Dr. Lutchen is responsible for BU’s research enterprise, representing the University to key stakeholders in government, industry, and foundations, and developing and implementing policies and procedures to streamline and manage research. Prior to this appointment, Dr. Lutchen served as Senior Advisor to the President, and as BU’s interim University provost and chief academic officer, where – in addition to guiding the University’s overall academic, budgetary, and planning processes – he initiated the development of best practices and shared approaches for the use of Generative AI in education and research. Dr. Lutchen was dean of BU’s College of Engineering from 2006-2023, where he oversaw dramatic gains in the college’s stature, including a rise from 54th to 27th  in its national graduate ranking.

Dr. Lutchen advanced the concept of “Creating the Societal Engineer” as a foundational principle of engineering education to prepare students for life-long learning and impact. He has overseen innovations in engineering curricula, including successful collaborations with BU’s programs in data science and business to ensure all engineers learn the basics of machine learning and how successful product innovation occurs. During his Deanship he oversaw fundraising and construction of three major hands-on facilities – the Engineering Product Innovation Center, the Bioengineering Technology and Entrepreneurship Center, and the Robotics and Autonomous Systems Teaching and Innovation Center, all run and supported via deep partnership with industries. Dr. Lutchen has published op-ed pieces on education, technology transfer, and industry-academic partnerships for research and workforce development in Harvard Business Review, Forbes magazine, and Business Insider. 

Among the world’s leading scholars in the field of respiratory mechanics, Dr. Lutchen is a professor of biomedical engineering and has published 154 peer-reviewed journal articles. He is past president of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) and is an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), and the International Academy of Medical and Biological Engineering (IFMBE). He has served on the NSF Advisory Board for the Engineering Division, and the Board of Directors for Harvard’s Wyss Institute of Bioinspired Engineering. He is currently on the Board of Trustees for the Engineering Foundation of the University of Virginia.

Yoran Bar is focused on redefining pharmaceutical operations through intelligent oversight and compliance innovation. He currently leads Espresso Clinical, where he and his team are building next-generation infrastructure designed to elevate quality, accelerate execution, and modernize clinical operations.

With two decades in high technology and foundational experience in clinical trials from his time at Beaconcure, Yoran helped pioneer AI-first validation solutions that transformed study submission workflows for global leaders. These advancements delivered measurable ROI while strengthening operational rigor and regulatory confidence across development organizations.

Drawing on deep expertise in machine learning and natural language processing, Yoran now shapes the vision behind Espresso Clinical—developing solutions that safeguard trial integrity, enhance operational oversight, and help bring therapies to patients faster.

Dr. Stauffer, MBA, FAPCR, is the CMO of PVP Labs, a private biotech company based in Singapore, and the Founder of Delta Life Sciences, a biotech/pharma advisory firm in Sarasota, Florida. He brings more than 20 years of CMO leadership across public and private specialty pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical device companies, with deep experience spanning clinical development and operations, medical affairs, regulatory strategy, pharmacovigilance, and investor engagement. A Johns Hopkins–trained physician and former faculty member, Dr. Stauffer is also a former FDA Medical Review Officer and U.S. Navy physician and veteran, combining hands-on clinical experience with senior-level regulatory and development leadership.

Previously, Joe served as CMO at Pharmacofore, Cara Therapeutics, and Antibe Therapeutics, where he led clinical and medical programs that collectively supported more than $430 million in financing and strategic transactions. He currently serves as Board Chairman of Biofuse Medical Technologies, is a member of the Industry Advisory Board at the University of Florida College of Health and Human Performance, and is a Limited Partner at Edison Partners, a growth equity firm, based in Nashville, TN.

Dr. Stauffer’s peer-reviewed publication record spans basic renal biology, regulatory science, clinical trial methodology, and translational pain pharmacology. His early NIH research focused on glomerular signaling and TGF-β–mediated mechanisms of renal hypertrophy and sclerosis, resulting in publications in Journal of Clinical Investigation and Kidney International as a contributing author. Since 2002, he has been a founding member of the Initiative on Methods, Measurement, and Pain Assessment in Clinical Trials (IMMPACT), co-authoring a highly cited body of consensus publications that define modern standards for pain trial design, patient-reported outcomes, and abuse-liability assessment. In parallel, he has served as a senior medical author on numerous opioid pharmacokinetic and abuse-deterrence studies (including EMBEDA®, ALO-01, and KADIAN®), with more recent publications addressing translational safety and regulatory policy in Clinical and Translational Science (2021) and Anesthesia & Analgesia(2024).

Dr. Walter R. Strapps is the Chief Scientific Officer of Liberate Bio, a therapeutics biotech company in the CAR-M space.  He is the co-founder and former CEO of Carver Biosciences, Inc.  His past roles include interim Chief Scientific Officer at Deep Genomics as well as Chief Scientific Officer at Gemini Therapeutics where he led all aspects of pre-clinical research, PK and biomarkers for Gemini’s clinical trials.  Before joining Gemini, Dr. Strapps was Vice President of Discovery at Intellia Therapeutics, leading programs across a range of therapeutic areas.  Dr. Strapps held previous roles in RNA Therapeutics at Merck & Co., Inc in Pennsylvania and California and at Sirna Therapeutics and Sentigen Biosciences in Colorado and New York respectively.  Dr. Strapps obtained his doctorate, M.A. and M.Phil. degrees from Columbia University and B.Sc. from McGill University.  Dr. Strapps serves on the board of Sona Nanotech a Nova Scotia-based biotech company.

Lenwood Faulcon, Jr, MS, JD, has nearly two decades of experience in technology and intellectual property law. He manages the legal function of MDIC, serves as the liaison to the Board of Directors, addresses MDIC’s legal requirements, and primarily ensures compliance with the following areas: corporate governance, federal compliance, federal funding reporting requirements, and Board of Directors meetings.

Lenwood has significant experience in counseling individuals, as well as early-stage and large organizations, with various technology and intellectual property related legal issues, including procurement, license and service agreements, collaborative research agreements, corporate structure, finance, technology landscapes, and various regulatory issues. In private practice, he specialized in representing clients who dealt with various medical devices and methodologies, including hearing devices, biopsy devices, syringes, vascular implants, catheters, device and drug delivery systems, nuclear medicine, and medical imaging. He also previously served as a Patent Examiner in the surgical arts, and as a Nanotechnology Specialist, with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Lenwood received his BS in Mechanical Engineering from North Carolina A&T State University, his MS in Biomedical Engineering from The University of Virginia, and his JD from The George Washington University.

Dr. Christian Antoni has spent more than two decades committed to driving innovation in drug development for patients. Over the course of his career, he has led drug development functions at LEO Pharma, Sanofi, Novartis, and Schering Plough, with a focus in immunology and inflammatory disease. After some years in Biotech in leadership roles at EQRx which was bought by Revolution Medicine, and Montai a Flagship Pioneering Company, he joined Pfizer as CDO I&I.  Among others, Christian was involved in the development of key first in class drugs in the TNFalpha (Remicade), Th17 (Cosentyx) and TH2 pathways (Dupixent) which led to multiple indications of each drug.

Prior to joining industry, he established and led the clinical trial unit at Friedrich-Alexander University and was instrumental in the development of anti-TNFalpha drugs in chronic autoimmune diseases.  

Christian completed his medical training and residency in internal medicine and rheumatology at Friedrich Alexander University, Germany and is a member of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) and the German Society of Rheumatology (DGRh).

Laura Holberger, PhD, MBA brings a wealth of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, having held positions spanning R&D, business development, corporate strategy, finance, and operations for over 15 years. She specializes in managing stakeholder relationships, sourcing partnership and investment opportunities, fundraising, leading complex negotiations, and contributing to company creation and growth. Currently, Laura serves as Associate Director of the Novo Nordisk R&D External Innovation group based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she focuses on identifying and advancing external partnerships to drive innovation and pipeline growth in the treatment of obesity, diabetes, and other chronic diseases. Prior to joining Novo Nordisk, Laura held leadership and strategic roles at several organizations within the biopharma ecosystem, including BioLabs, BioInnovation Capital, IDx20, Cambridge Biolabs, and ViThera. Her experience includes supporting early and growth stage biotech companies and startups, fostering collaborations between biotechs, investors, and pharma companies, and facilitating the translation of scientific discoveries into impactful therapeutics.

Laura’s academic credentials include a BS in Biochemistry from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), a PhD in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology from the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB), and an MBA from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

As the Chief Medical Officer and Head of Global Medical at Takeda, Awny Farajallah blends his scientific and clinical expertise, strategic mindset and collaborative spirit to drive innovation and transformation in patient care. In his current role, he works closely with a talented team of professionals, fostering an environment of collaboration, learning and growth. They are committed to partnering with internal and external stakeholders across the healthcare ecosystem to advance science and deliver innovative medical solutions to patients in need, while acting as a trusted strategic and scientific leader.

Prior to his current role, Awny served as the Head of Global Medical Affairs for Oncology at Takeda. With over two decades of experience in the healthcare industry, he has led numerous medical affairs teams, contributed to the development and commercialization of oncology therapeutics and forged meaningful partnerships with key stakeholders across the healthcare spectrum. 

Nikhil Mutyal, Ph.D. is Head of Search & Evaluation for Respiratory & Immunology at AstraZeneca, leading global business development across therapeutic areas, stages, and modalities. With previous BD leadership roles at Merck, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, and AVEO Oncology, he excels at identifying breakthrough science and executing transformative partnerships. Nikhil earned his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Northwestern University and completed management training at Kellogg School of Management.

Pesh Patel is the Founder and CEO of A Kidney Life. Pesh is a former hospitality executive with over three decades of hospitality and real estate experience. He utilized his deep knowledge of the industry along with relationships cultivated through the years for multiple projects in the US and Internationally. On October 3rd, 2023, Pesh launched A Kidney Life. He was diagnosed with End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) in 2017 and received a kidney transplant on August 7, 2018 after 15 months on dialysis. The foundation of A Kidney Life is a weekly newsletter aimed at raising awareness, education, and advocacy for those living with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) as well as pre and post organ transplant patients, mental health and promoting an overall healthy lifestyle for everyone. In addition to the newsletter, Pesh is also the host of the Talk Kidney to Me podcast. He is a member of Kidney Health Initiative (KHI) Patient and Family Partnership Council (PFPC), which is a public-private partnership between the ASN (American Society of Nephrology) and the FDA (Food and Drug Administration). Along with being an avid Patient Advocate and Kidney Coach, Pesh serves on the Board of Directors of the National Kidney Foundation of Louisiana, is a member of multiple National Kidney Foundation Advisory Boards, and is a Peer Mentor. Pesh is also an Ambassador for the American Kidney Fund, Dialysis Patient Citizens, AAKP, and UNOS. Additionally, Pesh volunteers for LOPA (Louisiana Organ Procurement Association) and consults for multiple pharmaceutical, disruptive companies, and strategic innovators in kidney care.

Anya Zeitlin is a Lead User Researcher with over a decade of experience applying participatory and human-centred methods across health, technology, and policy, she has worked with hard-to-reach communities to develop digital interventions that deliver measurable impact. At Little Journey, Anya leads the interdisciplinary Research and Co-Design function, spanning UX research, clinical psychology, and real-world evidence. Her work centres on involving patients, caregivers, and clinicians in the development and evaluation of scalable interventions that reduce barriers to trial participation, improve engagement, and drive behaviour change. Previous roles at Meta, Public Health England, and in academia sharpened her expertise in behaviour change, digital health, and applied research at scale. Across these settings, she has shown how participatory approaches can surface hidden barriers, inform strategy, and build trust. Anya brings a rare combination of methodological depth and strategic vision to advance meaningful, operationalised patient engagement in clinical research.

Robin Marcus believes that if a clinical trial doesn’t work for the patient, it doesn’t work. Starting her career as a Bone Marrow Transplant nurse in San Francisco, Robin witnessed firsthand the burdens placed on participants—a "friction" she is now on a mission to eliminate. Currently leading Global Decentralized Trials Market Development at Marken, Robin combines clinical expertise with precision logistics to champion patient equity and representation. Having successfully launched patient centric services and steered major partnerships and implementations at GlobalCare and LabCorp, she focuses on making research simpler and more accessible. To Robin, "decentralized" doesn't mean remote; it means more connected, high-touch, and inclusive.