As Chief Medical Officer and Head of the Medical and Development organization, Dr Tadaaki Taniguchi is responsible for overseeing a global team striving to identify, discover and develop treatments with the potential to reshape expectations of medical care. This includes multiple divisions focused on developing innovative and patient-centric treatments and ensuring their appropriate and safe use throughout the product’s life cycle, including Data Science, Development in key Primary Focus areas (BioPharma, Cell & Gene Therapy, Oncology, Immuno-Oncology)​, Clinical Operations, Medical Affairs, Regulatory Affairs, Pharmacovigilance and Strategy and Operations. Dr Taniguchi has over 20 years of industry experience spanning research, development and medical affairs. He has worked across a range of therapy areas including diabetes and oncology to deliver life-changing medicines to patients. Prior to joining Astellas, Dr Taniguchi held senior roles in major multinational pharmaceutical companies in the US, Japan and China operating at global and regional levels and most recently served as Senior Vice President, Head of Global Medical Affairs, Oncology Business Unit at AstraZeneca. Dr Taniguchi earned his Doctor of Medicine from Tottori University, Japan and completed a PhD in Medicine at Imperial College, London. As a surgical oncologist, he spent 10 years working in clinics and research laboratories, contributing to his unique perspective on how global pharma can create and deliver breakthrough science that can change the way diseases are treated.

Dr. Katz is currently Chief Medical Officer and SVP of Translational Research for Shinobi Therapeutics. He has more than 15 years of experience in clinical oncology leadership, immunotherapy translational science, and clinical development of immunotherapeutics, including cell therapy for solid tumors in the US and Japan. As a CMO, he has led multiple immunotherapy clinical trials, built immune correlative biospecimen programs, helped secure IND clearance for complex drug-device trials, helped secure a CMS reimbursement code for cancer therapeutic delivery procedures, and supported a Nasdaq listing. As a scientist, he has developed novel immunotherapy approaches for liver and pancreatic tumors, including cell therapy constructs and innovative combinatorial strategies. Two major areas of focus have been development of solutions for solid tumor microenvironment challenges and drug delivery barriers.

He previously served as Chief Medical Officer for TriSalus Life Sciences, focused on developing novel immunotherapy approaches for liver and pancreas tumors, combining innovative delivery approaches with an innate immune stimulator. He maintains a part- time role as a surgical oncologist at Brown University. Dr. Katz attended the New York University School of Medicine, receiving the Alpha Omega Alpha Award for graduating with the top academic average in his class. He then completed his general surgery residency at the New York University Medical Center. Dr. Katz completed Fellowships in Immunology and Surgical Oncology at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, where he served as the Chief Administrative Fellow. 

His overarching career goal is to develop novel cell therapy treatments for presently incurable solid tumors, and difficult to treat autoimmune diseases.

Dr. Brown is an oncology drug development leader, with more than 16 years of translational, research, and clinical development expertise in the areas of oncology, immunology, and neurology.

Dr. Brown joined Zai Lab from Nurix Therapeutics where he held various clinical development roles of increasing responsibility, most recently he served as Executive Vice President, Clinical Development. Prior to Nurix, he led clinical development programs for a wide variety of products in the areas of oncology, immunology, and neurology for companies including Allogene Therapeutics, Aduro Biotech, and Iovance Biotherapeutics.

In addition to his drug development expertise, Dr. Brown is a trained pediatric oncologist and neuro-oncologist, having served as a physician at Yale University, the City of Hope National Medical Center, and the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles as well as in academic roles at the University of Southern California and the University of California Los Angeles.

Dr. Brown received an M.D. from the Weill Cornell Medical College in New York and a B.S. in Chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Harold S. Bernstein MD, PhD brings more than three decades of experience and is an internationally recognized leader in basic scientific research, translational medicine and clinical development both in industry and academia. He currently serves as President, Head of Research and Development, and Chief Medical Officer at Maze Therapeutics, where he is shaping and contributing to the creative strategy and thorough scientific process aimed at delivering new, genetic-based medicines. Before joining Maze, Dr. Bernstein was Senior Vice President, Chief Medical Officer and Head of Global Clinical Development at BioMarin Pharmaceutical. Prior to that, he served as Head of Translational Medicine and Vice President of Global Medicines Development and Medical Affairs at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, and held roles of increasing responsibility at Merck and Co, including head of early development for Cardiometabolic Diseases. He was Professor of Pediatrics and a senior investigator at the Cardiovascular Research Institute and the Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). He also served as attending physician at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital in Pediatric Cardiology, and at the Mount Sinai Kravis Children’s Hospital in Cardiovascular Genetics. Currently, Dr. Bernstein holds an appointment as Adjunct Professor of Pediatrics and the Mindich Child Health and Development Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He studied biomedical science, human genetics, and medicine at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, earning MPhil, PhD, and MD degrees. He completed a pediatric residency, cardiology fellowship, and postdoctoral fellowship at UCSF and earned an undergraduate degree in biological sciences from Harvard College.

Dr Drew Dietz leads clinical development and research at Ensoma, where he brings extensive expertise in clinical development, regulatory affairs, and research, with a particular focus on gene and cell therapy and RNA editing technologies. Prior to joining Ensoma, he led these functions for Shape Therapeutics, where he was instrumental in advancing the company’s preclinical pipeline, which includes innovations in RNA editing, next-generation AAVs, and gene therapy manufacturing.

Dr Dietz earned his medical degree from the University of Minnesota, followed by a pediatric residency at Seattle Children’s Hospital and a fellowship in hematology, oncology, and stem cell transplantation at the University of Minnesota. He spent six years in clinical and academic research, where he oversaw pediatric stem cell transplants, designed clinical trial protocols, and served as an investigator in early CAR T-cell trials for pediatric leukemia.

Transitioning to the biotech industry, Dr Dietz joined bluebird bio, where he played a critical role in the late-stage clinical trials that led to the regulatory approval of ex vivo lentiviral vector gene therapies in both the U.S. and EU. Dr Dietz has also contributed to the development of regulatory strategies and serves as a member of the ARM Gene Therapy Advisory Group and the ASGCT Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee.

Leo Faoro is a medical oncologist that serves as Quanta Therapeutics' Chief Medical Officer in November 2022. Leo previously served as Senior Vice President and early clinical development lead at Exelixis, a commercial oncology-focused biotechnology company, where he was responsible for providing strategic leadership to expand the company’s early clinical pipeline and advancing its development candidates into the clinic. In his prior role as vice president of clinical development (late-stage) at Exelixis, Leo led the development of the company’s GI/Thyroid franchise for cabozantinib (Cabometyx®), including pivotal and post-marketing studies across oncology indications and regulatory approval filings, and achieving FDA approval of cabozantinib (Cabometyx®) in metastatic differentiated thyroid cancer under Breakthrough Designation. Prior to Exelixis, Leo served as Vice President of clinical development at OncoMed Pharmaceuticals, an oncology-focused biotechnology company, where he led the early clinical development of the company’s pipeline, including two first-in-human studies, through to its reverse merger with Mereo BioPharma. Leo began his clinical development career in positions of increasing responsibility at Genentech where he had global clinical development responsibility for bevacizumab (Avastin®), including in lung, prostate, breast and renal cell cancers. Leo earned a medical doctorate from the Universidade Federal do Parana in Brazil. He trained in internal medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota and completed a medical oncology fellowship at the University of Chicago. Additionally, Leo holds a Master's in Business Administration from Columbia University and the University of California, Berkeley.

Seemi Khan, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A., Chief Medical Officer of Alkeus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., (Cambridge, MA) is an accomplished executive who worked across multiple therapeutic areas. Dr. Khan is an internist and nephrologist with expertise in rare disease, immunology and rheumatology. She completed her residency and fellowship at Tufts Medical Center program and served as an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine prior to joining pharmaceutical industry. She has an M.P.H. from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and an M.B.A. from Brandeis University. 

Prior to joining Alkeus, she served as Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at Reata Pharmaceuticals, which was later acquired by Biogen. Dr. Khan was instrumental in the approval and launch of the first treatment for Friedreich’s ataxia by Reata Pharmaceuticals. During her career, she oversaw multiple clinical programs from early stage to late stages. She played pivotal role in driving clinical development strategy. She led multiple therapeutic areas and functions across early and late stages of drug development. Dr. Khan held leadership positions at Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America, Quark Pharmaceuticals, Abbott and AbbVie.

Lise Kjems, M.D., Ph.D., brings a remarkable 20+ year career in R&D spanning a broad range of therapeutic categories, including liver disease, endocrinology, rare disease, autoimmune, gastrointestinal and infectious diseases. She has a proven track record in leading high performing teams and delivering on complex programs, with deep experience in development from first-in-human studies through product approval. Holding previous executive leadership positions at notable pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, Dr. Kjems is highly experienced in delivering novel and effective therapies to patients in need.

Prior to joining Ocelot Bio, Dr. Kjems was the Chief Medical Officer at Cyclo Therapeutics where she led its global program evaluating Trappsol® Cyclo™ in Alzheimer’s and rare disease. Before Cyclo Therapeutics, Dr. Kjems was essential in bringing Albireo Pharma’s drug Bylvay® through its Phase 3 program in progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis (PFIC) to FDA and EMA approvals, as well as launching pivotal Phase 3 trials for Bylvay in biliary atresia and Alagille syndrome. Earlier in her career, she held various positions of increasing responsibility at Aldeyra Therapeutics, Intarcia Therapeutics, Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson and Novartis.

Dr. Kjems received her M.D. and her Ph.D. in Physiology from the University of Copenhagen Medical Faculty Denmark. She was an invited guest research fellow at the University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine, and an industrial research fellow at Novo Nordisk A/S Bagsvaerd Denmark & University of Copenhagen.

Lori leads the Medical and Scientific Affairs Practice at Putnam. Her expertise includes multi-stakeholder engagement, center of excellence profiling, organizational design, strategic medical launches, integrated medical evidence ideation, omnichannel strategy, and digital health platforms, including digital therapeutics, AI algorithms, and software as a medical device. Lori has experience in rare diseases including Duchenne muscular dystrophy, hemophilia, growth hormone deficiency, cardiac amyloidosis, acromegaly, sickle cell disease, and primary hyperoxaluria as well as oncology, infectious disease, cardiology, critical care, neurology, and endocrinology. Prior to Putnam, Lori had a Medical Affairs strategy consultancy, built the Medical Affairs division at CDM and later became President. Earlier in her career she gained experience in medical education and MSL training at Bayer, and clinical research at the University of Minnesota. Lori holds an RPh from the University of Iowa, a PharmD from the University of Minnesota, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in critical care and infectious diseases at the University of Minnesota.

Manoj Malhotra, M.D., is the chief medical officer at Ovid Therapeutics. As a member of the Company’s leadership team, Dr. Malhotra endeavors to strengthen Ovid’s capabilities in identifying and developing new medicines for resistant epilepsies and will support our mission to meaningfully help people affected by these devastating conditions.

Dr. Malhotra is a trained neurologist with a specialty in epilepsy. Over his career, he has supported or led more than 10 mid-to late-stage epilepsy clinical trials in rare diseases, including Dravet and Lennox-Gastaut syndromes, and other neurologic diseases. Before joining Ovid, Dr. Malhotra served at Eisai’s Neurology Group leading global medical affairs for its epilepsy and multiple sclerosis businesses. He was a Global Senior Medical Director at Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals autoimmune and rare disease unit and held senior roles at Takeda supporting its Alzheimer’s program and within Novartis Medical Affairs. Throughout his career in industry, Dr. Malhotra developed expertise in rare neurological diseases.

Prior to his career in industry, Dr. Malhotra completed his residency in neurology and his fellowship in neurophysiology at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, after which, he went on to become the Chief of Neurology at Kaiser Permanente. Dr. Malhotra’s experience as a treating physician and as a pharmaceutical executive brings deep medical expertise to Ovid and the community we strive to serve.

Dr. Yan Moore is a seasoned physician scientist and biopharma executive leader with more than 25 years of industry drug development experience. Before joining Allterum Therapeutics as its Chief Executive Officer Dr. Moore completed two Chief Medical Officer assignments in public companies and served in several senior roles of increasing responsibility in major pharma and in biotech. During his career he managed multiple clinical and preclinical drug development Programs. Dr. Moore received a BSc and an MD degree from the Sackler School of Medicine at Tel Aviv University, an MBA from the LeBow College of Business at Drexel University, and completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School and a senior executive program at the London Business School.

Swami Murugappan MD, Ph.D., is an executive biotech consultant and a hematologist oncologist with an established track record in developing Cell and Gene Therapies, Oncolytics, Monoclonal Antibodies, and T-cell engagers for solid and hematological cancers. He founded Trident Bio Consulting Inc. to help startups, biotech, and pharma organizations develop transformational therapies for cancer patients. In his consultant role as a chief medical officer, clinical consultant, or head of clinical development, Swami works closely with C-suite executive leaders, the R&D team, and Board members to help make strategic decisions and deliver on drug development milestones. Before establishing his consultancy firm, Swami held leadership roles at Kite Pharma, Amgen, and Nutcracker Therapeutics. In his prior positions, he has led and supported multiple global regulatory filings and approvals (Vectibix, ImLygic, and Tecartus). Swami also serves as an Industry advisor for startup companies through UCSF Catalyst Ventures, Berkeley SkyDeck, and California Life Sciences.