Monica Wang, PhD, Principal Technology Lead, Scientific Informatics, Takeda

Monica currently leads the Biology (including Biologics) Capabilities and Products in Takeda Scientific Informatics. She comes with multidiscipline education with PhD in Biochemistry and MSc in Software Engineering. She has 8+ years of experience in academic research and 15+ years of experience in Research Informatics in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. She is good at strategic planning with proven successful track records of managing complicated global enterprise informatics projects. She has delivered many informatics projects/programs within time and budget for many departments (Global Biologics, Molecular Pathology, Protein Science, Biotherapeutics, Translational Medicine and Legal IP, et al). She is technically and scientifically proficient in Bioinformatics, Cheminformatics, Functional Genomics, and Pharmacogenomics. Her team has designed and implemented many global enterprise informatics solutions to support biologics research, biomarker discovery, translational research and personalized medicine. Her recent focus is concentrated on building a state-of-art Global Biologics Platform to support the global biologics R&D research in Oncology, GI and CNS across Takeda.

Sebastian Schlicker, Head, Biologics Business Operations, Genedata AG

Sebastian Schlicker has more than 15 years of experience in managing pharma R&D IT projects, specializing in the implementation of global enterprise software solutions for large molecule R&D. As the director of Genedata’s Biologics business, Sebastian oversees all major consulting and deployment projects globally. Currently based in Basel, Switzerland, Sebastian previously worked out of the Genedata Boston office, where he helped to build Genedata’s biopharma business in the US. Among his many responsibilities, he led implementation and customization projects for major US biopharma companies. Before joining Genedata, Sebastian worked at Sanofi, where he managed the implementation of new R&D platforms in both small- and large-molecule R&D, covering the complete project life-cycle and resulting in integrated and harmonized enterprise solutions used by scientists around the globe. Sebastian holds a degree in Computer Science and Economics from the University of Applied Sciences in Darmstadt, Germany.

Peter V. Henstock, PhD, Machine Learning & AI Lead, Software Engineering & Statistics & Visualization, Pfizer Inc.

Peter Henstock is working to transform Pfizer using AI and Machine Learning. He is the Machine Learning and Technical Lead in Pfizer’s Digital group based in Massachusetts. He holds a PhD in Artificial Intelligence from Purdue University and Master’s degrees in Biology, Software Engineering, Statistics, Applied Linguistics, and Image Processing. Before joining Pfizer, Peter worked at MIT Lincoln Laboratory in image processing and computational linguistics. He also teaches graduate level Machine Learning & Data Mining, Image Processing & Computer Vision, and Software Engineering at Harvard University.

Meghan Raman, Director, IT - Biometrics & Data Sciences, Bristol Myers Squibb Co.

Meghan Raman has 20+ years of experience in successfully leading large scale business transformation programs. She has cross industry domain expertise including Life Sciences, Financial, Consulting, Insurance, Telecomm and Resellers. She is experienced in building and leading global, high performance teams. She has also built Analytics frameworks, AI/ML capabilities and Data Platforms to drive scientific prediction, revenue uplift and productivity. Meghan has led process development and implementation activities in Clinical, Regulatory and Pharmacovigilance domains. She has set up Analytics framework and integration efforts between Product Registration, Safety Reporting and Clinical Trial Management. She is currently leading the IT organization for Biometrics & Data Sciences. She is accountable for the roadmap, strategy, platforms including a Clinical Data Repository & Statistical Compute Environment and various digital-AI/ML products across the Drug Development area including cohort selection, biomarker identification, trial design, site feasibility, signal detection etc.

Nigel Greene, PhD, Director & Head Data Science & Artificial Intelligence, Drug Safety & Metabolism, AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals

Nigel Greene leads the Data Science and Artificial Intelligence department in Clinical Pharmacology and Safety Sciences at AstraZeneca and is interested in the application of artificial intelligence methods to understand of mechanisms of drug-induced toxicity and their translation to a clinical patient population. Previously Dr. Greene was a head of the Predictive Compound ADME and Safety group at AstraZeneca. Dr Greene also spent 14 years at Pfizer, Inc. where he started in Drug Safety R&D and later transitioned to the Compound Safety Prediction group in Medicinal Chemistry. In his early career, Dr. Greene worked for Lhasa Ltd. where he pioneered computational toxicology, and for Tripos, Inc. Nigel’s other activities outside of AstraZeneca have included being the Chair of the Board of Trustees for Lhasa Ltd. and he has served on multiple National Research Council committees sponsored by the US Environmental Protection Agency, US Food and Drug Administration, and the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Greene received his BSc and PhD from the University of Leeds in the UK.

Danielle Bradnan, MS, Research Associate, Digital Health and Wellness, Lux Research

Dani is a Digital Health and Wellness Research Associate at Lux Research with deep expertise in digital therapeutics, digital biomarkers, and FemTech. Prior to her time at Lux, Dani worked as an Environmental Group Manager for a water treatment company, surveying and developing treatment plans for waterborne pathogen outbreaks in healthcare facilities across the United States. Dani graduated with a Masters Degree in biology from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

Graham Jones, PhD, Director, Innovation, Technical Research and Development, Novartis

Following his PhD at Imperial College London, Graham was a NATO fellow at Harvard University where he worked with Nobel Laureate E. J. Corey. His independent academic career spanned 25 years and generated >$100 million external funding and 160 peer reviewed publications in the fields of drug discovery, drug delivery, process technology, regulatory science and medical devices. He held a number of leadership roles in the academy including pro-vice chancellor, vice provost and institute director, most recently Professor of Medicine and Director of Translational Research at the Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) in Boston MA. In 2018 Graham was recruited by Novartis as Director of Innovation. Graham has been a regular consultant to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry and was an advisor to the FDA in the development of the biosimilars approval pathway. He has also been instrumental in establishing and advising a large number of technology-based startup companies who have subsequently raised >$4B in venture funding. Graham sits on several advisory and editorial boards and has been the recipient of numerous awards for scientific and technology development. He was awarded the DSc in 2006 for contributions to medicinal chemistry.

Ariel Dowling, PhD, Director of Digital Strategy, Data Sciences Institute, Research and Development, Takeda Pharmaceuticals

Ariel V. Dowling, PhD is a Director of Digital Strategy within the Data Sciences Institute at Takeda Pharmaceuticals. In this role, Ariel oversees the strategy, assessment, and deployment of digital devices in clinical studies and related activities across the organization. She advises clinical teams on the selection of digital devices, conducts due diligence on vendors, develops digital sensor implementation protocols and risk mitigation strategies, and assists with data analysis plans for device data. Prior to joining Takeda, she was a Senior Clinical Data Scientist at Biogen Inc where she oversaw the analysis of data from wearable sensors deployed in drug development clinical trials for Parkinson’s Disease. Prior to Biogen, Ariel was the algorithm team lead at MC10 Inc, where she oversaw the development and implementation of algorithms across the full product line and managed all aspects of algorithm testing that lead to a successful FDA submission. She has also worked as a senior research scientist at BioSensics LLC, where she designed algorithms to analyze digital device data from Huntington’s disease patients, stroke patients, and wheelchair users. Ariel holds an MS and PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University and a BE in Mechanical Engineering from Dartmouth College.

Brian Martin, Head of AI, R&D Information Research, Research Fellow, AbbVie

Brian joined AbbVie in October of 2018 as the head of the newly formed RAIDERS team within Research & Development’s Information Research division, focused on accelerating, scaling, and amplifying the work of AbbVie’s R&D community using Artificial Intelligence technologies like machine learning, deep learning, and cognitive computing. Brian came to AbbVie after spending five years in technology consulting across many industries, and over a decade of additional experience before that working in trading and financial markets technology. During his consulting time, Brian architected the United States’ Common Securitization Platform and was a founding member of Publicis.Sapient’s AI practice. While his primary focus is AI technologies, his interests are much broader, and he has presented at multiple conferences on topics including optical networking, quantum computing, blockchain, cognitive architecture, and other emerging technology concepts that are all part of digital transformation. Brian holds a BS degree in Computer and Cognitive Science from Alma College and a MS in Computer Science from the University of Chicago. He is actively involved with technology incubator programs at Mundelein and Lake Forest High Schools, the Creative Destruction Lab at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School, and is a member of the Education Committee for District 115’s Board of Education.

Rachana Ananthakrishnan, Executive Director, Globus, University of Chicago

Rachana Ananthakrishnan is Executive Director & Head of Products at the University of Chicago, and has a Joint Staff Appointment at Argonne National Laboratory. In her role at the university, she leads Globus (www.globus.org) department, which delivers research data management services and platform to national and international research institutions. She also serves on the WestGrid Board of Directors, and is a member of the InCommon Community Assurance and Trust Board. Her work is focused on research and education field, and she has worked on security and data management solutions on various projects including Earth System Grid (ESG), Biomedical Informatics Research Network (BIRN) and Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment (XSEDE). Prior to that she worked on the Globus Toolkit engineering team and customer engagement teams, leading the efforts in web services and security technologies. Rachana received her MS in Computer Science at Indiana University, Bloomington.

Michael A. Cianfrocco, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Chemistry and Research Assistant Professor, Life Sciences Institute, University of Michigan

Michael Cianfrocco grew up in a small town in upstate New York and went to undergraduate at Providence College in Providence, Rhode Island, where he majored in biochemistry. After that, he did his Ph.D. in biophysics in the lab of Eva Nogales at the University of California, Berkeley, focusing on single particle cryo-electron microscopy of human transcription factor complexes. Following his graduate work, he pursued postdoctoral research jointly in the labs of Samara Reck-Peterson and Andres Leschziner at University of California, San Diego. During this time, he helped pioneer the use of cloud computing tools for cryo-EM while also discover a novel mode of dynein regulation by its binding partner Lis1. In his own lab, Michael is passionate about exploring cell biology through the lens of microtubule motor protein transport, and how he can use computational tools to streamline and enhance the power of cryo-EM to determine new and exciting structures.

Brigitte E. Raumann, Product Manager, Globus, University of Chicago

Brigitte Raumann is a Product Manager at Globus and led the effort to enable Globus support for management of protected research data, including PHI and CUI. As the Globus Privacy Officer, she continues to oversee the Globus compliance program and incident investigations. Brigitte has focused her career on providing researchers with the software tools and data they require to advance discovery. Her decades of experience span sectors as diverse as biotech, publishing, patent law, and academic clinical research. Brigitte Raumann earned her B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley and her Ph.D. in biochemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.