WLIB: How to Get a Seat on the Board and What to Expect

Sophia Davis has 30+ years in the biopharmaceutical industry, with most of that time dedicated to recruiting physician executives as well as other leadership team members. Since founding BioDirectors in 2014, and her role as a Principal in BioPharm Physicians from 2015-2021, her professional focus has been finding Board Members and Chief Medical Officers for biotech companies. She has recruited high caliber Board Members for growing biotech and pharma companies ranging from Pre-Series A all the way through publicly traded commercial stage companies with multiple marketed products.

Julie Hambleton is a senior biotechnology executive with over 20 years of experience in clinical drug development, including pre-clinical through Phase 4 studies, product approval and post-marketing activities, as well as serving on C-Suite executive teams and engaging in private, IPO and follow-on financings. Julie currently serves on the board of directors at Erasca, Inc, IGM Biosciences, Inc and SpringWorks Therapeutics, Inc, publicly traded companies, and Accent Therapeutics, Gennao Bio, and Onc.AI, privately held biotechnology companies. Dr Hambleton also served as interim CEO & Board Director at Arch Oncology, a private company, in 2020-21. Previously, she served as senior vice president, chief medical officer, and head of development at IDEAYA Biosciences. Prior to IDEAYA, she held the positions of vice president and head of US Medical at Bristol-Myers Squibb, overseeing medical & health economic and outcomes research activities for oncology, immuno-oncology, immunoscience and cardiovascular marketed portfolios; executive vice president and chief medical officer at Five Prime Therapeutics; and vice president of clinical development at Clovis Oncology. Dr Hambleton began her industry career at Genentech, most recently as group medical director, global clinical development. She has extensive experience working with regulatory agencies, including the US FDA and the EMA, and in the filings of IND applications, BLAs and SPAs. Dr Hambleton completed her medical and hematology-oncology training at the University of California, San Francisco, where she served on faculty from 1993 to 2003, and was Board-certified in hematology and internal medicine. She received her MD from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and BS from Duke University.

Maria Koehler, MD, PhD has served as the Executive Vice President, Chief Medical Officer of Repare Therapeutics since May 2019. Prior to joining Repare Therapeutics, from September 2017 to April 2019, Dr Koehler served as the Chief Medical Officer of Bicycle Therapeutics Limited. From March 2009 to September 2017, Dr Koehler served as Vice President of Strategy, Innovation and Collaborations for the Oncology Business Unit at Pfizer Inc. Prior to joining Pfizer, Dr Koehler was the group leader for the Medicine Development Center of GlaxoSmithKline Oncology.Prior to that, Dr Koehler was a Senior Medical Director for oncology research and development at AstraZeneca plc. Dr Koehler has also served as the clinical director of Bone Marrow Transplantation at University Hospital in Pittsburgh as well as the director of the Bone Marrow Transplant Program and associate professor at St Christopher’s Hospital in Philadelphia.Dr Koehler is a board-certified hematology/oncology physician. Dr Koehler received her MD and PhD from Silesian School of Medicine in Katowice, Poland.

Caroline Stout is a Partner at EcoR1 Capital. She also serves as the Chief Investment Officer of Panacea Acquisition Corp II. At EcoR1, she has led several of the firm’s investments in the biotechnology sector. Caroline is on the Board of Directors of Neogene, Affinia, Neurogene and Notch Therapeutics, and serves as a Board Observer at Tectonic, Accent and Affinivax. Ms Stout previously worked as an Investment Banking Analyst at Credit Suisse in New York. Ms Stout is a Baker Scholar and graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown University.