Ned David is a scientist and entrepreneur. In 2011, David co-founded UNITY Biotechnology, a company dedicated to lengthening human healthspan by selectively clearing senescent cells from the body. Before UNITY, he co-founded four biotechnology companies that together raised over $1.5 billion in financing and today employ over 400 scientists, engineers, and business people. UNITY, his latest company, recently closed a series B with investment from ARCH Venture Partners, Venrock, and Jeff Bezos – among others.

Ned is a co-founder of Syrrx (acquired by Takeda), Achaogen (AKAO), Kythera Biopharmaceuticals (KYTH, acquired by Allergan), and Sapphire Energy.

Ned was named one of the Top 100 innovators in the world under 35 by MIT Technology Review. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley in Molecular and Cellular Biology and an A.B. in Biology from Harvard University.

Mr. Crafts is responsible for scientific and technology leadership for the Life Sciences Program for Northrop Grumman Technology Services.  His team leverages research and applied technologies from across Northrop Grumman’s work with the NIH, FDA, CMS, VA and DOD and its partners to deliver innovative health IT solutions.  He is responsible for identifying, developing, acquiring and deploying a broad range of technologies and science, ranging from machine learning/AI, personalized health, secure cloud, and analytics technologies.

Over 20 years with Northrop Grumman, he has managed the largest IT partner for the CDC, led the software development for the national blood supply chain for the American Red Cross, and supported global initiatives.  As Northrop Grumman’s  Program Director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Programs, his team supported 300 projects across 40 countries concerning global biosurveillance, HIV, tuberculosis, children’s vaccines, diabetes, H1N1, cancer, smoking and emergency preparedness and response.  Mr. Crafts’ previously managed Planning & Strategy, and Advanced Technology for the global IT for Mobil Oil Corporation, and he worked in the Middle East building a city for Bechtel.

He has an MBA in International Business and Finance from New York University, and a BA from the University of Virginia.  He is Chair, Industry Advisory Board, National Science Foundation Center for Hybrid Multicore Productivity Research.   He was the Vice Chairman, Project Management Institute (PMI), Atlanta, which is the third largest PMI organization globally.  For over10 years, he was also Chairman of the Board for a non-profit which prevents homelessness.

Ricardo Henao, a quantitative scientist, is an Assistant Professor in the department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics at Duke University. He is also associated with the Information Initiative at Duke (iiD), the Center for Applied Genomics and Precision Medicine (CAGPM), the Center for Health Data Science and the Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI), all at Duke University. The theme of his research is the development of novel statistical methods and machine learning algorithms primarily based on probabilistic modeling. His expertise covers several fields including applied statistics, signal processing, pattern recognition and machine learning. He regularly serves as reviewer for journals such as the Journal of Machine Learning Research (JMLR), Statistics in Medicine, Journal of Biomedical Informatics (JBI) and Neural Computation, and conferences such as Neural Information Processing Systems (NIPS), International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML) and Artificial Intelligence and Statistics (AISTATS). He is co-author in more than 50 academic papers, and his work has touched on such diverse fields as machine learning, biostatistics, applied statistics, neuroscience, cancer, infectious disease and liver disease. His methods research focuses on hierarchical or multilayer probabilistic models to describe complex data, such as that characterized by high-dimensions, multiple modalities, more variables than observations, noisy measurements, missing values, time-series, multiple modalities, etc., in terms of low-dimensional encodings for the purposes of hypothesis generation and improved predictive modeling. Most of his applied work is dedicated to the analysis of biological data such as gene expression, proteomics, medical imaging, clinical narrative and electronic health records. His recent work has been focused on the development of sophisticated machine learning models, including deep learning approaches, for the analysis and interpretation of clinical and biological data with applications to predictive modeling for diverse clinical outcomes.

David leads Lilly’s Emerging Technology and Innovation business development team  composed of experienced drug discovery and development scientists (in Cambridge, MA, Indianapolis, and Europe). This external R&D effort provides broad geographic coverage and access to early phase innovation – focusing on novel pathways and new therapeutic modalities, connecting partners to Lilly expertise, and leveraging flexible funding models (including VC fund partnerships).

From 2006-2016 David was VP Endocrine-CV and Clinical Investigation at Lilly, overseeing global R&D efforts in cardio-metabolic and musculoskeletal disease. He was also responsible for the Lilly China R&D Centre. David’s team contributed to the discovery and development of several key Lilly pipeline molecules including dulaglutide (a GLP1 analog, Trulicityä – FDA approved 2014).

Before Lilly, David was VP, Metabolic Disorders at Merck. During a decade of work, his team delivered several additions to the pipeline; these included Sitagliptin (Januviaä).

David has a B.S. from Brown University and his M.D. from University of Cincinnati. He completed clinical and research fellowships at Harvard Medical School and served as an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard.

Mike Salvino is an Operating Partner at Carrick Capital Partners, an investment firm focused on technology-enabled businesses.

Prior to joining Carrick Capital Partners in September 2016, Mike was group chief executive of Accenture Operations – one of Accenture’s five businesses with more than $7 billion in annual net revenues and more than 100,000 people globally. As group chief executive, Mike led a team of both consulting and outsourcing professionals focused on providing business process outsourcing (BPO), infrastructure, security, and cloud services, delivering business value and driving productivity/digital improvements for clients. In addition, Mike served as a member of Accenture’s Global Management Committee and represented Accenture on the Board of Avanade – a $2bn, 29,000 people joint venture between Microsoft and Accenture focused on providing innovative digital services, business solutions and design-led experiences that leverage the Microsoft ecosystem.

Under Mike’s leadership, Accenture received many accolades and was consistently recognized by industry analysts and influencers as a market leader in operations. In 2014, Mike was inducted into the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP) Outsourcing Hall of Fame.

In the early part of his career, Mike also held senior leadership positions at a number of start-up and publicly traded companies such as the HR BPO pioneer Exult, where he was President of Americas region and subsequently at Hewitt, where he was the Global Sales and Accounts Co-Leader for their HR Outsourcing Group.

Mike holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from Marietta College, Ohio where he graduated cum laude and now serves as a member of the Board. Mike also serves on the Duke University Pratt School of Engineering Board of Visitors along with the Duke Catholic Center Advisory Board. Through their 5MPOWER® foundation, Mike and his family regularly give philanthropically to charitable causes with a particular focus on cancer research, people in need, youth sports, and education.

Clay is an entrepreneur turned venture capitalist. Since 1995, he has co-founded eight companies in the life science arena and co-founded Hatteras in 2000. Since co-founding Hatteras, Clay has been instrumental in building the firm from its origins with a $3 million seed fund to a venture capital partnership that manages over $450 million across five venture funds. Clay has led investments in a range of life science companies, including biopharmaceuticals, medical devices, diagnostics, and research informatics.

Clay currently serves as Executive Chairman of PhaseBio Pharmaceuticals and Chairman of GeneCentric Diagnostics. He is also on the boards of Clearside Biomedical (Nasdaq: CLSD), Lysosomal Therapeutics, Artizan Biosciences, Orig3n, and Rodin Therapeutics. He serves on the Chancellor’s Philanthropic Committee at UNC-Chapel Hill, the Board of Visitors of the Line berger Comprehensive Cancer Center at UNC-Chapel Hill, and on the board of the NC School of Science and Mathematics Foundation. Clay holds a Masters of Public Policy from Harvard University and a B.A. in mathematics and art history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Anthony Atala, MD, is the Director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, and the W. Boyce Professor and Chair of Urology at Wake Forest University.  Dr. Atala is a practicing surgeon and a researcher in the area of regenerative medicine.  His work focuses on growing human cells, tissues and organs.

Dr. Atala works with several journals and serves in various roles, including Editor-in-Chief of: Stem Cells- Translational Medicine; Current Stem Cell Research and Therapy; Therapeutic Advances in Urology; and BioPrinting.

Dr. Atala was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences in 2011, to the National Academy of Inventors as a Charter Fellow in 2013, and to the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering in 2016. Dr. Atala is a recipient of awards, including the Barringer Medal from the American Association of Genitourinary Surgeons  for distinguished accomplishments, the Gold Cystoscope award and the Ramon Guiteras Award from the American Urological Association, the US Congress funded Christopher Columbus Foundation Award, bestowed on a living American who is currently working on a discovery that will significantly affect society,  the World Technology Award in Health and Medicine, presented to individuals achieving significant and lasting progress, the Samuel D. Gross Prize, awarded every 5 years to a national leading surgical surgeon by the Philadelphia Academy of Surgery, the Innovation Award from the Society of Manufacturing Engineers for the creation of synthetic organs, and the Rocovich Gold Medal, awarded to a distinguished scientist who has made a major impact on science. He also received the 2013 Edison Science/Medical Award, the 2016 Smithsonian Ingenuity Award, the R&D 2016 Innovator of the Year Award, and the Fast Company 2017 World Changing Ideas Award for Bioprinting Tissue and Organs.

Dr. Atala’s work has been described in the lay press. In 2003 he was named by Scientific American as a Medical Treatments Leader of the Year.  Dr. Atala’s work was listed as Time Magazine’s top 10 medical breakthroughs of the year, and as Discover Magazine`s Number 1 Top Medical Science Story of the Year in 2007. In 2009 Dr. Atala was featured in U.S. News & World Report as one of 14 Pioneers of Medical Progress in the 21^st Century, and his work in 2010 was listed by Smithsonian Magazine as one of 40 things to know about the next 40 years. Dr. Atala’ work was listed in the Huffington post as one of 18 great ideas of 2011, in Time Magazine as one of the top 5 medical breakthroughs of the year in 2011, by the American Association of Retired Persons as one of the 50 influential people who will make life better in 2012, by Time Magazine as one of 5 discoveries that will change the future of organ transplants in 2013, by Scientific American as one of the world’s most influential people in biotechnology in 2015.

Dr. Atala has led or served several national professional and government committees, including the National Institutes of Health working group on Cells and Developmental Biology, the National Institutes of Health Bioengineering Consortium, and the National Cancer Institute’s Advisory Board, and was the Founder of the Regenerative Medicine Foundation. Dr. Atala heads a team of over 450 researchers and physicians.  Over fourteen applications of technologies developed in Dr. Atala’s laboratory have been used clinically. He is the editor of seventeen books, including Principles of Regenerative Medicine, 3D Biofabrication, Essentials of Stem Cell Biology, and Methods of Tissue Engineering. He has published more than 500 journal articles and has applied for or received over 250 national and international patents.

John W. Dombrosky serves as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of AgTech Accelerator.  Built with a consortium of leading venture and industry strategic investors, AgTech Accelerator identifies, forms, develops, and profitably manages the most promising early-stage agricultural technology companies.

Prior to joining AgTech Accelerator™, Mr. Dombrosky spent eight years at Syngenta, where his responsibilities spanned biotech trait licensing, litigation valuation, mergers and acquisitions, strategic planning, P&L management roles.  In addition to his experience in the agriculture sector, Mr. Dombrosky served at Thomson Reuters in finance, M&A, and acquisition integration roles, and as an Operational and Corporate Finance analyst at Northwest Airlines.

Mr. Dombrosky has developed a keen eye for transformative technology and an operational sense to help large organizations fully capture it., and has applied this philosophy in operating environments from early stage company formation, to high growth digital platforms, to mature business turn-arounds.

Mr. Dombrosky earned a Bachelor of Arts in Financial Management from the University of St. Thomas and an MBA from the University of Notre Dame.

Peter Kolchinsky is a founder, Portfolio Manager, and Managing Director at RA Capital Management, LLC, an investment manager dedicated to evidence-based investing in healthcare and life sciences. Peter is active in both public and private investments in companies developing drugs, medical devices, diagnostics, and research tools, and serves as a Board Member for various public and privately held companies, including Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Wave Life Sciences Ltd. Peter also leads the firm’s outreach and publishing efforts, which aim to make a positive social impact and spark collaboration among healthcare stakeholders, including patients, physicians, researchers, policy makers, and industry.  He authored “The Entrepreneur’s Guide to a Biotech Startup” and served on the Board of Global Science and Technology for the National Academy of Sciences. Peter holds a BS from Cornell University and a PhD in Virology from Harvard University.

Bill joined MDIC in August of 2013 as the first President and CEO. He has over 25 years of senior leadership experience spanning the range of privately financed start-up to billion dollar plus global businesses. Bill’s small company experience spans 5 years as CEO and executive consultant, including 3 years as CEO of ReShape Medical. His large company experience includes leadership as the Molecular Biology Division President of Applied Biosystems, and at Medtronic where he spent nearly 20 years in various senior leadership positions, including President of the Pacemaker Business. Bill has also served as interim President and CEO of MTS Systems (MTSC) a public $500M industrial technology company. Bill currently serves on the Boards of MDIC, ILT, Sonex Health and Nortech Systems and previously served on the Boards of MTS Systems, LifeSync Holdings, and ReShape Medical. Bill has also served on various industry association and community leadership boards. He earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering from The University of Florida.

Bill Walker is an inventor, serial entrepreneur, and educator. He has repeatedly invented solutions to unmet clinical needs and built companies to deliver those solutions. PocketSonics, acquired in 2014, developed the Sonic Window^TM, a compact, low-cost imaging platform to guide peripheral vascular access. HemoSonics, acquired in 2017, developed a comprehensive point of care in vitro diagnostic to determine the cause of critical bleeding and enable rapid, directed treatment. Over a 12 year period as a professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Virginia, he built a world-class research lab and co-created UVA’s undergraduate major in Biomedical Engineering. In 2016, he returned to Duke University as the Mattson Family Director of Engineering Entrepreneurial Ventures. He recently founded Impulse Ultrasound as a venue for consulting and research. Walker holds BSE and PhD degrees in Biomedical Engineering from Duke.

Brent R. Bellows is a partner with Knowles Intellectual Property Strategies (KIPS) in Atlanta, Georgia.  Dr. Bellows focuses on pharmaceutical and biotechnology patent strategy, which includes prosecution, portfolio creation and management, litigation, product clearance, and freedom to operate including competitor analyses.  Dr. Bellows represents large and small biopharmaceutical companies, from entry-level and emerging start-ups to global corporations.

Dr. Bellows is also immediate past Chair of the IP Section of the Georgia State Bar, with a membership of over twelve hundred IP lawyers.  In this capacity, Dr. Bellows led the organization of educational programs, and was the official representative for the State Bar of Georgia for communications with IP Bars and organizations throughout the country. Dr. Bellows has been active in the State Bar of Georgia for the last five years. Dr. Bellows is also a lecturer on IP issues domestically and internationally.

Dr. Bellows has been named a “Rising Star” by Super Lawyers and one of Georgia’s “Legal Elite” by Georgia Trend Magazine in the area of Intellectual Property Law.  Dr. Bellows has also been named to Intellectual Asset Management Magazine’s “Intellectual Property Strategy 300” in 2015, 2016, and 2017 and is highlighted in Managing IP Magazine’s 2016 IP Stars.

Dr. Bellows received a Ph.D. form the University of Alabama at Birmingham in human genetics, where his thesis focused on the identification of tumor antigens and his research covered several disciplines, including molecular biology, molecular genetics, biochemistry, immunology, and virology.

Following graduate school, Dr. Bellows attended the University of Virginia Law School. Thereafter he joined King & Spalding’s IP group in Atlanta.  After practicing for several years, Dr. Bellows serves as a law clerk to Judge Charles A. Pannell, Jr. in the Federal District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, where he assisted with all intellectual property cases on Judge Pannell’s docket.  In 2010, he joined KIPS as a partner.

John Glushik is Managing Director of the Duke Angel Network.  He has over eighteen years of venture investing experience.  His work has covered all aspects of venture investments and portfolio management.  He is a Venture Partner at Intersouth Partners where he has helped manage four early stage venture partnerships.  He is an active member of the entrepreneurial community, serving on the boards of the North Carolina Council for Entrepreneurial Development, the Southern Capital Forum, the Florida Venture Forum and the Atlanta Venture Forum where he is a past chairman. He teaches as an Adjunct Professor at the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina.  Prior to being a venture capitalist, John worked as an engineer and consultant in the information technology and aerospace industries. His previous experience includes software development, telecommunications engineering, data communications research and strategic market consulting. He holds a B.S. in mechanical engineering and materials science from Duke, an M.S. in aeronautics and astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an M.B.A. from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.

Beverly Lorell, MD is the Senior Medical and Policy Advisor of King & Spalding’s FDA & Life Sciences Practice Group in Washington, D.C.  She specializes in the design and conduct of FDA- regulated clinical trials for drugs and medical devices, including navigation of the new FDA CDRH “Expedited Access Pathway” and “Early Feasibility Study” initiatives. She has extensive experience related to informed consent, and functions such as Data Safety Monitoring Boards and Event Adjudication.

She also focuses on post-market safety issues, including recalls. She assists partners in the area of government investigations pursuant to the False Claims Act and the Anti-Kickback Statute, including investigations where a central focus is the conduct of clinical research and uses of the clinical data.

Dr. Lorell, who was previously Professor of Medicine at Harvard University, has over twenty-five years of experience as a practicing interventional cardiologist and clinical trial investigator. She served on the FDA Cardiovascular and Renal Drugs Advisory Committee as well as panels of the National Institutes of Health. Prior to joining King & Spalding, Dr. Lorell was Vice President and global Chief Medical and Technology Officer at Guidant Corporation. She represents King & Spalding’s membership in the Clinical Trial Transformation Initiative (CTTI), an endeavor initiated by FDA. Dr. Lorell was the lead author on a CTTI publication on reform of the U.S. informed consent process. She has also organized and chaired national roundtables on the impact of 21^st Century Cures Act on clinical investigations as well as medical device and drug innovation and the new HHS rule that has extensively modified the current federal framework for the protection of human subjects.

Derek Norman, PhD, is the head of Syngenta Ventures, the corporate venture capital group of Syngenta.  As one of the longest-standing Ag-focused investors, Syngenta partners with companies that have the potential to help growers around the world farm more productively. Syngenta Ventures is stage and technology agnostic, and has a portfolio of more than 15 companies in the US, Europe, Israel, and Australia. Derek currently serves on the boards of AgriMetis, and the Agtech Accelerator.

Derek was one of the founding members of Syngenta Ventures in 2009. Prior to Syngenta, he was with Hatteras Ventures Partners, a life-science focused venture capital firm focused on the healthcare industry, and Dean & Co., a strategy consulting firm based in Washington D.C. Derek received a PhD in Chemistry and Chemical Biology from Harvard University, where he studied DNA repair mechanisms, and he received his undergraduate degree from Stanford University.

An experienced biotechnology innovator, Kelly Smith has returned to the entrepreneurial community after serving as Head of Pasteuria Bioscience for Syngenta Crop Protection. She was a co-founder of Pasteuria Bioscience, where she was principally responsible for development of the proprietary Pasteuria manufacturing process. She served most recently as CTO prior to its acquisition by Syngenta. Prior to Pasteuria Bio she worked in research and development for Entomos, Inc, developing an early version of the Pasteuria fermentation process, and Hercules Chemical, developing biocides and biological diagnostics for the paper industry. She holds an MS and PhD in Environmental Engineering Science from the California Institute of Technology and a BS in Chemical Engineering from Michigan State University.

Ken Woody is the Founder and President of Innova Memphis, an early-stage Venture Fund focused on Healthcare, AgTech and Tech startups. The Innova family of funds has invested in over eighty companies over the last ten years.
Before founding Innova Memphis, Ken was Senior Vice-President for Global Sales with Smith&Nephew Orthopedics. Prior to this role, he served as Vice President of Sales for DePuy Spine, a J&J Company. He worked for GE for more than 16 years, serving as a VP and General Manager in Healthcare and Capital businesses. Ken has enjoyed great success as an Army Officer, an entrepreneur and a Fortune 500 Executive. He has successfully owned and operated his own businesses and managed multi-billion dollar global enterprises.

Cindy is a serial entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience in the health, life science and information technology industries. As the President of ibiliti, a division of the North Carolina Hospital Association’s Strategic Partners subsidiary, she works with health systems throughout the Southeast and nationally to identify and develop innovative technologies and services to improve the health of patients. Since moving to North Carolina eleven years ago, she has held senior management positions with Sirga Advanced Biopharma, Inc., an infectious disease biopharma company that spun out of NC State University, NanIO Biosciences, a cancer nano-theranostic company, Phase Bioscience and Erimos Pharmaceuticals. Before moving to North Carolina, Cindy held senior management positions with MedCases, CV Therapeutics,

Bell Atlantic Internet Solutions-North and Univax Biologics. She has been involved in the management of companies in all stages of development—from start-up to mid-stage to public companies, and has been responsible for fundraising at all levels (seed, venture and public) totaling over $150 million during her career. Cindy holds a J.D. from Washington College of Law and a B.A. with honors in government and mathematics from Wesleyan University.

Dr. Bob Guldberg is a Professor of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Executive Director of the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience.  Dr. Guldberg received his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan and completed a post-doctoral fellowship in molecular biology.  His research is focused on musculoskeletal regenerative medicine, biomaterials delivery systems, stem cell therapies, and novel orthopaedic devices.  Over his 20+ year academic career, he has served as an advisor and board member for numerous biotechnology companies, patented several technologies from his laboratory, and co-founded three start-up companies and a charitable foundation.

Dr. MacDonald serves as the Managing Director for the Bio/Med Investor Network. In this role, he oversees network-wide projects ranging from planning and executing numerous events, marketing campaigns, and coordinating all logistics for the network and its members.

A long-time member of Georgia Bio and the Georgia life sciences community, Dr. MacDonald came to Atlanta in 2000 for a post-doctoral fellowship at Emory University.  He has spent most of this career as a registered patent agent and patent consultant with 15 years of experience in the life sciences sector.  His experience includes evaluating and prosecuting early stage intellectual property and advising small to large sized companies on patent prosecution, due diligence, patent intelligence and commercialization strategy. His unique background speaking the languages of science, business and law, positions him to engage with Georgia’s life sciences industry and be a highly effective member of the Bio/Med Investor Network.

Dr. MacDonald was an original founder of Georgia Bio’s Emerging Leaders Network and was awarded Georgia Bio’s Emerging Leader of the Year award in 2008.   He has chaired the Southeast BIO sponsorship committee since 2014, and was a board trustee of the Ron Clark Academy and chair of their Board governance subcommittee from 2011-2017.

Dr. MacDonald received his Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of Manitoba, and conducted post-doctoral research at Emory University School of Medicine. He has an MBA from Georgia State University’s Robinson College of Business.

Josh joined SV Health Investors in 2016 as a Partner.

Josh co-leads SV’s US Biotech practice out of SV’s Boston office. He is also responsible for SV’s venture-creation activities, including the activities of SV’s incubator, Brahma Discovery. He is a member of the investment committee of the Dementia Discovery Fund. Josh is a highly-regarded life science venture capital leader, entrepreneur, and investment professional with more than 15 years of experience in investing, company formation, and company leadership across all stages from discovery through commercialization.

Prior experience
Before joining SV, Josh was President and Managing Partner at MRL Ventures Fund, the early-stage therapeutics-focused corporate venture fund that he built and managed within Merck & Co. Prior to MRL Ventures, Josh was a Venture Partner with Atlas Venture, focusing on company formation, seed and Series A investing. During his tenure at Atlas, Josh was also the Founder and CEO of startups in the immune-oncology and neuro spaces. Prior to Atlas Venture, he was a Partner at Prism Venture Partners. Earlier, Josh founded or co-founded companies in the med tech and digital health spaces.

Academic credentials
BA, Magna Cum Laude, Chemistry, Williams College; MD, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine; MBA, Wharton School of Business.

Outside of SV
Josh continues to practice medicine in an academic / teaching setting as an attending physician in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Josh is on the faculty of the Harvard Medical School (Emergency Medicine). Outside of work, Josh enjoys spending time with his children – and all manner of outdoor activities.

Bruce Taillon is Elanco’s Director of External Innovation and in this role he is a member of the Research & External Innovation leadership team that collaborates with Research, Development, Regulatory, Legal and Business Development leaders and colleagues to identify and evaluate new and innovative projects and platforms to help build and sustain the Elanco pipeline.

Bruce began his career in life science research over 30 years ago as a research technician at the University of South Carolina where he also earned his BS degree in Biology.  Bruce also holds a PhD in Biological Sciences from Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA where he conducted molecular and cellular analysis of proteins involved in the centrosome and microtubule-organizing center.  Following his graduate studies, Bruce accepted a Postdoctoral Fellowship from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development at Washington University in St. Louis.

After his postdoctoral fellowship, Bruce entered into the biotechnology field and for the past 20 years has been engaged in a variety of Biopharmaceutical and Biotechnology enterprises ranging from start-up companies to large multi-national corporations.  Much of Bruce’s experience has been in the identification and validation of biotherapeutic targets as well as the development and implementation of technologies that enable drug discovery and development.

Dr. Tingting Zhang-Kharas leads the Oncology External Innovation New York team at Eli Lilly and Company (Lilly) and serves as a NY-based liaison to foster strong relationships between Lilly Research Laboratory (LRL) Oncology and academic medical centers (AMCs). Her team supports LRL Oncology to identify and prioritize collaboration opportunities with AMCs and monitor progress of ongoing collaborations. Additionally, she works closely with Lilly’s Search and Evaluate team to explore start-up opportunities with academic key opinion leaders and advises Lilly-affiliated venture capital funds on scientific due diligence.

Prior to joining Lilly, Tingting was a Licensing Manager at the Office of Technology Development at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), managing a large portfolio of oncology-focused therapeutic and diagnostic inventions for patenting and commercialization. Before MSK, she was a Senior Consultant at Navigant Consulting, specializing in market research, asset/opportunity assessment, and due diligence for pharma/biotech clients.

Dr. Zhang-Kharas received her PhD degree in Immunology from Harvard University (mentored by Dr. Fred Alt) and Bachelor degree in Biomedical Sciences from Peking University Health Science Center in China.