Building a Work Culture that Attracts and Retains Talent in Biotech

Debora Barton, MD, is TScan’s Chief Medical Officer. Dr Barton, a clinical oncologist experienced in developing cell therapies, brings to TScan nearly two decades of expertise across global clinical research and development.Prior to joining TScan, Dr Barton was the Chief Medical Officer at Carisma Therapeutics Inc, where she was responsible for the clinical development of a First-in-Human, First-in-Class cell therapy, including clinical operations, medical affairs, and safety. Previously, Dr Barton was the Senior Vice President, Head of Clinical, Head of Safety at Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc, where she built a team to run several Phase 2 studies in solid tumors and led clinical efforts related to regulatory interactions. Prior to Iovance, she held positions of increasing responsibility at biotech and pharmaceutical companies including Advanced Accelerator Applications SA, Celgene Corporation, and Novartis. Dr Barton is a board-certified clinical oncologist (MD), and a board member for the American Cancer Society, the Tigerlily Foundation (medical advisory board), and Arovella Therapeutics Ltd (non-executive director). She holds an MD from Pontificia Universidade Catolica Sao Paulo and completed her fellowship in Oncology at Federal University of Sao Paulo in Brazil.When not at TScan, Dr Barton enjoys spending time with her two adopted dogs and advocating for dog rescue and adoption, especially the Pitbull breed. On a warm and sunny day, she might be spotted rock climbing the Shawangunks in New Paltz with her family.

Patrick Burnett, MD, PhD, FAAD, is the chief medical officer and a senior vice president at Arcutis Biotherapeutics, a publicly held medical dermatology company developing novel treatments for patients with immune-mediated skin diseases. In the past five years, Arcutis’ team has grown from three to more than 140 and its market capitalization has expanded from $150,000 to well in excess of $1 billion. The company is rapidly advancing a pipeline of potential therapies, with its first New Drug Application for a plaque psoriasis treatment currently under review with the FDA and multiple clinical trials underway for conditions including atopic dermatitis, seborrheic dermatitis, and scalp and body psoriasis. Prior to joining Arcutis in 2020, Dr Burnett served as Chief Medical Officer at Verrica Pharmaceuticals, and previously as Associate Vice President of Clinical Development at Sun Pharmaceuticals, where he oversaw the dermatology and rheumatology pipeline. Earlier, Dr Burnett served at Novartis in roles that included Global Program Medical Director. He is a board-certified dermatologist and was a member of the medical faculty at Vanderbilt University Medical Center as an assistant professor of dermatology from 2004 to 2010. Dr Burnett holds an MD and PhD in neuroscience from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and a BS in biology and biochemistry from the University of Iowa. Arcutis is based in Westlake Village, California.

Barbara Day leads Penfield’s Biometrics recruiting practice, and she personally specializes in senior level retained and contingent biometrics and biostatistics recruitment across the pharmaceutical, biotech and CRO industries. Ms Day brings over 24 years of experience in the biostatistics space with a deep understanding of the drug development industry as a whole. Her in-depth knowledge of the industry, as well as trends that affect the candidate landscape, position her to deliver sound hiring guidance to her clients as they start and build their biometrics departments. Ms Day brings the highest level of integrity to each search and provides competitive intelligence to clients to help ensure they are properly positioned in the marketplace to attract and retain the best talent. Prior to joining Penfield’s leadership team in 2015, Ms Day worked at Smith Hanley Associates and its parent company inVentiv Health.

Donna Higgins is Founder & CEO of The Higgins Group, Inc, one of the oldest and most successful search firms in the life sciences. Founded in 1998, the firm has grown exclusively through referrals as a result of Ms Higgins’s simple but powerful business philosophy: to develop lasting relationships with a select group of clients by doing great work. This drive for excellence infuses every aspect of the firm’s work due to a culture that values superior results, exceptional teamwork and doing the right thing. Although her team has diverse backgrounds and experiences, all of The Higgins Group consultants, researchers and associates share Ms Higgins’s energy, optimism, integrity and grit.Over her 30 years’ in the life sciences, Ms Higgins has gained a global reputation for her insight, expertise and integrity. Prior to starting her own firm, Ms Higgins was Vice President & Life Science Practice Lead for Howard Fischer Associates International where she rapidly built the life science practice by consistently exceeding her clients’ expectations. Before becoming a search professional, Ms Higgins worked on commercial teams at both ends of the life sciences spectrum, dividing a decade between Abbott Laboratories, a Fortune 50 pharmaceutical company, and Immunex, an emerging biotech company at the time.Ms Higgins holds an MBA from Drexel University and a BA from Penn State University. Committed to lifelong learning, she joined the Coaching Certification Program at Columbia University to continue sharpening the strategic coaching she provides to clients and candidates. She is an Advisory Board member for Life Sciences Cares and the Association of Women Entrepreneurs, and a Board member for Big Brothers Big Sisters Independence Region and AchieveAbility. She also serves as adjunct faculty at the Center for Positive Leadership, where she is a frequent speaker on women in business. Ms Higgins divides her time between the company’s Philadelphia and Boston offices.

Mr James Lewis has over 18 years’ experience as a specialist Contract Recruiter. Mr Lewis has placed over 600 Contractors in over 30 Countries globally. For the last 7 years, Mr Lewis has led the Global Contract Division at Barrington James. Focusing on niche positions, rather than volume recruitment, Mr Lewis has built a team of Market Specialist consultants, who recruit through a personal network rather than a Database and Social Media. The Barrington James Medical Division places CMO’s, Senior Clinical Development professionals, Research Physicians and MSL’s across the Americas, throughout Europe and The APAC Region. Our Network is built on face to face relationships as long term sponsors and members of the BIO International and Bio-Europe community. We have unrivaled global access to the top talent in the Biotech space.