SPEAKERS
DR. MIKAEL DOLSTEN
Former President of Research, Pfizer
Former President of R&D, Wyeth
Former Worldwide Head of Research, Boehringer Ingelheim
Mikael leads the Worldwide Research, Development and Medical (WRDM) organization at Pfizer, which is responsible for the development of all compounds through proof of concept, and provides pharmaceutical sciences, safety and medical support to the entire R&D pipeline and all marketed medicines and vaccines. WRDM comprises all Pfizer research units, including Oncology, Internal Medicine, Inflammation & Immunology, Vaccines and Rare Disease, as well as the Centers for Therapeutic Innovation. The Vaccines R&D team leads scientific efforts from discovery through registration of novel vaccines. Mikael also has worldwide responsibility for Pfizer’s medical, safety and external R&D innovation, as well as science-based teams in pharmaceutical sciences, drug safety R&D, and large and small molecule discovery and development.
Prior to Pfizer, Dolsten was President of R&D at the Wyeth and Worldwide Head of Research for Boehringer Ingelheim.
Mikael earned his PhD in tumor immunology and MD from the University of Lund in Sweden, where he was Adjunct Professor in Tumor Immunology and is a Visiting Professor to advise on science and technology strategies. He is a member of the boards of Agilent Technologies, Research!America, and Vimian. Additionally, Mikael is a member of the Board of Overseers for the Scripps Research Institute and a Foreign Member of The Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences. Since 2014, Mikael had co-chaired the Accelerating Medicine Partnership with National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director, Francis S. Collins, and now with Acting Director, Lawrence Tabak. He serves on the PhRMA Research & Development Leadership Forum and, until late 2022, served on the PhRMA Foundation Board of Directors. Mikael advised the Obama Administration on R&D as well as then Vice President Biden’s Cancer Moonshot Initiative to accelerate cancer research.
Mikael is a named inventor on several patents and has published approximately 150 articles in international journals.
DR. STELIOS PAPADOPOULOS
Former Vice Chairman, Cowen
Dr. Stelios Papadopoulos is Chairman of the Board of Directors of Exelixis, Inc. and Epikast, Inc., and a member of the board of Ovid Therapeutics, Inc. He is a co-founder of Exelixis and Epikast, as well as co-founder and former Chairman of Anadys Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Hoffman–La Roche in 2011) and Cellzome (acquired by GlaxoSmithKline in 2012). Until June 2023 Dr. Papadopoulos was the Chairman of Biogen and until June 2025, he was Chairman of Regulus Therapeutics, Inc. (acquired by Novartis in 2025) having joined both boards in 2008. In the not-for-profit sector, Dr. Papadopoulos is co-founder and Chairman of Fondation Santé (www.fondationsante.org), a foundation providing grant support and mentorship to biomedical research scientists in academic institutions in Greece and Cyprus.
Dr. Stelios Papadopoulos spent six years (2000-06) at Cowen & Co., LLC, most recently as Vice Chairman, where as an investment banker he focused on the biotech and pharma sectors. Prior to joining Cowen, he spent 13 years as an investment banker at PaineWebber, Incorporated where he was most recently Chairman of PaineWebber Development Corp., a PaineWebber subsidiary focusing on biotechnology. He joined PaineWebber in 1987 from Drexel Burnham Lambert where he was an analyst in the Equity Research Department covering the biotechnology industry. Prior to Drexel, he was the biotechnology analyst of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette. Dr. Papadopoulos has received multiple honors and awards for his work in the biopharma industry as a company founder, adviser, and financier.
Before coming to Wall Street, Dr. Papadopoulos was on the faculty of the Department of Cell Biology at New York University School of Medicine. He holds an M.S. in physics, a Ph.D. in biophysics and an M.B.A. in finance, all from New York University.
GREG SIMON
Former President of the Biden Cancer Initiative
Former Executive Director of the White House Cancer Moonshot Taskforce
Former Senior VP Worldwide Policy and Patient Engagement at Pfizer
Gregory Simon is the president of Simonovation, LLC, an international consulting firm in science and technology policy. He has held senior positions in both chambers of Congress, served in two presidential administrations, was a senior strategy consultant to a variety of international technology CEOs, co- founded and led FasterCures, co-founded and led the Melanoma Research Alliance, and was the senior vice president at Pfizer for Worldwide Policy and Patient Engagement.
Simon came to Washington, DC, in 1985 as general counsel and then staff director of the Investigations Subcommittee of the House of Representatives' Science, Space, and Technology Committee. Simon organized a series of the earliest investigatory hearings on biotechnology policy and was involved in hearings and investigations related to NASA and the Challenger explosion. In 1991, he was the legislative director for Senator Al Gore, and in 1993, President William Clinton Commissioned Simon to be Vice President Gore’s chief domestic policy advisor, a position he held from 1993-1997. He was the lead staffer for the Clinton-Gore Administration for the development and passage of the Telecommunications Reform Act of 1996. He helped negotiate the US-Russia agreement on the International Space Station and oversaw several key health and science initiatives, including the Human Genome Project.
He next served in the White House in 2016 as the executive director of the White House Cancer Moonshot Task Force, under then-vice President Joe Biden. Simon and his team helped launch over seventy innovative private and public-private collaborations and numerous novel interagency and international initiatives that helped support the successful effort to secure $1.8 billion in new funding for the Cancer Moonshot. After leaving office in 2017, Joe and Jill Biden asked Simon to launch and be the president of the Biden Cancer Initiative, an independent nonprofit organization from 2017-2019. An Arkansas native, he has a BA in history from the University of Arkansas, he received his law degree from the University of Washington and studied at the Institute for European Studies at the University of Vienna, Austria.
DR. ALFRED SLANETZ
CEO, Geneius Biotechnoloagy
Former CEO, Bluebird Bio
Chairman, National Foundation for Cancer Research
Former Head of Product Development, Genetech
Dr. Slanetz is the founder of Geneius Biotechnology and has been President, Chief Executive Officer and a director of the Company full time since its inception. Prior to co-founding the Company, he served as Chief Executive Officer and President of Bluebird Bio.
Dr. Slanetz also served as Vice President, Business Development of TRANSGENE in May 1996. From 1994 to 1996, he served as Manager, New Product Planning and Development at Genentech Inc. Prior to that, Dr. Slanetz was a Management Consultant for Arthur D. Little.
He received his Ph.D. in Molecular and Immunobiology from Yale University, as well as a Masters from Brown University.
DR. CHRISTIANA BARDON
Managing Partner, MPM BioImpact
Managing Partner, MPM Oncology Impact Funds
Dr. Christiana (Chris) Bardon is Managing Partner of MPM BioImpact and leads the firm’s public market investing as portfolio manager for BioImpact Equities and the Oncology Impact Funds.
Previously, Chris was a health care analyst at Fidelity Investments covering biotechnology, life-science tools and diagnostics, and she started her career as an analyst at MPM BioImpact. She currently serves as an Executive Fellow at the Harvard Business School, on the Harvard Medical School Board of Fellows, and is a Trustee of the American Association for Cancer Research Foundation.
Chris earned her M.D. magna cum laude from Harvard Medical School and her M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. While at Harvard Medical School, she was the recipient of a Howard Hughes fellowship, and she completed her residency in Internal Medicine at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital at Harvard Medical School. She received her M.S./B.S. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
KAREN HARRIS, MBA
Executive Director, Mission Related Investments and Finance, Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation
Karen Harris is a member of the ADDF’s executive team and serves as its Chief Financial Officer and Head of Mission Related Investments.
With a CFO background that spans both non-profits and investment banking, Ms. Harris is committed to increasing transparency and accessibility of complex financial information and heightening organizational effectiveness with robust financial governance, strategic planning, policies, controls, and training. She regularly presents to the ADDF’s Boards of Governors and Overseers, launched a board-level Finance and Audit Committee, and oversees the organization’s banking relationships. As Head of Mission Related Investments, Ms. Harris has also structured and stewarded dozens of venture-based investments for the ADDF, and she manages and monitors its extensive portfolio of securities and royalty arrangements with universities and biotech companies.
Previously, Ms. Harris served as Chief Financial Officer for the East Harlem Tutorial Program and Director of Development at Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center. She also led a career in the financial sector for 20+ years prior to her transition to non-profit leadership. Among other roles, Ms. Harris served as Global COO for global equity capital markets, a $1 billion dollar division with 190 bankers at UBS, and as a Director and investment banker at Merrill Lynch. She earned an MBA in Finance from Stanford Graduate School of Business, graduating first in her class, and a BA in Economics from Columbia University.
KAUSHIK SRINIVASAN, JD, MBA
Managing Partner, Cerulean Health Venture Fund
Kaushik Srinivasan, JD, MBA is an accomplished C-Suite executive, entrepreneur, and investor with deep experience in the healthcare industry. Leveraging his cross-functional expertise, he has been a strategic investor and operator focused on helping early and growth stage companies in healthcare and life sciences accelerate operational and fundraising milestones through a combination of business strategy, industry relationships, and a team of subject matter experts.
PHILIP SAWYER, MBA, MA
Managing Partner, Bering Capital
Philip believes deeply in the critical value of people and culture to success. He has spent three decades building companies, navigating all of the hurdles that come up in the process, and ultimately taking several of them public. He started his first company soon after business school with his father, a heart surgeon, and Gordon Russell from Sequoia Capital. Philip efficiently operates in areas that require a very strategic orientation to succeed.
Philip attended Harvard Business School where he received an MBA and Haverford College, where he received an MA in International Relations and was the Captain of the Varsity Tennis Team.
.jpg)
STEVEN M. FERGUSON, CLP
Deputy Director and Chair, Licensing and Entrepreneurship, NCI
Steven M. Ferguson currently serves as the Deputy Director, Licensing and Entrepreneurship. Prior to joining NIH Office of Technology Transfer in 1990, Mr. Ferguson served in marketing and management positions in biomedical firms subsequent to being a scientist at the National Cancer Institute. His healthcare experience has also included work as Director of Marketing and Public Relations for a rural 70-bed hospital. Registered to practice before the USPTO and a Certified Licensing Professional (CLP), Mr. Ferguson also holds Master's Degrees in Business Administration (George Washington University) and Chemistry (University of Cincinnati) as well as Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry (Case Western Reserve University). Mr. Ferguson has been an economic reviewer for Maryland Industrial Partnerships (MIPS) as well as the Advanced Technology Program (ATP) grant programs and is an instructor for both the USDA Graduate School and the NIH FAES Graduate School where he is also the department chair for the new Certificate in Technology Transfer Program. Mr. Ferguson was also the Susan T. and Charles E. Harris Visiting Lecturer at the Watson School of Biological Sciences at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and has published articles on licensing and technology transfer issues.
MICHAEL L. SALGALLER, PHD
Supervisor, Technology Analysis and Marketing Unit (TAMU), Technology Transfer Center, National Cancer Institute
Dr. Michael Salgaller leads the Invention Development and Marketing Unit (IDMU) within the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI’s) Technology Transfer Center, where he leverages over 20 years of business, scientific, and investment experience in various life science sectors to support technology development and commercialization. The IDMU serves in a business development role to foster licensing and collaborative activity between buy-side stakeholders and the NCI (as well as NIH in general). Immediately prior to returning to the NCI, Michael was a Vice President at The Conafay Group, a healthcare-focused government affairs firm in downtown DC, where he led alliance development activities centered on civilian health. He served as President of Biologics Consulting Group, a boutique firm providing professional services focused on regulatory affairs. Michael spent several years on the investment team of an early-stage venture capital firm dedicated to the life sciences. He began his buy-side career as Vice President of R&D for Northwest Biotherapeutics, where he led the development of cancer cell therapies that achieved clinical benefit. He began his career as a Senior Scientist with Dr. Steve Rosenberg at the NCI. He is the author of “Biotechnology Entrepreneurship,” and teaches an entrepreneurship class at NIH. He is on the Board of Canines-N-Kids, a foundation supporting cooperation between researchers in pediatric and veterinary oncology. He has written over 70 scientific/business articles and book chapters. Dr. Salgaller received his PhD in Pathology from The Ohio State University.
STEVEN ABERNATHY
CEO, The Abernathy II Family Office
Steven Abernathy is the Founder and Chairman of The Abernathy Group II Family Office. Prior to The Abernathy Group II Family Office, Mr. Abernathy was recruited by Shearson American Express in 1982 and joined its training program in 1983, eventually becoming Senior Vice President of Portfolio Management. In 1989, Mr. Abernathy joined Cowen & Co., a research and trading boutique specializing in healthcare and technology, as a Special Limited Partner and Director of its Executive Services Division. While at Cowen, Mr. Abernathy developed The Abernathy Group, a group of investment professionals specializing in asset management for experts in healthcare and technology. This collaboration between investment professional and client-expert was called the Collaborative Investing® style of portfolio management. This group was committed to furthering Mr. Abernathy’s goal of marrying the Collaborative Investing® style with value investing. The collaborative effort forged between Mr. Abernathy’s financial knowledge and the technology and healthcare expertise of his clients has produced “top-tier” results. In 1996, Mr. Abernathy co-founded The Abernathy Technology Research Institute, formerly known as The Abernathy Leet Institute for Financial Research, a registered broker-dealer. Mr. Abernathy is a member of CFA Institute and the New York Society of Security Analysts. Mr. Abernathy earned a Bachelor of Science Degree as a pre-med student from Fordham University. In addition to studying Biology, he completed extensive studies in music theory and received a full football scholarship.
Mr. Abernathy has been featured in many publications, including Fortune, Forbes, American Medical News, Nelsons Worlds Best Money Managers, Barron’s, Medical Economics, Physicians Money Digest, Ophthalmology Management, Orthopedics Today, The Physicians Personal Advisory, The Financial Times, Money Manager Review, Podiatry Management, Anesthesiology News, Hedge Mar, CPA Wealth Advisor, Business Week, Journal of Financial Planning, American Way, Journal of Practical Estate Planning, Biotechnology Investing, Wealth and Retirement Planner, Financial Advisor Magazine, Advisor Today, Journal of Retirement Planning and the cover of Money Magazine, among others, and on various television programs, including CBS MarketWatch, CNN, MSN and Bloomberg.
The Abernathy Group II and its predecessors have been ranked number 1, 16 times by Nelson’s World’s Best Money Managers since 1991.
RICK LIPKIN, MBA
Founder and Co-Chair, Catalytic Impact Foundation
Richard Lipkin is the Founder and Co-Chair of the Catalytic Impact Foundation (CIF). He is also a Managing Director of Easton Capital Investment Group, a NYC-based life sciences and healthcare venture capital firm; and a co-Founder and Co-Chair of Princeton Alumni Angels (PAA). Through CIF, he serves as a Board Director of Epivax Therapeutics and Ceretype Neuromedicine, and Board Observer of Deck Therapeutics. Previously, he served as a partner of Commerce Health Ventures, a life sciences and healthcare fund of NewSpring Capital; Laird & Company, a private merchant bank; and other private investment partnerships, including as a biotech analyst and consultant for a Goldman Sachs hedge fund. He also served as Executive Director, Strang Cancer Prevention Center; and Director, International Development, for IDT Corp., including the launch of Net2Phone. He has consulted for DARPA, and served as a writer and editor for Scientific American and Science News, producing more than 400 articles, chapters, and books for many organizations, including National Geographic, Natural History, The Journal of NIH Research, Journal of Neuroscience, Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, The Wilson Quarterly, Smithsonian Books, WNET-13, United Press International, Grolier’s Encyclopedia, and the American Mathematical Society; reprinted by Annual Editions, Global Studies, Social Issues Resource Series, the U.S. Information Agency, and recognized in Who’s Who in Science and Engineering and Men of Achievement. He was awarded the American Chemical Society’s Grady-Stack Award, recognizing analysis of basic and applied scientific and medical research. He has studied cognitive and computational neuroscience at Columbia University and the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA, and served on Columbia University Medical Center’s Health Sciences Advisory Council, Neuroscience Council, and Medical Science and Technology Council. He is a frequent panelist, moderator, judge, mentor and advisor to many companies and impact organizations, active in many not-for-profit, educational, and social progress ventures, and served as Director, Board member, committee member, program overseer, grant reviewer, including in neuroscience and oncology research; served as member of boards, councils, and committees for the Weizmann Institute of Science, the Israel Cancer Research Fund, Rockefeller University, Marine Biological Laboratory, Columbia University, the New York Academy of Sciences, and the Montefiore Medical Center. He is an honors graduate of Princeton University, has an MBA from Columbia Business School, and served as a Senior Staff Associate in Columbia University’s Zuckerman Institute of Mind, Brain, and Behavior. He lives in New York City with his wife and two sons.
GREG GRINBERG
CEO, Origin Foundation
Greg Grinberg is a prominent figure in the fields of technology and philanthropy, particularly focused on health initiatives. He currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Origin Foundation Inc, a position he has held since October 2022.
Greg Grinberg's career is characterized by his commitment to leveraging technology for health-related causes:
ActualFood Founder:
-
Grinberg founded ActualFood in 2009 and has been leading it for over 15 years.
-
ActualFood aims to combat the chronic disease epidemic by developing hardware and software technologies that address systemic barriers to healthy eating.
Origin Foundation Inc CEO:
-
As CEO of Origin Foundation Inc, Grinberg is dedicated to funding initiatives to end the chronic disease epidemic.
-
The foundation focuses on supporting breakthrough science, behavioral research, and impactful communications in this field.
Grinberg holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics and Physics.
KRISTIN A. GERBER
Partner, Hogan Lovells Cadwalader
Kristin Gerber is a partner in the firm’s Corporate & Finance practice and a member of its Technology and Life Sciences sector teams. She represents public and private companies, investors, and acquirers in the United States and globally on mergers and acquisitions, carve-out and spin-off transactions, minority and growth investments, and other strategic corporate transactions, with a particular focus on software, hardware, healthcare, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and other technology-driven businesses.
Serving as outside corporate counsel to many of her clients, Kristin provides strategic advice and general corporate counseling to management teams and boards while leading significant transactions throughout the corporate life cycle. She is deeply engaged in Boston’s technology and life science startup communities, regularly advising founders, entrepreneurs, and emerging growth companies as they launch, grow, and scale their businesses.
Kristin is a member of the American and Boston Bar Associations, the Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts and the Boston chapter of Women in Technology International. She servs on the Boston Bar Association’s Business Transactions Steering Committee and has also served as a mentor for the MIT $100K Business Plan Competition, Cleantech Open Northeast, Boston College’s Soaring Startup Circle, and the Hult Prize Competition, and has been a guest lecturer at Boston College Law School.
BLAKE E. WILSON
Partner, Hogan Lovells Cadwalader
Blake Wilson helps medical device, drug, and biologic companies successfully navigate FDA’s evolving regulatory landscape. With a focus on premarket submissions and clinical trial design and conduct, Blake helps sponsors plan their product development strategy and minimize regulatory risks.
When advising companies, Blake draws on years of experience practicing in front of the FDA. He has assisted clients across a wide range of submissions (e.g., presubmissions, investigational products, combination products, humanitarian/orphan products, marketing applications, breakthrough requests) with a focus on novel treatments . When feedback from the agency is needed, Blake helps sponsors craft a well-tailored regulatory strategy and is effective at presenting the plan to FDA. He also prepares sponsors for advisory panel hearings.
Leveraging his prior experience in clinical research and biostatistics, Blake advises sponsors on study design considerations and reporting study outcomes. By stress testing clinical evidence through the lens of an FDA reviewer, Blake helps sponsors avoid pitfalls that can delay or derail a project. He also prepares sponsors for FDA Bioresearch Monitoring (BIMO) audits, and can host the inspection. Whether crafting a regulatory strategy, preparing a submission, or negotiation a solution with the agency, Blake provides technical acumen and creativity to help companies achieve their goals.
Blake also advises on due diligence and other corporate matters related to medical products (e.g., mergers and acquisitions). He also assists companies with compliance challenges, including government and internal investigations, and 483 and Warning Letter responses.
While at Penn Law, Blake was an executive editor for the Journal of International Law and published a comment regarding the use of foreign clinical trials in the FDA's drug marketing approval process. He also served as a judicial intern to the Honorable Leonard P. Stark of the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware. Prior to becoming a lawyer, Blake was a lead research assistant at Brown University, where he managed phase I and II pharmaceutical clinical trials; he later went on to obtain a master’s degree in biostatistics from Columbia University.