Effective Transition from Academia to Industry

#WESTtransition

Learn the critical skills necessary for a smooth and effective transition from academia to industry.

Join us for this annual event to hear lessons learned from a variety of individual experiences.

Panel discussion moderated by Lauren Celano, Founder and CEO of Propel Careers.

Panel Discussion and Networking with the following women:

Lauren Celano, MBA, Co-Founder and CEO, Propel Careers
Lauren has nearly a decade of experience working with emerging drug discovery and development biotechnology companies. Prior to Propel Careers, she was a senior account manager for SNBL USA, where she worked with emerging biotech companies in Europe and the US to help characterize and advance their drug molecules. Prior to that, she held business development positions with Aptuit and Quintiles, where she focused on UND enabling studies to advance therapeutics from discovery into the clinic. At Absorption Systems, Lauren held positions as a marketing manager and account manager managing clients in the north eastern United States. She has a B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Gettysburg College and a MBA with a focus in the health sector and entrepreneurship from Boston University.

Andrea Habura, Ph.D., R&D Scientist, Next Advance, Inc
Dr. Habura is a scientist-inventor with a passion for solving problems. She is an R&D scientist at Next Advance, Inc., where she designs and develops computer-controlled equipment for biology research, and she is also intensely interested in using 21st century manufacturing techniques and hardware to create specialized devices for basic science. Although she was educated at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, it took some time for the engineering mindset to completely manifest itself. Prior to her move into industry, she spent 15 years as an academic researcher and a tenured government scientist, specializing in the identification, ecology and evolution of eukaryotic microbes. She also held a position as a faculty member in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at the University at Albany, and she continues to serve as the Information Officer for the International Society of Protistologists.

Mary Rose Scozzafava, Ph.D., Partner, WilmerHale
Dr. Mary Rose Scozzafava’s practice focuses on helping clients identify and protect their intellectual property with an emphasis on strategically building their patent portfolios and intellectual property litigation. She is an experienced attorney who has represented a variety of technology clients, particularly those in the alternative energy and medical fields. Over the course of her career, she has advised on all aspects of intellectual property and has represented clients in patent litigation in Federal Courts and before the International Trade Commission. She is a partner in the firm's Intellectual Property and Litigation/Controversy Departments, and a member of the Intellectual Property Litigation and Nanotechnology Practice Groups. She joined the firm in 2001. Prior to joining the legal profession, Dr. Scozzafava held a research position in the Materials Science and Engineering Department at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Susan Ward, Ph.D., Executive Advisor to Life Science Companies
Beginning her career as a prominent researcher in the pain field, Dr. Ward led the team that discovered new chemistries and the first known antagonists at cannabinoid receptors while at Sterling-Winthrop. She joined Wyeth Research as VP, Global CNS Disorders, becoming the first woman to head an R&D facility in the UK. Promoted to Wyeth's Executive team as head of Global Project Management, she pioneered project management capability in drug discovery and oversaw the development of 30+ products, including global approvals for the blockbusters Enbrel, Effexor ER, and Protonix, and for important first in class drugs such as Rapamune. In 2000, Dr. Ward joined Millennium Pharmaceutical as Snr VP Strategy with line responsibility of the company’s revenue-generating technology platform. She helped build Infinity Pharmaceutical, developed the initial research strategy for Alnylam Pharmaceutical, and led the creation of an innovative, integrated discovery development platform for a top 5 Pharmaceutical company. Dr. Ward has extensive experience in developing strategies with technology companies, and most recently with rare disease foundations in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Dr. Ward earned her Bachelors, Masters and PhD degrees in Pharmacology from the University of Manchester, UK. She has over 50 articles in peer-reviewed journals, holds 9 patents, and is a frequent invited speaker. Dr. Ward is the Independent Director for Provasculon Inc., serves on the business advisory Boards of Cellanyx Diagnostics and Ceiba Solutions, and is a mentor and guest Professor for MBA students at Boston University.

Alison M. O’Neill, MD, Senior Medical Director, Sanofi Oncology
Dr. O’Neill is currently the global clinical lead for Jevtana at Sanofi Oncology where she provides clinical development expertise for a large post-marketing program across multiple oncology indications. She began her career as an academic Neuro-oncologist, with a clinical research focus on first-in-man and early stage studies of novel therapeutics for the treatment of primary brain tumors. Her initial foray into industry came when she joined the management team at TransMolecular, a small biotechnology company developing malignant glioma therapeutics. Four years ago she moved to Sanofi Oncology, initially as part of the Strategy and Portfolio Management group where she managed the cross-functional evaluation of external opportunities and early research alliances, before taking on her current role in late-stage clinical development. Dr. O’Neill has a BA and MD from the University of Chicago and completed her residency training at the University of Michigan and fellowship training at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

Date and Time:
February 6, 2014
6:00 - 9:00 PM

Location:

The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
7 Cambridge Center, Monadnock Room, Cambridge, MA 02142

Map and Parking Info

We appreciate The Broad Institute donating the use of their event space.