Neuro Pioneers
on a Quest to Cure 

Robin Wojcieszek, RPh, brings more than 30 years’ regulatory affairs experience and leadership in all phases of clinical drug development in a broad range of psychiatry, neurology, autoimmune, oncology, and pain indications.  She has held numerous positions with increasing responsibility in regulatory affairs at several large global biopharma organizations including Eli Lilly and Company, Pfizer, and Lundbeck. Immediately prior to joining QurAlis, Robin was head of global patient safety at FibroGen, where she led a major initiative to drive an organizational modernization agenda in global patient safety, as well as provided leadership, strategic direction, and governance of all pharmacovigilance activities. She has provided regulatory leadership on more than 30 successful INDs, global NDAs, BLAs, and commercial launches. A licensed pharmacist, she started her career in regulatory affairs as regulatory project manager in the Neuroscience Division at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 

Robin has served a company representative with a number of trade organizations where she has provided input on important regulatory policy and science initiatives. She holds a pharmacy degree from the University of Connecticut. 

Emma Bowden, PhD, has more than 25 years’ experience in drug discovery and clinical development across multiple therapeutic areas with a focus in neurodegeneration and oncology. She has led clinical strategy, drug discovery, and clinical development efforts including biomarker identification and development to support precision medicine strategies. She has managed large multidisciplined teams at organizations including Eli Lilly, Thermo Fisher, Sangamo Therapeutics, and Astrazeneca/MedImmune and has experience working with all types of collaborators and partners including academia, key opinion leaders, CROs, biotech, and pharma. Emma has a deep understanding of biotherapeutics including novel technologyplatforms and an in depth knowledge of molecular biology from target validation and drug discovery through to biomarker identification and patient selection strategies.

Prior to her transition to industry, Emma was an assistant professor and research instructor at Georgetown University. Emma holds a PhD in biochemistry from the University of Bristol.

Shafique (Shaf) Virani, MD, currently serves as chief business officer at Noetik, Inc., an AI-native biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing cancer therapies. Before joining Noetik in March 2024, Shaf served as Recursion’s chief business officer for four years, as well as interim chief medical officer for half that time. At Recursion, he was instrumental in forging transformative partnerships with Bayer and Roche/Genentech, the latter being one of the largest drug discovery partnerships ever consummated in industry. Previously, Shaf was chief executive officer (CEO) of Navire Pharma and CoA Therapeutics, each a subsidiary of BridgeBio Pharma, Inc., where he also served as CEO-in-residence.

Prior to BridgeBio, Shaf assumed a 13-year-long tenure at Genentech/Roche in several senior roles, most recently as vice president, business development, licensing M&A, and global head of neuroscience, rare disease, and ophthalmology partnering. There, he helped build a portfolio of medicines including Evrysdi® (risdiplam) for spinal muscular atrophy, Enspryng® (satralizumab-mwge) for neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder, and several therapeutics in the mid-to-late-stage clinical pipeline via licensing and acquisitions. Shaf trained as a neurosurgeon in Cambridge, UK and Boston and received his MD from the University of Nottingham, UK.

Jason Brown is chief financial officer (CFO) at QurAlis. Before joining QurAlis, Jason was the CFO of Karuna Therapeutics. Jason joined Karuna in 2018 as vice president (VP) of corporate finance and its first finance employee. Throughout his tenure at Karuna, Jason drove the growth of both the finance department and broader organization, which included supporting multiple equity financings, business development transactions, and ultimately the acquisition by Bristol-Myers Squibb for $14 billion in 2024.

Previously, Jason worked at PureTech Health as VP of corporate finance where he was responsible for the financing and operational growth of the company. He also spent five years at Novartis in roles of increasing responsibility within the finance department. Jason holds an MBA from Boston College and BA from Hamilton College.

Leonard H. van den Berg, MD, PhD, is a professor of neurology who holds a chair in experimental neurology of motor neuron diseases at the University Medical Center Utrecht in the Netherlands. He also is director of the center’s Laboratory for Neuromuscular Disease, director of the Netherlands ALS Center, chairman of the Neuromuscular Centre in the Netherlands, and chairman of the European Network to Cure ALS (ENCALS), a network of the European ALS Centers.

After receiving his medical degree from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, Leonard completed a fellowship in neuroimmunology in the laboratory of Norman Latov, MD, PhD, at the Neurological Institute at Columbia University in New York. He then completed his PhD degree at the University Medical Center Utrecht in a program that combined a residency in neurology with scientific research. As a practicing neurologist specializing in neuromuscular diseases and neuroimmunology, Leonard’s research pursuits lie in immune-mediated or degenerative diseases of motor neurons. A major emphasis of his research has been in ALS and other motor neuron disorders, and he has been a principal investigator on numerous drug trials concerning treatment options for the disease.

Philip Van Damme, MD, PhD, is professor of neurologist at the University Hospitals in Leuven (Belgium), where he is leading the Neuromuscular Reference Center. He studied neurology at KU Leuven medical school. During his neurology training, he did a PhD on disease mechanisms of ALS, and continued to work on this disease after graduating in 2006. In 2008, he was a visiting neuromuscular fellow at the MGH and visiting researcher at the Day Laboratory for Neuromuscular Research, Harvard Medical School. 

Since 2009, he has been appointed as neuromuscular specialist at the neurology department in UZ Leuven and as professor at the department of neuroscience at KU Leuven. Philip is leading the ALS program that involves the diagnosis, treatment and multidisciplinary care for patients with ALS. He is actively involved in clinical research, including genetic, biomarker and neuroimaging studies and clinical trials with new treatments for ALS. He currently is the chair of the European Academy of Neurology (EAN) guideline panel on ALS. In addition, Philip is a principal investigator in the laboratory for neurobiology (part of the Neuroscience Department at the University of Leuven and the VIB Center for Brain & Disease Research). His current research focuses on genetic modifiers of ALS and on disease pathways in pluripotent stem cell models derived from ALS patients. Philip has published more than 200 papers in international peer-reviewed journals about ALS and related neuromuscular disorders.

Dame Pamela Shaw is professor of neurology at the University of Sheffield and director of the Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience (SITraN), one of the world’s leading centers for ALS/MND research. She is a clinician scientist in neurology and formerly a Wellcome Trust senior fellow in clinical science. Pamela is also director of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre Translational Neuroscience for Chronic Neurological Disorders, director of the Sheffield Care and Research Centre for Motor Neuron Disorders, and honorary consultant with Sheffield Teaching Hospitals National Health Service (NHS) Foundation Trust. Since 1991, she has led a major multidisciplinary program of research investigating genetic, molecular, and neurochemical factors underlying neurodegenerative disorders of the human motor system.  

Since 2012, Pamela has led the Clinical Studies Group for ALS/MND within the NIHR Dementia and Neurodegenerative Diseases (DeNDRoN) clinical research network which links 19 ALS/MND care and research centers and has developed a network of 10 UK centers experienced in ALS clinical trials. Pamela has taken part in more than 15 ALS clinical trials including several academic-led studies and served as UK chief investigator and steering committee member. She is an active member of the European Network for the Cure of ALS (ENCALS). Pamela has received numerous awards including: American Academy of Neurology Sheila Essey Award for outstanding research contribution into amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/ motor neuron disease (2001); UK Royal College of Physicians Jean Hunter Prize for research into nervous disorders (2006); the International ALS/MND Forbes Norris Award for excellence in research and compassion in clinical care (2007); UK NIHR Senior Investigator Award (2013); Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire DBE for services to Neuroscience (2014); UK ACCEA Platinum Clinical Excellence Award (2014). Pamela has authored more than 400 publications of original research, reviews and book chapters, and has edited several books about ALS/MND.

Merit Cudkowicz, MD, is the director of the Sean M. Healey & AMG Center for ALS, chief of neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), director and the Julieanne Dorn Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School. Merit’s research and clinical activities are dedicated to the study and treatment of people with ALS. She is one of the founders and past co-chair of NEALS. Merit has brought innovations to accelerate the development of treatments for people with ALS, including having a senior role in development of the first antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) treatment for a neurological disorder (SOD1 ALS), adaptive trial designs, central IRB - all with the goal to bring the best treatments rapidly. She is principal investigator of the Clinical Coordination Center for the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke’s Neurology Network of Excellence in Clinical Trials (NINDS NeuroNEXT). Merit is launching the first platform trial initiative in ALS, the HEALEY ALS Platform Trial, a program that will greatly accelerate therapy development in ALS.

She received the American Academy of Neurology 2009 Sheila Essay ALS award, the 2017 Forbes Norris Award from the International MND Alliance, the 2017 Pinnacle Award from the Boston Chamber of Commerce, and the 2019 Ray Adams American Neurological Association Award. A dedicated educator, Merit mentors many young neurologists in clinical investigation of ALS and related neurodegenerative disorders. She obtained a medical degree in the Health Science and Technology program of Harvard Medical School and completed her undergraduate degree in chemical engineering at MIT. She served her internship at Beth Israel Hospital in New York and her neurology residency and fellowship at MGH. She also obtained a master’s degree in clinical epidemiology from the Harvard School of Public Health.

Jinsy A. Andrews, M.D., M.Sc., FAAN is an associate professor of neurology, in the division of neuromuscular medicine and serves as the director of neuromuscular clinical trials. She currently oversees neuromuscular clinical trials and cares for patients with neuromuscular disease, primarily with ALS. Jinsy has extensive experience in all phases of human clinical trials and drug development in both the academic and industry settings. She is the elected co-chair of the Northeastern ALS (NEALS) Consortium, which is a network of more than 134 ALS clinical research centers internationally. She is also elected to the National Board of Trustees of the ALS Association and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology (FAAN). Jinsy has also received the Diamond Award for ALS clinical research from Wings Over Wall Street and the Muscular Dystrophy Association. She received her MD from Albany Medical College and her MSc in biostatistics (patient-oriented research) from Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, Jinsy completed her residency training in neurology at the University of Connecticut and served as the chief neurology resident in her final year. She completed fellowship training in neuromuscular disease/ALS and clinical neurophysiology at Columbia University. Jinsy is board certified in neurology, neuromuscular disease, and electrodiagnostic medicine. 

Anmar Al-Chalabi, MB, ChB, PhD, is professor of neurology and complex disease genetics at the Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute at King’s College London, where he is also head of the department of basic and clinical neuroscience and director of the King's Motor Neuron Disease Research Centre. In 2020, Ammar received the Forbes Norris Award from the International Alliance Of ALS/MND Associations and was a co-winner of the Healey Center International Prize for Innovation in ALS. His other awards include the Sheila Essey Award from the American Academy of Neurology and the Charcot Young Investigator Award from the Motor Neurone Disease Association (MNDA).

Clifford (Cliff) J. Woolf, MD, PhD, works on pain and on the regeneration and degeneration of the nervous system, focusing on neurological disease modeling and drug screening in patient iPSC-derived neurons. He is director of the F. M. Kirby Neurobiology Center and the Neurobiology Program at Boston Children’s Hospital, deputy director of the Intellectual Developmental Disability Disorders Center at Boston Children’s Hospital, and co-director of the neuroscience program of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute.

Clifford was born in South Africa and trained for his MD and PhD degrees at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg before joining University College London where he was professor of neurobiology. In 1997, he moved to Boston as the first incumbent Richard J. Kitz Professor of Anesthesiology Research at Harvard Medical School (HMS) and established the Neural Plasticity Research Group, based in the department of anesthesia and critical care at the Massachusetts General Hospital. Clifford is a faculty member of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute and the department of neurobiology at HMS. Over his career Cliff has received multiple honors and awards for his work in neurology and pain. 

Brian J. Wainger, MD, PhD, is assistant professor neurology and anesthesiology at Harvard Medical School and an attending physician at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). He studied molecular biology as an undergraduate at Princeton University and ion channel physiology in the MD/PhD program at Columbia University. He completed his medical residency in the Partners Neurology Program followed by a clinical fellowship in pain medicine at MGH and a research fellowship with Clifford Woolf, MD, PhD, at Boston Children’s Hospital. His clinical expertise spans the intersection of neurology and pain medicine.

Bernhardt Trout, PhD, is the Raymond F. Baddour ScD (1949) Professor of Chemical Engineering and director of the MIT Society, Engineering, and Ethics Program. He serves as co-chair of the Singapore-MIT Alliance Program on Chemical and Pharmaceutical Engineering, director of the Novartis-MIT Center for Continuous Manufacturing. and on the scientific advisory board of CMD Bioscience LLC. 

His scientific research focuses on applications of machine learning together with quantum mechanics and statistical mechanics in addition to experiments to develop pharmaceutical products and processes. In 2007, together with colleagues, Bernhardt started the Novartis-MIT Center for Continuous Manufacturing, a $85 million initiative to transform pharmaceutical manufacturing. He also leads a public outreach initiative to promote advanced pharmaceutical and vaccine manufacturing. He is co-editor of the 2016 volume Mastery of Nature and has published more than 200 technical papers with 19 patents issued or pending. Bernhardt received his S.B. and S.M. degrees from MIT and his PhD from the University of California, Berkeley. In addition, he performed post-doctoral work at the Max-Planck Institute.

Chris Shaw, MD, PhD, is professor of neurology and neurogenetics at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience and head of the department of basic and clinical neuroscience and director of the Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute at King’s College London, and an honorary consultant neurologist and neurogeneticist at King’s College Hospital. His research is focused in the genetic, molecular, and cellular basis of motor neuron diseases such as ALS.

He began his doctoral studies in 1992 on a Wellcome Trust Fellowship with renowned neurologist Professor Alastair Compston at the University of Cambridge. Chris has led research programs that identified mutations in two genes causing ALS, namely TARDBP and FUS. 

Matthew Kiernan, PhD, DSc, FRACP, FAHMS, is the Bushell Chair of Neurology and director, discovery and translation at the Brain & Mind Centre at the University of Sydney. In addition, Matthew is professor of neurology at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry (BMJ Journals, United Kingdom).

He is president of the Australian & New Zealand Association of Neurologists. chair of the Motor Neurone Disease Research Institute of Australia, and also serves as president of the Australian Brain Foundation, allocating funds to research and medical education for the treatment and prevention of neurological disorders. Matthew also runs the Multidisciplinary Motor Neurone Disease Clinic at the Brain and Mind Centre and is a member of the steering committee that developed and launched the Australian Motor Neurone Disease Registry.

Michelle L. Hastings, PhD, is the Pfizer Upjohn Research Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Michigan Medical School, professor of medicinal chemistry in the College of Pharmacy, and director of the M-RNA Therapeutics Initiative in the Center for RNA Biomedicine. Michelle received her PhD from Marquette University, trained as a post-doctoral fellow at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, and was professor and director of the Center for Genetic Diseases at the Chicago Medical School, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science before joining the University of Michigan in 2023. Research in her lab focuses on understanding the genetic and molecular basis of disease and discovering therapeutics based on targeting or utilizing RNA. Work in her lab has resulted in the discovery of new treatment approaches for diseases such as cystic fibrosis, Usher syndrome, Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s disease, and Batten disease. This work is been supported by federal and private funding sources. Michelle is a member of numerous editorial and scientific advisory boards and committed to the advancement of science through her work with scientific societies. She is passionate about education and training and dedicated to increasing diversity in the STEM fields.

Kevin Eggan, PhD, joined BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc., in October 2020 and serves as group vice president, head of research and early development. He is responsible for the execution of BioMarin’s discovery research programs, helping to shape the vision and long-term growth of the company through the oversight of a research pipeline of first- or best-in-class therapies.

Prior to joining BioMarin, Kevin served as a tenured professor in the department of stem cell and regenerative biology at Harvard University, director of stem cell biology for the Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research at the Broad Institute, and an institute member of the Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard.

Kevin has garnered international recognition for his seminal work in stem cell biology and a number of high-profile awards for his creativity and productivity, including the MacArthur Foundation “Genius Grant” in 2006, and named one of 50 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Early Career Scientists.

Kevin has published 130 scientific articles and holds 13 patents. He made a significant impact in the field by publishing two prestigious papers in Cell Stem Cell and Science in 2008; the first describes the discovery that motor neurons derived from human embryonic stem cells are susceptible to the toxic effect of glial cells harboring an ALS mutation, and the latter showed how iPSCs generated from adult skin cells of ALS patients can be differentiated into motor neurons. In addition, he has served on the Scientific Advisory Boards of Iperian, Roche, and Angelini Pharma.

Kevin earned a BS degree in microbiology and immunology from the University of Illinois and a PhD in biology from MIT, where he focused on cloning, stem cells, and reprogramming after nuclear transfer under the guidance of genetics pioneer Rudolf Jaenisch, PhD. He remained in the Jaenisch lab for a one-year post-doctoral position at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, where he conducted a study with Nobel laureate Richard Axel, MD.

Sudhir Agrawal, PhD, FRSC is a visiting professor in the department of medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, a member of the Business Advisory Board of Harvard Medical School’s Initiative for RNA Medicine, and an advisory board member for Lytix Biopharma. Sudhir is founder and member of Arnay Sciences LLC, as well as founder of Idera Pharmaceuticals where he held various leadership roles within the company, including chairman, CEO, president of research, and chief scientific officer. 

Sudhir’s research interests focus on the discovery and development of nucleic acid therapeutics, including antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs). He has edited four books about oligonucleotides and antisense technology, published hundreds of research papers, and is listed as a co-inventor of more than 400 patents worldwide.

Michael (Mike) Hutton, PhD, joined Eli Lilly as chief scientific officer for neurodegenerative disease in 2009 and was promoted to his current position, vice president, neurodegeneration research, in 2018. He is now based at Lilly Research Laboratories in Indianapolis and leads Lilly’s drug discovery for Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease and ALS. Lilly’s AD portfolio currently has eight experimental therapies in clinical development that target amyloid, tau and symptom relief. Prior to joining Lilly, Mike worked at Merck (two years) and at the Mayo Clinic Jacksonville as professor of neuroscience (11 years). During his time at the Mayo Clinic, his team played a major role in determining the causes of fronto-temporal dementia (FTD) with the discovery mutations in tau (MAPT) and progranulin (GRN) and the mechanism by which these lead to neurodegeneration. Mike received the Potamkin (2000) and Metlife (2001) Prizes for his work on AD and FTD. He has published more than 200 papers in peer-reviewed journals and is a regular speaker at international conferences on neurodegenerative conditions.

Luc Dochez, PharmD, is a managing partner at DROIA Genetic Diseases and a partner at DROIA Oncology Ventures. He is a (co)-founder of biotech companies such as Montis Biosciences, Pharvaris, and Vico Therapeutics. He was CEO of Tusk Therapeutics from May 2015 until its acquisition by Roche in September 2018. He joined Tusk from Prosensa Holding N.V. where he served as chief business officer and senior vice president of business development for seven years until its acquisition by BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. Earlier in his career, Luc served as vice president of business development at TiGenix, director of business development at Methexis Genomics, and a consultant at Arthur D. Little. 

Luc holds a PharmD degree and a postgraduate degree in business economics from the University of Leuven (Belgium) and an MBA from Vlerick Management School (Belgium). Luc serves on the boards of directors of Erytech, Vico Therapeutics, Montis Biosciences, Volastra, and QurAlis.

Laia Crespo, PhD, joined Sanofi Ventures in 2018 as a partner. She focuses on biotech investments and company creation. Prior to Sanofi, she served as investment director for Ysios Capital, where she led investments and served on the board of multiple early stage biotech companies. Earlier in her career, Laia was part of the European New Business Development team of Janssen-Cilag, a pharmaceutical company part of the Johnson & Johnson group, where she assessed commercial and scientific licensing opportunities. Previously she worked as a researcher in the UK at Spirogen (now AstraZeneca), Medivir, and UCB-Celltech.

Laia’s active investments include Eligo Bioscience, Muna Therapeutics, NodThera, OMass Therapeutics, QurAlis, T-Therapeutics, and Therini Bio. Previous investments and board roles include Lava Therapeutics (LVTX).

Laia earned a PhD with honors and master’s in science in chemistry from the University of Barcelona, where she also earned her undergraduate degree in chemistry. She holds an MBA from the Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, where she focused on biotechnology, healthcare, and finance.

Johannes Fruehauf, MD, has dedicated much of his professional endeavors to supporting life science entrepreneurship through his work as both a physician and a biotech entrepreneur. He is currently general partner and co-founder of Mission BioCapital, where he sources, diligences, and leads new life science investment transactions and represents the fund on the boards of several portfolio companies. Johannes is also the founder and president of LabCentral and BioLabs, the largest provider of laboratory co-working space for startups nationwide, currently serving more than 300 startups which, as of 2019, account for more than 20 percent of all Seed and Series A venture capital invested in life sciences in the US.

After receiving his doctorate from the University of Heidelberg, Johannes practiced medicine (internal medicine and OB/Gyn) for several years in Germany before coming to Boston for post-doctoral training at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center/Harvard Medical School. He is the author of more than 30 peer reviewed publications and is named inventor on nine issued patents on drug delivery and RNAi-based therapeutics.

Cillian King, PhD, is a managing director at EQT Life Sciences, one of Europe’s leading life sciences investors, where he manages the LSP Dementia Fund.

Prior to joining EQT Life Sciences, Cillian was an investment manager at Swanbridge Capital, a venture fund focused on early stage life sciences companies. He currently serves on the boards of Muna Therapeutics and Sairopa, and is a past board member of Pan Cancer T and Allero Therapeutics (exited). 

Cillian was trained at VU University (Amsterdam, NL) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, US) and holds degrees in molecular biology and a PhD in molecular neuroscience.

Anne Whitaker is a seasoned healthcare executive and director with more than 30 years of extensive leadership and commercialization experience in pharmaceuticals, biotech, consumer products, and medical devices. She currently serves as managing partner of Anne Whitaker Group, LLC, a life science board and private equity advisory firm. She has held senior-level executive leadership roles at Sanofi, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Bausch Health, and multiple CEO roles for private and public development-stage companies.

Anne is currently the chair of Aerami Therapeutics, where she was the company’s CEO from 2018-2020. Anne serves as an independent director of  Orasure Technologies  (NASDAQ: OSUR), Faron Pharmaceuticals (AIM: FARN), Caladrius Biosciences (NASDAQ: CLBS), ErgoMed Plc (LSE:ERGO), Nykode Therapeutics ASA, Curio Digital Therapeutics, Trinity Life Science Partners and Bryn Pharmaceuticals.

Anne has been recognized in the pharmaceutical industry by Fierce Pharma as one of the top 25 Most Influential People in BioPharma in 2012 and 2013, and in 2014 as one of the top 25 Most Influential Women in BioPharma. She was recognized in 2020 by PharmaVoice as one of the Top 100 most Inspiring Leaders in Healthcare and by Women, Inc. as one of the most Influential Corporate Directors in 2019. She is a member of Women Corporate Directors, International Women’s Forum and OnBoardNC. She holds a B.S. in chemistry from the University of North Alabama.

Amy Schulman is a managing partner at Polaris Partners, focusing on investments in healthcare companies. She is currently executive chair of Lyndra Therapeutics, where she was co-founder and the company’s initial CEO, as well as SQZ Biotech. Amy represents Polaris as a director of Cyclerion (NASDAQ: CYCN), Dewpoint Therapeutics, Kallyope, Volastra, Thirty Madison, and ByHeart. She joined Polaris in 2014, assuming the role of CEO of the Polaris-backed Arsia Therapeutics (now Eagle Pharmaceuticals). She also manages the LS Polaris Innovation Fund. 

Prior to joining Polaris, Amy was the general counsel of Pfizer, president of Pfizer Nutrition, and was instrumental in its $11.85B sale to Nestle in 2012. Soon after, she became the president of Pfizer Consumer Healthcare. 

Amy has received numerous awards including Xconomy’s 2017 Newcomer Award, Scientific American’s 2015 Worldview 100 List, Fierce Biotech’s 2014 Top 15 Women in Biotech, and Fortune Magazine’s 2013 50 Most Powerful Women in Business. She is a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School and serves on the board of directors of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ALNY).

Hagen Cramer,  Ph.D., is a renowned expert in all chemistry-related aspects of oligonucleotide therapeutic development. He has been working in the biotech industry for more than 20 years spanning discovery, development, and manufacturing of oligonucleotide-based therapeutics. 

Early in his career, Hagen worked with Gemini Technologies and Ridgeway Biosystems on the discovery of 2-5A antisense for the treatment of a variety of cancers and viral diseases. In 2005, Hagen joined Girindus, which was later acquired by Nitto Denko Avecia, where he headed the process development department, eventually becoming director of operations to advance cGMP manufacturing of RNA therapeutics through the clinical stages of development for a variety of sponsors. Just prior to joining QurAlis, Hagen was at Wave Life Sciences where he was responsible for securing drug substance and drug product for its clinical pipeline of stereo-defined oligonucleotide therapeutics targeting diseases affecting the central nervous system. Other responsibilities included heading Wave’s process validation efforts and being a main contributor for writing regulatory documents. Hagen received his PhD in chemistry under the guidance and mentorship of Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Pfleiderer in 1995 from the University of Konstanz, Germany, and then conducted postdoctoral work at the National Institutes of Health. He has published 25 peer-reviewed papers including four book chapters, holds four patents, and has authored one book.

Vikas Sharma, Ph.D., brings more than 15 years of specialized experience in business and corporate development activities across the biotechnology and pharmaceutical landscapes. He has led multiple complex licensing deals and capital market transactions. Vikas is responsible for partnering of strategic assets including in-licensing and out-licensing, strategy, and operational activities.

Before joining QurAlis, Vikas was vice president and head of business development at BioXcel Therapeutics, where he was responsible for all business and corporate development activities. Prior to that, he played an instrumental role in leading licensing deals at MacroGenics with companies such as Incyte Corporation, Roche, and Janssen Pharmaceuticals. Prior to joining MacroGenics, Vikas served as the director, business development at Rexahn Pharmaceuticals where he led the due diligence and execution of licensing deals, M&A, as well as capital markets transactions. Previously, he served as manager, business development, for MedImmune (the global biologics business of AstraZeneca), where he executed multiple licensing transactions. In addition, he served in business development roles with increasing responsibilities at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Bradley Pharmaceuticals, and Advanced Bioadjuvant. He serves on the board of GO Therapeutics. Vikas earned a PhD and master’s degree in immunology from Rutgers University. He completed a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in microbiology from the University of Mumbai, India. 

Daniel (Dan) Elbaum, PhD, is a drug discovery and development leader with nearly three decades of experience. He thrives on making new discoveries and connections and has made significant contributions in the fields of oncology, inflammation, and orphan diseases. He has worked in large organizations including Pfizer and Amgen, as well as several start-up companies including Kinetix Pharmacueticals and FoldRx Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Pfizer). He was senior director, chemistry and portfolio management, and co-head of the research and non-clinical development group at Retrophin. To keep abreast of cutting-edge research, he actively maintains close ties with the academic and start-up communities.

Dan earned his PhD and undergraduate degrees in chemistry from Harvard University, and conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Pennsylvania. An inventor on more than 25 patents and an author on more than 15 peer-reviewed publications, Dan is a mentor in the Kindle Mentors Program at Boston University and a longstanding member of the American Chemical Society and the Association for the Advancement of Science.

Kasper Roet, PhD, is CEO and co-founder of QurAlis Corporation. He is also co-founder and serves on the board of directors of EnClear Therapies. Kasper is a passionate neuroscientist and therapy developer who specializes in gene therapies and stem cell technology-based precision medicine solutions for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other neurodegenerative diseases. Kasper’s work at the Netherlands Brain Bank emphasized the need for effective treatments for patients and their families. Upon seeing the incredible achievements in stem cell modeling and gene discoveries in ALS, Kasper realized that this is the time to make a real difference for patients.

He decided to move to Boston from the Netherlands with his wife, and work with two visionary leaders in ALS stem cell disease modeling, Harvard professors Clifford Woolf and Kevin Eggan with whom he co-founded QurAlis to bring breakthrough precision therapies for ALS and other neurodegenerative diseases. Kasper was trained by industry thought leaders at Johnson & Johnson along with forward-thinking scientific and business thought leaders at Harvard University. Kasper obtained his PhD degree at the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience and the Free University of Amsterdam and obtained a master’s degree with honors from the University of Amsterdam. Kasper was awarded the Milton Safenowitz postdoctoral fellowship from the ALS Association. With QurAlis, Kasper won two Golden Tickets (Amgen 2017 and Pfizer 2018), became a JLabs member in 2018, won the Fierce15 Biotech award in 2020, and was awarded the 2022 Henri Termeer Transatlantic Connections Award.