Dr. Rita Balice-Gordon is the Vice-President and Head of Circuits, Neurotransmitters and Signaling based in Cambridge, MA and Cambridge, UK, in the Pfizer Neuroscience and Pain Research Unit, and is Director of the Pfizer Worldwide R&D Postdoctoral Program.  She has built and led teams of scientists prosecuting targets relevant to cognition, depression, neuroinflammation and blood brain barrier integrity. Dr. Balice-Gordon leads a translational neuroscience team that has developed and is implementing a paradigm-shifting neurofunctional domains strategy, employing innovative forward and back translatable endpoints in preclinical and clinical studies to increase success in Phase 1b/

2 studies for CNS diseases. Dr. Balice-Gordon joined Pfizer in 2012 after a 20 year academic career on the medical faculty at the University of Pennsylvania, where she currently holds an adjunct appointment. Among other awards and honors, Dr. Balice-Gordon was elected as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2015.

Dr. Keith Q. Tanis is a Principal Scientist within the Genetics and Genomics department at Merck & Co. He received his Bachelors of Science degree from the New Jersey Institute of Technology prior to joining the Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry graduate program at Yale University. Keith performed his doctoral research in the laboratory of Dr. Anthony J. Koleske studying the regulation of Abl family kinases during neuronal development. He then joined Ronald S. Duman’s laboratory within the Molecular Psychiatry Department at Yale, where he researched the transcriptional drivers of antidepressant response. Keith joined the Genetics and Genomics group at Merck in

2007 as a Senior Scientist focused on target and biomarker identification for the neuroscience therapeutic areas, with subsequent broadening research responsibilities including cardio-metabolic disease, toxicology and vaccines development. He now leads a small group of scientists supporting genetics, genomics and bioinformatics efforts spanning discovery, preclinical development, safety assessment, process development, clinical and life cycle management across the Merck pipeline.

Karen Hanson Widbin, BBA is the Manager of Operations for Pfizer’s Worldwide R&D Postdoctoral Program.  Interfacing with the Program’s director and governance team, Karen is responsible for leading program development as well as the day-to-day activities of the program office.  She has provided organizational oversight for industry postdoctoral programs since 2007, including Pfizer’s R&D program since its formal launch in 2010.  Since joining the pharmaceutical industry in 2006, Karen has additionally served in roles providing strategy and operations support to R&D therapeutic area leadership teams.  Prior to 2006, she held positions in finance and administrative management in other sectors of

industry and higher education. Karen holds a degree in Business Administration from Boston University.

Pharma and BiotechCareer Network for student Scientists and Postdocs at Yale

2015 Annual Networking Event

Dr. Jared Davis had an interest in chemistry and biology from the start, so he majored in Biochemistry in his undergraduate studies. Although he didn’t initially plan on earning a Ph.D., he subsequently enrolled in the graduate program at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where he studied RNA tertiary structure and folding. Realizing that postdoctoral experience was required for him to obtain a job in industry or academia, he accepted a postdoctoral position in the Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry Department at Yale University with the Strobel lab. After four years of studying ribozyme reaction mechanisms and ribosome-associated RNAses, he applied for both

academic and industry positions and ultimately decided that industry was a better fit. He accepted a Development Scientist I position at Alexion Pharmaceuticals in Cheshire, CT, where he worked on RNA therapeutics, and after three years with the company, Dr. Davis now serves as the Associate Director of Biochemical Process Development at Alexion.

Dr. Rachael Felberbaum joined Protein Sciences Corporation, manufacturer of recombinant vaccines, in 2011 as Manager, Scientific Communications. She was promoted to Director, Corporate Communications and Shareholder Relations in 2013 and became Senior Director, Business Development in 2015. Previously, Dr. Felberbaum was Manager, Corporate Communications at Protarga, Inc., a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company, and held various research positions in cancer biology and psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Felberbaum holds a Ph.D. in Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology from Yale University and a B.A. in Psychology from the University of

Pennsylvania. She serves on the STEM Education Advisory Board for U.S. Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty.

Dr. Andrey Antov is the Associate Director in the Office of the COO at The Jackson Laboratory, leading the COO team using a variety of strategic initiatives. Prior to this role, Dr. Andrey Antov was the Managing Director of the Clinical Sourcing Group at MedPricer and DataPros. Additionally, from 2009-2011, he was a Project Manager for the Management Rotation program at Boehringer Ingelheim. Dr. Antov was part of the first class of the joint Ph.D./M.B.A. program at Yale (2003-2009), having done his research in Immunology, and his business education in Strategy & Marketing. He also holds a M.Sc. in Biochemistry and a M.Sc. in Ecology from Sofia University in Bulgaria.

Pharma and BiotechCareer Network for student Scientists and Postdocs at Yale

2015 Annual Networking Event

Dr. Suneil Malhotra is currently head of the Medical Communication team for the Bayer Oncology prostate and pipeline franchises where he manages and oversees the development of core global medical content used in internal training, advisory boards, global congresses and medical information letters. Beyond these efforts, he manages the internal thought leader strategy and helps guide the accredited education work-stream that helps fund global unrestricted education grants to third parties. He previously worked at Alexion Pharmaceuticals, where he led Scientific and Medical Communication efforts for their Hematology franchise, focusing on KOL engagement, advisory boards, publication and

medical education strategy, and medical field force training efforts. He completed his MBA in Healthcare Management and Marketing at the University of Connecticut in 2013 and received his PhD in Human and Molecular Genetics and Immunology from MD Anderson Cancer Center in 2006, where his thesis focused on the genetic basis of bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis. He published in a diverse array of scientific disciplines, from the field of pulmonology, to more recently, the fields of hematology and neurology.

Dr. Michael Fiedler is currently an Associate Scientific Director at Infusion Medical Communications, an Ashfield Company. There he is responsible for a variety of tasks including development of medical education and disease treatment data materials, competitive intelligence, strategic and tactical planning, congress coverage, and meeting moderation. Dr. Fiedler is significantly involved in therapeutic landscape analysis, specializing in multiple sclerosis (MS). Dr. Fiedler received his Ph.D. in Cell Biology from the Yale University School of Medicine in May 2011.

Medical CommunicationsCareer Network for student Scientists and Postdocs at Yale

2015 Annual Networking Event

Andrey Antoy is the Associate Director in the Office of the COO at The Jackson Laboratory, leading the COO team using a variety of strategic initiatives. Prior to this role, Dr. Andrey Antov was the Managing Director of the Clinical Sourcing Group at MedPricer and DataPros. Additionally, from 2009-2011, he was a Project Manager for the Management Rotation program at Boehringer Ingelheim. Dr. Antov was part of the first class of the joint Ph.D./M.B.A. program at Yale (2003-2009), having done his research in Immunology, and his business education in Strategy & Marketing. He also holds a M.Sc. in Biochemistry and a M.Sc. in Ecology from Sofia University in Bulgaria.

Dr. Susan Bouregy is the Chief HIPAA Privacy Officer, responsible for the HIPAA privacy program throughout Yale University, including both the health plan component and the healthcare providers in the faculty practice and University Health Services, a full service care provider for students, employees and their families. Previously, Dr. Bouregy provided oversight of the social and behavioral science IRB at Yale initially as IRB Director and subsequently as Vice-Chair. This IRB is responsible for review of the broad range of social, behavioral and educational research conducted at Yale. Dr. Bouregy also served as co-director of the University’s successful human research protection

program accreditation project. Prior to joining Yale, Dr. Bouregy studied behavioral genetics in Drosophila. Dr. Bouregy holds a Ph.D. in biology from Brandeis University and a B.S. in Biology from Lafayette College.

Career Network for Student scientists and Postdocs at Yale2015 Annual Networking Event

Pharma and Biotech

Dr. Joe El-Khoury is an Assistant Professor of Laboratory Medicine at Yale University School of Medicine and Assistant Director of the Clinical Chemistry Laboratory at Yale-New Haven Hospital. Dr. El-Khoury is board certified by the American Board of Clinical Chemistry. He completed his fellowship training in Clinical Biochemistry at Cleveland Clinic, his graduate training in Clinical-Bioanalytical Chemistry at Cleveland Clinic (in partnership with Cleveland State University), and his undergraduate training in Chemistry at the American University of Beirut (Lebanon). His specialty is method development by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry for quantitation of small molecule in biological

fluids.

Clinical ResearchCareer Network for student Scientists and Postdocs at Yale

2015 Annual Networking Event

Dr. John Puziss has been the Director of Technology Licensing at Yale University since 2001, which is responsible for the commercialization of technologies invented at Yale University. This team of licensing professionals evaluates the commercial potential and patentability of Yale technologies, develops commercialization strategies, and negotiates licenses and collaborative R&D agreements to maximize the potential of these technologies. Prior to this position, Dr. Puziss was an Associate in Business Development and Marketing at Proteome, Inc (2000-2001). He holds a Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1985-1991) and a B.S. in Microbiology from the University

of Rochester. Following graduate school, Dr. Puziss was an American Cancer Society Postdoctoral Fellow at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine (1991-1995). He continued his research as a Senior Research Investigator in Anti-Infective Discovery at Bristol-Myers Squibb (1995-2000).

Dr. Heather Claxton-Douglas graduated from University of Michigan with a PhD in Biochemistry and a certification in Science, Technology, and Public Policy from the Ford School of Public Policy.  She is specifically interested in how research findings made in the laboratory translate into tangible benefits for society and now currently working in the Office of Technology Management at the University of Illinois-Chicago. Dr. Claxton-Douglas is founder of the Science Solved L3C -- a website that connects scientists with volunteer software developers.

Technology TransferCareer Network for student Scientists and Postdocs at Yale

2015 Annual Networking Event

Dr. Craig M. Crews is the Lewis B. Cullman Professor of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology and holds joint appointments in the departments of Chemistry and Pharmacology at Yale University. He graduated from the U. Virginia with a B.A. in Chemistry and received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in Biochemistry. Dr. Crews has a foothold in both the academic and biotech arenas; on the faculty at Yale since 1995, his laboratory has pioneered the use of small molecules to control intracellular protein levels. In 2003, he co-founded Proteolix, Inc., whose proteasome inhibitor, Kyprolis™ recently received FDA approval for the treatment of multiple myeloma. Since Proteolix’s purchase by

Onyx Pharmaceuticals in 2009, Dr. Crews has focused on a new drug development technology, which served as the founding IP for his latest New Haven-based biotech venture, Arvinas, Inc. Currently, Dr. Crews serves on several editorial boards and is Editor of Chemistry & Biology. In addition, he has received numerous awards and honors, including the 2013 CURE Entrepreneur of the Year Award, 2014 Ehrlich Award for Medicinal Chemistry and a NIH R35 Outstanding Investigator Award (2015).

Dr. Andrej Barbic completed his Ph.D. in Biophysical Chemistry in 2001.  After a brief post-doc, he started working at a law firm in 2003 while attending law school at night. He graduated law school in 2007 and is now a patent attorney in Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, LLP, one of the top law firms in the United States. His work includes preparing and obtaining patents for biotechnology and pharmaceutical clients, litigating validity of issued patents at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, as well as litigating patents protecting marketed drugs in district court.

Entrepreneurship

Patent and Law

Career Network for student Scientists and Postdocs at Yale2015 Annual Networking Event

Career Network for student Scientists and Postdocs at Yale2015 Annual Networking Event

Dr. Holly Welles works at the Princeton University Environmental Institute where she is Communications Manager and co-administrator of the Carbon Mitigation Initiative. She serves on the boards of the Yale University Alumni Association Board of Governors, the Yale School of Forestry Environmental Studies Alumni Association (former President, 2011-13), and the D&R Greenway Land Trust.  She held previous energy and environment positions at the Pacific Gas and Electric Company, the US Agency for International Development and the Council on Environmental Quality.  Holly began her career as an energy and environment legislative aide to Congressman George Brown. 

She earned her Ph.D. at UC Berkeley and was awarded a Switzer Environmental Fellowship and a Morris K. Udall Dissertation Fellowship.

Academic AdministrationCareer Network for student Scientists and Postdocs at Yale

2015 Annual Networking Event