ProgressPotentialAndPossibilities

Tom Lawry is the National Director for Artificial Intelligence (AI), Health & Life Sciences, at Microsoft (https://cloudblogs.microsoft.com/industry-blog/microsoft-in-business/author/tom-lawry/). In this role he serves as a strategic advisor to provider, payer and life science organizations across the Americas, creating enterprise-wide AI initiatives designed to transform healthcare at scale. He focuses on technological, process and cultural redesign leading to the creation of Intelligent Health Systems that better empower patients, consumers and clinicians. Tom has also served as Director of Worldwide Health for Microsoft where he worked with a similar portfolio of organizations in planning and implementing innovative analytical solutions to improve the quality and efficiency of health services delivered around the globe. Tom focuses on strategies for digital transformation applied to performance optimization including artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and Natural Language Processing (NLP). He previously served as Director of Organizational Performance for Microsoft’s health incubator (Health Solutions Group). Prior to Microsoft, Tom served as a Senior Director at GE Healthcare with global responsibilities for revenue cycle management analytics and operational performance solutions. An accomplished entrepreneur, Tom was founder and CEO of Verus, a U.S.-based healthcare software company named as one of the Top 100 Fastest Growing Washington Companies for three consecutive years and to the Deloitte Fast 500 Technologies list. For fourteen years, Tom served in various executive management roles in hospitals and integrated delivery networks in the United States and has published over 30 articles on topics relating to use technology and software to innovate healthcare. Tom is also an accomplished author of the books Hacking Healthcare: How AI and the Intelligence Revolution Will Reboot an Ailing System (https://www.amazon.com/Hacking-Healthcare-Intelligence-Revolution-Reboot/dp/1032260157), as well as AI in Health: A Leader’s Guide to Winning in the New Age of Intelligent Health Systems (https://www.amazon.com/Health-HIMSS-Book-Tom-Lawry/dp/0367333716/ref=pd_lpo_2?pd_rd_i=0367333716&psc=1).

Dr. Arye Elfenbein, MD, PhD, is the Co-Founder of Wildtype (https://www.wildtypefoods.com/), a biotechnology company which produces cultured seafood (with a focus on cultivated Pacific salmon) from fish cells, sustainably and cost effectively, with the nutritional benefits, but without common contaminants such as mercury, microplastics, antibiotics, or pesticides, and without relying on commercial fishing or fish farming. Born in Israel and raised in Australia, Dr. Elfenbein combines his deep passion for medicine and unique childhood connection to the ocean to fuel Wildtype’s health and environmental mission. After studying at Dartmouth and Kyoto University, attaining a PhD and MD, Dr. Elfenbein began his residency at Yale where he first trained in Internal Medicine before completing training in Cardiology. After residency, he moved to San Francisco to work with Professor Dr. Deepak Srivastava at the revered Gladstone Institutes / UCSF, also known for being the scientific homes of Nobel laureates Dr. Shinya Yamanaka (iPs cells) and Dr. Jennifer Doudna (CRISPR). During his time at the Gladstone Institutes, Dr. Elfenbein’s research focused on cardiac regeneration following heart attacks. This research inspired him to apply the principles of stem cell biology beyond medicine, and to address the growing problems in our food system. When away from Wildtype, Dr. Elfenbein continues to work as a cardiologist with a focus on critical care, lending his expertise and passion for patient care to the ICU.

Dr. John LaMattina, Ph.D. (https://www.johnlamattina.com), is an independent non-executive director at PureTech, a biotechnology company with a mission to discover, develop and commercialize new therapies for devastating diseases, where limited or no treatment options currently exist for patients, and has served as a member of their board of directors since 2009. Dr. LaMattina was previously President of Pfizer Global Research and Development and held positions of increasing responsibility during his 30-year career at Pfizer, including vice president of US Discovery Operations in 1993, senior vice president of Worldwide Discovery Operations in 1998 and senior vice president of Worldwide Development in 1999. During Dr. LaMattina’s leadership tenure, Pfizer discovered and/or developed a number of important new medicines including Tarceva, Chantix, Zoloft, Selzentry and Lyrica, along with a number of other medicines currently in late stage development for cancer, rheumatoid arthritis and pain. Dr. LaMattina serves on the board of directors of Ligand Pharmaceuticals, Zafgen, Inc., Immunome Inc. and Vedanta Biosciences, Inc. He also serves on the Scientific Advisory Board of Frequency Therapeutics and is a trustee associate of Boston College. Dr. LaMattina is the author of numerous scientific publications and US patents. In addition, Dr. LaMattina is the author of the recently released Pharma and Profits: Balancing Innovation, Medicine, and Drug Prices (https://www.amazon.com/Pharma-Profits-Balancing-Innovation-Medicine-ebook/dp/B0B33V6B7Y), as well as Devalued and Distrusted: Can the Pharmaceutical Industry Restore Its Broken Image, Drug Truths: Dispelling the Myths About Pharma R&D, and an author of the Drug Truths blog at Forbes.com (https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnlamattina/?sh=4ea8dc042b0d). Dr. LaMattina was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Science degree from the University of New Hampshire in 2007 and in 2010 was the recipient of the American Chemical Society’s Earle B. Barnes Award for Leadership in Chemical Research Management. Dr. LaMattina received a BS in chemistry from Boston College in 1971 and received a PhD in organic chemistry from the University of New Hampshire in 1975. He then moved on to Princeton University as a National Institutes of Health Postdoctoral Fellow in the laboratory of Professor E. C. Taylor.

Dr. Rosamund Lewis, MD, CM, is Head, WHO Smallpox Secretariat, Emerging Diseases and Zoonoses Unit, World Health Emergencies Programme, at the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland (https://www.who.int/health-topics/smallpox#tab=tab_1), leading on emergency preparedness and advising on health security for the agency in this very critical domain, including as technical lead for Monkeypox. She also holds an appointment as Adjunct Professor in the School of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa. Previous to this role, Dr. Lewis joined the WHO COVID-19 response team as the health sciences lead for management of infodemics. A public health physician with an early career in family and emergency medicine, Dr. Lewis has served the WHO, the Government of Canada, Ottawa Public Health and other agencies at global, national and municipal levels in emergency preparedness, health security, disease surveillance and response, offering country support for a range of immunization and disease control programs. Dr. Lewis has served other roles focused on field epidemiology in emergency settings with organizations like Doctors Without Borders, and new vaccines and health systems development with the Global Vaccine Alliance (GAVI). Along with a Bachelor of Science and medical degree from McGill University, Dr. Lewis holds a Master of Science in Epidemiology and Biostatistics, a Master of Management in Health Leadership, and fellowships in Family Medicine and Public Health and Preventive Medicine and has published extensively in her areas of work.

Dr. Dana K. Merriman Ph.D. (http://www.uwosh.edu/facstaff/merriman/VaughanHome), is Distinguished Professor Emerita of Biology, and Director of the Squirrel Colony, at University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, and Adjunct Professor of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, Medical College of Wisconsin. With her BA in Biological Science and her PhD in Physiology and Cell Biology, both from University of California-Santa Barbara, as well as having spent time as a Postdoctoral Fellow at University of Utah Health Sciences Center, a core focus of Dr. Merriman’s laboratory research over the years has been the development of a captive breeding colony of the 13-lined ground squirrels. This unique, one-of-a-kind captive breeding program, due to this species very unique cone-dominant, diurnal visual system, as well as their impressive physiological ability to survive in hibernation for over six months without food or water, has served investigators with animals and custom-dissected tissues from the US, Asia, and Europe for decades, as well as been core to Dr Merriman’s own work on vision, including cone cell biology and retinal function during the metabolic state transitions associated with hibernation. Over the years, Dr. Merriman expanded her research horizon well outside of vision, into neuroscience, and in recent years she has collaborated on studies of muscle physiology, viral genomics, molecular biology of transposable elements, and comparative genetics of the control of coat patterning. Dr. Merriman’s lab research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and the Foundation Fighting Blindness, and the University of Wisconsin System Comprehensive Campuses tech transfer organization, WiSys.

Nikita Michelsen, is Founder & CEO of Pearlita Foods (https://www.pearlitafoods.com/), the world's first cell-based mollusk company, which is developing sustainably & ethically grown products, like oysters and abalone, that are contaminant free without compromising flavor or nutrition. Most recently Nikita served as both Director of Community and Director of Marketing of SynBioBeta and their Built With Biology premier innovation network for biological engineers, innovators, entrepreneurs, and investors who share a passion for using biology to build a better, more sustainable planet. Nikita has a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication from UC Santa Barbara, and a Master of Science in Information Science from Aalborg University.

Dr. Stephen Moran, Ph.D., is Global Program Head, Neuroendocrine Tumors & Other Radiosensitive Cancers, for Advanced Accelerator Applications (AAA - https://www.adacap.com/), a Novartis company and also a member of the Oncology Development Unit Leadership Team at Novartis. Prior to joining AAA, Dr. Moran was Global Head of Novartis Strategy, where he played a key role in defining the company’s strategy, prioritizing critical actions needed to deliver on the mission to discover new ways to extend and improve peoples’ lives. He also led numerous strategic initiatives, including gene therapy (AveXis, now Novartis Gene Therapies), RNA therapeutics (The Medicines Company), precision medicine and digital strategies. Dr. Moran joined Novartis as Strategic Assistant to the CEO, a position he held for two years and prior to this, he was an associate principal at McKinsey & Company serving as a leader in the healthcare practice, where he focused on health system sustainability, research and development strategy, and the economic analysis of clinical interventions across disease pathways. Dr. Moran holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Science in Biochemistry from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, including an undergraduate exchange program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He also received a Doctorate from the University of Oxford in Biophysics where he lectured on thermodynamics, quantum mechanics and electromagnetism as applied to biology. Dr. Moran has also been a guest lecturer in strategy at the University of St. Gallen International Executives MBA, masters and bachelor courses, and received the Young Investigator of the Year award in 2006 from Biochemical Journal.

Mr. Eric Fournier is the Director General Innovation for the Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security (IDEaS) Program (https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/corporate/reports-publications/ideas-2019-2020-annual-report/introduction.html), which over the past year, has been able to invest more than $100M in organizations across Canada (now over 270 and counting) that are using their innovative thinking and solutions in support of the women and men that are part of Canada’s Department of National Defence (DND) and Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). IDEaS aims to be Canada’s science, technology, and innovation leader, trusted advisor, collaborative partner, and knowledge integrator for defence and security. Mr. Fournier began his career with Defence Research & Development Canada (DRDC) as a Defence Scientist in the Flight Mechanics Group of the Precision Weapons Section at the Valcartier laboratory in August 1992. He spent most of his scientific career in that establishment, where he held a number of positions in the Weapons field of study. He also spent one year at the United Kingdom DERA Fort Halstead laboratory as an exchange scientist in the late ninety’s. In May 2006, Mr. Fournier was appointed Director, Science & Technology Air, in Ottawa, where he managed the Air Force S&T Program portfolio. As part of his duties, he also served as National Representative on the Aerospace Systems group (AER) in The Technical Cooperation Program. From September 2008 to July 2009, he moved to the Canadian Forces College in Toronto where he completed the National Security Program 1 (NSP-1). Upon his return to Ottawa, Mr. Fournier was appointed Director of Defence Research and Development Canada’s Centre for Operational Research and Analysis (CORA), and was responsible for the delivery of a Science and Technology program in the areas of operational research, strategic analysis, and scientific and technical intelligence. In 2014, Mr. Fournier took up the position of Defence R&D Counsellor at CDLS (London) where he was responsible for liaison in defence Science and Technology between Canada and the United Kingdom, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Denmark. Upon returning to Canada in July 2017, he was appointed DG for Strategic Decision Support, and also selected to develop and lead the implementation of the IDEaS initiative.

Senator Joe Lieberman, is senior counsel at the law firm of Kasowitz Benson Torres (https://www.kasowitz.com/people/joseph-i-lieberman) where he currently advises clients on a wide range of issues, including homeland and national security, defense, health, energy, environmental policy, intellectual property matters, as well as international expansion initiatives and business plans. Prior to joining Kasowitz, Senator Lieberman, the Democratic Vice-Presidential nominee in 2000, served 24 years in the United States Senate where he helped shape legislation in virtually every major area of public policy, including national and homeland security, foreign policy, fiscal policy, environmental protection, human rights, health care, trade, energy, cyber security and taxes, as well as serving in many leadership roles including as chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs. Prior to being elected to the Senate, Senator Lieberman served as the Attorney General of the State of Connecticut for six years. He also served 10 years in the Connecticut State Senate, including three terms as majority leader. In addition to practicing law, Senator Lieberman is honorary national founding chair of No Labels (https://www.nolabels.org/), an American political organization composed of Republicans, Democrats and Independents whose mission is to “usher in a new era of focused problem solving in American politics.” Since 2014, Senator Lieberman, and former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, have Co-Chaired the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense (https://biodefensecommission.org/), which has provided recommendations to improve the United States' efforts in the biodefense arena, particularly as it relates to biosecurity and pandemic preparedness. Senator Lieberman is also on the Board of Trustees for The McCain Institute for International Leadership, the Board of Trustees for the Institute for the Study of War, and the Board of Directors of the Center for a New American Security. Senator Lieberman is also an accomplished author with his most recent book, The Centrist Solution: How We Made Government Work and Can Make It Work Again (https://www.amazon.com/Centrist-Solution-Made-Government-Again/dp/1635769043), recently released in Oct 2021.

Dr. Chris Zaino (https://www.drzaino.com/) is a world-renowned speaker, author, entrepreneur, Former Mr America, Mr. Universe and IFBB Pro bodybuilder. After defying a deadly terminal disease in his late 20's, and studying Exercise Physiology & Wellness at University of Central Florida, Dr. Zaino leveraged his experience to get his doctorate and developing one of the largest wellness clinics in the world (Abundant Life Chiropractic - http://www.abundantlifechiro.com/drzaino), seeing thousands of patients weekly. He has also served as an official doctor of the World USA Olympic Judo, Wrestling, and Weightlifting Teams, as well as other sports teams. Dr. Zaino created the “I Am Hero Project”, to resurrect Heroes from the complacency of their secret identities, so they may live heroic lives once again, by expressing and experiencing true love, now, and in every area of their lives, through his 4 Step methodology “Hero Rises”. Recently, Dr. Zaino has become a top thought leader internationally in the area of applications of Regenerative Medicine, with a focus on enhancing Male Vitality (https://www.regeneragemedical.com/).

Dr. Tristin Brisbois, Ph.D., (https://www.linkedin.com/in/tristin-brisbois-6b352b56) is Director, Advanced Personalization Ideation Center, Life Sciences, Global R&D, at PepsiCo (https://www.gssiweb.org/en/about/pepsico-life-sciences), where she is involved in delivering actionable personalized nutrition solutions to promote the health and wellness of their consumers (https://pepsicohealthandnutritionsciences.com/). She also recently held the role of Director, Platform & Academic Partnerships, where she was involved in translating strategic intent and science-based analyses into actionable work plans and optimal project portfolio to meet PepsiCo’s short and long-term needs. This included developing internal capabilities, such as personalized nutrition, as well as identifying and forming key partnerships with leading academic institutions and external vendors. Dr. Brisbois previously served as a Senior Principal Scientist for Global R&D Nutrition Sciences, where she was involved in advancing the translation of nutrition science in key areas, directing and guiding regional product innovation and brand communications for PepsiCo North American beverages. She also provided expert input and support on external stakeholder issues and oversaw PepsiCo North American nutrition communication outreach program and strategy. Prior to working for PepsiCo, Dr. Brisbois was the Manager of Nutrition and Scientific Affairs at the Canadian Sugar Institute, where she led the Institute's nutrition communications program. Dr. Brisbois completed her PhD and BSc (in Nutrition and Food Science) at the University Alberta. Her PhD investigated food intake behavior in cancer with a focus on appetite stimulation and improvement of taste and smell perception using marijuana therapy. She studied appetite and reward related pathways in healthy and disease populations, and explored mechanisms which may cause a surfeit (obesity) or deficit (cancer) of calories. Dr. Brisbois also has a Masters of Business and Science (MBS), in Global Food Technology and Innovation, from Rutgers University.

Dr. Thomas V. Johnson III, M.D., Ph.D. (https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/profiles/details/thomas-johnson) is a glaucoma specialist and the Allan and Shelley Holt Rising Professor in Ophthalmology at Wilmer Eye Institute, at Johns Hopkins University. He is also a member of the Retinal ganglion cell (RGC) Repopulation, Stem cell Transplantation, and Optic nerve Regeneration (RReSTORe) consortium (https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/wilmer/research/storm/rrestore/index.html), an initiative focused on advancing translational development of vision restoration therapies for glaucoma and other primary optic neuropathies by assembling an international group of more than 100 leading and emerging investigators from related fields. Dr. Johnson received his BA (summa cum laude) in Biological Sciences from Northwestern University in 2005. As a Gates-Cambridge Scholar and an NIH-OxCam Scholar, he earned his PhD in Clinical Neuroscience from the University of Cambridge (UK) in 2010. He completed his medical training (AOA) at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in 2014 and served as an intern on the Johns Hopkins Osler Medical Service prior to completing his ophthalmology residency and glaucoma fellowship at the Wilmer Eye Institute. Dr. Johnson’s research interests are focused on understanding the pathophysiology of retinal and optic nerve neurodegenerative disorders, and on the development of neuroprotective and neuroregenerative therapies for these conditions. His doctoral thesis work evaluated intraocular stem and progenitor cell transplantation as a possible neuroprotective therapy for glaucoma. His research contributions have been recognized with a World Glaucoma Association Award nomination, the National Eye Institute’s Scientific Director’s Award, and the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology’s Merck Innovative Ophthalmology Research Award. He also founded and served as director of the Student Sight Savers Program, a program that provides vision screening services to low-income residents of Baltimore, and helps them obtain access to clinical ophthalmological care. Presently, Dr. Johnson is interested in the neurobiological processes that lead to retinal ganglion cell death and dysfunction in glaucoma and other optic neuropathies. In particular, he seeks to better understand the molecular mechanisms underlying axonal degeneration, dendrite retraction and afferent synapse loss, and cell body death in glaucoma. His goal is to utilize knowledge of these processes to develop targeted neuroprotective strategies to slow or halt RGC death and preserve vision for patients with glaucoma. He is also leading new investigations into the use of stem cell transplantation to achieve retinal ganglion cell placement, as a potential regenerative treatment for optic nerve disease, with a focus on anatomic incorporation of cell grafts, neurite growth and synapse formation, and electrophysiological retinal circuit integration.

Prof. Dr. Christine Stabell Benn, MD, PhD, DMSc, (https://portal.findresearcher.sdu.dk/en/persons/cbenn), is a physician, a professor of global health at the University of Southern Denmark, and a vaccine researcher with almost thirty years of experience in the field, where the focus of her research is "non-specific vaccine effects", defined as all those other effects, both positive and negative, that vaccines have on our immune systems and overall health, beyond their very specific ability to protect against a specific infectious disease. Prof. Dr. Stabell Benn has her medical degree, PhD, and Doctor of Medical Science from University of Copenhagen and has been responsible for planning, executing and publishing epidemiological and immunological studies of health interventions internationally, as well as supervising a number of pre- and postgraduate/PhD students. Prof. Dr. Stabell Benn started working as a medical student in 1993 at the Bandim Health Project (https://www.bandim.org/), a population based health research project in one of the world's poorest countries, Guinea-Bissau, developing a health and demographic surveillance system of over 100,000 people. She spent postdoc time at the Danish National Hospital, Department for Infectious Diseases and at Stanford University. In 2012, Dr. Benn was selected by the Danish National Research Foundation to establish and lead a Center of Excellence, the “Research Center for Vitamins and Vaccines” (CVIVA - www.cviva.dk).

Dr. Moriba Jah, Ph.D. (http://sites.utexas.edu/moriba/) is an Associate Professor of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics at The University of Texas at Austin (https://www.ae.utexas.edu/people/faculty/faculty-directory/jah) where he is the holder of the Mrs. Pearlie Dashiell Henderson Centennial Fellowship in Engineering. Dr. Jah also serves as Chief Scientific Advisor and Co-Founder (along with Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak) of Privateer (https://www.privateer.com/), a space-tech venture with a mission of driving space sustainability and creating solutions to make orbits around Earth safe and reliable. With a Ph.D. from University of Colorado (Boulder) Dr. Jah is the director for Computational Astronautical Sciences and Technologies (CAST), a group within the Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences, where his team focuses on the broad themes of Orbital Mechanics, including Space object detection, tracking, identification, and characterization, as well as Spacecraft navigation. He is also the Lead for the Space Security and Safety Program at the Robert Strauss Center for International Security and Law. Dr. Jah came to UT Austin by way of the Air Force Research Laboratory and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory prior to that, where he was a Spacecraft Navigator on a handful of Mars missions. Dr. Jah is a Fellow of multiple organizations: TED, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), American Astronautical Society (AAS), International Association for the Advancement of Space Safety (IAASS), Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), and the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). He has served on the US delegation to the United Nations Committee On Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UN-COPUOS), is an elected Academician of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA), and has testified to congress on his work as related to Space Situational Awareness and Space Traffic Management. Dr. Jah is a Co-Editor of the IAA and Elsevier Acta Astronautica journal, and serves on multiple committees: IAA Space Traffic Management, IAA Space Debris, AIAA Astrodynamics, IAF Astrodynamics, and IAF Space Security.

Dr. Jessica Whited, Ph.D. (https://hscrb.harvard.edu/labs/whited-lab/) is an Assistant Professor of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology at Harvard University where her lab focuses on limb regeneration in axolotl salamanders and where they develop tools to manipulate gene expression during limb regeneration, and explore signaling events following wound healing that initiate the regenerative process. Dr. Whited earned a B.A. in Philosophy and a B.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of Missouri, and obtained her Ph.D. in Biology from MIT, where she studied in Dr. Paul Garrity’s laboratory. Dr. Whited's thesis focused on molecular mechanisms controlling the development and maintenance of cellular architectures in the Drosophila nervous system. During this work, Dr. Whited became interested in processes that may be required long after initial developmental events to ensure cells do not revert to immature behaviors, as well as processes that provoke such events in response to injury. She worked in the laboratory of Dr. Cliff Tabin (Harvard Medical School Department of Genetics) as a postdoc studying total limb regeneration in axolotl salamanders. During this time, Whited developed several molecular tools that can be used to interrogate regenerating axolotl limbs, which is one of the core focuses of her lab today. Dr. Whited is also Co-Founder of Matice Biosciences, a company leveraging regenerative biology for the next generation of skincare and consumer scar products.

Andrea De Souza, is Associate Vice President, Research Data Sciences and Engineering, at Eli Lilly & Company (https://www.lilly.com/) where over the past three years her work has focused around empowering the Lilly Research Laboratories (LRL) organization with greater computational, analytics-intense experimentation to raise the innovation of their scientists. A former neuroscience researcher, Andrea’s portfolio career has included leadership assignments at the intersection of science, technology and business development. She has built and led informatics and scientific teams across the entire pharmaceutical value chain. Most recently, Andrea focused on building the Pharma Artificial Intelligence market at NVIDIA. Through this experience she has traveled the world advising bio-pharmaceutical clients, academics, research institutes, and startups in the potential of machine learning and artificial intelligence across every discipline of the industry. Prior to her role at NVIDIA, Andrea held leadership positions at the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Amgen, and Roche. In her current role as Associate Vice President at Lilly, Andrea leads four organizations: the High-Performance Computing Team, the Data Engineering team, the AI/ML team and the Translational Informatics team for LRL. Additionally, Andrea serves as a strategic advisor for the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) for The Human BioMolecular Atlas Program (HubMap) Advisory Team. Andrea has a B.S. in Animal Physiology from UC Davis, a Master’s in Health Administration from University of San Francisco, and an MBA from MIT Sloan. Through her broad research efforts, Andrea has publications in journals as diverse as the Journal of Computer-Aided Molecular Design, Bio-organic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters, and Neuropharmacology. Her leadership has gained her international recognition as a leader in Big Data, Artificial Intelligence and Data Sciences.

Gina Tokar is the Vice President of Business Operations at Panasonic Connect North America (https://na.panasonic.com/us/panasonic-connect), where she is focused on growth and change leadership, business transformation and cost control in the supply chain. She leads a multi-year, company-wide transformation project with the goal of shifting Panasonic’s product focus into a strategic, consultative solutions focus. She prides herself in launching new business units from concept to commercialization, breaking down barriers to innovation and value creation, and reliably driving growth and expansion regardless of the internal or market challenge. Panasonic Connect North America, is a business unit of the Panasonic Corporation, the Japanese multinational conglomerate which is a worldwide leader in the development of diverse electronics technologies and solutions for customers in the consumer electronics, housing, automotive, and B2B businesses. Celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2018, Panasonic has expanded globally and now operates 495 subsidiaries and 91 associated companies worldwide, recording consolidated net sales of $61 billion and employing over 250,000. Committed to pursuing new value through innovation across divisional lines, the company uses its technologies to create a better life and a better world for its customers. In addition to her work at Panasonic for the past seventeen years, Gina has served as the Chairman of the Newark, NJ Downtown District Board of Trustees, and President of the RISE women’s ESG group within Panasonic’s Business Impact Group. Prior to Panasonic, Gina served in multiple roles in logistics at GAF, a leader in the building materials industry. Gina has her MBA in Management from Fairleigh Dickinson, and her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology with a Minor in Biology, from Bucknell University.

Ambassador Dr. Román Macaya Hayes, Ph.D. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rom%C3%A1n_Macaya) is a Costa Rican scientist, entrepreneur, diplomat, and public servant, who most recently served as the Chairman of the Board of the Costa Rican Social Security, Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS), the institution that finances and provides universal coverage of public health care services in Costa Rica and manages the largest pension fund of the country. In this role he led the health care delivery response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as spearheaded key priority programs, such as deploying the largest investment in physical and technological infrastructure in the history of the CCSS, promoting innovation throughout the institution, implementing the most ambitious digital transformation agenda, and revamping both the health care delivery and pension system to respond to a rapidly aging population. Prior to leading the CCSS, Ambassador Dr. Macaya Hayes served as Costa Rica's Ambassador to the United States, a post he held from 2014 through 2018. As ambassador, Dr. Macaya Hayes promoted science diplomacy between both countries in biomedical research, space, water, biodiversity, and technology. He also strengthened cooperation in security, migratory matters, environmental conservation, and the arts, in addition to supporting the attraction of foreign direct investment. He also worked with the White House, Department of State, Department of Homeland Security, and Congress to strengthen Costa Rica´s capabilities in drug interdiction, resulting in the largest multi-year appropriations for Costa Rica in over 30 years. Ambassador Dr. Macaya Hayes has held leadership positions in the fields of health care and agriculture. In the healthcare field, in addition to leading Costa Rica´s single payer/single provider of public health care services, he has served as a biomedical scientist in the biotechnology industry, and as a businessman/entrepreneur in clinical research, private equity, and health care consulting. In the field of agriculture he led the growth and development of a major crop protection company, served on the Board of Directors of Costa Rica's National Chamber of Agriculture and Agro-Industry, and founded and presided over the National (Costa Rican), Latin American, and Global industry associations that engaged with governments and multilateral institutions such as the World Trade Organization (Geneva), World Health Organization (Geneva), and Food and Agriculture Organization (Rome) on regulatory matters. Ambassador Dr. Macaya Hayes holds an MBA in Health Care Management from the Wharton School of Business (University of Pennsylvania), a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from UCLA and a B.A. in Chemistry from Middlebury College.

Angela Sheffield is a graduate student and Space Industry fellow at the National Defense University’s Eisenhower School. She is on detail from the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), where she serves as the Senior Program Manager for AI for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation Research and Development. The National Nuclear Security Administration (https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/national-nuclear-security-administration), a United States federal agency, part of the U.S. Dept of Energy and it’s Office of Defense Nuclear Non-Proliferation, responsible for safeguarding national security through the military application of nuclear science. NNSA maintains and enhances the safety, security, and effectiveness of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile; works to reduce the global danger from weapons of mass destruction; provides the United States Navy with safe and effective nuclear propulsion; and responds to nuclear and radiological emergencies in the United States and abroad. In this position, Ms. Sheffield directs efforts leveraging artificial intelligence, advanced mathematics and statistics, and research computing technologies to develop capabilities to detect nuclear weapons development and characterize foreign nuclear programs around the world. Before joining NNSA, Ms. Sheffield led project teams at DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to develop modeling and simulation methodologies to model risk of WMD threats to inform national policy and decision making. Additionally, Ms. Sheffield led multidisciplinary efforts in the development of technical capabilities to detect the development of nuclear weapons with a special focus on AI and ML technologies. Ms. Sheffield joined PNNL after a distinguished career as an operations research analyst in the U.S. Air Force, where she specialized in the research and development and technical intelligence of U.S. and adversary weapon systems. Ms. Sheffield has a BS in Economics from the United States Air Force Academy and Duke University, an MS in Operations Research from Kansas State University, and will graduate from the Eisenhower School in June 2022 with an MS in National Security and Resource Strategy. The views expressed here are those of the guest and do not reflect the position of the U.S. government, DOE, NNSA, or DoD.

Commissioner Kenneth G. Hodder (https://www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/who-we-are/#hodder) serves as the National Commander for The Salvation Army in the United States, where he leads what is the largest social services organization in the country, with more than 7,600 centers of operations across the country, serving 23 million people annually to overcome poverty, addiction and economic hardships through a range of their social services, including, but not limited to, providing food for the hungry, emergency relief for disaster survivors, rehabilitation for those suffering from drug and alcohol abuse, and clothing and shelter for people in need. A sixth-generation Salvationist, Commissioner Hodder is a graduate of Harvard College (A.B. magna cum laude, 1980) and Harvard Law School (J.D., 1983). In 1986, after several years in the practice of corporate and real estate law, Commissioner Hodder and his wife, Commissioner Jolene K. Hodder, responded to God’s call to service as Salvation Army officers. Commissioned in 1988, they served in corps appointments in Glendale and Torrance, as instructors at the School for Officers Training, and later as staff officers at USA Western Territorial Headquarters. They also served in divisional leadership roles in both Los Angeles and Portland, Oregon. Commissioner Hodder was appointed in March, 2006 to serve as Chief Secretary in the Kenya Territory, where he had primary operational responsibility for the creation of two Salvation Army territories. Three years later, the Hodders were appointed to International Headquarters in London, where Commissioner Kenneth Hodder served in dual roles as International Secretary for Personnel and as Legal and Constitutional Adviser to the General. They were subsequently appointed in 2013 to lead the Kenya West Territory, from which they returned in January of 2017 to lead the USA Western Territory. Commissioner Hodder was appointed by the General to take up his current role as National Commander on July 1, 2020. Commissioner Jolene Hodder will run The Salvation Army’s Women’s Ministries, whose goal is to empower and equip women in all facets of life.

Captain Benjamin Van Buskirk is the Director of NavalX (https://www.secnav.navy.mil/agility/Pages/default.aspx), a fascinating organization that serves the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps as an innovation and agility cell, supporting and connecting initiatives across the Department of Defense, connecting different teams with tools, training, and resources, enabling people to think differently and deliver more effective solutions to the warfighter. Captain Van Buskirk joined NavalX after helping establish the Strategic Warfighting Innovation Cell within the Navy’s Warfighting Development Directorate where as a founding member, he designed and executed SWIC’s strategic priorities and engagement plan. Captain Van Buskirk was also a former secretary of defense executive fellow at cloud computing company VMware, where he was one of four Navy officers selected for the fellowship and was tasked with helping the company’s senior executives in areas such as business strategy and technology innovation with areas of focus including AI, ML, IoT, Mobile, and Cloud Computing. Captain Van Buskirk also has many years of active duty experience including, but not limited to, serving as a squadron commanding and executive officer for the U.S. Navy , and serving as a U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Strike Advisor, trusted to provide accurate and timely advice to the President of the United States for employment of strategic nuclear weapons and ensuring nuclear command and control execution messages are property sent to forces. Captain Van Buskirk has a BS in Finance from University of Arizona, and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) with a focus on Defense, from the Naval Postgraduate School.

Dr. Aletta Schnitzler, PhD. is the Chief Scientific Officer at TurtleTree Labs (https://turtletree.com/) where she leads the R&D teams and spearheads an innovation roadmap to bring nutritious cell-based dairy and meat alternatives to market. TurtleTree is a biotech company dedicated to producing a new generation of nutrition—one that’s better for the planet, better for the animals, and better for people everywhere. Utilizing its proprietary, cell-based technology, the company is creating "better-for-you" milk ingredients sustainably and affordably, with benefits that extend beyond the dining table and into the heart of humanity. Previous to joining TurtleTree, Dr. Schnitzler co-founded Merck KGaA’s Cultured Meat Innovation program and directed technology development to advance platforms enabling rapid development, validation and manufacture of cell-based meat products. Focus areas included formulating cost-effective cell culture media, understanding cell line requirements, and envisioning new process templates for biomass generation and structured products. Additionally, Dr. Schnitzler was Head of Cell Therapy Bioprocess R&D at MilliporeSigma, honing expertise in media optimization and single-use bioreactor systems for use in a complex regulatory environment. She also held technical and marketing roles supporting small-scale chromatography devices and cell culture products for monoclonal antibody production. Dr. Schnitzler has her B.S. in Biology from University of Massachusetts Amherst, received her Ph.D. from Boston University School of Medicine in the fields of immunology and neuroscience, and is an editorial board member of Stem Cells Translational Medicine.

Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, Ph.D., (https://www.imperial.ac.uk/people/m.vankerkhove) is an infectious disease epidemiologist who serves as the technical lead for the COVID-19 response at the World Health Organization (https://www.who.int/en/), where she develops guidance, training programs, and information products for the continuously evolving state of the pandemic, as well serving as the Emerging Diseases and Zoonoses Unit Head. Dr. Van Kerkhove began her journey in global health given her interest in viruses and how they infect and impact both humans and animals. She received her undergraduate degree in biological sciences from Cornell University, her master’s degree in epidemiology from Stanford University, and a PhD in infectious disease epidemiology from the London School of Tropical Hygiene and Medicine where she authored her PhD on pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 in Cambodia. Following her PhD, Dr. Van Kerkhove was a postdoctoral researcher with the WHO and acted as a liaison for the Imperial College London’s Medical Research Council Centre for Outbreak Analysis. Dr. Van Kerkhove continued working with the WHO and prior to COVID-19, was serving as the MERS-CoV Technical Lead in addition to being the Unit Head for the Emerging Disease and Zoonoses Unit. Her focus in these areas includes developing prevention and control programs around high threat respiratory pathogens.

Colonel Nathan P. Diller (https://www.afrl.af.mil/About-Us/Biographies/Display/Article/2856964/nathan-p-diller/) is the Director of AFWERX (https://www.afwerx.af.mil/), a United States Air Force program with the goal of fostering a culture of innovation within the service, and developing effective solutions to the challenges facing the service through partnerships with private sector business entities, with particular emphasis being placed on collaboration with technology startups. Colonel Diller received his commission from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 2000. After simultaneous Masters’ at Harvard (in International Security Policy) and MIT (in Aerospace Engineering), he attended Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training and flew F-16s for two Combat Air Force assignments, becoming an instructor pilot. He was selected for the French Test Pilot school and then completed his first test tour at Edwards AFB, supporting B-1, B-2, F-16, F-22 and F-35 flight test and instructing at the Test Pilot School. He served as an Executive Officer to the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board and as a Defense Advanced Research Project Agency Service Chiefs Fellow. Upon completing a program management tour at the Space and Missile Center, Colonel Diller took command of the 586th Flight Test Squadron, supervising classified flight test for joint, interagency and international clients. After graduating from the National Defense University, Eisenhower School Senior Acquisition Course, Colonel Diller served as the Chief of the Air and Space Branch, Force Application Division, then Chief of the Joint Force Integration Cell, Joint Staff J8. Following that assignment, he was the Air Force Advisor to Office of the Secretary of Defense Strategic Capabilities and Rapid Capabilities Office. Additionally, he was detailed as the Assistant Director of Aeronautics at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Colonel Diller is a member of the Acquisition Corps and is certified as a Level III Program Manager and Test professional. He is a senior pilot with over 2,700 hours in more than 60 aircraft.

Dr. Cesar de la Fuente, Ph.D. (https://www.med.upenn.edu/apps/faculty/index.php/g275/p9151622) is a Presidential Assistant Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, where he leads the Machine Biology Group (https://delafuentelab.seas.upenn.edu/) whose goal is to combine the power of machines and biology to help prevent, detect, and treat infectious diseases. Specifically, he pioneered the development of the first antibiotic designed by a computer with efficacy in animals, designed algorithms for antibiotic discovery, has reprogrammed venoms into antimicrobials, created novel resistance-proof antimicrobial materials, and invented rapid low-cost diagnostics for COVID-19 and other infections. He has a M.Sc. (Biotechnology) University of Leon, and Ph.D. (Microbiology & Immunology) University of British Columbia. Dr. de la Fuente is an NIH Maximizing Investigators' Research Award investigator and has received recognition and research funding from numerous other groups. Dr. de la Fuente has received over 50 awards including being recognized by MIT Technology Review as one of the world's top innovators for "digitizing evolution to make better antibiotics". He was selected as the inaugural recipient of the Langer Prize, an ACS Kavli Emerging Leader in Chemistry, and received the American Institute of Chemical Engineers 's 35 Under 35 Award and the ACS Infectious Diseases Young Investigator Award. In 2021, he received the Thermo Fisher Award, and the Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society Academic Early Career Achievement Award "For the pioneering development of novel antibiotics designed using principles from computation, engineering and biology". Most recently, Dr. de la Fuente was awarded the prestigious Princess of Girona Prize for Scientific Research and the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Award for Early Career Applied and Biotechnological Research. Dr. de la Fuente has given over 150 invited lectures and his scientific discoveries have yielded around 100 publications, including papers in Nature Biomedical Engineering, Nature Communications, PNAS, ACS Nano, Cell, Nature Chemical Biology, Advanced Materials, and multiple patents.