The Board of Directors collaborates to provide strategic clarity, direction, and policy objectives for DIA. The Board of Directors and its Standing Committees ensure DIA meets the requirements of our members in the content of our programs, research, and financial decisions.
Board membership is voluntary, and DIA does not compensate Directors or members of Advisory Councils for their contributions.
Cynthia L. Verst
Chair of DIA Board
Chair of Executive Committee
Dr. Cynthia Verst is President, Design and Delivery Innovation, Research & Development Solutions at IQVIA. Having previously served as president of both Clinical Operations and Real World and Late Phase Research for IQVIA, Dr. Verst brings a holistic view of clinical research, and champions the advanced use of real-world data, analytics, and technology to advance therapies for patients. Prior to joining IQVIA (then Quintiles), she served as SVP, Global Late Phase Research for OptumInsight. Dr. Verst holds a doctorate and a bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy from the Univ. of Cincinnati, a master’s degree in Structural and Cellular Biology from the Univ. of Illinois, and bachelor’s degrees in Biology and Chemistry from Northern Kentucky Univ.
Judith Ng-Cashin
Immediate Past Chair
Chair of Governance Committee
Judith Ng-Cashin, MD, former Chief Medical Officer at Eagle Pharmaceuticals, leading R&D across the development pipeline and marketed products. Prior to this role, she served as CMO for AOBiome Therapeutics, leading end-to-end asset development strategy, medical governance, and manufacturing. She also served as Chief Scientific Officer and led the Safety & Pharmacovigilance business unit for Syneos Health. Before Syneos, she spent nearly a decade in R&D for a top five pharmaceutical company. Dr. Ng-Cashin earned her MD from Rush Medical College, trained in Internal Medicine at the University of Chicago, and received an infectious diseases and hematology fellowship training at the University of North Carolina.
Michael Rosenblatt
Chair-Elect
Michael Rosenblatt, MD, Senor Partner at Flagship Pioneering, has advanced academic and biopharmaceutical research and development throughout his career. He was previously Chief Medical Officer for Merck, after serving as Dean of Tufts Medical School. Formerly, he was Ebert Professor of Molecular Medicine and Minot Professor at Harvard. He served as President of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and as Director of the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences & Technology. He is on the board of several life sciences companies, and on the Harvard Medical School Board of Fellows and research advisory committees of the Massachusetts General, Brigham and Women’s, and Boston Children’s Hospitals. He earned his MD from Harvard Medical School.
Michael Romano
Secretary/Treasurer
Chair of Finance Committee
Michael Romano is a Partner and leader of the Life Sciences Industry practice group for RSM US LLP; he is also a Partner in RRSM’s Managed Technology Services Practice, and leads RSM’s Finance and Accounting Outsourcing group. Michael has more than 25 years of diverse experience in both the life sciences industry and as an audit and business consultant, and has orchestrated successful financial and operational turnarounds, restructured and reorganized businesses, and successfully executed growth strategies in the life sciences industry. He also served as Vice President and General Manager of a global medical publisher offering health information products and services to the pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical device markets.
Junaid is the Chief Medical Scientist at Microsoft Research and a practising physician in the UK’s National Health Service. Junaid has worked across primary care, secondary care, and public health settings in addition to acting as a payer, and policymaker within the UK, where he specialized in informatics, digital transformation, and leadership. He has consulted for health care systems across the US, Europe, Australia, the Middle East, Singapore, and Europe. Academically, he is a Clinical Associate Professor at UCL (University College London), and Visiting Scientist at the Harvard School of Public Health.
Mike A. B. Devoy
Director
Dr Michael Devoy is the Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs and Pharmacovigilance for the Pharmaceuticals Division at Bayer AG. He is also the Chief
Medical Officer of Bayer AG. Dr Devoy joined the former Schering AG in 2005 as Senior VP of Global Medical Development and was appointed to his current position in 2014. Dr Devoy studied Medicine and Pharmacology at University College London and graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery (MB, BS). He is a member of the Royal College of Physicians in London. Dr Devoy has extensive experience across Clinical Development and International Medical Affairs. His career in the pharmaceutical industry began when he joined Glaxo Group Research in Clinical Pharmacology.
Marwan Fathallah
President and Global Chief Executive
Prior to joining DIA in 2023, Fathallah was the Operating Officer and EVP at Ortho Clinical Diagnostics, accountable for Operations, Post Market Product Science and Engineering, Regulatory, Quality, Medical, Clinical, Scientific Affairs, and Process Excellence. Before joining Ortho, he held Executive and Senior Leadership roles in Research and Development, Operations, and Regulatory Medical and Clinical Affairs at Avantor, Danaher, Pfizer, Hospira, and Abbott Laboratories. Fathallah holds a Master’s and Bachelor of Science degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Dr. Honig is former SVP and Head of Global Regulatory Affairs and Group Head of Development for China and Japan, overseeing regulatory effectiveness, quality control and compliance at Pfizer. Prior to joining Pfizer, he held senior leadership positions at AstraZeneca, Merck Research Laboratories and the FDA, which includes being the first Director of the Office of Drug Safety in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER). In addition to his industry and FDA experience, Dr. Honig was the PhRMA representative to the ICH Steering Committee from 2002 to 2021 and is a past President of the American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (ASCPT). Dr. Honig received his BA, MD, and MPH from Columbia University.
Tatyana Kosheleva
Director
Chair of Audit Committee
Tatyana Kosheleva, CPA, is currently CFO at Amring Pharmaceuticals Inc. where she is a member of the Executive Board responsible for all aspects of the firm's financial operations. Tatyana has over 20 years of diverse Finance experience ranging from start-ups to Fortune 50 public companies in the life sciences and technology industries across four countries. Tatyana earned her MBA degree in International Management from Thunderbird School of Global Management, a part of the Arizona State University.
Peter Sorger is the Otto Krayer Professor of Systems Pharmacology at Harvard Medical School. He received his AB from Harvard College and PhD from Trinity College, Cambridge University U.K., working under the supervision of Hugh Pelham. He trained as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, San Francisco with Harold Varmus and Andrew Murray. Prior to coming to HMS Peter served as a Professor of Biology and Biological Engineering at MIT. Sorger was cofounder of Merrimack Pharmaceuticals and Glencoe Software and is an advisor to multiple public and private companies and research institutes in the US, Europe and Japan.
Kihito Takahashi
Director
Dr. Takahashi is currently Partner at Mirasense Partners. He graduated from Hokkaido University School of Medicine and receiving his PhD in Medical Science in 1986. He served as VP, Merck Research Laboratories from 2003 to 2008. He joined LOTUS Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd, a bio-venture company in 2009, and served as a President & CEO before joining GSK, where he served as VP and Director of Japan Development until 2019. After retiring GSK, he served as Director and COO at BONAC Corporation, a bio-venture company, and then joined Mirasense Partners in 2020. He has been actively involved in industry activities including DIA, IFAPP, and EFPIA since he joined pharmaceutical industry. He is currently serving as a Councilor of JAPhMed.
Karin Van Baelen
Director
Karin is leading the Global Regulatory Affairs organization at Janssen. She facilitates the relationship between the Janssen pharmaceutical companies and global health authorities, influencing and interpreting global regulatory requirements and enabling our companies to meet those guidelines. In addition, she oversees the development of regulatory strategy for products from all therapeutic areas. Karin engages in policy development at national and international levels.
Rachel has over two decades of healthcare consulting and life science management experiences. Formerly a partner in McKinsey & Company’s New York Office, Rachel oversaw the design and delivery of corporate and R&D transformation programs, working with leading pharmaceutical companies as well as global health non-profit organizations. In 2016 she founded New Path Global LLC, to strengthen collaboration across academia, industry, and funders, towards long-term patient and society benefits. Rachel started her career as a drug discovery biochemist with Merck Research Laboratories in West Point, Pennsylvania. She also obtained an MBA from The Wharton School
Jason Monteleone
Observer
Jason joined Ancillare as President with over 25 years of experience in the healthcare, medical device, and life sciences industries. He most recently served as Chief Business and Strategy Officer at dMed-Clinipace, a global mid-sized Contract Research Organization (CRO), and Chief Executive Officer at Clinipace prior to its 2021 merger with dMed. In prior years, Jason founded Pivotal Financial Consulting, a consultancy where he advised investors and companies in the clinical research sector, focused on acquisitions, growth and innovation. Jason was also Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President for Theorem Clinical Research, a global mid-sized Contract Research Organization acquired by Chiltern International in 2015.