Advances in Drug Discovery & Development 2023

Joshua Smith received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University in 2011 on a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Award, joining the IBM T. J. Watson Research Center as a Research Staff Member. With a background and training in low-dimensional nanoelectronics, Dr. Smith developed a growing interest in biomedical engineering and biotechnology, and in 2013 he helped establish the Translational Systems Biology and Nanobiotechnology Group at IBM Research and later managed the Molecular Health Solutions Group, overseeing R & D efforts for microfluidic devices aimed at separation and detection of single molecules for advanced biomedical diagnostics and preparative technology solutions. After serving as the technical assistant to the Vice President of Healthcare and Life Sciences at IBM Research from Nov 2020 to Jan 2022, he joined the Accelerated Discovery team focused on holistic acceleration of scientific discovery workflows for healthcare and materials research. Dr. Smith has held an Adjunct Assistant Professor position at Columbia University in the Department of Electrical Engineering and is an IBM Master Inventor with more than 80 filed patent applications and over 50 granted patents. He has co-authored 22 peer-reviewed journal articles, and his research has been highlighted by Forbes, CNN Money, IEEE Spectrum, and Pharma Technology Focus among other media outlets as well as on-stage at TED.

Dr. Chun Wu is a tenured associate professor with a joint appointment in the Departments of Chemistry & Biochemistry and the Biological Biomedical Sciences at Rowan University. He obtained his PhD from University of Delaware where he developed protein force fields and conducted molecular dynamics simulations of amyloidogenic peptides. He then trained at the University of California Davis and Santa Barbara as a postdoctoral researcher studying the modeling of oligomers of amyloidogenic peptides. At Rowan, using genomic datasets his lab is developing a novel evolution theory (near-neutral balanced selection theory/NNBST) not only to best explain the molecular evolution of SARS-COV-2 and other pathogens but also to accurately identify hotspots in their genome for developing first/next generation vaccines and drugs to treat these infectious diseases; using molecular docking, homology modeling and molecular dynamics simulations, his computer aided drug design (CADD) lab is investigating the binding interactions between various protein receptors and ligands toward novel drug design. Working collaboratively with experimental groups, the Wu lab aims to discover novel protein receptors and small molecules as potential anti-cancer agents, antiviral agents, anti-neural-disorder agents, and to optimize ionic liquids for protein and nucleic acid stabilization. With over 92 peer-reviewed publications, he has achieved a h-index of 35 and total citations of 8813+. His contributions to the field of computational biochemistry, molecular modeling and simulation and CADD are widely recognized by his peers. He has been invited to present at national and international meetings, and top Chinese institutes, and he was named the World Class Professor by the Indonesia Ministry of Education and Culture in 2021.

My laboratory has undertaken studies on the PI 3-kinase (PI3K) signalling system that have defined mechanisms and physiological processes relevant to cancer, immunology disorders and overgrowth syndromes that these enzymes control. Our research has contributed to the development of approved medicines. We discovered PI3Kdelta which we took from gene cloning and preclinical modelling to the generation of PI3Kdelta inhibitors and the development of clinical strategies to inhibit this PI3K isoform. These studies underpinned the approval of PI3Kdelta-inhibitors for leukaemia and their emerging use in solid tumour immunotherapy. With my collaborators, we developed a unique genetic approach to create an unparalleled series of mouse models that allowed to uncover the roles of multiple PI3K family members in human biology, and to faithfully predict organismal PI3K inhibitor activity. Ongoing studies include the generation of novel PI3K modulators and cancer prevention. B.V. is an elected member of EMBO (European Molecular Biology Organisation) and of the UK Academy of Medical Sciences.

I completed my PhD at The University of Auckland, New Zealand, focusing on designing and characterising small molecule inhibitors that target the PI3-Kinase signalosome. This involved a range of biochemical and biophysical assays, structure-based ligand design, virtual screening, and cellular assays. I then joined Prof. Bart Vanhaesebroeck’s laboratory to work on small molecule modulators of PI3-Kinase, and received a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Personal Fellowship to support this work. My current work focuses on characterising these small molecule modulators with biochemical and structural approaches, and trying to understand how they modulate enzyme structure and activity.

David's career has been dedicated to applying early stage in silico technologies and data science to drive drug discovery research forward, with a primary aim of increasing the likelihood of achieving clinical success for patients. His expertise lies in harnessing computational tools and data-driven approaches to expedite the drug development process, optimizing its efficiency and efficacy. By leveraging cutting-edge in silico methodologies, David endeavours to bridge the gap between research and tangible patient outcomes, ultimately bringing novel and promising treatments to those in need with greater precision and success.

Carla's illustrious career encompasses both the Pharmaceutical and Fine Chemicals R&D sectors. Her exceptional expertise extends across the entire Drug Discovery & Development process, where she has demonstrated her prowess in designing biologically active molecules, deciphering intricate mechanisms of action and metabolic pathways, and adeptly creating predictive models to drive process improvement. With a keen eye for innovation and a deep understanding of scientific intricacies, Carla consistently strives to optimize and elevate drug development, fostering advancements that hold the promise of transforming healthcare and enriching the lives of patients worldwide

Jack joined SCIEX in 2019 as a technical specialist, his main responsibilities include the creation and proliferation of technical marketing content such as application notes and presentations as well as having a strong focus on the pharma market and small molecule analysis. Prior to joining SCIEX, Jack was employed by a CRO working mainly in small molecule method development and validation, with an emphasis on LC and LC-MS analysis.

Michael Brewer is the Director, Global Principal Consultant, Regulatory for the BioProduction Group (BPG) at Thermo Fisher Scientific. In this role, Michael is responsible for providing global support to BioProduction customers and serving as the regulatory thought leader and expert across all technology areas within BPD. Prior to moving to this role, he led the Pharma Analytics business, a team responsible for development and commercialization of testing applications for Microbiology, Analytical Sciences and Quality control. The products are fully integrated, solutions for Bacterial and Fungal identification, Mycoplasma and Viral detection and host cell DNA and protein quantitation. Michael has over 30 years’ experience in the Biopharma industry, including, Scios, Synergen and Amgen in a variety of roles including Discovery Research, Analytical Sciences and Quality Control. Prior to joining Thermo Fisher Scientific, he led a group at Amgen that developed qualified, validated and implemented molecular methods for host cell DNA quantitation, contaminant (Mycoplasma, Virus and Bacteria) detection, contaminant identification, strain typing and genotypic verification of production cell lines. Additionally, his group supported regulatory submissions including IND, NDA, and CMC updates, Regulatory inspections, NC/CAPA investigations, contamination investigations and remediation and developed regulatory strategy for implementation of new methods.

Dr. Michiel Fokkelman (Head of High Throughput Screening, Crown Bioscience Netherlands) completed his PhD in tumor cell biology at Leiden University, in which he applied lab automation and high content imaging for multiple screening projects. He then joined Charles River Laboratories where he worked as a scientist in Early Discovery. His research focused on drug discovery in a broad range of therapeutic areas and assay modalities, applying different detection technologies for HTS and profiling projects in both small molecule and large molecule domain. In 2021, he joined CBNL as Head of High Throughput Screening to expand the screening capacity & capabilities and establish a team in HTS. For this symposium, we will present how we used lab automation to establish a versatile and automated platform for screening in 3D assays using high content imaging. The platform is compatible with cell lines, organoids, and patient tissues, and provides reproducible and highly consistent results.

Brian D. Lamon, Ph.D., joined Caris Life Sciences in September 2020 and currently serves as Senior Vice President, Chief Business Officer and Head of BioPharma Business Development. He is responsible for developing the company’s partnering and business development strategy and translating that strategy into actionable and achievable goals for the broader Caris organization. Dr. Lamon came to Caris with over 15 years of experience from large pharma and academia. He previously worked for Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) as Vice President, Development Lead, Genitourinary (GU) Malignancies, Oncology Development. Prior to that, he held several leadership roles in clinical development and business development, including Head, Clinical Collaborations & External Evaluations, Chair of the joint development of immuno-oncology collaboration assets in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, and leadership of the Search & Evaluation team responsible for the identification and assessment of external clinical stage assets for clinical collaborations, licensing and M&A. Dr. Lamon received his BA in Biology and French from Lafayette College and earned his PhD in Pharmacology from New York Medical. Prior to joining industry, he was Assistant Dean of Research Development and Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Weill Medical College of Cornell University in New York, and he remains active on the faculty as Assistant Professor (courtesy appointment).

For the past four years Alexander Brown has developed high throughput genome editing technologies for Synthego Corporation. He holds a PhD in Cell and Molecular Biology from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. His postdoctoral research at Stanford University focused on molecular mechanisms of neurodegeneration and chemotherapy resistance.

Mike Ward is a well-respected biopharma industry commentator and analyst having been over the past 40 year an award-winning journalist and editor, working for many of the leading industry publications. He has been advisor to government and pan-national organizations and has contributed to industry reports published by EY and Deloitte.

Matthew Arnold serves as a research analyst and content strategist. He joined Clarivate after covering the life science industries as a journalist for more than a decade. He has followed the evolution of pharma multichannel engagement from the dawn of DTC advertising to the advent of remote care and digital medicine.