Speakers

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Adam Raff, M.D., Ph.D. is the Director of Translational Medicine at LEO Pharma. He is a board-certified dermatologist and physician-scientist. He previously worked at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) on developing point-of-care diagnostics for infectious and inflammatory diseases of the skin. He received his undergraduate degree in biology and biochemistry from Georgetown University summa cum laude with Phi Beta Kappa honors. He received his MD with Alpha Omega Alpha honors and his PhD with Phi Kappa Phi honors in Systems Biology and Disease under W. Martin Kast PhD at the University of Southern California. Dr. Raff completed his dermatology residency at Harvard and his post-doctoral fellowship as an NIH-funded T32 fellow under R. Rox Anderson MD at the Wellman Center for Photomedicine at MGH. Dr. Raff was a founding member of the Education Committee for Advancing Innovation in Dermatology (AID), a non-profit organization. He previously served as AID Education Committee Chair and Virtual Magic Wand Co-Chair, and currently serves as the Director of the Hacking Dermatology Initiative.

Angela M. Christiano, PhD, is the Richard and Mildred Rhodebeck Professor and Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Dermatology at Columbia University. Dr. Christiano's research has focused on understanding the molecular processes that lead to inherited skin and hair disorders in humans. The lab’s recent work has focused on the investigation of the underlying genetic causes of and identification of potential therapies for alopecia areata, an autoimmune form of hair loss.  Dr. Christiano has received numerous awards, including the Montagna Award from the Society for Investigative Dermatology, and the Ebling Award from the European Hair Research Society. Dr. Christiano is a Past President of the Society for Investigative Dermatology, and served as Deputy Editor of the Journal of Investigative Dermatology for ten years.  Dr. Christiano is a prolific inventor and serial entrepreneur, having filed numerous patents on her discoveries, and successfully moved technologies from the academic setting into the commercial sector.  She earned her MS and PhD degrees in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics from Rutgers University.

Dr. Betsy Hughes-Formella is a strategic and clinical consultant for dermatological product development of NMEs, known or re-purposed molecules, and generics. She has more than 25 years of experience in clinical development of topical products and transdermals over a wide range of indications including psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, acne, rosacea, fungal and viral infections, pain, wound healing, and aesthetic products. Prior to providing independent consulting services to the global pharmaceutical and CRO industry, Dr. Hughes-Formella held a management position in a niche CRO specialized in conduct of early phase dermatological studies. There she had hands-on experience with the design and conduct of dermal safety and efficacy studies in all phases and played a key role in consultation of clients in early clinical development. She now concentrates on advice for developing and executing the most efficient pathway for dermal products through early development to proof-of-concept or licensing, helping companies to reach critical milestones while mitigating risks.   Dr. Hughes-Formella received her PhD in physiology from the University of Georgia in Athens, GA. She spent nearly a decade in basic research in the areas neuromuscular physiology/steroid biochemistry and then melanoma research before shifting her focus to skin physiology and clinical research.

Brett King is Associate Professor of Dermatology at Yale School of Medicine, specializing in skin diseases recalcitrant to first-line therapies. He has pioneered the use of JAK inhibitors in cutaneous diseases, including alopecia areata, vitiligo, and atopic dermatitis, in addition to other disorders.  Dr. King received his B.A. at the University of California at Santa Cruz, his Ph.D. from Stanford University and his M.D. from Yale University School of Medicine. He completed medical internship at Massachusetts General Hospital and dermatology residency and fellowship at Yale University School of Medicine.

Dan Piacquadio, M.D. is the founder of Therapeutics Inc. and serves as its President, CEO and CMO. He started Therapeutics as a contract research organization dedicated to the field of dermatology, serving the needs of biotechnology, pharmaceutical and investment communities. His experience in clinical research, medical product development, academia and dermatology practice contribute to his exceptional insight and perspective. Dr. Piacquadio has been active in clinical research and medical product development since 1985, when he was Director of R&D for Oncotherm, a hyperthermia company, and was responsible for regulatory affairs and clinical development. He went on to lead the clinical research program for the Division of Dermatology at the University of California, San Diego and served as Director of this facility from 1989 to 1997, during which it became regarded as one of the leading academic product development groups in the United States. Dr. Piacquadio has been instrumental in the non-clinical and clinical development phases of a variety of soft tissue augmentation products including Hylaform (Biomatrix) and played a key role in defining regulatory strategy and clinical development of the first laser-based hair removal technology pioneered by Thermolase. As a Consultant to the FDA Generic Drug Group, he co-led the development of the current bioequivalency standards for topical steroids. Dr. Piacquadio holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biomedical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and his Medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He received his graduate clinical training at Brown University as an intern in Internal Medicine and his Dermatology training at the University of California, San Diego.

David Rubenstein, M.D., Ph.D. currently serves as Chief Scientific Officer for Dermavant Sciences, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing and commercializing innovative therapeutics in medical dermatology. Dr. Rubenstein joined Dermavant in March 2018 from GlaxoSmithKline Dermatology where he had built an industry-leading dermatology drug development organization as Vice President, Discovery and Preclinical Development. Prior to GSK, Dr. Rubenstein held academic roles at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, most recently serving as the Louis C. Skinner Jr. Distinguished Professor of Dermatology. He is a board-certified dermatologist who continues to maintain a clinical practice at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill where he trains dermatology residents and provides care for patients with complex medical dermatology needs.

 Dirk G. Brockstedt is Senior Vice President of Biology and has more than 20 years of experience in the fields of immunology and oncology originating with his PhD from the University of Kiel and Stanford University. Dirk joined RAPT Therapeutics in January 2018, bringing a wealth of experience in immunology at all stages of discovery, translational and clinical development. He joined RAPT from Aduro Biotech, where he served as Executive Vice President of Research and Development. Prior to Aduro, Dirk held positions of increasing responsibility within the immunology department of Cerus Corporation and at Aventis in the immunotherapy and anti-angiogenesis groups. Dr. Brockstedt co-authored over 40 scientific papers and is a named inventor on seven issued patents and several pending applications.

Dr Rizova is a Physician and holds a PhD in Immunology and Diploma in Pharmacoeconomy She has a 24 years of experience in biopharmaceutical industry mainly in international drug development from early clinical development to launch on a background of clinical medicine & basic science research. This experience stemmed from a broad-based role in several Pharma Companies, in which she developed the capabilities of working and leading multi-disciplinary team integrating Research and Development, Medical Affairs, Clinical operations, Regulatory affairs, Pharmacovigilance etc. Through her career, Elena has hold variety of positions with increasing responsibility in R&D and Medical Affairs in Galderma, Biogen, 3M Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson and Sanofi Genzyme. During her career, Dr Rizova worked in various regions of the Globe such as Europe, Asia, USA Her main focus was the development of the company Medical Affairs strategy across several therapeutic areas. While being in Asia, Dr Rizova was heading the Asia Pacific Innovation Center Johnson & Johnson. Dr Rizova joined Sanofi in 2015 as Head of Global Medical Affairs for Immunology Franchise and still work in this capacity based in Cambridge, MA, US.

Dr. Frank Sinner has studied technical chemistry at the Technical University of Graz, Austria. He completed his PhD in chemistry in 2002 at University of Innsbruck and passed his habilitation at the Medical University of Graz, Austria. He is the director of the Institute for Biomedicine and Health Sciences at JOANNEUM RESEARCH. He is an expert in innovative pre-clinical and clinical methods for tissue-specific PK and PD and its use in pharmaceutical development. He led the development of dermal Open Flow Microperfusion for bioequivalence studies at JOANNEUM RESEARCH. His institute provides innovative methods and services, inter alia, to de-risk topical drug development. He has published more than 100 papers in reputed journals and book chapters and has been serving as an editorial board member.

Gurpreet Ahluwalia, Ph.D. is an Executive Director at Sienna Biopharmaceuticals. Before joining Sienna, he was the Exec Dir of Dermatology at Allergan for 10 years where he led several medical dermatology programs.  Gurpreet is an accomplished leader in the pharmaceutical industry with over 25 years of experience in taking dermatology assets from early stage to global marketing approvals.  He received his basic science training at NIH where he was involved in pioneering research on cancer and AIDS drugs. Gurpreet is an author of over 50 scientific publications, over 10 book chapters, book editor of Cosmetic Applications of Lasers, and holds over 50 US patents.

Dr Jasmina Jankicevic works with pharma, biotech, medical device, cosmetic companies and contract research organizations to drive clinical development, medical affairs and successful commercialization of innovative dermatologic and medical aesthetics solutions. As a clinician, researcher, teacher and industry leader, Dr Jankicevic has developed a deep understanding of needs of patients and has dedicated 20 years to innovation and optimization of therapeutic paradigms for more than 30 skin disorders including psoriasis, acne, rosacea, atopic dermatitis, skin and nail infections, wounds, hair loss, pigmentary disorders, autoimmune bullous dermatoses, genodermatoses, connective tissue diseases, photodamage, actinic keratosis and skin cancers. Jasmina Jankicevic has successfully led clinical development programs and medical strategy in several companies including Premier Research,  Allergan (Botox®), Leo Pharma (Taclonex®, Picato®, Enstilar®) and Murad (multiple cosmeceuticals and nutriceuticals). Dr. Jankicevic is a trained dermatologist, certified clinical research professional, trained journalist, published author and sought-after speaker. She holds Medical Degree, Master of Medical Sciences Degree and Board-Certification in Dermatology and Venereology from University of Belgrade, Serbia.

John M. Armstrong, PhD is the Head of Global Strategic Opportunities for the Prescription Strategy and Innovation Group at Galderma S.A. in Vevey, Switzerland.  After earning his PhD in Immunology at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, he completed his first post-doctoral fellowship studying differences in drug biotransformation between different ages, genders, strains, and species at Sandoz Pharmaceutical Company in Basel, Switzerland, and his second post-doctoral fellowship studying signal transduction pathways in animal models of immunodeficiency at the US National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. In addition to working in Medical Affairs at Bayer Health Sciences and at Johnson and Johnson, Dr. Armstrong co-founded and ran Lead Horse Technologies, Inc., a personalized medicine company from 2006 to 2012. As Chairman & CEO, he led a team of scientists and physicians to develop an AI-based big data analytics algorithm to apply to millions of real-world patient records to quantify the individual risk of adverse event development in patients with diverse medical profiles.  In addition to his focus on bringing external innovation into Galderma’s prescription business, Dr. Armstrong works with key internal and external stakeholders to explore ways to apply personalized medicine approaches to dermatology.

Dr. Harris is the Vice Chair of Dermatology and Director of the Vitiligo Clinic and Research Center at UMass Medical School in Worcester, Massachusetts. He is a dermatologist and physician-scientist, seeing patients in a vitiligo specialty clinic and running a large research laboratory focused on understanding what causes the disease and developing new treatments. His group integrates basic, translational, and clinical research strategies to accomplish this. As a result, early clinical trials in vitiligo look promising, and more are being developed. Finally, Dr. Harris founded Villaris Therapeutics, whose entire focus is to develop an effective, long-lasting treatment for vitiligo.

Jon Lenn has direct responsibility for MedPharm’s operations in the United States based out of Durham, North Carolina. Since joining in 2015 he has led MedPharm’s development of cutting edge performance models for assessing penetration and activity of clients’ products targeted towards key biochemical pathways. He has over 15 years’ experience in developing dermatological projects with Connetics, Stiefel and GSK and has been directly involved with the development and approval of 8 products. He received his PhD on the topical delivery of macromolecules from the University of Reading.

Ken Cacciatore is a managing director and senior research analyst. He joined the Cowen pharmaceutical research team in 2000. Previously, Mr. Cacciatore worked in Cowen’s health care investment banking department. He graduated from Lafayette College with a degree in economics and received an MBA from the Anderson School at UCLA.

Kendall Marcus is the Director of the Division of Dermatology and Dental Products at FDA and a board-certified specialist in Infectious Diseases. Dr. Marcus first joined the FDA as a Medical Officer in the Division of Antiviral Products (DAVP) in 2000. She served in DAVP as a Medical Team Leader from 2003-2009 and then as the Deputy Director of Safety from 2009-2014 before joining DDDP as Director in 2014. She received a B.S. from University of Maryland at College Park and an M.D. from the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

Mandeep Kaur, MD, MS is the Vice President, Head of North America Medical for Immunology at Sanofi Genzyme with over 15 years of research and development experience in both drug and device development and supported  multiple INDs, NDAs, BLAs, IDEs, 510(k)s and PMAs in North America and Europe and programs ranging from Phase 1 to Phase 4. She has extensive  experience in drug development, clinical research, safety and medical affairs. Before joining Sanofi she was the Therapeutic Lead for Inflammation and Immunology at Pfizer. She has a strong ability to leverage well established relationships within both physician and patient communities and a comprehensive understanding of the complex  approval environment with regulatory and payers to drive successful product launches.

Michael D. Howell currently works as the Senior Director of Translational Research at the Incyte Corporation with a focus on immunological and inflammatory diseases.  Dr. Howell received his PhD in Immunology from West Virginia University School of Medicine and completed his post-doctoral training at National Jewish Health.  While at National Jewish, Michael transitioned to the faculty and served as a Co-Investigator for the Atopic Dermatitis Vaccinia Network.  Since transitioning to industry, Dr. Howell has held positions at Boehringer Ingelheim, the Immune Tolerance Network, and MedImmune/AstraZeneca.  Throughout his career, Dr. Howell has combined clinical, translational, and basic science approaches to identify personalized medicine approaches to treat inflammatory and immunological diseases.  This has been highlighted in national and international meetings, publications, and patents for therapeutic interventions and biomarker strategies.

Dr. Ofer Toledano has served as Sol-Gel’s vice president of research and development since 2004. Prior to joining Sol-Gel, Dr. Toledano served as manager of the formulation department at ADAMA Agricultural Solutions Ltd. (formerly known as Makhteshim Agan Industries Ltd.), an Israeli manufacturer and distributor of crop protection products from 1998 until 2004. Dr. Toledano holds a Ph.D. in chemistry from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel.

Dr. Lizzul previously served as Senior Medical Director, Head of Safety, and program lead for setipiprant (PGD2 inhibitor for AGA) at Kythera until it was acquired by Allergan in 2015. Prior to joining Kythera, Dr. Lizzul served as an Assistant Professor of Dermatology and Associate Director of Clinical Research at the Tufts University School of Medicine where he conducted investigator-initiated and industry sponsored clinical trials in inflammatory skin diseases (psoriasis). Dr. Lizzul has authored articles in [academic] journals on topics including inflammation, psoriasis, aesthetics (Kybella) and health care reform. Dr. Lizzul is a diplomat of the American Board of Dermatology and a faculty member of the American Academy of Dermatology and previously served on the FDA’s Dermatology and Ophthalmic Drugs Advisory Committee.  Dr. Lizzul is a volunteer member of the teaching faculty in the Department of Dermatology at University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine. Dr. Lizzul completed his post-graduate medical internship at Greenwich Hospital, Yale University School of Medicine and his dermatology residency at the University of California Davis, where he was appointed chief resident. Dr. Lizzul earned his B.S. in Biology from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and an M.D., Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics and Microbiology and M.P.H. in Epidemiology/Outcomes from the Rutgers/Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. Dr. Lizzul also earned an M.B.A. in Entrepreneurship from the Rutgers Business School.

Paul Smith currently works as the Senior Director of Preclinical Pharmacology within the Incyte Research Institute (Incyte Corporation) with a focus on autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.  Dr. Smith received his PhD in Immunology from Imperial College London (University of London) and subsequently completed post-doctoral training at the Biomedical Primate Research Center (the Netherlands). Since 2005 Dr Smith has held positions of increasing responsibility at UCB, Merck Serono and Novartis before joining Incyte Corporation in early 2017.  Dr Smith’s research focus has encompassed preclinical in vitro and in vivo approaches to identify potential novel therapeutic modalities for inflammatory diseases and facilitate rapid transition into proof-of-concept trials. Ultimately this scientific approach has contributed towards conference presentations, peer-reviewed publications, patents and regulatory approved therapies for inflammatory diseases.

Dr. Robert Rissmann is a pharmacist (Berlin, Germany) and clinical pharmacologist (Leiden, NL). He obtained his PhD in skin pharmacology (2009) and has been working at the Centre for Human Drug Research, a full service CRO, in Leiden, NL since 2010. His main interest is on translational models in both immunology and dermatology for drug development in early phase clinical research. He is board member of the Dutch Society of Clinical Pharmacology and Biopharmacy. In 2015 he was appointed Associate Professor at Leiden University Medical Centre. He has published over 40 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals and is currently heading the research group Skin Pharmacology at CHDR. Key collaborations entail academic partners via national and international projects as well as small biotech start- ups and big pharmaceutical companies for phase 1 and phase 2 trials

Sean Andrews is a senior investor relations (IR) executive, whose IR experience has all been in healthcare, spanning two biotech initial public offerings (IPOs) to a well-established, multi-billion dollar, fully integrated pharmaceutical company. Mr. Andrews currently serves as Vice President, Investor Relations, at Sienna Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., which he joined in May 2017. He was instrumental to Sienna’s successful IPO and transition to being a public company, as well as completing a follow-on offering in February 2019. Prior to joining Sienna, from January 2016 to April 2017, Mr. Andrews served as Senior Director of Investor Relations at Novan, Inc., where he was integral to its successful IPO and transition to being a public company. From June 2013 through December 2015, Mr. Andrews was Managing Partner of Credible Strategic Advisors, where he provided investor relations and corporate strategy consulting services. Previously, Mr. Andrews served in roles of increasing responsibility at Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp., most recently as Director, Investor Relations, from January 2008 until it was acquired by Valeant in December 2012. Over the course of his IR career, he has partnered with three CEOs and five CFOs on everything from corporate strategy, including corporate communications and broader messaging, to corporate financing, pipeline evaluation, business development and other finance and accounting, legal and human resources matters, as well as Audit Committee and Board presentations. Mr. Andrews is a United States Air Force veteran, and holds undergraduate degrees in aircraft systems maintenance technology and instructor of technology and military science. He is a member of the National Investor Relations Institute and the Public Relations Society of America.

She trained in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology in London, Oxford and Cambridge, UK and undertook visiting fellowships at Johns Hopkins, US. Her PhD was in cellular and molecular biology examining kinase pathways and the effects of corticosteroids. This was undertaken at the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology and her mentor was Sir Ravinder Maini. She then went onto develop skills in translational medicine/clinical pharmacology and was awarded qualifications in pharmaceutical medicine. A successful PI and CI on first in human studies through to phase 4. She has held leadership roles at the Royal Society of Medicine and the National Institute of Health Research. An advocate of patient centric healthcare and has led on patient/carer engagement and involvement initiatives in autoimmune disease.

Suma Krishnan is the founder and Chief Operating Officer at Krystal Biotech (NASDAQ: KRYS).  She has over 25 years of drug development experience and has delivered on multiple gene therapy programs from discovery to clinic as Head of Human Therapeutic Division At  Intrexon Corporation (NYSE:XON).  Previously she lead the discovery, development and approval of Vyvanse (a blockbuster drug to treat ADHD) as SVP, Product Development of New River Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:NRPH).  She advanced Adderall XR and Fosrenol to approval at Shire Pharmaceuticals.  She began her career at Janssen Pharmaceuticals as a Discovery Scientist.  She has Masters in Organic Chemistry and Masters in Business Administration.

Dr. Vijendra Nalamothu is CEO and Co-Founder of Tergus Pharma, the industry leader in topical formulation and development services, analysis, testing and cGMP clinical supply manufacturing. Dr. Nalamothu has been a leader in topical pharmaceutical development for more than two decades and holds several patents. His efforts have led to a number of successful commercial products. His passion is to develop products that speak for themselves. After earning his PhD in Pharmaceutics from the University of the Science’s Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, he worked at Sanofi-aventis Worldwide Dermatology (Dermik) as the Head of the Early Compound Assessment and Preclinical Group. He has also served as Global Head of Dermatology R&D at Promius Pharma, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, where he spearheaded the development of specialty branded dermatological products from concept to commercialization. Dr. Nalamothu’s interests include novel dosage form design and development of topical drug products. His commitment to quality and excellence led him to create the first Quality by Design (QbD) program for topicals, numerous articles and accolades. He is a sought-after speaker at conferences worldwide.

Ms. Smith Begolka is the Director of Research for the National Eczema Association (NEA) where she guides the evolution and growth of NEA’s scientific efforts and research advocacy across the organization and with diverse stakeholders.  She most recently served on the leadership committee for the landmark MoreThanSkinDeep eczema patient-focused drug development initiative.  Prior to joining NEA in 2018, Ms. Smith Begolka conducted biomedical laboratory research investigating immunological pathways of disease at Northwestern University, and for over a decade, led the development of American Academy of Dermatology clinical guidelines and the application of science to the intersecting areas of quality, education, and advocacy.