Speakers

Anne Arvizu, PharmD

Chief Executive Officer and Medical Affairs Advisor
RxER Communications Corp, United States

Dr. Anne Arvizu is founder and CEO of RxER Communications Corp (www.rxercommunications.com). With 22 years of executive leadership experience in the pharma/biotech industry, she has served in key roles such as Head of Global Med Info, Knowledge Mgmt. and Literature Surveillance for Baxter, Baxalta & Shire; Member Executive, PhactMI; International Regional Head & Director of Med Comm/Med Info for GSK, LATAM; DIA MASC Program Committee & Track Chair; Podcast Host for ACMA (#V3Podcast); Board Member of AMWA and serves as Chair, South Florida YMCA Board of Directors. She currently engages biotech C-Suite and VP Level executive clients as an expert consultant for Medical Affairs Capabilities build, renovation, and value-based business expansion.

Dan Benau, PhD

Director, Biomedical Writing Programs
University of the Sciences, United States

Dan Benau, PhD, Director of Biomedical Writing Programs, Professor of Biomedical Writing at the University of the Sciences. Wyeth-Ayerst Research: Scientific Writer - Principal Medical Writer (1991 - 2001), Sanofi-Synthelabo: Medical Writing Project Leader (2001 - 2003), Freelance (2003 - 2008). DIA Professional Education, Development, Training Community (2004 - 2016), DIA Medical Writing Community (2003 - present). Other memberships: AMWA, RAPS. Interests: Systems approaches to medical writing, regulatory writing, medical writing technology, holistic integration of medical writing genres.

Ivy Chang, PharmD

Principal Therapeutic Area Lead, Medical Information
Genentech, A member of the Roche Group, United States

Ivy has 19+ years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. She is a Principal Medical Science Director at Genentech with experience across diverse therapeutic areas including Oncology, Rheumatology, Respiratory, Ophthalmology, Endocrinology, Neurology, Cardiovascular Disease, and various clinical conditions with an immunologic basis in pathophysiology. Prior to joining Genentech, she was a Clinical Pharmacist in General Surgery, Surgical Subspecialties, and Solid Organ Transplant at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Medical Center, and an Assistant Clinical Professor with the UCSF School of Pharmacy. Ivy received her PharmD from University of Tennessee Health Science Center.

Ruggero Galici, PhD

Director, Nonclinical and Clinical Pharmacology Writing
Alexion Pharmaceuticals, AstraZeneca Rare Disease, United States

Dr. Galici has a background in Drug Discovery and Clinical Development with expertise in Pharmacology. He has over 15 years of experience successfully and strategically planning and delivering scientific, medical communications and global regulatory submissions to support Oncology, Vaccine, Rare Disease, Neuroscience, Pain, Immunology and Inflammation, and Consumer Health (nutrition, Rx-to-OTC switch) programs. He is currently the co-chair of the DIA MASC forum.

Jennie Jacobson, PhD

Associate Director, Publications and Scientific Communications
Incyte, United States

Jennie G. Jacobson is an Associate Director, Publications and Scientific Communications at Incyte Corporation. She earned her BA from Swarthmore College, and PhD from Harvard University. Jennie conducted post-doctoral research at Upjohn Laboratories and the University of Michigan before realizing becoming a medical writer would allow her all the fun of interpreting data without the work of generating data. She rounded out her education with two AMWA certifications, a certificate in Medical Writing from U Chicago, and a CMPP certification. In her 22 years as a medical writer, Jennie has worked in oncology, mental health, health outcomes research, infectious disease, endocrinology, and respiratory and gastrointestinal disease.

Taleen Kalebjian, PharmD

Senior Manager, Medical Information
Gilead Sciences, Inc., United States

Taleen is currently the US lead for HIV Medical Information at Gilead Sciences. After graduating from USC School of Pharmacy she pursued a career in retail pharmacy, which provided experience in a variety of settings including management. She later had the opportunity to switch paths and move into the pharmaceutical industry at Gilead, where she has supported the cardiovascular, cardiopulmonary, and HIV portfolios.

Stephanie Krupski

Consultant - Global Scientific Communications
Eli Lilly and Company, United States

I am a Global Scientific Communications Consultant – Regulatory Lead at Eli Lilly and Company. As a regulatory lead, I am responsible for leading submission (and other regulatory writing) teams by working cross-functionally with multidisciplinary groups across multiple geographies and phases of drug development. Prior to Lilly, I completed a PhD at University of Cincinnati, studying gastrointestinal hormone secretion, and a post-doctoral fellowship at the IU School of Medicine, studying insulin secretion. Outside of work, I love to read, mentor youth at my church, and work on my new lake house.

Andrea Tuttle Meyers

Senior Vice President, Medical Writing
Syneos Health, United States

Ms. Meyers is the Senior Vice President of Medical Writing at Syneos Health. She has led global medical writing teams for more than two decades in both CRO and sponsor organizations. Ms. Meyers has authored documents across all phases of clinical development for pharmaceutical products as well medical devices, including regulatory dossiers and submissions. In addition, she has also led regulatory and clinical development, leading two oncology products to NDA submission and subsequent approval. Prior to her career in clinical research, Ms. Meyers practiced neuropsychology. In 2020, Ms. Meyers was honored to be named a Healthcare Businesswomen's Association Luminary in recognition of her 25+ years of service in Clinical Research.

Robert Paarlberg, MS

Principal
Paarlberg & Associates LLC, United States

Robert Paarlberg is Principal of Paarlberg & Associates LLC, a consultancy specializing in regulatory policy, regulatory intelligence and global clinical trial disclosure strategy and operations. Prior to founding Paarlberg & Associates LLC, Bob worked at Pharmacia (Upjohn) and UCB. Bob is former Chair of DIA’s Clinical Trial Disclosure Community. Bob has more than 40 years of pharmaceutical industry experience with the vast majority of his experience in US and international regulatory affairs. Bob has been active in the clinical trial disclosure and transparency space since 2005.

Amy Van Sant, PharmD, MBA

President, Medical Affairs
Ashfield Engage, United States

With nearly 20 years of experience in the healthcare and pharmaceutical industry, Amy has held various roles of increasing responsibility within the areas of Medical Affairs and Regulatory. As the current head of US Medical Affairs, she is responsible for developing, communicating and driving strategy and leading the organization to success with a prioritized focus on the design and delivery of MI and MSL programs. Prior to joining Ashfield, Amy spent more than 10 years at Johnson & Johnson supporting the biopharmaceutical business in the areas of Immunology, Infectious Diseases, Vaccines, Global Public Health, Strategic Customer Group (Market Access), Established Products Group, and the Research & Development areas.

Donna Booth, PharmD

Head, Field Medical Accounts-East, US Medical Affairs
GlaxoSmithKline, United States

Donna V. Booth, B.S, PharmD. is the Head of Field Medical Accounts (East) at GlaxoSmithKline. She has extensive experience across Medical Affairs in various leadership and strategy roles including Medical Information, HEOR and Field Medical. She currently leads a team of field liaisons focused on medical engagements related to clinical, economic and humanistic topics with Population Based Decision Makers at Payers and Health Systems. Donna received her Bachelor of Pharmacy from University of Georgia & her Doctor of Pharmacy from Medical University of South Carolina. Before joining industry, Donna was a clinical pharmacist with faculty appointments at local colleges of pharmacy.

Poonam Bordoloi, PharmD

Executive Director, Head of Global Medical Affairs Capabilities
Organon & Co., United States

Poonam is currently a Team Lead within the Global Scientific Content group at Merck based in Kenilworth, NJ. She has global responsibility across the entire General Medicines portfolio with a large team covering key products. Most recently, Poonam was at Celgene in the Strategic Medical Communications and Innovation group. Prior to this, Poonam worked at Sanofi in the Medical Information Department for 12 years, at JNJ in the Global Competitive Intelligence group for 3 years, and at Parke-Davis in the MI Department for 3 years. She has 25 years of experience in Pharma and has 2 publications regarding Social Media and Medical Information Trends. Poonam chaired the 2019 DIA MASC meeting is now involved with DIA Annual.

Jennifer Brea

Independent Documentary Filmmaker
Canada

Jennifer Brea is an independent documentary filmmaker based in Los Angeles. She has an AB from Princeton University and was a PhD student at Harvard until sudden illness left her bedridden. In the aftermath, she rediscovered her first love, film. Her feature documentary, Unrest, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2017, where it won a Special Jury Prize. She is also co-creator of Unrest VR, winner of the Sheffield Doc/Fest Alternate Realities Award. An activist for invisible disabilities and chronic illness, she co-founded a global advocacy network, #MEAction and is a TED Talker.

Ed Cunningham, PharmD

Sunovion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., United States

Ed Cunningham, PharmD is Senior Director, Neurology Medical Science Liaison (MSL) Team Lead at Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc. Ed is based in Milwaukee, WI, and is responsible for overseeing the US Neurology MSL team. Prior to joining Sunovion, Ed was the Director of Specialty Care MSLs at Eisai Inc., leading the company’s Neuroscience and Metabolic MSL teams. Ed obtained his PharmD degree from Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and completed a 1-year Drug Information Residency with Janssen Pharmaceutica. Ed has been in the pharmaceutical industry for 17 years, working as a team leader in a variety of Medical Affairs functions, including Medical Information, Medical Education, Investigator Initiated Studies, and MSLs.

David Meats

Director, Regulatory Services Management
Certara Synchrogenix, United States

David Meats is an Associate Director of global submissions and regulatory services management at Certara Synchrogenix. He has been a medical writer for approximately 20 years working in oncology, immuno-oncology, endocrinology, musculoskeletal, cardiac, hepatic, renal, and infectious disease therapeutic areas on nearly every available clinical document type. He specializes in leading and writing FDA and EMA regulatory submissions and aggregate safety reports. David is the co-chair of the DIA MASC 2022 conference, and has been a member of DIA for 7 years.

Sudip Parikh, PhD

Senior Vice President and Managing Director, DIA Americas
DIA, United States

Sudip S. Parikh, PhD, serves as Senior Vice President and Managing Director for DIA Americas. He previously served as Vice President and General Manager of Health & Consumer Solutions at Battelle, leading its Healthcare Improvement, Public Health Research, and Consumer, Industrial, and Medical Technology Development teams in R&D supported by government and commercial clients. Dr. Parikh is a board member of Research America, the Friends of Cancer Research, and the Food Innovation Center. He was a Presidential Management Fellow at the National Institutes of Health, and was awarded a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship while earning his PhD in Macromolecular Structure and Chemistry from The Scripps Research Institute

David Price, PhD

Advisor, US Field Medical, Bio-Medicines Medical Sciences Liaisons
Lilly USA, LLC, United States

David Price, PhD has been employed with Eli Lilly and Company since 2011. David began as a Psychiatry Medical Science Liaison. David took the opportunity to diversify his MSL experience by transitioning to MSL roles supporting Urology as well as Musculoskeletal therapeutic areas. In 2014, David shifted to US Field Medical Operations and capability development across numerous therapeutic areas and MSL teams. Prior to his current role, David was a Global MSL Trainer in Lilly’s Office of Medical Professional Development. In 2018, David started his current position as a Field Medical Advisor providing operational leadership, strategic oversight and chief of staff responsibilities for Lilly’s US Bio-Medicines MSL program.

Sarika Sood, MD

Sr. Director Global Medical Information
Abbvie, United States

Sarika Sood is the Head of AbbVie Global Medical Communications which includes Global Medical Information and Global Medical Publications. She has over 15 years of academic and pharmaceutical industry experience. Sarika has experience across many Medical Affairs capabilities including MSL leadership, Global Medical Information, Therapeutic Area Medical Teams. She has led and built teams at a global and local capacity. Sarika has had the opportunity to work in many therapeutic areas across the industry and enjoys being a strategic builder.

Robin Winter-Sperry, MD

Global Field Medical Lead
Ipsen Bioscience, United States

Dr. Robin Winter-Sperry is currently the Global MSL Lead at Ipsen Biosciences in Cambridge, MA. Prior to joining Ipsen she was the Head of Global Field Based Medical Excellence and Insights at Sanofi Genzyme. Additionally Robin has extensive consulting experience as President of Scientific Advantage. She has been instrumental in Medical Affairs strategy and operations including mergers, transitions and Medical Affairs organizational design. She has pioneered the recognition of MSLs as a specialty in the biopharmaceutical and device industry and is responsible for creating and developing many of the industry’s leading Medical Affairs and Medical Liaison teams.

Ann Winter-Vann, PhD

Senior Writer and Manager
Whitsell Innovations, Inc., United States

Ann Winter-Vann earned her PhD in Molecular Cancer Biology from Duke University, where she was a predoctoral fellow of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Following a postdoctoral position in the Pharmacology Department at UNC-Chapel Hill, Ann joined Whitsell Innovations, Inc., where she is now a senior writer and manager. She has extensive experience in clinical regulatory writing and also provides consultations and training in medical writing. Ann has co-taught a science writing course for first-year biomedical graduate students at UNC-Chapel Hill. Ann is a past president of the Carolinas chapter and the current President of the American Medical Writers Association (AMWA).

Deborah Collyar

President
Patient Advocates In Research (PAIR), United States

Deborah Collyar has been a patient engagement leader since her first cancer diagnosis. She founded Patient Advocates in Research (PAIR) international communication network in 1996, "where research meets reality." Deborah infuses hundreds of patient advocates into research programs, and delivers innovative ways to gather input from thousands of patients. Her work encompasses many diseases, programs and policies at grassroots, national and international levels and emphasizes patient issues throughout development, clinical trials, and health literate communication with providers and patients. She is a speaker, blogger, author, team member, trainer, and faculty at professional workshops.

Robin Whitsell

President
Whitsell Innovations, Inc., United States

Founder and president of Whitsell Innovations, Inc., a medical writing firm headquartered in Chapel Hill, NC, Ms. Whitsell has over 25 years of experience, specializing in global submission strategy, regulatory medical writing, emerging technologies, and data visualization. Prior to founding WI, Ms. Whitsell was the assistant director of preclinical & clinical development at Inspire Pharmaceuticals and a team lead at GlaxoWellcome. She has degrees in biophysics and physics from Miami University and interned at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Payal Desai, PharmD

Associate Director, Integrated Evidence Team Lead
Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC., United States

Payal Desai earned a PharmD degree from the University of Sciences in Philadelphia. Dr. Desai worked in community practice before transitioning to a career in pharmaceutical industry. Over 20 years, Dr. Desai served at several pharmaceutical companies. In her current role at Janssen, she is the Integrated Evidence Team Lead and is responsible for generating the evidence generation plan within Medical Affairs. Previously, she was the Associate Director of Medical Information, where she was responsible for the successful launch of cardiovascular products, promotional review, and development of scientific responses. . She provides strategic medical support and participates in several cross-functional teams.

Mark Alan DeWyngaert, PhD, MA, MBA

Managing Director
Deloitte, United States

Dr. DeWyngaert trained as a molecular biologist and has been actively involved in both research and business development roles for over 30 years. He has provided operational, clinical, managerial, consulting, and litigation services to various segments of the health care industry. He specializes in assisting pharmaceutical manufacturers, biotechnology, and medical device companies with identifying and mitigating regulatory risks, valuing intellectual property and litigation support.

Jonathan Edwards, MS

Medical Writer
Audubon PM Associates Inc., United Kingdom

Over the course of 20 years working in the pharmaceutical industry, Jonathan has worked as a medical sales representative, a medical writer in an international medical communications agency, and for more than 10 years as a regulatory writer in a large pharmaceutical company. He set up an independent medical writing consultancy in 2015 as is based in the UK where his work focuses on delivery of regulatory submission packages.

Janet Gottlieb, PhD

Director
Govise, Inc., United States

Dr. Janet Gottlieb is the Executive Director of Medical Compliance Excellence, Material Review at AbbVie, where she is responsible for developing and training on global policies governing promotional and non-promotional materials. In her previous role, Dr. Gottlieb led the team responsible for the medical and scientific review of Company promotional materials where she had a direct role in the formation, expansion, and training of the centralized team. These advancements resulted in greater efficiencies via improved turnaround times, consistency in guidance, and enhanced communication. Dr. Gottlieb holds an undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences and Ph.D. in Medical Microbiology from the University of California, Irvine.

Bhakti Kshatriya, PharmD

Founder, Publication Practice Counsel
Truposha, LLC, United States

Dr. Kshatriya is author, speaker & medical communications expert with over 25 yrs industry experience. She has published book Recoding Scientific Publishing: Raising the Bar in an Era of Transformation, providing key insights into scientific publishing process. She is founder of Publication Practice Counsel, Truposha LLC, providing medical communication services to pharmaceutical, biotech & medical device companies. Prior to this, she has worked at Novartis Oncology, ALTANA Pharma, Aventis Pharmaceuticals, and DuPont Merck Pharmaceutical Company. She has extensive medical affairs experience, including publications, med education, med info, ad boards, etc, and expertise in corporate policy/SOPs, metrics, compliance & monitoring.

Monica Kwarcinski, PharmD

Vice President, Medical Affairs
Purdue Pharma L.P., United States

Monica Kwarcinski is currently the Vice President of Medical Affairs at Purdue Pharma. In this role Monica oversees Medical Information, MSLs, Medical Communications and Strategy, Health Economic and Outcomes Research, Epidemiology, and FDA Postmarketing Requirement studies. Prior to joining Purdue Pharma, Monica held various positions of increasing responsibilities within Abbott Laboratories Medical Affairs Department. She received her PharmD from Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska followed by a Drug Information Residency University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and Glaxo. Monica has 25+ years of industry experience and frequently speaks on topics related to industry medical communications compliance and department processes.

MaryKate Lesnevich, MS

Director, Global Scientific Communications, I&I
Bristol-Myers Sqibb, United States

MaryKate Lesnevich is Director, Global Scientific Communications, I&I at Celgene Corporation. She has over 18 years of experience working in both the medical device and pharmaceutical industry. During that time, MaryKate has primarily focused on peer-reviewed publication planning related to abdominal surgery, dermatology, gastroenterology, neurology, and rheumatology. In her current role, MaryKate leads the global publication teams for neurology and gastroenterology at Celgene. MaryKate has a MS in Clinical Trial Management and is a Certified Medical Publication Professional (ISMPP CMPP™).

Jimmie Overton, PharmD

CEO
Govise, Inc., United States

Jimmie Overton, PharmD is the Associate Vice President of Global Medical Scientific Information and Library for Allergan’s Chief Medical Office. His organization is responsible for the global medical information function, the medical science library, and the medical review and approval of promotional material across the Allergan portfolio. Dr. Overton has over 20 years of diverse experience in healthcare, serving in practical, academic, clinical, research, and industry settings. He has held leadership positions in a variety of functions in the pharmaceutical industry serving: Medical Information, Medical Education, Medical Communications, Medical Affairs Operations, Medical Liaison teams, and as Medical Director.

Jennifer Park, PharmD

Global Medical Information Content Manager
Sanofi, United States

Jennifer Park is a Global Content Manager at Sanofi working in the Global Medical Information organization with a focus in Consumer Healthcare. She received her Pharm.D. from Rutgers University. Prior to joining Sanofi, Jennifer completed a two-year fellowship in Medical Information with the Rutgers Pharmaceutical Industry Fellowship program. She serves as a preceptor for Rutgers fellows and pharmacy students in her department.

Ankur Shah, PharmD

Director, US Medical Information
Incyte Corporation, United States

In his role, he is primarily responsible for the management and oversight of all MI activities, including call center operations, and written content development. In addition, Ankur serves as the primary medical reviewer of promotional and scientific materials, and identifies/implements innovative MI communication channels. Prior to joining Incyte, he was the Director, Medical Information at Sunovion Pharmaceuticals. Prior to joining Sunovion, Ankur spent over 8 years working with the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies in positions of increasing responsibility within MI and Compliance. Ankur earned his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of CT.

Ellen Whipple, PharmD

Owner/Principal Writer
EW Associates, LLC, United States

Ellen is the co-owner of Scientific Content Solutions, LLC and the sole proprietor of EW Associates, LLC. She was previously a director of medical communications with an agency. Ellen has experience with medical information-related documents (e.g., standard letters, FAQs, dossiers, escalated inquiries), continuing education articles, primary author publications, promotional review, payer materials, and advisory board meeting reports. As a member of AMCP Format Executive Committee, Ellen contributed to AMCP Format 4.1. She serves as a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Georgia College of Pharmacy. Since 2000, Ellen has been a Medical Advisor for the MS Foundation.

Shelby Lynn Biagi, PharmD

Clinical Site Management Team Lead
UCB Biosciences, Inc., United States

Dr. Biagi serves as Clinical Site Management Team Lead for UCB, Inc. She brings over 20 years of experience within the pharmaceutical industry. She has held many memberships and designations over the years including positions with the American Medical Writers Association and the Georgia Pharmacy Association. Dr. Biagi received her PharmD and Drug Information Residency from Mercer University.

Dominick L. Albano

Pfizer, Inc., United States

Dominick Albano is Vice President, Global Medical Information at Pfizer. He is actively involved in phactMI. He began his industry career at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals as a Drug Information Manager specializing in the neuroscience therapy area. He held positions of increasing leadership and responsibility within Wyeth Global Medical Affairs. During his tenure he oversaw the implementation of a Neuroscience Medical Science Liaison (MSL) group, a Global Medical Communications Neuroscience Collaborative, and a Global Medical Information Leadership Council. Dr. Albano obtained his PharmD degree from the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia and his MBA in Healthcare Administration from Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia.

Mallory Alonso

Medical Science Liaison
UCB, United States

Mallory Alonso received her Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Pharmacy degrees from the University of Florida. Mallory joined US WorldMeds as Manager, Medical Affairs in November 2017. In this role, Mallory’s responsibilities include, but are not limited to, overseeing all aspects of Medical Information, managing the Medical Education Grants and Investigator Initiated Research programs, serving as Medical Reviewer for CNS products promotional review, and coordinating Medical Affairs presence at congresses. Mallory is a licensed pharmacist in both Florida and Kentucky. She became a member of DIA in 2018 and looks forward to getting more involved in the organization.

Lisa Ambrosini Vadola, PhD, MA

Manager, Medical Writing
Whitsell Innovations, Inc., United States

Lisa Ambrosini Vadola is currently a Manager of Medical Writing at Whitsell Innovations, Inc, where she leads a team of medical writers and supports clients in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries with the preparation of clinical regulatory documents, including submissions to global regulatory agencies. In addition, Lisa provides consultation and training in regulatory medical writing. Before joining Whitsell Innovations, Inc., Lisa earned a PhD in Chemistry from Columbia University and completed postdoctoral training in the Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Microbial Pathogenesis at the Rockefeller University.

Kevin Appareti

Senior Director, Global Medical Science Liaison
Royal Philips, United States

Kevin Appareti is Senior Director, Global Medical Science Liaison in the Chief Medical Office at Royal Philips. He leads the Key Opinion Leader Program and Medical Education Program. He works across Philips’ businesses, markets, and research to build strong internal and external relationships with Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) and influencers. Kevin partners with internal business, market, and research leaders and external KOLs to develop Strategic KOL Engagement Programs to deliver strategic guidance, leverage clinical and scientific knowledge, foster peer-to-peer relationships, and support clinical and marketing evidence development and medical education in support of Philips development of meaningful innovations.

Teresa Armstrong

Plain Language Summary Specialist
Janssen, Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, United States

25 years experience of experience in Scientific Communications including 5 years in Transparency. Active in many external working groups. Certified Editor in the Life Sciences. Loving wife, daughter, sister, and aunt in a wonderful family. Dedicated dog trainer and lover, competing in many dog sports.

Leslie Citrome, MD, MPH

Editor in Chief, International Journal of Clinical Practice
Wiley, United States

Dr. Citrome is Clinical Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at New York Medical College in Valhalla, NY, and has a private practice in Pomona, NY. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology. Dr. Citrome is the Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Clinical Practice, published by Wiley. He is the author or co-author of over 500 published research reports, reviews, and book chapters in the biomedical literature.

David B. Clemow, PhD

Advisor, Scientific Communications Information Strategy
Eli Lilly and Company, United States

David is an Advisor Scientific Communications at Eli Lilly and Company with over 20 years of regulatory, publication, and promotional scientific communications experience in the pharmaceutical industry. His work has included document authoring, team management, operations consulting, clinical research, and medical affairs. David is Chair of the American Medical Writers Association Medical Writing Certification Commission.

Fred Cox, PhD

President and Principal of CERES
Cox Econometric Research, LLC, United States

Dr. Cox is currently President and Principal at CERES: Cox Econometric Research, LLC. Prior to that, he has been in HEOR research and leadership positions for 35+ years at the Baltimore Cancer Research Program, the VAMC (Augusta, Ga), GSK, Pfizer, UCB, and Sanofi Genzyme; responsible for therapeutic areas spanning respiratory diseases, oncology, infectious diseases, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Lupus, and ophthalmologic diseases. Inaddition, he is affiliate/adjunct faculty at UNC (Chapel Hill), VCU College of Pharmacy, and MCPHS (Boston), and was a founding faculty member at the Campbell University School of Pharmacy. Finally, he has authored 85+ publications within the HEOR area.

Michael Goles, MA

Director, Office of Medical Professional Development
Eli Lilly & Company, United States

Michael is responsible for the Professional Development of key roles within Lilly's Medical organization. He leads a team to curate interpersonal learning experiences for global MSL/Managers, MAP & CRP/CRS. Michael joined Lilly in July of 2012. His 20+ years of 'learning & development' experience centers around building robust learning portfolios to build strategic capabilities for a variety of organizations in different industries.

Evelyn R. Hermes-DeSantis, PharmD

Director, Research and Publications
phactMI, United States

Evelyn Hermes-DeSantis, PharmD, BCPS, the Director of Research and Publications for phactMI and Professor Emerita at the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. She received her undergraduate and graduate degrees from Rutgers University and completed Specialized Residency in Drug Information Practice at the Medical College of Virginia Hospital in Richmond, Virginia. Prior to joining phactMI in 2020, a non-profit collaboration of medical information leaders, Evelyn was a Clinical Professor at the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey and Director of Drug Information Services at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital for 25 years.

Sarah Jarvis, MBA

Global Medical Affairs Lead
ZS, United States

Sarah Jarvis leads our Global Medical Affairs consulting space at ZS. Based now in San Francisco, California, Sarah has worked in the lifesciences industry for over 25 years and has focused exclusively on working with medical affairs clients for the past 15 years at ZS. ZS has worked with more than 100 companies' Medical Affairs organizations. Sarah also previously worked at Genentech in a variety of different roles on products that spanned therapy areas and phases of the lifecycle. With COVID acting as an accelerator on the medical function, ZS is partnering with clients to support the growth and change needed to meet global demands - in the field and in headquarters - through strategy, advanced analytics, and operations projects.

Michelle Quinlan, PharmD

Associate Director, Medical Information
Pfizer, Inc., United States

Michelle Quinlan is an Associate Director, Medical Information at Pfizer. Dr. Quinlan graduated from St. John’s University College of Pharmacy where she received both her Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Pharmacy degrees. Dr. Quinlan has 10 years of experience working within the pharmaceutical industry. Prior to joining Pfizer, Dr. Quinlan practiced pharmacy in both the community and hospital settings.

Sian Ratcliffe, PhD

Vice President, Head of Medical Writing
Pfizer Inc, United States

In her role as Head of Medical Writing, Dr Siân Ratcliffe leads a large global team of writers and quality reviewers engaged in Protocol, Clinical Study Report, Clinical Trial Disclosure and Clinical Regulatory Submission document authorship supporting all therapeutic areas and phases of development at Pfizer. Siân brings >18 years biopharmaceutical development experience in leadership roles across the business in Drug Safety R&D, Clinical Development, Safety and Risk Management, as well as Regulatory Affairs. Prior to joining Pfizer, Siân worked as a freelance editor for the Elsevier Trends Journals. Siân has a PhD in Pharmacology from the University of Cambridge where she also held post-doctoral research and academic posts.

Mary K. Sendi, PharmD

MI Regional Lead North America
Pfizer Inc, United States

Mary is the Regional North America Lead for Pfizer Medical Information [MI]. Mary earned both a Bachelors and Doctorate degree in Pharmacy. Mary has greater than 20 years pharmaceutical industry experience specific to medical information. Outside of Pfizer, Mary is active in advancing the medical information profession through her leadership/collaboration roles in the Drug Information Association and phactMI [Pharma Collaboration for Transparent Medical Information]. Mary is currently serving on the phactMI board of directors for the term 2019-2020.

Susan Shaffer, PharmD, MBA

Head of Global Medical Capabilities, Respiratory
AstraZeneca, United Kingdom

Susan Shaffer has 20+ years of experience in Med Affairs and is currently the Head of Respiratory Medical Capabilities in Global Medical Affairs at AstraZeneca. She is responsible for leading the Global MSL Excellence, Global Publications, Global Medical Information, Global Medical Training, and Global Patient Engagement teams within the Respiratory Therapeutic Area. She received her PharmD from the University of Maryland and MBA from Saint Joseph’s University. Susan recently returned from a three-year international assignment in the UK, working as the Head of Global MSL Excellence. Prior to this role, Susan has held Med Affairs leadership roles within Field Med Affairs, Med Strategy & Operations, Med Info, and Med Education.

Larry Singer, JD, MBA, RPh

Senior Corporate Counsel & Deputy Global Data Protection Officer
Syneos Health, Inc., United States

Larry Singer is Senior Corporate Counsel & Deputy Data Protection Officer at Syneos Health, Inc. Attorney Singer has extensive experience in global and domestic data privacy laws and is responsible for the execution of the Data Privacy Program at Syneos.

Darren Taichman, MD, PhD

Executive Deputy Editor
Annals of Internal Medicine, United States

Dr. Taichman is the Executive Editor of the Annals of Internal Medicine and Vice President of the American College of Physicians. He is an Adjunct Professor of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania where he practices Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine. Dr. Taichman also serves as Secretary of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. He earned his MD and PhD from the University of Pennsylvania, completed Internal Medicine residency training at the Beth Israel Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellowships at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and research / post-doctoral fellowships at the Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Jim Wilkinson, PhD

Vice President, Global Medical Affairs
Amgen, Inc., United States

Jim Wilkinson is an Executive Director of Global Medical Affairs at Amgen with over 17 years of experience in Medical Communications, Medical Information, and Medical Science Liaisons (MSLs). His experience includes managing Departments focused on global scientific content, contact centers, publications, congresses, scientific advisory boards, creation of MSL resources, and Promotional Review Committees across multiple therapeutic areas. Jim has managed U.S. MSL teams including scientific engagement plans for opinion leaders, disease state and product discussions, clinical research and formulary support, and has accountabilities for overall global MSL strategies at Amgen.

Emily Costerison, PharmD

Compliance Manager
Genentech Inc., United States

Emily Costerison is Compliance Manager within US Medical Affairs at Genentech. She has worked at Genentech since 2007 with a focus on communicating clinical information to healthcare professionals and managed care organizations and now supports compliance for her medical organization. Emily received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Washington. She also completed a Pharmacy General Practice Residency and Drug Information Residency at Stanford Hospital & Clinics.

Michael Abbadessa, PharmD

Founder and Cheif Executive Officer
OpX Insights, Inc., United States

Dr. Abbadessa has over 15 years in the pharma industry across all functions within Medical Affairs including field teams and home office senior leadership roles. His most recent position was the Sr Director of Innovation and Strategy for Medical Affairs at a top 20 Pharma company. In addition, he has 17 years of acute care hospital practice and has been a medical leader and managed diverse teams, in various settings for most of his career. Mike’s value proposition is leading and developing teams to optimize a team’s performance to the highest level through quality improvement, continuous learning, and constant innovation. He is an ideator and passionate about people development, and motivating others to achieve their goals.

Jamie Arvizu, MD, MPH

Head of Medical Affairs LATAM
Ultragenyx, United States

Dr. Jaime Arvizu is a senior executive pharmaceutical physician and VP of Medical Affairs with 27+ years of global leadership experience. He has built and led MA teams, with growth strategies which lay the foundation for patient-centered medical excellence at country, region and global levels. Jaime is passionate about transforming the standards of medical care and leaving a legacy of better living for patients with rare and debilitating disease. Dr. Arvizu’s expertise include extensive portfolio management initiatives across multiple TAs, spanning strategic product development, medical education, field-based medical teams (MSLs), disease management and other patient programs.

Behtash Bahador, MS

Associate Director, Relationship Management and Development
Center for Information and Study on Clinical Research Participation (CISCRP), United States

Behtash Bahador is an Associate Director at the non-profit organization CISCRP, and holds a Master of Science in Health Communication from the Tufts University School of Medicine. Since 2014, he has collaborated with a range of stakeholder groups to establish and implement patient- and public-centric initiatives across the life-cycle of drug and treatment development. This has included supporting the development of regulatory and cross-disciplinary best practice guidelines, operationalizing key elements of evidence-based public health programing into the process of clinical research, and always keeping the needs of patients, participants and the public at the forefront of his work.

Dawn Beach, PharmD

Medical Information Director, Respiratory US Medical Information
GlaxoSmithKline, United States

Dawn Beach, Pharm D is a Director of Medical Information at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and has been in the pharmaceutical industry for 9 years. Prior to joining GSK, she spent 11 years as a hospital clinical pharmacist. Currently, she leads the payer and policy maker strategy for U.S. Medical Information. Additionally, she leads a team to deliver traditional and innovative medical content. In this role, she works across the matrix to understand and ensure medical information content aligns with the medical value story, voice of the customer, and medical engagement plans.

Elizabeth Brown, MS, PMP

Director, Oncology Medical Writing Lead
Merck & Co., Inc., United States

Elizabeth Brown is a Director and TA Lead of Oncology Medical Writing at Merck & Co, Inc. near Philadelphia, PA. She has led regulatory projects and initiatives in the pharmaceutical industry for 20+ years. First as a laboratory scientist, then as a clinical researcher, and currently as a medical writer. Elizabeth brings a project and people management focus to her role as a regulatory medical writer and department leader. With this focus, she has developed a passion for developing people, advising teams and providing strategic guidance how to deliver efficient, effective, and high-quality documents.

Julia Forjanic-Klapproth, PhD

Senior Partner/President
Trilogy Writing & Consulting, Germany

After receiving her PhD in Developmental Neurobiology, Julia became a medical writer in 1997. In 2002, she co-founded Trilogy Writing & Consulting, a company specialized in medical writing of regulatory documentation. As Senior Partner and CEO, she continues to bring her enthusiasm and experience to client projects. She has twice been President of the European Medical Writers Association (EMWA), is an experienced trainer of medical writers, and runs workshops for EMWA, AMWA, DIA, and pharma companies around the world.

Ilya Gipp, MD, PhD

Oncology Solutions Executive
Philips HeathTech, United States

Ilya Gipp is the Oncology Executive in Philips Heathtech, representing company for Oncology products portfolio in North America. He has taken this position as of August 2017 relocating from the Netherlands, where he was responsible for MR Therapy and Radiation Oncology Solutions business development of Royal Philips globally. Ilya has a strong clinical, scientific, business development and marketing background in Diagnostic Imaging and Oncology he has an MD in diagnostic radiology and a PhD in neuroradiology. He is continuing to practice diagnostic radiology remotely for the chain of clinics in the South and East of Europe.

Hilary Mandler, PharmD

Sr Dir, med strategy
Supernus Pharmaceuticals, United States

Hilary D. Mandler, PharmD is currently Director, Pharmaceutical Industry and Education Fellowship Program at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy/USciences. Mandler’s pharmacy career has spanned across clinical practice, academia, clinical research and industry. 15+ years industry experience in medical affairs, she was responsible for hiring the first MSL organization at Shire, then expanding the organization to provide MSL leadership across multiple therapeutic areas. Hilary is responsible for managing eight fellows within 4 unique companies. She is responsible for fellowship recruitment and marketing, industry partnerships, budget management, and mentorship to guide professional growth and leadership capabilities of each fellow.

Lori Mouser, PharmD

Global Head, Medical Customer Engagement
F. Hoffman La Roche, Switzerland

Lori Mouser is the Global Head of Medical Customer Engagement at Roche. She champions the success of field medical teams and medical information teams to advance medicine through their engagements with healthcare providers and patients. Leading medical engagement teams for over 18 years, Lori brings the experience from a range of therapeutic areas. She has US and Global experience and operates with a commitment to creating solutions through collaboration. Lori’s first MSL position was at Aventis (now Sanofi) where she quickly gravitated to leading MSL teams during her 12 years with the company. Joining the Roche organization at Genentech in 2012, Lori ultimately was responsible for the national US Oncology MSL and field leadership team.

Ghiesla Nel

Head of Global Medical Information
IPSEN PHARMA, France

Ghiesla Nel, B Pharm, is Head of Global Medical Information at Ipsen. Ghiesla started her career in GSK in 2005 and since has gained a broad experience in both Medical Information and Pharmacovigilance in small, medium and large Pharma. Ghiesla has experience in setting up local (and now global) Medical Information functions, sourcing and implementing a global medical information database as well as successfully outsourcing first line medical information services. In the middle of her Medical Affairs career Ghiesla did a 4-year tenure in marketing which harnessed her strategic thinking and brought unique perspectives of the value of Medical Information.

Anthony Page

Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer
Voxx Analytics, United States

Tony has over 30 years of experience creating and delivering analytical products and services. In his past career in the U.S. intelligence community, he directed intelligence operations in various strategic analysis organizations in the US and abroad. Subsequently, Tony used his insight to apply intelligence methodologies to pharmaceutical industry problems. Over the past decade, he has developed the novel technologies that are now Voxx Analytics, bringing rigorous advanced analytics to bear on engagement-related challenges. Tony has an MS from National Intelligence University and an MBA from the Peter F. Drucker School of Business.

Patricia Pagnotta, MSN

Nurse Practitioner
Neurology Associates, United States

Patricia Pagnotta, APRN, MSN, MSCN, CNRN Graduate of Towson State University, Post Graduate work done at University of Maryland and University of Central Florida. Works at the MS Center of Greater Orlando, a division of Neurology Associates in Maitland, FL. Active in the MS providing direct care, performing research and educating peers and patients. Has spoken nationally and internationally. Published in Peer Reviewed Journals. Current President of the International Organization of MS Nurses (IOMSN)

Patrick Reilly, MS, MSc

CEO
Phactmi, United States

Patrick Reilly has more than 30 years experience in the pharmaceutical industry. He is currently the CEO for phactMI, a non-profit organization comprised of 28 pharma companies across the industry with a mission to raise awareness, ensure credibility, and facilitate easy access to medical information. Prior to leading phactMI, Patrick was the head of global Medical Information at BMS. Patrick's industry experience in pharma includes leadership roles in R&D clinical operations and across several Medical Affairs functions including post marketing clinical trials, field medical, and medical communication. Patrick is a long-time member of DIA, as well as ISMPP, MAPs, and ASAE.

Ina Shah, PharmD

Director
Allergan Plc, United States

Ina Shah, PharmD, RPh Director, Medical Information – Allergan Ina is a pharmaceutical professional with over 25 years of US and global experience in Medical/Scientific Communications, Drug Safety/Pharmacovigilance and Clinical Research. She is currently responsible for the Medical Information function at Allergan and her department delivers high-quality medical information and develops global content for requests from healthcare professionals and patients. Ina is passionate about Medical Affairs and its role in supporting customers to ensure safe and effective use of medicines. In addition to Allergan, Ina has previously managed multi-functional teams and held roles of increasing responsibility at Hoffmann La Roche.

Catherine Skobe, MPH

Senior Director, Publications Management Team Lead
Pfizer, Inc., United States

Catherine W. Skobe MPH, MT(ASCP) Catherine is the Publications Management Team Leader at Pfizer. Prior to Pfizer, she worked at IntraMed, Becton Dickinson, and at UNC Hospitals. Catherine is a member of ISMPP and is currently Chair-Elect. She served on the Ethics committee and co-founded the Social Media and Web-based Metrics Working Group. She earned a BS in Medical Technology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is certified as a Medical Technologist from the American Society of Clinical Pathology. Catherine received her MPH with a concentration in Community Health Education from Hunter College.

Sandra Wainwright

Exec. Dir., Regulatory Liaison
Merck Canada Inc., Canada

James Walter, PhD

National Team Leader, Cardiometabolic RSDs, US Medical Affairs
Merck Research Labs, United States

James D. Walter, PhD has over 20 years of leadership experience in the pharmaceutical industry in support of clinical development and medical affairs. He was worked across several therapeutic areas including cardiovascular, respiratory & allergy, thrombosis, etc.

Isabelle C. Widmer, DrMed

Medical Affairs Consultant
elytra GmbH, Switzerland

Isabelle Widmer, MD is a life science consultant and coach based in Europe. Isabelle supports teams in both Fortune 500 companies and biotech to deliver global transformation programmes in Medical Affairs and Med Info. Combining an entrepreneurial mindset, analytical and project management skills with the ability to design and implement tailored solutions, Isabelle takes pride in proposing pragmatic, sustainable and cost-effective solutions. A published author, frequent conference presenter, recent Programme Director at Basel University in postgraduate education in pharmaceutical medicine and a Program Committee member for the DIA Annual European Medical Information and Communications Meeting she is passionate about continuing education.

Lisa Zimmerman, MS

President
Axis Pharma, United States

Lisa ZImmerman is an accomplished professional with a proven track record of success in Clinical Operations and Development, Regulatory Affairs, Regulatory Compliance and Quality Assurance. As a 26 year pharmaceutical veteran she has a broad experience in many areas of drug, device, and biologic development and was instrumental in bringing three three drugs to market for Pozen Pharmaceuticals (Treximet, Vimovo, and Yosprala). She has held leadership roles at ClinTrials Research, DCRI, POZEN, and Pernix Therapeutics. She now heads her own company that focuses on helping small biotech companies on navigating the pathways for drug, biologic and device development around the world.

Lisa Chamberlain-James, PhD

Senior Partner
Trilogy Writing & Consulting, United Kingdom

Lisa Chamberlain James is a Senior Partner and Chief Executive Officer of Trilogy Writing & Consulting. Aside from management activities, she also leads client projects, with extensive experience in a variety of documents and a special interest in drug safety and patient information. After receiving her Ph.D. in Pathology, Lisa began her medical writing career in Cambridge in 2000. Since then, she has been heavily involved in the EMWA on the Education Committee and as a workshop leader, is chair of the EMWA PV Special Interest Group, and is a Fellow of The Royal Society of Medicine.

Mick Foy

Deputy Director of Patient Safety Monitoring
Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), United Kingdom

Mick Foy has been with the MHRA for more than 30 years, he is a member of the MHRA’s Senior Leadership team and has recently been appointed Deputy Director of Patient Safety Monitoring . Amongst his responsibilities is to lead MHRA efforts to build PV capabilities in other countries particularly low and middle income countries as part of a global initiative with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Mick continues to have responsibility for the UK Yellow Card scheme with regard to the vigilance of medicines, medical devices and blood. Mick is Chair of the MedDRA Management Committee.

Andrew Gazo, PharmD, MS

Head of CHC Global Content, Medical Information
Sanofi, United States

Andrew Gažo is currently Head of Global Content for Consumer Healthcare in the Sanofi Medical Information Department and is a Board member of phactMI. Andrew has been active in all aspects of Medical Information, including content globalization, compliance monitoring, business development & contracting, launch preparation & crisis management, and creation & management of payer materials, including AMCP pre- and post approval dossiers. Andrew currently leads a team who provide global medical information customers for the consumer healthcare and established medicines drugs and devices. Andrew joined the Sanofi Medical Information Department in 1998, and has supported products in a many diverse therapeutic areas.

Avikk S Ghose, MBA

CEO
Kernel, United States

Avikk is co-founder and CEO of Kernel. Previously, he directed strategic mobile initiatives at Intuit where his team was responsible for product strategy, mergers & acquisitions and best-practice innovations in the wireless ecosystem. Before Intuit, Avikk was vice president, marketing and business development at Mercora and worked in corporate development at RealNetworks. Avikk serves on the board of trustees at the Ghose Foundation. He is on the board of advisors at Virtual Mobile Technologies (Pty) Ltd in Cape Town, South Africa and is a senior advisor at Endeavor. Avikk received an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of Washington and an MBA from New York University.

Jully Kim, PharmD

Director, Global Medical Information
Celgene Corporation, United States

Jully Kim, PharmD is a Director in Global Medical Information at Celgene where she oversees a team primarily responsible for medical review of promotional materials, inquiry insight generation, medical congress support, Compendia submissions and other related business initiatives in Hematology/Oncology. Prior to joining Celgene, Jully was at Bristol-Myers Squibb where she gained experiences in Medical Information, Medical Strategy and Sales Training across Neuroscience, Virology, Immunoscience and Cardiovascular. Jully completed her Rutgers Pharmaceutical Industry Post-Doctoral Fellowship at Bristol-Myers Squibb Medical Information and received her Doctor of Pharmacy from Rutgers, Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy.

Frank Lock

Director, Information Center
AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, United States

Frank Lock is an experienced leader skilled in contact center management, customer and client interaction, strategy and operations, and managing people, suppliers, processes, information technology, and budget. He has worked in the pharmaceutical industry for many years. Frank currently works as Director of the Information Center at AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals in Wilmington Delaware. He holds a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering degree from the University of Delaware, and an MBA degree from Penn State University.

Chris Maxwell

Patient Advocate, United States

Chris Maxwell served 19 years as lead pastor in Orlando, Florida, and is in his thirteenth year as Campus Pastor and Director of Spiritual Life at Emmanuel College. He almost died of encephalitis in 1996, and now lives with severe brain damage and epilepsy. Chris has hosted tv and radios shows, and speaks in conventions, conferences, churches, and schools around the world. He is the author of nine books, including “Pause,” “Underwater,” and his latest, “a slow and sudden God: 40 years of wonder.” Chris and his wife Debbie have three sons and five grandchildren. Visit him at www.chrismaxwell.me

Eileen E. Navarro Almario, MD, MS, FACP

Lead Medical Officer, OCS, OTS, CDER
FDA, United States

Eileen Navarro, MD, FACP serves as lead in the Office of Computational Science which implements regulatory science (tools, standards and analytic approaches) to support a modern regulatory review process.

Chirayu Parikh, PharmD

Regional Medical Liaison
Novo Nordisk Inc., United States

Dr. Parikh is the Regional Medical Liaison at Novo Nordisk with over 10 years of experience spanning community pharmacy practice, pharmacy district leadership, pharmacovigilance, and medical information. He is currently responsible for management and dissemination of med info to both internal and external stakeholders for pipeline and marketed diabetes and obesity compounds. Dr. Parikh has managed the development of digital communication channels to disseminate health economic outcomes research (HEOR) data and clinical trial information while leveraging data mining tools to collect analytics and generate user insights. He earned his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy at Rutgers University.

Jennifer Slade, PharmD

Senior Director, Global Lead MSLs
Novartis Pharmaceuticals, United States

Jennifer Slade, PharmD is an Executive Director at Novartis Pharmaceuticals in Oncology Global Medical Affairs, Scientific Engagement & Communications. In this role, she is responsible for developing and communicating MSL Strategic Plans, HCP Engagement, Medical Information and Global Scientific Communications for the Solid Tumor and Rare Disease Franchise. With over 18 years of experience in industry, Jennifer has held various roles in Global Clinical Development, US Medical (including MSL, MSL Strategy, MSL Training) and Global Medical Affairs in several therapeutic areas. Jennifer received her Doctor of Pharmacy from Purdue University.

William A. Soliman, PhD

President
ACMA, United States

Dr. William Soliman is currently the President/CEO of the Accreditation Council for Medical Affairs (ACMA). He has several years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry across. He has held key positions where he was instrumental in launching a variety of innovative platforms expanding the role of medical affairs across the industry. He has been featured in Forbes, ABC News and other media outlets discussing pharma with a particular focus on medical affairs. He earned his BA from New York University and his PhD from Columbia University.

Debra Bello, PhD, RN

Director, Specialty Therapies, Global Medical Information
AbbVie, Inc., United States

Debra Bello is currently the Director, Global Medical Communications at AbbVie. She has >25 years of healthcare experience in clinical, research and industry settings. She is a registered nurse and holds a doctorate of nursing from the University of Illinois, Chicago. She began her industry career at Baxter Healthcare Corporation and gained increasing roles and responsibilities in the Medical Affairs and Medical Information functions. Debra has been with AbbVie for 2.5 years and is now leading the Global Medical Communications-Specialty Team which includes medical information and publications.

Annamaria Crisan, MS, MSc

Pfizer, Canada

Annamaria Crisan BPharm, MSc Annamaria is currently the Digital Director and member of North America Oncology team in Medical Information at Pfizer. She has been with Pfizer for 9 years occupying various roles with oncology medical information team. Most recently she took on an additional role as Digital Director for North America in Medical Information. In this capacity she is overseeing some of the digital initiatives in medical information, in addition to the oncology breast cancer products support. Annamaria received her Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmacy in Romania and her Master of Science degree in Pathology and Cellular Biology from University of Montreal.

Hemali Patel, PharmD, RPh

Medical Information Therapeutic Manager
Novo Nordisk Inc., United States

Hemali Patel is a Medical Information Manager at Novo Nordisk Inc. In her current role, she is responsible for maintaining/creating standard response documents to provide medical information to external and internal stakeholders and providing insights to cross functional teams. Prior to joining the team as a manager less than a year ago, Hemali completed her post-doctoral fellowship at Novo Nordisk Inc. gaining experience in Medical Information and Medical Affairs. She completed her PharmD at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. Outside of work, she loves to travel, try new foods and spend time with her family and friends.