Diego and an MBA from San Diego State University through their joint Ph.D./MBA program.
Jiangwei Zhang is a Senior Principal Scientist in Immunology, Cardiovascular & Neurology (ICN) Translational Medicine Team at Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS). He is biomarker lead on several Ozanimod Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) clinical trials and supporting ongoing internal and external Ozanimod IBD collaborative studies. Jiangwei received his PhD from China Agricultural University and did his postdoctoral trainings at University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Texas A&M Health Science Center on cancer biology. He has worked at Eli Lilly, Ionis Pharmaceuticals and Pfizer in the fibrosis and immunology therapeutic areas prior to joining the Translational Medicine Team at BMS.
Kareem Barghouti, CEO, earned a B.S. in Biological Sciences from UC Irvine and an MBA from Duke University, specializing in Healthcare Sector Management. With a background in Strategy & Operations and Sales & Marketing, he was an early employee at Wildfire Interactive, acquired by Google for $450M. During his 5 years at Google, he accelerated in leadership, overseeing data integrity for the advertising business, managing a global team of 200+ individuals, and contributing to the launch of an online education portal that has reached tens of millions of customers. Recognized globally for exceptional sales, he also played a key role in Google X's moonshot initiatives. Seeking cutting-edge developments in science and engineering innovation with the aim of facilitating the transformation of research into viable commercial opportunities. This journey led to his role as a BioDesign Fellow at the Texas Medical Center Innovation Institute in Houston, Texas, incubating Pragma Bio.
Julius Goepp is the founder and CEO of Scaled Microbiomics, LLC, a pre-clinical stage biotech company focused on passive immunotherapy in the microbiome. Dr. Goepp trained in Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine at Children’s Hospital, Boston, and in Pediatric Infectious Disease at Johns Hopkins, where he was active in the promotion of Oral Rehydration Therapy for childhood diarrheal disease. In 2017, he founded Scaled Microbiomics after recognizing the potential for microbiome modulation through the use of little-known avian antibodies, or IgY. Since that time, his energies have been devoted to exploring the characteristics of those antibodies and developing a drug discovery platform based on their use as selective immunomodulators of complex microbiome signaling pathways and event cascades. In addition to his work, Goepp is passionate about cooking, flying, and exploring the outdoors.
Kathy Nevola, PhD (they/them) is a Data Scientist at Olink Proteomics, a Sweden-based provider of advanced protein analysis products and services. As the tool owner and maintainer of Olink’s R package, Olink Analyze, Kathy collaborates with users to uncover biological mechanisms and identify biomarkers within Olink data. Kathy earned their Ph.D. in Cellular, Molecular, and Developmental Biology with a Bioinformatics concentration from Tufts University. Their research focused on exploring potential biological mechanisms associated with beta-blocker use and its protective effects on bone loss, utilizing data from the Framingham Heart study. Outside of work, they enjoy hiking with their dog and partner, practicing yoga, and playing games with friends.
Through decades of experience and personal intrigue, Miguel has studied and worked on the complex interaction between probiotics, the gut and microbiota. His 20+ years at Danone have allowed him to bring his passion and expertise to this field, and as vice president of scientific affairs at Danone North America, he has helped the global food and beverage company translate the growing body of evidence on different probiotic strains into a range of consumer products. Miguel is proud to have been the driving force behind new fermented dairy products containing both probiotics and prebiotics. With a PhD in microbiology, nutrition and cell biology from the National Institute of Health and Medical Research, he has published several peer-reviewed studies on microbes and human health, and frequently speak at scientific conferences around the world while designing research protocols for researchers worldwide. He is a professional member of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) and American Society for Nutrition (ASN), an advisory board member of Future Food Tech, and a Forbes Health Advisory Board Member 2022. Miguel also serves as director of the Danone Institute North America, a non-profit foundation that helps advance community-based work to promote sustainable food systems globally. For the last seven years, few things have been more rewarding than helping oversee fellowship grants for microbiome research.
Collin is a Scientist at EpigenDx in product and business development. He graduated from the Pennsylvania State University in 2023 with his Ph.D. in Plant Biology with a focus in genetics, specifically in the accumulation and biogenesis of microRNAs and secondary small interfering RNAs.
Matteo D’Antonio is an assistant project scientist in Kelly Frazer’s lab at UCSD, where is main focus is identifying the molecular mechanisms underlying the associations between genetic variation and disease. He got his Bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering at Politecnico di Milano in Italy and his Master’s in Bioinformatics at the Technical University of Denmark. After that, he obtained his PhD at the European Institute of Oncology, where he studied the evolution of protein interaction networks and cancer genes. He joined UCSD in 2013 where he transitioned from cancer genomics to human genetics.
Larry Weiss is the CEO and Founder of Weiss Bioscience, Inc., a San Franciscobased microbiome research and development company and the manufacturer of Symbiome Skincare products.
Katrine is a biochemist interested in human associated microbial and viral communities. She uses metagenomics, metabolomics, microbial genetics and ecological statistics to answer questions about how microbes and viruses affect human health. She aims to understand how individual and persistent human-associated microbial and viral communities affect health. Specifically, she works to understand the role of persistent microbial colonization in triggering inflammatory episodes in Cystic Fibrosis patients. Understanding microbial interactions and changes in microbial physiology that are associated with changes in patient status may lead to the development of biomarkers to diagnose changes in infection earlier and more specifically. She is also interested in how phage shape dynamic host-associated microbial communities, and in characterizing the function of the 70% of phage encoded genes with no known function.
Katrin is an Application Scientist and Technical Marketing Specialist at Symcel AB. With a robust background in microbiology spanning over 15 years, she has evolved into an expert in Biocalorimetry applications.
In her role, Katrin actively explores new application areas and contributes significantly to methods development in the biocalorimetry field. She takes a keen interest in the probiotics application, working closely with industrial partners. Her primary focus is on refining alternative methods to enhance our understanding of probiotics' viability.
Dr. Rao works at the intersection of genomics and image informatics, across biological scale (cells, tissue and organ). He is interested in developing multi-modal decision algorithms that link and integrate various measurements (imaging, genomics etc) to characterize disease. His algorithms for phenotypic measurements encompass data from 2D/3D microscopy, radiology and histopathology. He is also interested in methodological aspects of genomic analysis and image assessment. In the context of these investigations, Dr. Rao collaborates with clinicians, biologists, engineers and data scientists.
Valerie Balme is Associate Director, Pharma Business Development at Veracyte. She has over 10 years of experience working in the diagnostics and biotechnology industries. First at Ipsogen, then at Qiagen and HalioDx and now with Veracyte, she has held several roles covering customer service, manufacturing and operations management and is currently focused on business development in Veracyte’s Biopharma Business Unit offering partners a flexible and high-quality service.
Peter Karp, Ph.D., Technical Director of the Bioinformatics Research Group at SRI International, works in the interdisciplinary field of bioinformatics, which develops computer-science methods for managing and analyzing the burgeoning quantities of biological data and knowledge.
Karp has been a pioneer in metabolic-pathway bioinformatics. His group has developed a metabolic-pathway database called EcoCyc that charts the complete biochemical factory within an Escherichia coli cell. His group has also developed algorithms for visualization of metabolic networks, for predicting anti-bacterial drug targets within metabolic networks, and for predicting the metabolic pathways of an organism whose genome has been sequenced. The latter algorithm has been applied to thousands of organisms to produce the BioCyc database collection.
Karp has authored more than 190 publications in computer science and bioinformatics. He is an SRI Fellow, a Fellow of the International Society for Computational Biology, and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Life science strategist and business development specialist, with a passion for biotechnology and the role it plays in transforming our health, our understanding of biology and ultimately the world we live in. Niki takes pride in working with some of the brightest pharmaceutical, biotechnology and diagnostic development scientists to bring groundbreaking treatments and cures to market. She loves to successfully overlap her responsibilities to her clients and her organization with strategy and planning, building alliances with commercial and academic partners along the way. Niki has been fortunate to build a career helping some of the most successful and recognized companies in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical and diagnostic spaces. She has created and executed sustainable, long-term global sourcing strategies that ensure they are, and will continue to be, the best at what they do.
Niki has also been active in several organizations including Anachem, MichBio, and American Chemical Society(ACS) in Toledo and Detroit sections, and is the past chair the Toledo Section (2007 and 2008). She is also on Henry Ford College Biotechnology Advisory Committee (2010 - present).
Dr. Jingyao (Jay) Zhang received his PhD in Biological Engineering at the University of Missouri-Columbia in 2018. In his postdoc and early years in the industry, he worked as a scientist focusing on small molecule drug discoveries for ion-channel-related diseases. Jay joined Biocytogen in 2022 as a Business Development Manager. Jay and his team are located in the Bay Area, supporting collaborations with clients in Northern California.
Dr. Bornheimer is Associate Director of Medical & Scientific Affairs at BD Biosciences, where he works on the development of new technologies and applications for single cell research, flow cytometry, patient diagnostics, and cell therapy. A major focus is on biomarker and CDx development programs with BioPharma, CROs, and academic medical centers, primarily in oncology and infectious diseases. Previously, he led the R&D effort to develop and commercialize an extremely easy-to-use IVD cytometry system for CD4, %CD4, and Hb measurements for HIV/AIDS patients in resource limited settings (BD FACSPresto). He also led scientific efforts for a COVID-19 diagnostic based on immune cell subsets, co-leads a novel TB diagnostic program, and had leadership roles in developing cell enrichment and isolation technologies based on acoustics, magnetics, and fluorescence-activated cell sorting. He joined BD to apply science and technology to directly impact patient lives, entering through the Technology Leadership Development Program. Dr. Bornheimer received a Ph.D. from UC San Diego in Chemistry and Biochemistry, under joint mentorship in the departments of Cellular and Molecular Medicine and Bioengineering, where he investigated heterotrimeric G-protein signaling through computational modeling, development of new biosensors, and live cell fluorescent imaging approaches.
Dr. Wyatt McDonnell is Co-Founder, CEO, and Chairman of the Board of Directors at Infinimmune, a preclinical antibody biotechnology company treating human disease with truly human antibody therapeutics. Previously, Wyatt developed 10x Genomics’ first therapeutic antibodies and core immunology intellectual property behind three commercial products to interrogate the immune repertoire. He has co-authored 31 peer-reviewed papers in journals including Nature, Cell, and Nature Medicine, and 19 published patents in relation to immunobiology, genomics, and disease. He has been invited to speak at conferences including PEGS, the Keystone Symposia, the World Vaccine Congress, LEAP, and PMWC.
Dr. Bloom is an internationally recognized pathologist with expertise in breast disease, digital pathology, immunohistochemistry and molecular pathology. He started his career at Rush University where he served several roles, including Director of Laboratory Operation and the Chief Information Officer for the Rush Cancer Institute. Dr. Bloom was instrumental in bringing digital pathology and image analysis tools to the clinic. Other positions include Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Clarient. CMO for In-vitro Diagnostics at GE Healthcare, President and head of oncology and immunotherapy at Human Longevity and the CMO at RealmDx. Currently, he heads Pathology for Nucleai.
Dan is an innovative scientist with extensive international experience in, research strategy, interdisciplinary collaboration and team leadership. He is dedicated to promoting cross-functional efforts to address complex challenges in therapeutics development. Dan has 13 years of experience in developing in vivo and ex vivo approaches for hematopoiesis, autoimmunity, and cancer research, and has co-authored 15 peer-reviewed publications. Since joining TransCure, Dan's consistent focus has been to drive successful preclinical development of cell therapies and biologics for TransCure’s clients.
Nicole Miller is a Scientist and pharmaceutical/biotechnology industry professional with 20+ years experience and leadership in support of Research & Development, Scientific and Molecular Diagnostic Strategy, Newborn Screening and Medical Affairs focusing on ensuring timely, accurate diagnosis and treatment of rare disease.
Ayat stands as a preeminent expert in the specialized realm of biospecimen management, solutions, and chain of custody. With a distinguished career spanning 10+ years, she has consistently showcased an unparalleled dedication to elevating the standards of biospecimen handling and chain of custody management. She has a proven track record of developing and implementing cutting-edge strategies for the collection, storage, and utilization of biospecimens in clinical and research settings. Ayat possesses a profound understanding of the complexities and intricacies involved in biospecimen management, including storage, preservation, and tracking. She is well-versed in adhering to the stringent regulatory and quality guidelines that govern the handling of biospecimens, ensuring compliance with the highest industry standards. What sets Ayat apart is her trailblazing work in driving forward improved processes, solutions, and technologies that enhance the efficiency, integrity, utility, and precision of biospecimen management. Ayat continues to be at the forefront of biospecimen management and solutions, shaping the way biospecimens are collected, stored, and utilized to further scientific discoveries and improve patient outcomes. She is a trusted thought leader in the field and a driving force in promoting the importance of biospecimen management in scientific discoveries, healthcare advancements, and clinical excellence.
Ph.D. founded Primal Health, LLC in 2017 to focus on improving the dental health of both humans and animals by producing oral microbiome modulation products. She has spent 12 years developing SMMRT technology at Primal Therapies, Inc., which is focused on using metabolic influencers to re-engineer disease-causing bacterial biofilms into those that are health-promoting, to decrease inflammation and to improve outcomes. Prior to that, she spent 7 years as a research fellow at Stanford University in Rheumatology and Immunology focused on the neuro-endocrine-immune axis in autoimmune and chronic inflammatory diseases. She holds a Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of California at Berkeley where she studied inter- and intra-cellular signaling pathways involved in stress response and community development in bacteria and received her B.S. in Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Iowa where she studied the interaction between M. tuberculosis and innate immune cells.
Dr. Lada Rasochova is the founder and CEO of Dermala Inc., a human microbiome company developing treatments for chronic skin diseases and conditions. Dr. Rasochova has been involved in commercialization of biotech and pharma products for the past 20 years. She spent 15 years in industry where she held various leadership positions, including as the leader of Vaccine Technologies and director of new business development in Dowpharma, a biotech division of the Dow Chemical Company, Mycogen, a biotech startup (acquired by Dow Chemical), and the CEO of Jadus BioScience, an early stage diagnostic company. Dr. Rasochova is also the managing director of the Rady Venture Fund and serves as the founding executive director of the California Institute for Innovation and Development at UC San Diego, founding director of StartR and mystartupXX accelerators, and on boards of several companies, centers and institutes, including the UC San Diego Center for Drug Discovery Innovation and the Qualcomm Institute.
