21
May

08:30 AM PDT

Drug Discovery Biology

Name: Drug Discovery Biology & Bioinformatics Strategy Meeting West Coast USA 2024
Start: 2024-05-21T08:00
End: 2024-05-21T18:00
Location: Hard Rock Hotel San Diego

&

Bioinformatics

Strategy Meeting West Coast USA 2024

Assessing, Choosing And Optimizing The Right Set Of Data And Methodologies To Help With Finding Effective Modalities And Techniques For Biology

Hard Rock Hotel San Diego

A MEETING EXPERIENCE UNLIKE ANY OTHER

Fresh Biology Insights

Tired of the same conference experience? Real discussions and genuine networking are often promised, but not always delivered. Proventa International’s R&D Strategy Meetings are designed to avoid the pitfalls of a typical conference, by providing the right environment to make those important connections through interactive roundtable discussions, exclusive networking and keynote panel debates. Join Biology professionals from across the West Coast, in San Diego, to discover new insights and take your company’s mission to the next level.

What makes our strategy meetings unique?

Roundtable Discussions

Intimate discussions led by renowned industry experts. Have your voice heard and debate alongside like-minded life science executives.

Unrivalled Networking

With senior delegation from big pharma and innovative biotech from across the West Coast, you can network with peers from different locations, all in one place.

Personalised Agenda

Choose the topics that matter to you. Reserve your place at the roundtable discussions and ensure your whole day delivers the insights you need to hear.

Solutions to your Problems

We’ve partnered with the best solution providers to solve your biggest challenges. Engage in pre-arranged, private meetings to address your specific needs and find a tangible solution.

Industry Researched Topics

We guarantee our agenda is up-to-date and mission critical because its designed by you. We speak to our extended network of senior decision makers to ensure the most important topics are discussed.

Senior Decision Makers

The entire strategy meeting is specifically tailored to the needs and challenges of senior life science professionals. Discover how your peers are dealing with the same challenges as you.

Meet Our Facilitators

Our panel of facilitators play a key role in shaping the agenda for the day. See who will be bringing their expertise to the table at Drug Discovery Biology & Bioinformatics strategy meeting.

Adam Marko

Life Sciences Field CTO Hammerspace

Adam Mullick

Vice President, Cardiovascular Drug Discovery Ionis Pharma

Anastasia Velentza

Former Senior Director, Head of Discovery Technology Plexium

Angela Huang

Founder and President Tempo Bioscience

Amish Patel

Senior Vice President Technical Operations Calidi Biotherapeutics

Dr. Amish Patel has over 20 years of leadership experience in the global biotech industry, providing strategic guidance throughout the entire biologic product life-cycle and been involved with fifteen+ INDs and commercial product launch. Dr. Patel is responsible for oversight of Global Manufacturing, Quality Control, Quality Assurance and Supply Chain to produce Clinical and Commercial cancer therapies utilizing Calidi’s innovative oncolytic viral therapies with stem cell-based delivery platforms to treat cancers with significant unmet needs. Dr Patel has managed the CDMO network and supplied clinical products for phase 1 and phase 3 trials globally. Dr Patel has extensive experience in licensing and out licensing several technologies from Academia and non profit organizations and even commercialized such assets. He serves as Technical Activities Committee of the National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals (NIIMBL) part of Manufacturing USA® and funded through the U.S. Department of Commerce with significant additional support from its members. He was most recently, the Senior Director of Product Development at Emergent BioSolutions (formerly PaxVax, Inc., prior to acquisition), where he successfully built and directed cross-functional teams working on numerous biologic Clinical and commercial products.

Bishnu Nayak

Senior Director/Site Head Neologics Bio

Dimitra Chalkia

Vice President, Computational Biology Athos Therapeutics

Frederick Chang

CEO Kekulai

Geza Ambrus-Aikelin

Head of Immunology & Inflammation Genesis Therapeutics

Igor Nasonkin

Co-founder & CEO Phythera Therapeutics

Igor Nasonkin is a Founder, Director, and Principal Investigator, with 9 years in industry (Phythera Therapeutics, Lineage Cell Therapeutics, Biotime, Bresagen) and 24 years in academia (UPitt, NIH, JHU, MIT, UM, UBC). He specialized in small molecule-based therapies modulating neurodegenerative diseases and cancer, botanical-based drugs for cancer therapeutics, cell & gene therapies (retina, brain), stem cell-based therapies, and building new projects and teams from the ground up. Igor has extensive experience in building and leading several productive & cohesive research teams, conceptualizing new ideas and research directions, grant writing (NIH, DOD, CIRM, foundation grants), manuscript writing, drafting patent applications, sponsored projects agreements, and business plans. He has written for a variety of Scientific reviewers (several journals), while being a member of the Editorial Board (several journals). His successfully funded SBIR grants include: 5R44EY027654 09/30/2017-5/31/2019; 3 R44 EY 027654-02 S1 06/01/2019-05/31/2020

Joan Chen, PhD

Senior Director of Bioinformatics, Precision Medicine and Translational Research Boundless Bio

Joan Chen, PhD, has over 16 years of experience in the biopharma industry, with a focus on oncology for the past ten years. She has led many drug discovery, translational research programs and helped advance a number of drug candidates from preclinical research into the clinical trials. Dr. Chen’s expertise in drug development includes target identification and validation, designing studies for mechanisms of action, pharmacodynamic response (both preclinical and clinical), machine learning and NGS data analysis in biomarker discoveries, generating disease hypotheses for patient selections in clinical trials. Dr. Chen holds a PhD in Molecular, Cell and Development Biology with a specialization in bioinformatics from UCLA. She was a Bioinformatics Senior Scientist at eFFECTOR Therapeutics; Director of Bioinformatics at Certis Oncology; Research Fellow at Turning Point Therapeutics (acquired by BMS in 2022), and currently Senior Director at Boundless Bio.

John Leonard

Chief Executive Officer Aeona Pharmaceuticals

Molly Presley

SVP Global Marketing Hammerspace

Philip Cheung

Founder and Chief Executive Officer Refactor Biosciences

Sanjeev Thohan

Scientific Advisory Board Member Cogentis Therapeutics/ Phoenix Molecular Designs

Salah Mahmoudi

Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer ReneuBio

Stephanie Truhlar

Associate Vice President Eli Lilly

Zev Wisotsky

Director, Drug Discovery New Modality Solutions Revvity Signals

First name	Last name	Job title	Company name	Photo URL	Bio Position
Adam	Marko	Life Sciences Field CTO	Hammerspace	https://proventainternational.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Adam-Marko.jpg
Adam	Mullick	Vice President, Cardiovascular Drug Discovery	Ionis Pharma	https://proventainternational.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Adam-Mullick.jpg	Adam Mullick is currently Vice President of Cardiovascular and Renal Drug Discovery at Ionis Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Mullick contributed to the early development of Kynamro®, WAYLIVRA®, olezarsen, pelacarsen and led the research efforts for ION904 currently in clinical development for treatmentresistant hypertension. His current efforts include discovery and development of targets for heart failure and renal disease. Dr. Mullick earned his Ph.D. in Molecular, Cellular & Integrative Physiology from UC Davis and was a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Immunology at The Scripps Research Institute before joining Ionis Pharmaceuticals in 2007.
Anastasia	Velentza	Former Senior Director, Head of Discovery Technology	Plexium	https://proventainternational.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Anastasia-Velentza.jpg	Anastasia Velentza is the Founder of AVeNew Insights LLC, drug discovery business consulting and services. Previously, she was the Head of Discovery Technology at Plexium, a TPD company. Anastasia has 23 years in Drug Discovery, with expertise in Discovery Biology and Molecular Pharmacology across multiple therapeutic areas, modalities and targets. Before Plexium, she held positions of increasing responsibility at Novartis, Dart Neuroscience and Ferring Pharmaceuticals. Anastasia was NIH Research Award scholar in a drug discovery training program at Northwestern University in Chicago, IL. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Chemistry at the University of Patras in Greece, and a Ph.D. from the same institution in Bioorganic Chemistry, funded by a competitive scholarship and EU programs.
Angela	Huang	Founder and President	Tempo Bioscience	https://proventainternational.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/angelahuang.png	Tempo Bioscience focuses on developing human stem cell (human iPSC technology) based 2D&3D cell models and biosensor-incorporated platform technologies for the biotech-pharmaceutical industry. Angela is listed as an inventor on numerous patents and has published in journals such as Nature. She received her scientific training from University of California, Berkeley, University of California, San Diego, and University of California, San Francisco.
Amish	Patel	Senior Vice President Technical Operations	Calidi Biotherapeutics	https://proventainternational.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Amish-Patel.jpg	Dr. Amish Patel has over 20 years of leadership experience in the global biotech industry, providing strategic guidance throughout the entire biologic product life-cycle and been involved with fifteen+ INDs and commercial product launch. Dr. Patel is responsible for oversight of Global Manufacturing, Quality Control, Quality Assurance and Supply Chain to produce Clinical and Commercial cancer therapies utilizing Calidi’s innovative oncolytic viral therapies with stem cell-based delivery platforms to treat cancers with significant unmet needs. Dr Patel has managed the CDMO network and supplied clinical products for phase 1 and phase 3 trials globally. Dr Patel has extensive experience in licensing and out licensing several technologies from Academia and non profit organizations and even commercialized such assets. He serves as Technical Activities Committee of the National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals (NIIMBL) part of Manufacturing USA® and funded through the U.S. Department of Commerce with significant additional support from its members. He was most recently, the Senior Director of Product Development at Emergent BioSolutions (formerly PaxVax, Inc., prior to acquisition), where he successfully built and directed cross-functional teams working on numerous biologic Clinical and commercial products.
Bishnu	Nayak	Senior Director/Site Head	Neologics Bio	https://proventainternational.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Bishnu-Nayak-Neologics-Bio.jpg	Bishnu is an immunologist by training with more than 15-years of experience in drug discovery research. His expertise include target identification, validation, translational research, MoA studies, and validation of therapeutic concepts, both in vitro and in vivo. He worked extensively with small molecules and biologics, particularly in immuno-oncology and inflammation space. From target discovery to lead identification and preclinical validation, he contributed at large pharmaceutical companies like Novartis and AbbVie (Pharmacyclics), mediumsized firms like AnaptysBio, and small biotechs like HealthTell and NeologicsBio. Currently, he serves as Senior Director and Site Head at Neologics Bioscience, San Diego.
Dimitra	Chalkia	Vice President, Computational Biology	Athos Therapeutics	https://proventainternational.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Dimitra-Chalkia.jpg
Frederick	Chang	CEO	Kekulai	https://proventainternational.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Frederick-Chang.jpg	Frederick Chang is currently founder and CEO of Kekulai, an AI driven small molecule biotech. Previously, he led the R&D data science and AI initiatives at Structure Therapeutics, and the commercial data science initiatives for Asia Pacific Janssen / J&J. Frederick earned his B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at UC Berkeley and his Ph.D. in Molecular and Cell Biology at Harvard University.
Geza	Ambrus-Aikelin	Head of Immunology & Inflammation	Genesis Therapeutics	https://proventainternational.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Geza-Ambrus-Aikelin.jpg	Since completing his postdoctoral studies at The Scripps Research Institute, Geza Ambrus-Aikelin has been pursuing preclinical drug discovery and development of small molecules in the immunology, oncology and metabolic therapeutic areas. Initially working at the large pharmaceutical companies of Takeda and Johnson & Johnson, he transitioned into biotech where he contributed to progressing 2 candidates into the clinic and witnessed the successful acquisitions of Jecure Therapeutics and Vividion Therapeutics by Genentech and Bayer, respectively. He is currently leading Immunology & Inflammation drug discovery at Genesis Therapeutics.
Igor	Nasonkin	Co-founder & CEO	Phythera Therapeutics	https://proventainternational.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Igor-Nasonkin.jpg	Igor Nasonkin is a Founder, Director, and Principal Investigator, with 9 years in industry (Phythera Therapeutics, Lineage Cell Therapeutics, Biotime, Bresagen) and 24 years in academia (UPitt, NIH, JHU, MIT, UM, UBC). He specialized in small molecule-based therapies modulating neurodegenerative diseases and cancer, botanical-based drugs for cancer therapeutics, cell & gene therapies (retina, brain), stem cell-based therapies, and building new projects and teams from the ground up. Igor has extensive experience in building and leading several productive & cohesive research teams, conceptualizing new ideas and research directions, grant writing (NIH, DOD, CIRM, foundation grants), manuscript writing, drafting patent applications, sponsored projects agreements, and business plans. He has written for a variety of Scientific reviewers (several journals), while being a member of the Editorial Board (several journals). His successfully funded SBIR grants include: 5R44EY027654 09/30/2017-5/31/2019; 3 R44 EY 027654-02 S1 06/01/2019-05/31/2020
Joan	Chen, PhD	Senior Director of Bioinformatics, Precision Medicine and Translational Research	Boundless Bio	https://proventainternational.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Joan-Chen.jpg	Joan Chen, PhD, has over 16 years of experience in the biopharma industry, with a focus on oncology for the past ten years. She has led many drug discovery, translational research programs and helped advance a number of drug candidates from preclinical research into the clinical trials. Dr. Chen’s expertise in drug development includes target identification and validation, designing studies for mechanisms of action, pharmacodynamic response (both preclinical and clinical), machine learning and NGS data analysis in biomarker discoveries, generating disease hypotheses for patient selections in clinical trials. Dr. Chen holds a PhD in Molecular, Cell and Development Biology with a specialization in bioinformatics from UCLA. She was a Bioinformatics Senior Scientist at eFFECTOR Therapeutics; Director of Bioinformatics at Certis Oncology; Research Fellow at Turning Point Therapeutics (acquired by BMS in 2022), and currently Senior Director at Boundless Bio.
John	Leonard	Chief Executive Officer	Aeona Pharmaceuticals	https://proventainternational.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/John-Leonard.jpg	John Q Leonard is a distinguished biopharma business development executive with over 25 years of expertise, currently leading Aeona Pharmaceuticals as CEO. Specializing in strategic partnerships and licensing negotiations, John has a proven track record in driving revenue growth and value creation across the biopharmaceutical and life sciences sectors. With his extensive industry knowledge and robust network, John is adept at navigating the complexities of dealmaking in innovative therapeutic areas. His leadership at Aeona Pharmaceuticals, ProtaBody, and Leading Edge Bio, among others, showcases his commitment to transforming healthcare through strategic innovation and collaboration.
Molly	Presley	SVP Global Marketing	Hammerspace	https://proventainternational.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Molly-Presley.jpg	Molly is the SVP of Global Marketing for Hammerspace and host of the Data Unchained podcast. She brings a wealth of experience from leading product and marketing organizations, user communities, and customer advisory board for global technology innovators. Molly is the founder of the Active Archive Alliance and co-author of three books focused on putting data to use in research, analytics and AI environments. At Hammerspace, Molly leads the marketing organization and is responsible for providing the tools for data creators and data users to take full advantage of a truly global data environment.
Philip	Cheung	Founder and Chief Executive Officer	Refactor Biosciences	https://proventainternational.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Philip-Cheung.jpg	Phil Cheung brings over two decades of expertise in pharmaceutical research, specializing in scientific computing and software development. He founded Refactor Biosciences and Juva Health, focusing on novel therapies for rare diseases and migraines, respectively. Previously, Phil led the computational biology group at Dart NeuroScience, significantly advancing their target discovery pipeline. His tenure at Pfizer saw him develop a drug repositioning platform using machine learning. Phil advises various biotechs and serves on boards of tech companies, applying his knowledge to improve scientific outcomes and patient care. His work is marked by several patents in data analysis and clinical testing systems.
Sanjeev	Thohan	Scientific Advisory Board Member	Cogentis Therapeutics/ Phoenix Molecular Designs	https://proventainternational.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Sanjeev-Thohan-2.jpg	Sanjeev is currently the President of SARx Consulting after 25 years in industry his practice encompasses Fractional Leadership of R&D activities from Lead Optimization to IND filing and clinical trial design. He is also a SME for clinical biomarker prosecution, and translational mechanistic studies as they relate to clinical trials. He personally generated and overseen programs for both small molecules and antibody drug conjugates (ADC) in the Anti-viral, Anti-infective, Anti-inflammatory, Biodefense, Cardiovascular/ Metabolic and Oncology, therapeutic areas. He is an active mentor and fundraiser for startups as well as a Scientific Advisory Board member and founder of several innovative companies.
Salah	Mahmoudi	Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer	ReneuBio	https://proventainternational.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Salah-Mahmoudi-ReneuBio-1.jpg	Dr. Salah Mahmoudi boasts over two decades of expertise in life science R&D, having led multidisciplinary research and drug discovery teams at prestigious institutions such as Stanford University, Pfizer, and Alkahest. His specialization lies in target identification, validation, and preclinical drug development, driving numerous successful initiatives in the field. Dr. Mahmoudi’s entrepreneurial spirit led him to co-found NoraChem, where he harnessed generative AI for innovative small molecule design. Currently serving as a scientific advisor for Norachem, NeuroAge, and Level 42 AI, he now channels his experience and leadership skills as CEO and co-founder of ReneuBio, pioneering transformative treatments for devastating age-related neurological diseases.
Stephanie	Truhlar	Associate Vice President	Eli Lilly	https://proventainternational.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Stephanie-Truhlar-1.jpg	Stephanie Truhlar received her Ph.D. from the University of California, San Francisco and completed her post-doctoral training at the University of California, San Diego. In her 16 years at Eli Lilly and Company, she has engineered numerous clinical candidates and developed a proprietary bispecific antibody platform. Stephanie has numerous awards in both the academic and pharmaceutic sectors, is a co-inventor on seven patents, and has presented numerous external talks and peer-reviewed publications. Stephanie leads the Computational Sciences and Protein Engineering group in Biotechnology Discovery Research, where she is responsible for the discovery of protein and antibody therapeutics and applying ML/AI to design and optimization of biotherapeutics.
Zev	Wisotsky	Director, Drug Discovery New Modality Solutions	Revvity Signals	https://proventainternational.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Zev-Wisotsky.jpg	Zev Wisotsky is Director of Drug Discovery Informatics at Revvity Signals. His scientific training and research background includes neuroscience, biochemistry, molecular biology and drug discovery. He has spent more than eight years in software in go-to-market teams across industries with a heavy focus on biopharma/biotech R&D.

Adam Marko, Adam Mullick, Anastasia Velentza, Angela Huang, Amish Patel, Bishnu Nayak, Dimitra Chalkia, Frederick Chang, Geza Ambrus-Aikelin, Igor Nasonkin, Joan Chen, PhD, John Leonard, Molly Presley, Philip Cheung, Sanjeev Thohan, Salah Mahmoudi, Stephanie Truhlar, Zev Wisotsky

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Drug Discovery Biology & Bioinformatics Strategy Meeting West Coast USA 2024

&

Strategy Meeting West Coast USA 2024

<img class="lazy" decoding="async" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%201%201'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-src="https://proventainternational.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/location.png" >Hard Rock Hotel San Diego

Fresh Biology Insights

What makes our strategy meetings unique?

Roundtable Discussions

Unrivalled Networking

Personalised Agenda

Solutions to your Problems

Industry Researched Topics

Senior Decision Makers

Meet Our Facilitators

Adam Marko

Adam Mullick

Anastasia Velentza

Angela Huang

Amish Patel

Bishnu Nayak

Dimitra Chalkia

Frederick Chang

Geza Ambrus-Aikelin

Igor Nasonkin

Joan Chen, PhD

John Leonard

Molly Presley

Philip Cheung

Sanjeev Thohan

Salah Mahmoudi

Stephanie Truhlar

Zev Wisotsky

OUR AGENDA

See Which Topics Are Up For Discussion

Breakfast & Registration

Opening Keynote Presentation

The enhanced botanical drugs for Cancer Therapeutics

Roundtable ( Pharma/Biotech )

Roundtable Tracks

Refreshment Break

Networking/1-1 Meetings

Roundtable ( Solutions )

Roundtable Tracks

SPONSOR

SPONSOR

HAMMERSPACE

Revvity Signals

Roundtable ( Pharma/Biotech )

Roundtable Tracks

Networking Lunch

Networking/1-1 Meetings

Afternoon Keynote Presentation

Architecting for the Future: Cutting Edge Best Practices for Optimizing Data Pipelines

Roundtable ( Pharma/Biotech )

Roundtable Tracks

Afternoon Refreshment Break

Panel Discussion

Tackling The Pros And Cons Of Different Financing Blueprint Go-To-Clinic Vs Go-To-Market Vs Go-To-Fundraising Strategies And The Criteria To Determine Which Program An Organization Can Adapt

Drinks & Canapes Reception

Reasons To Attend Our Strategy Meetings

Fully Interactive Format

Senior Decision Makers

Personalised Agendas

Private and Intimate Networking

Our 2024 Sponsors

Thought Leader

Partnering Sponsors

Key Opinion Leader

Media Partners

Press play to hear what your colleagues had to say…

Hotel & Venue

Hard Rock Hotel San Diego

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Hard Rock Hotel San Diego