The Healthcare Technology Report is pleased to announce The Top 25 Healthcare Technology Leaders of Massachusetts for 2023. Massachusetts is well-known as a leader in the healthcare technology space. Boston, in particular, has long been a hotbed of research and innovation in medical and life sciences, and the city is home to some of the top research institutes and hospitals in the world. Meanwhile, the high density of visiting patients and healthcare professionals make the state an ideal place for healthcare startups. This year’s awardees earned their places on our list thanks to their dedication to innovation and improving health outcomes for patients in the state and beyond across a variety of specialties, from genomics to immuno-oncology, medical robotics, and ocular therapeutics, among many others.
Some of the distinguished leaders on this year’s list include Meghan Scanlon, Senior Vice President and President, Urology for Boston Scientific, who is responsible for developing and bringing to market innovative, industry-leading solutions for urological, urogynecological, and gynecological diseases. Meanwhile, Jean-Paul Kress, CEO of MorphySys, has strategically repositioned the company from a leading antibody technology provider to a global, commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company with a strong late-stage pipeline. And Elizabeth Haines, Vice President of Regulatory & Clinical Affairs for Conformis, is responsible for developing and implementing strategies to maximize process efficiency and effectiveness, directing the global regulatory team's annual budgets, investments, and financial performance, and overseeing clinical operations.
This year’s awardees lead from a wide range of positions, from CEO and CTO to COO, President, and SVP. What they have in common is their commitment to revolutionizing the healthcare technology space, delivering innovations to improve the lives of clinicians and patients alike. Please join us in celebrating The Top 25 Healthcare Technology Leaders of Massachusetts for 2023.
1. Sadik Kassim
Company: Danaher Corporation
Title: Chief Technology Officer (Genomic Medicines)
Sadik Kassim is a scientist and executive with extensive experience in the biotechnology industry with a specific focus on cell and gene therapy bioprocessing and translational research. Currently, he serves as Chief Technology Officer at Danaher with a focus on new genomic medicines. Most recently, he was Chief Technology Officer at Vor Bio, where he built the technical operations team responsible for process development, analytical development, supply chain, and manufacturing support of a CRISPR gene-edited HSPC product and oversaw the company’s CAR-T efforts. Prior to Vor, Sadik served as Executive Director at Kite Pharma and led the development of manufacturing processes for autologous CAR-T and TCR-based cell therapies.
As the Chief Scientific Officer at Mustang Bio, Kassim managed the foundational build-out of the company’s preclinical and manufacturing activities. Earlier in his career, he was Head of Early Analytical Development for Novartis’ Cell and Gene Therapies Unit and worked on research teams at the National Cancer Institute with Dr. Steven Rosenberg, the University of Pennsylvania Gene Therapy Program with Dr. Jim Wilson, and Johnson and Johnson’s Immunology Discovery group. Kassim and his teams have contributed to the successful BLA and MAA applications for three of the commercially available CAR-T therapies: Kymriah®, Yescarta®, and Tecartus®. He earned his PhD in microbiology and immunology from Louisiana State University and his Bachelor of Science in cell and molecular biology from Tulane University.
2. Mark Cobbold
Company: AstraZeneca
Title: Vice President Discovery and Head of Oncology Cell Therapy, Oncology R&D
Mark Cobbold, MD, PhD, leads AstraZeneca’s Discovery Team and is focused on immuno-oncology and antibody drug conjugates — from novel target identification and validation to clinical candidate selection. This includes preclinical predictive models to identify patients who have a higher likelihood of benefitting from immuno-oncology treatments, giving AstraZeneca the best chance of finding the most efficient routes to effective medicines. A large piece of the team’s research in immuno-oncology is on the possibility of living drugs — oncolytic viruses and cell therapies — to amplify the body’s own ability to recognize and attack tumors, destroying the cancer cells and, potentially, achieving a cure.
Dr. Cobbold is a clinical immunologist and physician-scientist who in his training specialized in managing patients with immunodeficiency. His research has focused on translational immunology, which includes cancer immunology and immunotherapy. His early work related to human viral immunity and restoring antiviral immune responses through cellular immunotherapy. Through his research, he developed a strong interest in tumor neoantigens — believed to play a dominant role in the immune system’s response to cancer — and has contributed toward the discovery of a novel class of tumor antigens.
Dr. Cobbold also serves as an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center. He has authored nearly 50 peer-reviewed papers, co-founded six biotechnology companies, and has generated 20 patents. He lectures extensively on cancer immunology and immunotherapy at conferences and seminars, and he is a member of several scientific and medical societies including the Broad Institute, American Association for Cancer Research, American Association for Hematology, and the British Society for Immunology. He also serves on the U.K. Academy of Medical Sciences Mentoring committee. After earning a bachelor’s degree in immunology and a medical degree from the University of Edinburgh, Dr. Cobbold earned a doctorate from the University of Birmingham (U.K.) in immunology/immunotherapy and completed postdoctoral training at the University of Birmingham and the University of Virginia.
3. Meghan Scanlon
Company: Boston Scientific
Title: Senior Vice President and President, Urology
Meghan Scanlon is Boston Scientific’s Senior Vice President and President, Urology, a position she has held since February 2020. In this role, she is responsible for developing and bringing to market innovative, industry-leading solutions for urological, urogynecological, and gynecological diseases. Prior to her current role, Scanlon served as VP and General Manager for the global Urology and Pelvic Health commercial organization, with responsibility for overseeing the Stone, Prostate Health, Prosthetic Urology, and Women’s Health franchises. She is a member of the Global Council for Inclusion and serves as the executive sponsor for Boston Scientific’s PRIDE employee resource group, which is a network of LGBTQ+ employees and allies that fosters inclusiveness and professional fulfillment through corporate and community LGBTQ+ programs and initiatives.
Since joining Boston Scientific in 2014 as VP, Global Marketing for Endoscopy, Scanlon has progressed through roles of increasing responsibility in Urology and Pelvic Health and Endoscopy, and played a significant role in driving and shaping the global commercial organization structures and portfolio innovation strategies for both businesses. Prior to joining Boston Scientific, Scanlon spent nearly 15 years in leadership roles within the Johnson & Johnson medical device business and started her early career as a design engineer at Gillette. She holds both an MBA and MSME from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from Tufts University.
4. Eric Chenelle
Company: Rapid Micro BioSystems
Title: Product Manager, Consumables and Sterility
Eric Chenelle is the Project Manager, Consumables and Sterility, for Rapid Micro BioSystems, an innovative life sciences technology company providing mission-critical automation solutions to facilitate the efficient manufacturing and fast, safe release of healthcare products such as biologics, vaccines, cell and gene therapies, and sterile injectables. Rapid’s Growth Direct® platform automates and modernizes the antiquated, manual quality control microbiology testing workflows used in the largest and most complex pharmaceutical manufacturing operations across the globe. The Growth Direct® platform brings the quality control lab to the manufacturing floor, unlocking the power of in-line/at-the-line QC automation to deliver faster results, greater accuracy, increased operational efficiency, better compliance with data integrity regulations, and quicker decision making that customers rely on to ensure safe and consistent supply of important healthcare products.
Prior to Rapid Micro BioSystems, Chenelle served as Food Safety and Quality Account Manager for MilliporeSigma. Before that, he was a BioMonitoring Application Specialist for the company. He got his start with MilliporeSigma in 2014 as a Technical Support Specialist. He has also been a co-owner of the Tyngsboro, MA/Nashua, NH Anytime Fitness since 2010. Chenelle earned his Bachelor of Arts in neuroscience and sociology from Bowdoin College and is working on his MBA in marketing from Southern New Hampshire University.
5. Paul Gudonis
Company: Myomo
Title: Chief Executive Officer
Paul Gudonis has served as Chief Executive Officer of Myomo since 2011, positioning the company as the leader in medical robotics to overcome upper limb paralysis. He has pioneered new technologies and created new markets during his 40-year career spanning biomedical devices, robotics, software, and telecommunications services. From launching the first cell phone service in the country at AT&T to building the first Internet backbone network at BBN into a billion-dollar global services provider, he has grown venture-backed startup companies, led several publicly held corporations, and expanded the FIRST Robotics program to record growth and profitability.
Gudonis has served as a board member of public and private companies, and as Chairman of the Massachusetts High Tech Council. He is a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council at his alma mater, Northwestern University’s McCormick School of Engineering, where he earned his degree in electrical engineering. At the university, he is a member of the Biomedical Engineering Department council, an industry advisor to the NUvention medical device innovation program, and advises a student-led startup, Design for America, which is expanding to college campuses nationwide to develop entrepreneurial solutions for local nonprofits. He also earned his MBA from Harvard University.
6. Jean-Paul Kress
Company: MorphoSys
Title: Chief Executive Officer
As a trained physician, Jean-Paul Kress has devoted his career to bringing transformative medicines to patients. Since joining MorphoSys as Chief Executive Officer in September 2019, he has strategically repositioned the company from a leading antibody technology provider to a global, commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company with a strong late-stage pipeline. As part of this evolution, the company launched its first medicine in the U.S. — an immunotherapy for an aggressive form of blood cancer — and significantly enriched its pipeline through the acquisition of Constellation Pharmaceuticals in 2021. In addition to his work at MorphoSys, Kress serves as chair of the board of directors at the listed company ERYTECH Pharma.
Prior to MorphoSys, Kress was CEO of Syntimmune, where he oversaw the company’s transformation to a late-stage development immunology company, resulting in its acquisition by Alexion. He held several senior leadership roles at pharmaceutical companies, including EVP, President of International and Head of Global Therapeutic Operations at Biogen, and SVP, Head of North America at Sanofi Genzyme, where he was instrumental in launching Dupilumab, the first biologic agent approved in atopic dermatitis. Previously, he was President and CEO of Sanofi Pasteur MSD and held leadership positions at Gilead, AbbVie, and Eli Lilly and Company. He also served on Sarepta Therapeutics’ Board of Directors. Kress received an MD from Faculté Necker-Enfants Malades in Paris, and graduate and postgraduate degrees in biochemistry and in molecular and cellular pharmacology from Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris.
7. Gabriele Brambilla
Company: Alira Health
Title: Chief Executive Officer
Gabriele Brambilla is the Chief Executive Officer of Alira Health, a global healthcare firm whose mission is to humanize healthcare and life sciences in partnership with patients. From development to medical care, Alira complements the expertise of its Pharma, Biotech, and MedTech clients with a full spectrum of services across their entire solutions lifecycle, including clinical operations, real-world evidence, and patient-centric technology offerings. Alira’s integrated and multidisciplinary team of more than 600 scientists, strategists, economists, clinicians, and biostatisticians collaborate across the company’s North American, European, and Asian offices and advise 80% of the top 50 MedTech companies and 75% of the top 50 Pharma companies.
Brambilla is passionate about healthcare innovation. In addition to his appointment as Alira Health CEO in 2014, he serves on the board of directors for the leading-edge start-ups EnlightenVue, WoundForce, Firefly, and Computational Life. In 2018, he co-founded the MetroWest Life Sciences Network to develop collaboration, innovation, and entrepreneurship in Boston’s MetroWest life sciences ecosystem. Brambilla is a regular participant in global events as a moderator, speaker, and panelist. He earned his MBA in finance from SDA Bocconi in Milan, his Master in International Affairs from ISPI Milano, and his Bachelor of Arts in political science from the Università di Pavia, also in Milan.
8. Elizabeth Haines
Company: Conformis
Title: Vice President, Regulatory & Clinical Affairs
Elizabeth Haines has served as Vice President, Regulatory & Clinical Affairs for Conformis since September 2022. In this role, part of the Executive Leadership Team, she is responsible for developing and implementing strategies to maximize process efficiency and effectiveness, directing the global regulatory team's annual budgets, investments, and financial performance, and overseeing clinical operations. Haines has more than 17 years of experience in medical device and life sciences regulatory affairs. Immediately prior to joining Conformis, Haines served as Senior Director, Regulatory Affairs at ZOLL Medical Corporation from 2018-2022 in the resuscitation & circulation divisions. At ZOLL, she was the global point of contact for all interactions with regulatory authorities, driving the implementation of regulatory KPIs to support organizational expansions in both divisions, and transitioning the organization from a primary 510(k) organization to a Class III PMA driven organization.
Haines served as Senior Manager, Regulatory Affairs at Straumann Group USA. There, she steered the regulatory resources of the business units to verify timely product registrations and devised regulatory strategies for new product introductions and product changes. Prior to that, she served as Senior Manager, Regulatory Affairs at Sekisui Diagnostics, LLC. In this role, she represented Regulatory Affairs on designated product/project teams to develop regulatory strategies and support cross-functional collaboration. Haines served as Senior Manager, Regulatory Affairs at Ocular Therapeutix, Inc., in Bedford, Massachusetts. At Ocular, she developed and implemented regulatory strategies to facilitate the clinical execution and commercialization of products worldwide as well as transitioning the company from medical device to a med device and pharmaceutical company. She earned a Bachelor of Science in health management at Northeastern University, several executive certificates in strategy and leadership at Cornell University, and has Six Sigma Yellow Belt and Lean Leader designations.
9. Jonathan Go
Company: iCAD
Title: Chief Technology Officer
Jonathan Go serves as Chief Technology Officer for iCAD. He brings more than twenty five years of software development experience in the medical industry to the company. Prior to joining iCAD, Go served as Vice President of Engineering at Merge eMed, a provider of RIS/PACS solutions for imaging centers, specialty practices, and hospitals. At Merge eMed, he was responsible for software development, product management, testing, system integration, and technical support for all of eMed’s products.
Before joining Merge eMed, Go was Director of Engineering at Cedara Software in Toronto. Cedara Software is focused on the development of custom engineered software applications and development tools for medical imaging OEMs. At Cedara, Go built the workstation program, developing multiple specialty workstations that have been adopted by a large number of OEM partners. He earned a Master of Science in electrical engineering and biomedical engineering and a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan.
10. Sanjiv Patel
Company: Relay Therapeutics
Title: President and Chief Executive Officer
Sanjiv Patel brings more than 20 years of life sciences industry experience to his role as President and Chief Executive Officer of Relay Therapeutics. Prior to Relay, Patel was at Allergan for more than a decade and played a key part in the company’s sustained growth and value creation over that period. He held roles of increased responsibility, including leading global strategic marketing for all franchises and general management of Allergan’s fastest growth geographic region, the emerging markets. Patel was most recently part of Allergan’s executive team as chief strategy officer, where he was at the center of some of the industry’s largest transactions. His work with the senior leadership team of Allergan defined its long-term objectives and strategy, including divestment and integration planning activities.
Prior to Allergan, Patel was a management consultant at Boston Consulting Group in London, and he started his career as a surgeon in the U.K.’s National Health Service. Patel holds an MBA from INSEAD, an MBBS from the University of London, and a Master of Arts in neurosciences from Cambridge University.
11. Natan Linder
Company: Tulip
Title: Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Natan Linder is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Tulip, a manufacturing technology company and World Economic Forum Tech Pioneer. Tulip provides a cloud IoT software platform that is deployed at some of the largest global manufacturers, helping customers drive their Industry 4.0 and Digital Transformation initiatives. Linder is also Co-Founder and Chairman of Formlabs, a pioneer and industry leader in professional desktop 3D printing. He has over 15 years of experience as a leader at companies like Samsung, Sun Microsystems, and Rethink Robotics and holds a depth of expertise in computer science, product design, and entrepreneurship.
Formerly, Linder was Co-Founder and General Manager of Samsung Electronic’s R&D Center in Israel, spearheading the group’s innovation efforts in mobile and shipping multiple products to the global market. He was Entrepreneur-in-Residence with Jerusalem Venture Partners, a leading Israeli venture capital firm. He holds a PhD from the MIT Media Lab’s Fluid Interfaces Group and an MSc in Media Arts and Sciences from MIT. His work aims to fuse design and engineering to create novel human experiences.
12. Andrey Zarur
Company: Greenlight Biosciences Inc.
Title: Co-Founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer
Andrey Zarur is a Co-Founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer of GreenLight Biosciences. The company was founded in 2008 to develop advanced biological solutions to overcome some of the biggest challenges faced by the human race, including sustainable food production, response and preparedness for pandemics, and global access to effective human health.
Dr. Zarur is also a Co-Founder and was Chairman of the Board of Solid Biosciences, Inc., a gene therapy company targeting Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. In addition, he is a Co-Founder and Chairman of the Board at Lumicell Surgical, an oncology company delivering advanced imaging solutions to cancer surgery, and has been a co-founder and senior executive in more than a dozen companies in the healthcare and clean energy sectors. Prior to starting GreenLight, he was Managing Partner at Kodiak Venture Partners, an early-stage, technology-driven venture fund based in Boston.
Dr. Zarur carried out graduate doctoral studies in chemical and biomedical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and immunology at Harvard-MIT. He is a frequently invited speaker at scientific and trade conferences, has authored a number of landmark peer-reviewed articles in prestigious scientific journals, holds more than 100 provisional and issued patents, and has been regularly quoted in international media on the pandemic and RNA vaccines, including recent opinion pieces in Fortune and Stat as well as quotes in the Financial Times, Investors Business Daily, Wired, Business Insider, and CNBC.
13. Gilmore O’Neill
Company: Editas Medicine
Title: President and Chief Executive Officer
Gilmore O’Neill is President and Chief Executive Officer of Editas Medicine and a member of the Editas Board of Directors. He joined Editas Medicine in June 2022. O’Neill brings to Editas more than 20 years of experience in genetic medicine, neurobiology, and clinical development. He also has a track record of driving and leading several of biotech’s most successful clinical programs and achieving marketing approvals for several medicines, including Amondys®, Vyondys®, Spinraza®, Plegridy®, and Tecfidera®.
O’Neill most recently served as Executive Vice President of R&D and Chief Medical Officer at Sarepta Therapeutics. During his tenure at Sarepta, he led the R&D leadership team accountable across the value chain from creating and driving discovery, preclinical and clinical development, and global regulatory strategy of its RNA and gene therapeutic portfolio through to Medical Affairs support of the marketed products. Prior to that, O’Neill held several leadership roles at Biogen over a 15-year period, most recently serving as Senior Vice President responsible for all late-stage clinical development. During his tenure at Biogen, he oversaw development programs for rare disease, gene and cell therapy, neuromuscular disease, pain, multiple sclerosis, acute neurology, movement disorders, and Alzheimer’s disease.
O’Neill currently serves on the board of directors at UNITY Biotechnology, Inc., a biotechnology company developing therapeutics to slow, halt, or reverse diseases of aging, and at Aptinyx, Inc., a biotechnology company developing therapies for the treatment of brain and nervous system disorders. O’Neill received a Bachelor of Medicine from University College Dublin, a Master of Medical Sciences from Harvard University, and completed his Neurology Residency training at Massachusetts General Hospital. He is licensed to practice medicine in the state of Massachusetts.
14. Paul Bolno
Company: Wave Life Sciences
Title: President and Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Paul Bolno has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Wave Life Sciences since 2013 and oversaw the company’s initial public offering in 2015. During his tenure as President and CEO, Dr. Bolno has grown Wave into a fully integrated clinical-stage genetic medicines company, overseen the development of the company’s proprietary stereopure oligonucleotide discovery and drug development platform, and built a broad pipeline of preclinical and clinical programs supported by scalable, in-house manufacturing capabilities. In addition to Dr. Bolno’s current role at Wave, he is on the board of directors for SQZ Biotech and serves as Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Group for the Nucleic Acid Therapy Accelerator (NATA) in the U.K.
Prior to joining Wave, Dr. Bolno was Vice President, Worldwide Business Development — Head of Asia BD and Investments, as well as Head of Global Neuroscience BD, at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). He also served as a Director of Glaxo Wellcome Manufacturing, Pte Ltd. in Singapore. Dr. Bolno joined GSK as Vice President, Business Development for the Oncology Business Unit, where he helped establish GSK’s global oncology business and served as a member of the Oncology Executive Team, Oncology Commercial Board, and Cancer Research Executive Team. Prior to GSK, he served as Director of Research at Two River LLC, a healthcare private equity firm. Dr. Bolno earned his MD from MCP-Hahnemann School of Medicine and an MBA from Drexel University. He was a general surgery resident and cardiothoracic surgery postdoctoral research fellow at Drexel University College of Medicine.
15. Antony Mattessich
Company: Ocular Therapeutix, Inc.
Title: President and Chief Executive Officer
Antony Mattessich joined Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. as Chief Executive Officer in August of 2017. Ocular is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the formulation, development, and commercialization of innovative therapies for diseases and conditions of the eye using its proprietary bioresorbable hydrogel-based formulation technology. Its robust product pipeline positions Ocular to become a leader in the ophthalmic space due to its ability to create drug delivery solutions that reduce the complexity and burden of the current standard of care by developing sustained release alternatives.
Prior to joining Ocular, Mattessich was Managing Director of Mundipharma International based in Cambridge, England. Before that, he ran the U.S. respiratory, dermatology, and pediatrics group at Novartis. He also held several positions at Bristol-Myers Squibb, among them, Managing Director roles in Malaysia/Singapore and The Netherlands, and Head of Operations for the International Medicines Group. Mattessich holds a Masters in International Affairs from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California at Berkeley.
16. Anna Protopapas
Company: Mersana Therapeutics
Title: President and Chief Executive Officer
Anna Protopapas joined Mersana as President and Chief Executive Officer in March 2015, bringing a substantial track record of executive leadership and business experience in the biotech industry. Prior to Mersana, Protopapas was President of Millennium, where she led Takeda Pharmaceutical Co.’s $1.3 billion oncology business. She also served as the Executive Vice President of Global Business Development for Takeda Pharmaceuticals, where she oversaw global acquisitions, partnering, licensing, and venture investing. In this role, she led Takeda’s $12 billion acquisition of Nycomed, a critical step in the company’s globalization. Protopapas was a member of Takeda’s executive committee and was elected a corporate officer in 2011.
Earlier in her career, Protopapas served as an executive officer at Millennium Pharmaceuticals and served in various senior leadership positions, playing an integral role in the company’s transformation from a genomics start-up to a fully integrated oncology leader. She was instrumental in the sale of Millennium to Takeda for $8.8 billion. Protopapas serves as the Chairperson of the board of directors of Nuvalent, Inc. She previously served on the boards of directors of Ariad Pharmaceuticals from May 2015 to February 2017, when it was sold to Takeda for $5.2 billion; Bioverativ from January 2017 to January 2018, when it was sold to Sanofi for $11.6 billion; and Dicerna Pharmaceuticals from January 2019 to June 2021. Protopapas earned her MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business, her Master of Science in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and her Bachelor of Science in science and engineering from Princeton University.
17. Martha Rook
Company: insitro
Title: Chief Technical Operations Officer
Martha Rook currently serves as Chief Technical Operations Officer for insitro. Insitro is a data-driven drug discovery and development company that leverages machine learning and high-throughput biology to transform the way medicines are created to help patients. Rook has more than 20 years of academic and industry experience in molecular biology, diagnostics development, biologics process development, and cell and gene therapy manufacturing.
Prior to joining insitro, Rook was Chief Technical Operations Officer for Sigilon Therapeutics, Inc., where she was responsible for the Analytics, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, and Quality organizations. Before that, she spent more than 13 years at MilliporeSigma and held a variety of roles, ultimately serving as Vice President and Head of the Gene Editing & Novel Modalities Business, where she led a team developing and providing tools and services for cell and gene therapies from discovery to manufacturing. Rook received her PhD in biochemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and holds a Bachelor of Science in chemistry from Texas A&M University. She pursued post-doctoral studies in neuroscience as a Lefler Fellow at Harvard Medical School’s Center for Neurologic Diseases.
18. Lisa Wyman
Company: Generate Biomedicines, Inc.
Title: Senior Vice President of Technical Operations
Lisa Wyman is head of technical operations at Generate Biomedicines, leading multi-faceted teams across CMC, technical development, quality, and supply operations to build out Generate’s global technical operations organization to support the company’s pursuit of a broad portfolio of medicines.
Most recently, Wyman served as the Senior Vice President of Technical Operations and Quality at Acceleron, where she helped to transform the enterprise from a research and development-focused company to a fully integrated biotech, which led to the eventual sale of the company to Merck & Co. in 2021 for over $11 billion. She led the CMC strategy for the accelerated development of sotatercept for pulmonary arterial hypertension and supported the launch of Acceleron’s first commercial product Reblozyl. Wyman has experience working with global regulatory agencies, GxP quality management systems, and scaling up manufacturing for clinical-stage companies.
Before joining Acceleron, Wyman had roles of increasing responsibility at Mersana Therapeutics, Shire, and Boston Scientific. She has received several awards, including a Life Sciences Voice Top Industry Leader, Advancement of Women in Compliance Mentor of the Year Finalist, Boston Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 Winner, and Control Engineering and Plant Engineering Magazine’s Engineering Leader. Wyman earned her Master of Science in engineering management from Tufts University and graduated from Ithaca College with a bachelor’s degree in biology.
19. Sam Tran
Company: Gritstone bio
Title: Vice President, Information Technology
Sam Tran is the Vice President of Information Technology at Gritstone bio. He first joined the company in 2018 as Senior Director of Information Technology. Gritstone bio brings together a group of distinguished scientific founders and advisors, a highly experienced and diverse leadership team, and a seasoned and successful board of directors to tackle fundamental challenges at the intersection of cancer genomics, immunotherapy, and other precision therapy areas, specifically in COVID-19 and HIV.
With its unique approach to immuno-oncology and infectious diseases, Gritstone bio seeks to generate a therapeutic immune response by leveraging insights into the immune system’s ability to recognize and destroy diseased cells by targeting select antigens. It started with a focus on tumor-specific neoantigens and more recently extended its programs to include viral antigens displayed on the surface of virus-infected cells. The biology underlying immune system recognition of targets on the surface of abnormal cells is common to both antitumor and antiviral immunity. Consequently, the company believes that activating and directing the immune system to these targets could offer an important opportunity to extend the benefits of immunotherapy for more patients.
Previously, Tran was a Director and Head of Informatics and IT at Syros Pharmaceuticals, and before that Director of IT Operations at Foundation Medicine. Earlier in his career he worked with CombinatoRx as a network administrator. Tran earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in MIS & management from the University of Massachusetts Lowell.
20. Andrew Ashe
Company: Verve Therapeutics
Title: President, Chief Operating Officer, and General Counsel
Andrew Ashe is President, Chief Operating Officer, and General Counsel for Verve Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company created with a singular focus: to protect the world from heart disease. Founded by world-leading experts in cardiovascular medicine, human genetics, and gene editing, the company aims to develop transformative, once-and-done therapies for coronary heart disease. Ashe is an accomplished biotech executive with over 20 years of experience in operations and legal management. Prior to joining Verve, he served as a senior executive and general counsel for several biotech companies, including Applied Genetic Technologies Corporation and Dyax Corp. During his tenure at Dyax, Ashe managed all legal and administrative functions during a period of growth in which market capitalization increased from $180 million to $6 billion.
While at Dyax, Ashe also established more than 75 revenue-generating collaborations with biotech and pharma companies in the United States, Europe, India, Australia, and Japan. Dyax was acquired in 2016. Previously, Ashe was a member of the business law practices at Prince Lobel Tye LLP and Nutter, McClennen & Fish LLP. Prior to attending law school, he served as a trading specialist and senior analyst at the American and New York Stock Exchanges. He holds a JD from the George Washington University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts in finance from the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts.
21. Yaron Rachmany
Company: Variantyx
Title: Chief Operating Officer
Yaron Rachmany currently serves as Chief Operating Officer for Variantyx and oversees the company’s IT systems and business processes. Variantyx is a technology-driven precision medicine company providing state-of-the-art diagnostic solutions for the rare genetic disorders and reproductive genetics markets, and treatment optimization in oncology. The company’s unique, comprehensive testing platform uses whole genome sequencing to identify all major genetic changes from a single sample. The results empower patients and providers with information that can rapidly end the challenging diagnostic search, optimize treatment, and improve quality of life.
Prior to joining Variantyx, Rachmany served as Director of Systems Operations and as Director of IT Applications at Semtech Corporation. Before that, he was Vice President of Information Systems with Credorax and held senior information systems positions with Microsemi, Intel, and ECI Telecom. Rachmany holds a Master of Science and a Bachelor of Science in industrial engineering and management (specialized in information systems) from Ben Gurion University in Israel.
22. Andrew Miller
Company: Karuna Therapeutics
Title: Founder and Chief Operating Officer
Dr. Andrew Miller is a Founder and the Chief Operating Officer of Karuna Therapeutics, a clinical-stage company targeting muscarinic receptors for the treatment of psychosis and cognition with a focus on schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Miller is the lead inventor of Karuna’s KarXT platform and served as CEO of Karuna from 2016 to 2018. He served as a member of Karuna’s board of directors from April 2012 to March 2019. From August 2008 to July 2016, Dr. Miller held several positions at PureTech Health plc, last serving as a Vice President, Venture Partner, and served as COO of Tal Medical and as the acting COO of Entrega, Inc. He is currently a member of the board of directors of Entrega.
Dr. Miller received his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Illinois with highest honors and his PhD in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and received the MIT Presidential fellow and National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate fellowship awards. In 2016, Dr. Miller was named one of the top 40 innovators under 40 by MedTech Boston.
23. Slava Akmaev
Company: Scipher Medicine
Title: Chief Technology Officer
Slava Akmaev currently serves as the Chief Technology Officer for Scipher Medicine, a precision immunology company matching each patient with their most effective therapy. Dr. Akmaev has been named one of the Top 100 AI Leaders in Drug Discovery and Advanced Healthcare and is a frequent speaker at some of the most prolific industry events. He is the inventor of several issued and pending patent applications and has published more than 20 peer-reviewed articles in computational biology, artificial intelligence, and molecular biology.
Dr. Akmaev’s experience includes developing data-driven technologies for target discovery and precision medicine and launching multiple commercial diagnostic products at Berg and GNS Healthcare. He started his career working for Genzyme Genetics, where he developed novel statistical approaches for high-throughput “omics” data. Dr. Akmaev holds a PhD and a Master of Science in applied mathematics from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
24. Peter Olagunju
Company: TCR² Therapeutics Inc.
Title: Chief Operating Officer
Peter Olagunju currently serves as Chief Operating Officer of TCR² Therapeutics, Inc. is a clinical-stage cell therapy company developing a pipeline of novel T cell therapies for patients suffering from solid tumors. The company is focused on the discovery and development of product candidates against novel and complex targets utilizing its proprietary T cell receptor (TCR) Fusion Construct T cells (TRuC®-T cells). He brings over 20 years of experience in cell and gene therapy, clinical development, program management, manufacturing and technical operations. Prior to joining the Company, he was Senior Vice President of Technical Operations at FerGene Inc., where he led the technical operations function for the commercialization of a gene therapy for bladder cancer.
Olagunju joined TCR² in 2021 as Chief Technical Officer. Before that, he served as Vice President of Global Patient Operations at bluebird bio, Inc., where he held several roles of increasing responsibility and was the program lead and functional head of manufacturing supporting the European approval for ZYNTEGLO®, a transformational gene therapy for transfusion dependent thalassemia (TDT). Earlier in his career, he held senior positions in Commercial Technical Operations and served as the Head of Quality at Dendreon Corp. and ZymoGenetics, Inc. Olagunju holds an MBA from the University of Washington and a Bachelor of Science in biology from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign.
25. Marc Blaustein
Company: Finch Therapeutics Group
Title: Chief Operating Officer and Principal Financial Officer
Marc Blaustein currently serves as Chief Operating Officer and Principal Financial Officer for Finch Therapeutics Group, which has a portfolio of microbiome assets including CP101, a late-stage, investigational, orally administered microbiome candidate with positive clinical data from a Phase 2 randomized, placebo-controlled trial and a Phase 2 open-label trial in recurrent C. Blaustein is a seasoned biopharmaceutical executive with more than 20 years of experience building and leading companies and critical business functions including operations, business development, program management, and manufacturing.
Prior to joining Finch, Blaustein consulted as the Head of Business Development for Guide Therapeutics, which was acquired by Beam Therapeutics in 2021. Before that, he was the Chief Executive Officer of NED Biosystems and Co-Founder and CEO of Akashi Therapeutics. Prior to founding Akashi, he served in various leadership positions across several biotechnology companies, including Senior Vice President of Manufacturing, Process, and Commercial Operations at Dyax Corp. (now Takeda), where he led the development of Kalbitor®. Before Dyax, Blaustein held business development and management roles at Alkermes, where he initiated and led the development program for Vivitrol®. And prior to Alkermes, he worked in business development at Genetics Institute (now Pfizer). He began his career in management consulting, first at Mercer Management Consulting, and then as a founding partner of Northbridge Consulting. Blaustein received his Master of Public Policy from Harvard University and his Bachelor of Arts in biology from the University of Pennsylvania. He is also a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholder.
