Speakers

Drew Weissman

Roberts Family Professor in Vaccine Research and director of the Penn Institute for RNA Innovation at the Perelman School of Medicine

Roberts Family Professor in Vaccine Research 
Director of the Penn Institute for RNA Innovation 
Director of Vaccine Research in the Infectious Diseases Division 
Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

Drew Weissman, MD, PhD, is the Roberts Family Professor in Vaccine Research and director of the Penn Institute for RNA Innovation at the Perelman School of Medicine. He is recognized for his work alongside Katalin Karikó in discovering the modified mRNA technology, which has launched a new era of vaccine and therapeutic development. Their mRNA research breakthrough has been used in both the BioNTech/Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines and has revolutionized the field of vaccine development. Dr. Weissman’s current research focuses on developing a pan-coronavirus vaccine to stop the next coronavirus epidemic, a universal flu vaccine, cancer therapeutics, a vaccine to prevent herpes, as well as developing in vivo gene therapy to allow worldwide use and a variety of protein therapeutics delivered with mRNA-LNPs. He has recently expanded his efforts in building scientific and medical equity and is developing the full RNA-LNP ecosystem of development, testing, and use in low- and middle-income countries.  

Dr. Weissman earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biochemistry and enzymology from Brandeis University in 1981 and his M.D. and Ph.D. in immunology and microbiology in 1987 at Boston University School of Medicine. Following a residency at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, he took a fellowship at the National Institutes of Health, where he worked with Dr. Anthony Fauci. 

Dr. Weissman holds many patents and has published over 400 papers. He has been recognized with numerous awards including the Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award, the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences, the Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research, and the Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology. 

Ellen Tsai

Head of Human Genetics at Biogen

Ellen Tsai is the Head of Human Genetics at Biogen, where she leads efforts to apply human genetics across the drug development pipeline—from target discovery to life cycle management. Over her eight years at Biogen, she has advanced multiple therapeutic targets through cross-functional R&D initiatives, leveraging genetic insights to drive precision medicine. 

Prior to Biogen, Ellen was a Senior Bioinformatician at Mass General Brigham (formerly Partners Healthcare), where she led the launch of the MGB Biobank’s genotyping workflows. She earned her PhD in Genomics and Computational Biology from the University of Pennsylvania, where she studied the genetic basis of pediatric disorders such as Alagille syndrome and biliary atresia. 

Haig Aghajanian

Co-Founder and Head of Research at Capstan Therapeutics

Dr. Aghajanian is the Co-Founder, SVP of Research at Capstan Therapeutics, and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine. He completed his PhD and Postdoctoral fellowship at the Perelman School of Medicine under the supervision of Dr. Jonathan Epstein, where he published reports on CAR T cell therapy use in the treatment of heart disease and demonstrated the use of targeted lipid nanoparticles for the generation of in vivo CAR T cells in Nature and Science. These works led to the founding of Capstan Therapeutics, where Dr. Aghajanian has led research since launch as the first employee. Capstan recently announced the initiation of a Phase I clinical trial for in vivo CAR T therapy and an acquisition by AbbVie to advance ongoing clinical programs and the platform.

Adam M. Koppel

Partner at Bain Capital Life Sciences

Adam M. Koppel, MD, PhD, is Partner at Bain Capital Life Sciences. He initially joined Bain Capital Public Equity in 2003, where he was a leader within the healthcare sector until 2014. From 2014 to 2016, Dr. Koppel was EVP of Corporate Development and Chief Strategy Officer at Biogen. Prior to joining Bain Capital Public Equity in 2003, Dr. Koppel was an associate principal at McKinsey & Co in New Jersey where he served a variety of healthcare companies. 
 
Dr. Koppel sits on the Board of Directors of Areteia Therapeutics and Cardurion Pharmaceuticals and previously served on the Board of Directors of Aptinyx, Cerevel Therapeutics, Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, Foghorn Therapeutics, PTC Therapeutics, Solid Biosciences, Trevena, Inc, and ViaCyte Inc. 
 
Dr. Koppel is currently a member of the Council for Discovery Science at Penn Medicine, which he joined at its inception in 2019. He also has been a member of the Perelman School of Medicine’s Medical Alumni Advisory Council (MAAC) since 2010 and Penn’s Life Sciences and Management Advisory Board since 2013. He previously served on Penn Medicine’s Institute on Aging Advisory Board (2010-2017). In addition to his volunteer roles at Penn, Dr. Koppel serves on the Board of Trustees at the Boston Museum of Science, Newton-Wellesley Hospital, and CJP Boston. He sits on the Investment Committees of the Boston Museum of Science and the Society for Neuroscience, co-chairs the Harvard Medical School Discovery Council, and serves on the Mass General Brigham Innovation Growth Board. 
 
Dr. Koppel received his MD and PhD in Neuroscience from the Perelman School of Medicine and was inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha honor society upon his graduation. He also received his MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he was a Palmer Scholar. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University with an AB and AM in History and Science. 

Kathy Fernando

Senior Vice President and Global Head of Pfizer Ignite

Kathy Fernando, PhD, is a Senior Vice President and Global Head of Pfizer Ignite, an innovation partner for biotech companies, focused on building foundational relationships with prospective biotech partners and helping them succeed and reach patients quicker. Kathy’s prior roles at Pfizer include Head of Worldwide Research, Development & Medical Operations and Head of mRNA scientific strategy. In those roles, she focused on strategic initiatives to identify and evaluate new scientific areas of focus, increase the value of the R&D portfolio, enhance R&D productivity and develop an ambitious scientific strategy for mRNA across therapeutic areas. Prior to joining Pfizer, she worked in management consulting, most recently at Deloitte, helping pharmaceutical and biotech companies address business needs in R&D and commercial. Kathy has a Ph.D. in Immunology from the University of Pennsylvania. Her thesis focused on mRNA and HIV vaccine development in Drew Weissman’s lab. She has a bachelor's degree in biotechnology from the Indian Institute of Technology in Kharagpur, India. She lives in New York City with her husband and two young boys. She has a passion for discovering new restaurants and playing tennis, a necessary counterbalance. 

Dylan Marchione

Principal Scientist, Clinical Biomarkers, Servier

After completing his PhD in Ben Garcia's lab in 2019, Dylan Marchione, PhD, moved to Cambridge, MA, to join the Metabolism & Proteomics group at Agios Pharmaceuticals as an Associate Scientist. In that role, he was responsible for supporting early-stage oncology programs with experiments to validate targets and mechanisms of action and to identify potential predictive or pharmacodynamic biomarkers. After the acquisition of the Agios oncology portfolio by Servier Pharmaceuticals in 2021, Dylan had the opportunity to join the newly formed Oncology Clinical Biomarkers group at Servier. Over the past 4 years, he has held roles of increasing responsibility at Servier. He is currently a Principal Scientist, responsible for translational and clinical biomarker strategy for ivosidenib (Tibsovo) across all indications. In 2024, Dylan also joined the asset team for a novel antibody-drug conjugate S227928 which is currently in Phase 1.

Meredith H. Shaffer

Acting Deputy Director, Division of Intramural Research, NIAID

Meredith H. Shaffer, PhD, received a B.A. from St. Mary’s College of Maryland in 2002 and a Ph.D. in Cell and Molecular Biology from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 2008.  Before matriculating to UPenn, she completed high school and undergraduate research experiences at the National Cancer Institute and Mayo Clinic and was a technician at the Carnegie Institution of Washington for a year.  After completing her PhD thesis work with Dr. Janis Burkhardt at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Abramson Research Center, she joined the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) as a science writer in the NIAID’s Division of Intramural Research (DIR). From 2011-2016, she spent half of her time as the Scientific Operations Manager for the DIR’s Laboratory of Clinical Infectious Diseases. In 2016, she became an Assistant Director then in 2018 the Chief of the DIR Program Support Staff, an office that coordinates intramural peer review, faculty recruitment and retention, and scientific reporting. She has been a member of several committees at the NIH including the Committee on Scientific Conduct and Ethics. Since March 2023, Dr. Shaffer has been performing the duties of the Acting Deputy Scientific Director, NIAID. 

Jamie Weaver

Principal Medical Writer with Ashfield MedComms, part of Inizio Medical

Jamie Weaver, PhD, CMPP, is a principal medical writer with Ashfield MedComms, part of Inizio Medical. Jamie received a BA in Biology from Brown University and a PhD from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. At Penn, she was a member of the DSRB area of CAMB. She did her thesis research in the lab of Dr Marisa Bartolomei, studying the interplay between DNA and histone methylation in the regulation of imprinted gene expression. She also interned with the Journal of Clinical Investigation, learning about journal publishing and editing scientific writing. Since graduation, she has worked in the medical writing field for Chameleon Communications, Guidemark, and most recently Inizio, where she has been for the past 9 years. In her work, she provides clients in the pharmaceutical industry with strategic support for clinical trial manuscripts and congress presentations, publication planning, literature analyses, scientific platforms, medical science liaisons materials, websites, advisory boards, and more. She has worked across a range of therapeutic areas, including ophthalmology, immunology, oncology, hematology, neurology, and rare disease, with clients such as Genentech, Amgen, and Novartis. She lives in Connecticut and has a cat who at this point could probably be a medical writer himself.  

Adam Siebert

a Managing Director at L.E.K. Consulting in New York City

Adam Siebert, PhD, is a Managing Director at L.E.K. Consulting in New York, where he advises life sciences clients on growth strategy, go-to-market strategy, portfolio optimization, transaction support, and organizational design. He brings deep expertise in pharma manufacturing and supply chain—including inputs, consumables, equipment, and services—as well as in life science research tools, diagnostics, and precision medicine. Before joining L.E.K., Adam worked in the Technology Transfer Office at the University of Pennsylvania. He holds a Ph.D. in Cell and Molecular Biology from the University of Pennsylvania and a B.S. in Chemistry from Boston College. 

Solymar Rolón-Martínez

Technical Specialist in Sterne Kessler’s Biotechnology and Chemical Practice Group

Solymar Rolón-Martínez, Ph.D., is a Technical Specialist in Sterne Kessler’s Biotechnology and Chemical Practice Group. Solymar assists in the preparation and prosecution of U.S. and foreign patent applications. Solymar received her Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of Pennsylvania and was a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology at Penn. She carried out her thesis research and postdoctoral work under the mentorship of Dr. Maria N. Geffen, where she focused on investigating the role of excitatory-inhibitory circuits that shape responses to auditory stimuli within the auditory thalamus. Before her Ph.D., Solymar received her M.S. in Anatomy from the University of Puerto Rico-Medical Sciences Campus, where her research combined the fields of Neuroscience and Parasitology. She earned her B.S. in Biomedical Sciences from the InterAmerican University of Puerto Rico-Metropolitan campus. Solymar was born and raised in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, moved to Philly for her Ph.D., and is now based in Washington, D.C. Philly still remains her favorite city in the world. Outside of work, Solymar can be found reading, attempting to visit all the used bookstores and museums around D.C., or at home watching a Phillies game. 

Rishita Shah

Lecturer in Biology, Barnard College

Rishita Shah, PhD, is a developmental biologist with a special interest in stem cells and regeneration. She is currently a Lecturer in Biology at Barnard College, teaching courses in Introductory Biology, Development, and Cell and Molecular Biology.  Rishita earned her Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania where she studied the effects of histone modifications on early development in Xenopus laevis. Her postdoctoral work at Massachusetts General Hospital focused on understanding regeneration of the adult tendon using the Zebrafish model system.  
 
With a passion for undergraduate education and a commitment to mentorship, Rishita is an active member in the Barnard Community, serving as an advisor to incoming first-year students, and guiding biology majors as they pursue graduate studies and medical school. Rishita is currently developing new courses that address topics of relevance to undergraduate students, including a seminar in Regenerative Biology, and a class on the latest discoveries in Human Reproduction and Early Development.  

Michael O. Harhay

Associate Professor of Epidemiology, Medicine (Pulmonary and Critical Care), and Statistics and Data Science, University of Pennsylvania

Michael O. Harhay, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Epidemiology, Medicine (Pulmonary and Critical Care), and Statistics and Data Science at the University of Pennsylvania. His current research focuses on the development and application of causal inference and Bayesian statistical methods to improve pragmatic and cluster-randomized trials, particularly those embedded in health systems and for patients with critical and severe illnesses. Dr. Harhay has authored more than 250 scientific publications and is involved in a wide range of international research activities, including randomized trial data safety and monitoring boards, societal and trial steering committees, research consortia, and currently serves as deputy editor of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine and is an editor of the International Journal of Epidemiology. Michael holds a PhD in clinical epidemiology and four master’s degrees in bioethics, global health, demography, and statistics, all from the University of Pennsylvania.