Our
People

Dr. Musunuri is a seasoned biotech veteran with about 30+ years of results-driven experience advancing and commercializing a diverse portfolio of products. Prior to co-founding Ocugen in 2013, Dr. Musunuri held leadership roles at numerous companies ranging from “Big Pharma” to novel start-up biotechs. After a long tenure at Pfizer, he founded Nuron Biotech, Inc., which he grew to a commercial company in less than three years, serving as President and CEO. Dr. Musunuri spent nearly fifteen years at Pfizer, where he gained extensive product launch and life-cycle management experience, playing a key role as Global Operations Team Leader for the most successful launch in vaccine history, Prevnar 13^®.

Dr. Musunuri obtained his PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Connecticut and an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. He is a recipient of the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of Connecticut’s School of Pharmacy and serves on the Board of Trustees at Woods System of Care.

Kristen brings a wealth of experience and expertise in human resources (HR), with background in talent acquisition, organizational development, and strategic HR planning. Her experience gleaned from years in the pharmaceutical industry are critical to navigating the rapid growth and innovation characteristic to biotech. Her diverse expertise provides her with a multifaceted perspective on HR strategy and implementation in both corporate and nonprofit settings. In her role at Ocugen, Kristen works closely with senior leadership to align HR strategies with the company’s mission and vision, ensuring that the organization attracts, retains, and develops top talent in the highly competitive biotech sector. Kristen obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing from West Chester University and Master of Education in Instructional Systems Design from Penn State University.

Dr. Genead is a physician-executive with more than 20 years of experience advancing ophthalmology, gene therapy, and retinal disease programs from discovery through global registrational trials and commercial launch. Prior to joining Ocugen, Dr. Genead served as Co-Founder and CEO of Aviceda Therapeutics, advancing AVD-104 into Phase 2/3 development for geographic atrophy, and currently serves as Co-Founder, President, and Board Chair of Arionix Therapeutics. He previously held the role of Chief Medical Officer and Executive Vice President at GenSight Biologics, where he directed the global Phase 3 registrational program for gene therapy in Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy, and earlier led ophthalmology and retinal gene therapy programs at Biogen and at Allergan. As a retina specialist and principal investigator at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Dr. Genead contributed to the clinical trials for retina drug development.

Dr. Genead earned his MD magna cum laude and his MSc in Ophthalmology Medicine and Surgery, completed retina fellowships at the Medical College of Wisconsin and the University of Illinois at Chicago, and completed the Global Healthcare Leaders executive program at Harvard Medical School. He is named inventor on multiple foundational patents, and an author of more than 30 peer-reviewed publications.

Abhi Gupta brings over 20 years of experience across commercial strategy, gene therapy, and corporate development in the biopharmaceutical industry. He has led commercialization planning for transformative rAAV gene therapies and played a pivotal role in building Pfizer’s $5.5B gene therapy portfolio across neuromuscular, hematologic, and cardiovascular indications.

Before joining Ocugen, Abhi served as SVP and Head of Cell and Gene Therapies at Syneos Health, where he led a 200+ person global organization spanning R&D, clinical, and commercial functions, and delivered sustained double-digit growth. He previously held leadership roles at Pfizer, Regeneron, and Johnson & Johnson, with a track record of successful product launches, strategic partnerships, and business development initiatives.

Abhi holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Virginia and an M.B.A. from NYU’s Stern School of Business.

Mrs. Johnson-Greene has more than 20 years of healthcare experience. She most recently served as Chief Operating Officer at the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine (ARM) where she led ARM’s operations, finance, and global expansion initiatives to advance the development of engineered cell therapies and genetic medicines and promote access for all patients. Prior to her role at ARM, she was the Vice President of Sales and Qualified Treatment Centers (QTC) at Genetix Biotherapeutics (formerly known as bluebird bio), where she built and scaled pre-commercial U.S. sales and QTC operations teams to support the launch of the ZYNTEGLO™ and SKYSONA™ gene therapy brands. Mrs. Johnson-Greene also held senior leadership positions at Spark Therapeutics and supported the launch of LUXTERNA®. Previously, she held roles in finance, commercial operations, and sales in both North and South America for AstraZeneca. Mrs. Johnson-Greene began her career in strategic consulting with Accenture’s strategy practice.

Mrs. Johnson-Greene earned her MBA in Finance and Strategic Management from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and her undergraduate degree in Electrical Computer Engineering from Drexel University. She serves on the Drexel University Biomed Dean’s Executive Advisory Council and is a guest lecturer for biomedical graduate students.

Ramesh is a seasoned and experienced finance professional who has held executive-level finance positions with both big, public multinational and private, mid-size organizations, as well as a private equity firm and Ernst & Young, covering the Americas, Europe, and Asia.

He started his career in India with INDAL, part of global aluminum giant Alcan and then worked for Ernst & Young before emigrating to Canada, where he was Controller at a global flexi packaging company Winpak and Controller with Magna, a multi-billion dollar worldwide leading auto part manufacturer. He then served as Canada Regional CFO and Controller at Xerox (ACS) HR Solutions, where he was responsible for the entire finance function including audit and all compliance related matters. In the U.S., he was CFO Americas at CG Power Systems (part of Crompton Greaves Ltd.) and VP of Finance at Lenox Corporation where he played a pivotal role in the company’s sale between two private equity firms and was directly involved with the acquisition and integration of two companies under the Lenox fold.

Most recently, Ramesh was Vice President & Corporate Controller at Tecomet, a private equity-backed medical device manufacturing solutions provider.

Ramesh has successfully implemented various ERP systems including SAP, JD Edwards, and Oracle Financials. He holds a CPA (USA), CMA (USA), and CGA/CPA (Canada) and obtained his MBA in Finance.

Dr. Vijay Tammara brings over 32 years of global regulatory leadership to Ocugen, with deep expertise in biotechnology, biosimilars, 505(b)(2), and complex regulatory submissions. He made significant contributions to the approval of 9 Marketing Authorizations (BLAs and NDAs), 2 Biosimilar MAs in emerging markets, 3 ANDAs, 12 Orphan Drug Designations, 7 Qualified Infectious Drug Product Designations, and filed over 62 INDs and got them cleared in first review cycle with no clinical holds. He has successfully led regulatory strategy and operations across the U.S., EU, Latin America, and Asia—including Japan, China, and South Korea.
His experience spans interactions with major health authorities which include FDA, EMA, MHRA, PMDA, NMPA, ANVISA, COFEPRIS, KFDA(MFDS), and others; and covers clinical regulatory pathways such as clinical development strategy, priority and unmet medical need designations such as breakthrough therapy, fast track, and RMAT; Orphan Drug Designations, BA/BE studies, and GMP compliance. Vijay also brings a strong technical foundation in technology transfer and validation.
Prior to joining Ocugen, he held senior advisory and leadership roles at the FDA and multiple life sciences companies such as Sanofi, Wyeth/Pfizer, and Merck, in addition to leading his own consulting firm, VRT Pharma Consulting.
Dr. Tammara earned his Ph.D. in Pharmaceutics and Pharmacokinetics from the University of Louisiana at Monroe.

Paul Staid joins Ocugen as Executive Vice President of Operations, bringing more than 20 years of leadership experience in biologics and cell and gene therapy technical operations. He joins from Bristol Myers Squibb where for over 16 years he held leadership roles in manufacturing launch, scale up, and orchestration of reliable global supply chains, with a CAR-T focus for the last 5 years. Paul has a proven track record delivering CMC & supply strategies, reliable external and internal manufacturing operations, robust inspection-ready quality management standards, and integrated digital systems that collectively achieve reliable product delivery at scale. At Ocugen, he will lead Operations to strengthen execution and support the company’s transition toward regulatory approvals and commercialization.

Paul holds a B.S in Mechanical Engineering and an M.B.A. from Cornell University.

Arun Upadhyay, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer, and Head of Research, Development and Medical, drives Ocugen’s innovation and product development. He leads science and operations, creating and implementing fit-for-purpose strategies that enable scientific and business solutions. He oversees the development of various product modalities, such as biologics, vaccines, cell and gene therapy, and regenerative medicine and is responsible for all product development activities including discovery, proof of concept, preclinical, bioanalyses, CMC, clinical, safety, medical support, and global regulatory submissions across entire R&D pipeline.

Dr. Upadhyay has over 20 years of experience across the biotechnology industry, academia, and government institutions, focused on discovery research, innovation, and product development. He successfully led multidisciplinary R&D functions including discovery, preclinical and clinical development of mAbs, bispecific, vaccines, and cell and gene therapy-based products. He led cutting-edge molecular and cell biology research contributing to the development of new therapeutics for infectious, ophthalmic, and degenerative diseases. He managed the team responsible for process and analytical development, formulation design for biologics and gene therapy-based products, tech-transfer, scale-up, manufacturing of drug product, and supply logistics to clinical sites. He has worked extensively in drug development consisting of lead identification and target validation—ranging from small molecules to biologics and advanced cell and gene therapy modalities. Prior to joining Ocugen, Dr. Upadhyay led ophthalmic drug development and delivery research at the University of Colorado Denver in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences. There he was instrumental in designing therapeutics for ophthalmic diseases; engineering biopolymers scaffold; and developing novel approaches, such as design of cell and tissues specific targeting peptides and nanosystems, for sustained and targeted drug delivery systems for peptide, proteins, RNA, and DNA to cells and tissues. Dr. Upadhyay led engineering of polymeric micro and nano carriers’ systems and adjuvant approaches to encapsulate vaccine antigens to enhance immunogenicity and protective immunity.

Dr. Upadhyay received his PhD in Biotechnology from the National Institute of Immunology and an MSc in Biotechnology from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. He was awarded the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists’ “Innovation in Nanotechnology Award” for developing novel ocular drug delivery systems. Dr. Upadhyay has authored more than 40 scientific publications and holds more than 15 patents.

Durgaprasad Annavajjula, Ph.D., has over 30 years of leadership experience in the successfully bringing products from early-stage development to late-stage development including commercialization. He has led product development across a wide range of therapeutic areas such as metabolic disorders, diabetes, bone health, Oncology (cell Therapy), infectious diseases (Traditional Vaccine development), wound healing, and ophthalmic diseases . Dr. Annavajjula pursued a doctorate Degree in synthetic organic chemistry from the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad, India. He subsequently continued his research at Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, USA and University of North Texas, Denton, USA.

Dr. Annavajjula’s most recent professional tenures include holding the positions of Chief Technology Officer at Tactiva Therapeutics to develop strategies to bring TCR based cell therapies towards solid tumors. He was senior Vice President, Research & Development at Stelis Biopharma, India, where he led design and construction of manufacturing facilities to bring biosimilar products to global markets. He held Sr. Vice President position at Kemwell and Technical Director position at Biovel Life Sciences (Ranbaxy) to bring generic formulations and generic version of Vaccines. His previous industrial experience included Infimed Therapeutics, MA for the development of hydrogel based sustained delivery formulations of Biologics and at Collagen Corporation as Senior Scientist on development of Collagen based medical devices for the soft tissue and hard tissue augmentation. He worked on modifying polymers for variety of industrial applications at Stanford Research Institute (SRI), Menlo Park, CA. During his career, He had led setting up various cross-functional teams including, Upstream, Downstream, Analytical Development, Formulation Development, MSAT, pre-clinical, Regulatory, Project Management, and Clinical.

Jyothy has over 20 years’ experience in Biopharmaceutical Research, Quality Assurance and Regulatory Affairs at GlaxoSmithKline and Merck. During her career, she has contributed to the development and global commercialization of early, mid and late phase Biologics including recombinant proteins, monoclonal antibodies, antibody drug conjugates, bispecific & fusion proteins. Jyothy is a trained auditor, led and participated in several GMP audits, hosted regulatory inspections, and led implementation of GMP facilities & audit ready processes.

Prior to joining Ocugen, Jyothy was part of the late phase biologics development team of Global Regulatory affairs at Merck, responsible for global regulatory clinical trial applications for co-formulated Biologics in 40 markets including US, Canada, China & European Union.

Jyothy obtained her MS in Chemistry from Dayalbagh University, Agra, India and M.S. in Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance from Temple University School of Pharmacy, Philadelphia, PA.

Jesse brings over 21 years of experience to Ocugen. He began his tenure at Ocugen as a consultant on computer systems, data management, cyber security, and web development. Now, almost 10 years later, he is the Head of Information Technology and Facilities. With his expertise in IT and a keen eye for detail and precision, Jesse assisted in designing Ocugen’s newest facility in Malvern, PA and has implemented the latest computer-related technologies throughout the building and in employee workstations/workflows. In addition, he built and deployed the Multi-Luminance Mobility Test that is a critical component of the clinical trials for OCU400.

Ms. Castillo has over 20 years of supply chain and logistics experience, having held multiple supply chain leadership roles at a spin-off company of 3M, where she led multiple major acquisitions and integrations for the company. During her tenure at Logistics Planning Services, a privately held transportation and logistics services company, where she served as CEO, the company achieved aggressive growth plans which ultimately resulted in the sale of the business to GlobalTranz, a strategic buyer in the 3PL sector. She stayed on through the transition as Chief Operating Officer and was responsible for all company operations including regional branches in North America and Mexico, delivering $1.6B in revenue before stepping down to pursue new opportunities.

Ms Castillo is committed to the advancement of women and has been named the Vice President of Engagement for AWESOME (Advancing Women’s Excellence in Supply Chain, Operations, Management and Education). She serves on the Boards of The Marvin Companies and the United Way (UWWCE), and serves on the Advisory Board of Fuqua’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Duke University. She received her BS from the University of Minnesota, her Global Executive MBA from Duke Fuqua School of Business and has additional education including a Lean Office Certification from the University of Michigan Engineering Program, six sigma training and Carson School of Management executive training on Mergers and Acquisitions.

Dr. Kompella is an Ocugen Co-founder and a member of the board. He is a Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ophthalmology, and Bioengineering at University of Colorado-Anschutz Medical Campus, with research interests in the areas of drug discovery, drug delivery, and nanotechnology for treating a variety of degenerative, neovascular, and inflammatory disorders including retinitis pigmentosa, age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and cancers. Dr. Kompella is a Fellow of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) and the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) and serves as the Editor-in-Chief for the journal Expert Opinion on Drug Delivery. Also, he is an editor for the journals, Pharmaceutical Research and the Journal of Ocular Pharmacology and Therapeutics. Dr. Kompella is a recipient of the Distinguished Scientist Award (University of Nebraska Medical Center), Distinguished Teacher Award (University of Nebraska Medical Center), and Dean’s Mentoring Award (University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus). He is also a recipient of the ARVO Foundation for Eye Research/Pfizer Ophthalmics/Carl Camras Translational Research Award in Ophthalmology. Dr. Kompella obtained his PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Southern California.

Dr. Musunuri is a seasoned biotech veteran with about 30+ years of results-driven experience advancing and commercializing a diverse portfolio of products. Prior to co-founding Ocugen in 2013, Dr. Musunuri held leadership roles at numerous companies ranging from “Big Pharma” to novel start-up biotechs. After a long tenure at Pfizer, he founded Nuron Biotech, Inc., which he grew to a commercial company in less than three years, serving as President and CEO. Dr. Musunuri spent nearly fifteen years at Pfizer, where he gained extensive product launch and life-cycle management experience, playing a key role as Global Operations Team Leader for the most successful launch in vaccine history, Prevnar 13^®.

Dr. Musunuri obtained his PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Connecticut and an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. He is a recipient of the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of Connecticut’s School of Pharmacy and serves on Board of Advisors at Duke University’s Duke Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

Dr. Junge (John) Zhang is the Founder, President, and CEO of Biopeptek, a company that specializes in the research and development of peptides. Since its founding in 2010, Dr. Zhang has established a company with over 50 experienced scientists and a state-of-the-art facility that is capable of producing high quality custom peptides for research and therapeutic uses. Through his many collaborations with major pharmaceutical companies and research institutions, Dr. Zhang is passionate about research to improve human health.

Prior to founding Biopeptek, Dr. Zhang was with the Janssen Pharmaceutical division of Johnson & Johnson. During his 9-year tenure at J&J, Dr. Zhang held numerous scientific and management positions and led multiple development projects related to three antibody drugs that received FDA approval. Prior to J&J, Dr. Zhang was a Senior Chemist at Eisai USA.

Dr. Zhang earned a Ph.D. in analytical chemistry from Drexel University, a M.S. in chemistry from University of Louisiana, and a B.S. in material science from Wuhan University of Technology in China. Dr. Zhang was born and raised in Qingdao China and immigrated to the United States to pursue his graduate education.

Dr. Satish Chandran is a biotechnology executive with more than 30 years of leadership experience across academic research, early- and mid-stage biotechs, and large pharmaceutical companies. Since 2021 he has served as CEO and Board member of Prodigy Biotech focused on developing microbiome-modulating products for various disease indications. He is the founder of Somahlution, a company focused on developing novel products for cardiac surgery and transplantation, where he served as CEO and Board member from its inception in 2010 until its acquisition by Marizyme, Inc. in 2020. Following the acquisition, Dr. Chandran served as Marizyme’s President and Chief Technology Officer until 2021.

Earlier in his career, Dr. Chandran was Chief Technology Officer at Pfizer Biotherapeutics-OTU, where he led programs in oncology and metabolic diseases. Prior to that, he co-founded Nucleonics, Inc., a company based on his discoveries in RNA interference, serving as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Scientific Officer. He also directed the nucleic acid vaccine group at Wyeth Vaccines, following Wyeth’s acquisition of Apollon, Inc., where he had led the development of nucleic acid-based vaccine candidates.

Dr. Chandran began his career in academic research at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia and has held faculty appointments at Thomas Jefferson University, Blumberg Institute for Viral Hepatitis Research, and North Dakota State University—where he was Director of the Center of Excellence for Biopharmaceutical Research and Development.

Dr. Chandran earned his Ph.D. from Memorial University in Newfoundland, Canada, and completed his post-doctoral fellowship at Fox Chase Cancer Center. He is the author of numerous scientific publications and holds several patents in the fields of vaccines, biologics and medical devices. Dr. Chandran currently serves on the boards of several biotechnology companies, including Prodigy Bio, Lay Sciences, Statera Biopharma, and Avstera.

Blaise Coleman is a forward-thinking, results-driven pharmaceutical executive and board member with deep financial expertise and a proven track record of leading successful transformations.

As President, Chief Executive Officer, and Board Member at Endo—a diversified specialty pharmaceutical company—Mr. Coleman led a multiyear transformation plan. This included the execution of new targeted portfolio and capability growth investments, as well as significant operational improvements that resulted in more than $200 million in annual cost savings. To resolve extensive legacy legal matters, he executed a voluntary Chapter 11 restructuring, successfully resolving all legal and tax matters, significantly reducing debt, and positioning Endo for long-term sustainable value creation. Earlier at Endo, Mr. Coleman served as Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer and as Senior Vice President Global Finance Operations.

Prior to joining Endo, Mr. Coleman held finance leadership roles with AstraZeneca, including Chief Financial Officer, U.S. Diabetes Business. Earlier in his career, he served as the Business Development and Commercial Finance Leader at Centocor, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson.

​Mr. Coleman is a Certified Public Accountant and previously worked as a Manager in the Pharmaceutical Assurance Practice at PwC. He earned a Master of Business Administration at the Duke University Fuqua School of Business and a Bachelor of Science in Accounting at Widener University.

Pat Toomey represented Pennsylvania in the U.S. Senate from 2011 to 2023. As a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee, Senator Toomey helped to develop and pass the 2017 tax reform—the most sweeping tax reform in over 30 years. Capping his twelve-year service on the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, Senator Toomey served as the committee’s senior-most Republican from 2021 through 2023. In that post, he helped recruit and confirm nominees to the nation’s most powerful financial regulatory bodies. He also focused on restoring disciplined monetary policy post-Covid; overseeing all Federal financial regulators; and he developed a blueprint for the regulation of stablecoins.

Senator Toomey previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives for six years. Honoring his pledge to limit himself to three terms, he did not seek re-election to the House in 2004.

In addition to his public service, the senator has also worked in the financial services industry, trading and managing a portfolio of fixed income derivatives first for Chemical Bank then later for Morgan Grenfell. He served as president of the Club for Growth, owned and operated a small restaurant chain in the Lehigh Valley, PA with his brothers, and helped launch a community bank in eastern PA and western NJ.

Senator Toomey has been a frequent guest on CNBC, NBC, Bloomberg, FOX and FOX Business. His editorials have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and The Philadelphia Inquirer, among many other publications.

A 1984 graduate of Harvard University, he lives in the Lehigh Valley, PA with his wife, Kris, and their three children.

Ambassador Joseph W. Westphal is Global Senior Fellow at the Joseph H. Lauder Institute of Management and International Studies at The Wharton School of The University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Westphal is also a Senior Fellow at the Center for Leadership and Change Management at Wharton, Fellow at the National Academy of Public Administration and Non-Resident Fellow at the International Studies Center of the Catholic University of Chile.

Ambassador Westphal has had a long and distinguished career in government and academia.

Dr. Westphal was the U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from March 2014 to January 2017.

Prior to this appointment, Ambassador Westphal was the Under Secretary of the Army and its Chief Management Officer from 2009 to 2014. In this role, Dr. Westphal was the lead on Force Management and the Army’s business operations. He also held the positions of Assistant Secretary of the Army (Head of the Army Corps of Engineers) from 1998 to 2000 and Acting Secretary of the Army in 2001.

Dr. Westphal began his career in 1975 as a professor of political science at Oklahoma State University and later served as a Department Head. In 2002 he became the Chancellor of the University of Maine System and Professor of Political Science. He also served as Director of the Tishman Environmental Center and Provost at the New School University in New York and Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University in Washington D.C.

In government, he worked in both the House and Senate for more than twelve years. Dr. Westphal directed a bicameral-bipartisan organization called the Sunbelt Caucus. He was a staff member on the House Budget Committee and his last appointment was as a Special Assistant to Senator Thad Cochran (R-MS).

He has held positions in the administrations of Presidents Carter, Reagan, Clinton, Bush, and Obama, working in the Department of the Interior, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Defense, and the Department of State. Dr. Westphal has served on academic boards as well as nonprofit and public advisory boards.

Ambassador Westphal received a B.A. from Adelphi University and his Ph.D. from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Born in Chile, married to Linda McMaster with four children and 8 grandchildren.

Mr. Carey founded several forums for Chairmen, CEOs and C-Suite executives including The Prium, (www.theprium.com) the CEO Academy® (www.Ceo-academy.com) and Academies for CFOs and CHROs of Americas best managed enterprises.

Dennis has published seven books, his three most recent being, Talent Strategy Risk, Boards that Lead, and Talent Wins all published by Harvard Business Review Press. In addition to his books, he has also published over 50 refereed journal articles.

Mr. Carey also teaches Corporate Governance at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Dennis has held post doctoral Fellowships at Princeton and the JFK School at Harvard.

Dennis has served on two public company boards and three private boards in the U.S. and Canada in technology, healthcare and materials science.

Dennis became the 31st American to swim the English Channel (France to England) and previously served on the Board of the International Swimming Hall of Fame.

Connie Collingsworth, former Chief Operating Officer of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is a C-Suite Executive and experienced board member with deep expertise in scaling high-growth organizations globally.

She has been a primary advisor to Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates, and Warren Buffett regarding governance. During her tenure with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, she designed and implemented the core operational infrastructure and created the intellectual property strategy known as “Global Access,” as well as advising on the creation of a $2.5 billion strategic investment fund.

Ms. Collingsworth has expertise in strategic growth, governance, executive compensation, and risk management for publicly traded and privately held companies, private equity, trusts, and nonprofits spanning the healthcare, banking, fintech, private equity and venture capital sectors.

She continues to serve as a board member for the Banner Corporation and Axxes Capital, LLC, an advisory board member for Planet First Partners, and an executive sponsor for the Enterprise Executive Development Program at Bank of America. Previously Ms. Collingsworth served on the board of Premera Blue Cross.

Ms. Collingsworth holds an LL.M, International Business Legal Studies (England), J.D., and B.A.

Bob Smith is an accomplished biopharmaceutical executive who has driven commercial, financial, and operational success at leading biopharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer Inc. and Wyeth, for more than 30 years. Bob’s extensive industry expertise has been honed by decades of senior executive leadership roles in business development, mergers and acquisitions, corporate and commercial strategy, and research and development.

Bob is currently a Venture Partner with OrbiMed Advisors, LLC where he primarily serves as a corporate strategy and business development advisor to a wide variety of OrbiMed’s public and private healthcare focused portfolio companies. Bob retired from Pfizer in January 2024 where he served as Senior Vice President, Global Gene Therapy Business and was responsible for managing and leading Pfizer’s end-to-end global gene therapy business plus the Rare Disease commercial development activities in partnership with the Rare Disease research unit. During his tenure at Pfizer, Bob also served as Senior Vice President, Business Development and Alliance Management, and he led the business development team supporting the worldwide research and development organization. He previously led and managed the business development and strategy teams for Pfizer’s global Animal Health, Capsugel, Consumer Healthcare and Nutrition business units, as well as the alliance management function supporting all of Pfizer’s global biopharmaceutical business units and the worldwide research and development organization.

Bob joined Pfizer from Wyeth in 2009, following Pfizer’s acquisition of Wyeth, where he was Senior Vice President, Mergers and Acquisitions responsible for leading and managing Wyeth’s global mergers and acquisitions group. Prior to that, in his role at Wyeth as Senior Vice President, Global Licensing, he completed a wide variety of transactions in support of Wyeth’s biopharmaceutical commercial and research and development divisions.

Bob is currently serving as a member of the Board of Directors of a variety of public and private biotechnology companies, and healthcare focused organizations. He is the Chair of the Board of Directors for the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine and a member of the Advisory Board for the Advanced Therapies in Orthopedics Foundation. Bob is also a member of the Cell and Gene Therapy Scientific Advisory Board of the Focused Ultrasound Foundation where he also serves as a Senior Advisor.

Bob obtained a B.S. in Neuroscience from the University of Rochester and an M.B.A. in Finance and Corporate Accounting from the William E. Simon Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Rochester, Rochester, New York.

Dr. Vajzovic is a vitreoretinal surgeon and tenured Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at Duke University School of Medicine with expertise in adult and pediatric retinal diseases and surgery.

Dr. Vajzovic is passionate about translational research and collaborates closely with Duke biomedical engineers to develop imaging devices to improve ophthalmic care. She serves as a principal investigator for numerous national clinical trials in early to late stages of development. In addition, she is interested in cutting-edge technologies and recovery of vision in hereditary and common retinal diseases with gene therapy, stem cell technology, and retinal implants. She is a co-director of the Duke Pediatric Retina and Optic Nerve Center, where she performs gene therapy delivery, and device implantation to restore vision to individuals with total blindness.

An influential educator, she organizes and directs several highly successful national and international courses, including the first-of-its-kind Advances in Pediatric Retina Course at Duke and the international Duke fellows and general Advances in Vitreous Surgery Course. She is director of the prestigious Duke Vitreoretinal Surgical Fellowship and director of Duke Eye Center’s Continuing Medical Education program.

Dr. Vajzovic completed her vitreoretinal fellowship training at Duke and residency training at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami, FL. While in training, she received the Heed Fellowship Award, the Society of Heed Fellows Award, and the Retina Society Research Award. She is active on the Women in Ophthalmology (WIO) Board of Directors where she serves as a Treasurer and a Chair of Clinical Trial Training Program. In addition, she serves as a Retina Society American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) Council Representative and American Society of Retina Specialist (ASRS) Research and Safety in Therapeutics Committee Member. She is an elected member of the Retina Society, Macula Society, and Club Jules Gonin Society. Dr. Vajzovic has been awarded the AAO Achievement Award, ASRS Senior Honor Award, Vit Buckle Society Mentorship Award, WIO Emerging Leader Award, and Emerging Leader Award by Duke University School of Medicine and Duke Medical Alumni Association

Dr. Boyer is a world-renowned clinician, surgeon and educator. His areas of specialty include the treatment of diseases of the retina and vitreous. He is currently a leading investigator for various national clinical trials on retinal diseases and serves as an advisor for multiple research, educational and charitable institutions. He received a B.S. from the University of Illinois at Champaign, after which he completed a medical degree at the Chicago Medical School. In 1976 he finished his residency at the U.S.C. County Medical Center. Subsequently, he completed a year long retinal surgery fellowship at the Wills Eye Hospital, located in Philadelphia.

Dr. Heier is the Director of the Retina Service and Director of Retina Research at Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston (OCB), one of the largest multi-specialty ophthalmology practices in the United States. Dr. Heier served as Co-President & Medical Director from 2016-2020. He is also the Chief Scientific Officer at Ocular Therapeutix.
Dr. Heier is the Past President of the Retina Society, a former member of the Executive Committee of the American Society of Retina Specialists, the Past President of the New England Ophthalmological Society, and a member of the Macula Society. He is one of the leading retinal clinical researchers in the country for new treatments in exudative and non-exudative macular degeneration, diabetic macular edema, venous occlusive disease, vitreoretinal surgical techniques and instrumentation, and diagnostic imaging of the retina. He is a scientific advisor to many biotechnical or pharmaceutical companies, lectures nationally and internationally, and has authored numerous, peer-reviewed works.
Dr. Heier received his medical degree from Boston University, completed an internship and residency at Fitzsimons Army Medical Center, and vitreoretinal fellowship at OCB/Tufts School of Medicine. He served as a physician in a Combat Support Hospital in the Persian Gulf War, where he was awarded a Bronze Star.

Dr. Kaiser is the Chaney Family Endowed Chair in Ophthalmology Research, Cole Eye Institute, Cleveland Clinic and Professor of Ophthalmology Case Western Reserve School of Medicine. As a National Eye Institute and National Institute of Health RO1-funded principal investigator, Dr. Kaiser leads a team involved in the evaluation of vascular biology in age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and diabetic retinopathy (DR). In addition, Dr Kaiser is actively involved in clinical research having served as Study Chairman for numerous major, multi-center, international clinical trials, and principal investigator in over 60 trials evaluating new treatments for AMD, DR, and other retinal disorders. He is the director of Center for Ocular Research and Evaluation (CORE).

Dr. Kaiser is a major contributor to the medical literature having authored 7 textbooks, 30 book chapters, and more than 450 peer-reviewed manuscripts. He served as Editor-in-Chief of Retinal Physician, Associate Editor of International Ophthalmology Clinics, Associate Editor of American Journal of Ophthalmology and serves on the editorial boards of American Journal of Ophthalmology, Retina, Retina Today, and Ocular Surgery News. Dr. Kaiser has been recognized by American Society of Retina Specialists Honor and Senior Honor Awards, along with the American Academy of Ophthalmology Achievement, Senior Achievement, and Lifetime Achievement Awards. He has been listed as one of the “Best Doctors in America” every year since 2002 and named one of the “150 Top Innovators in Retina” by Ocular Surgery News, selected as a charter inductee of the Retina Hall of Fame in 2017, and appeared on the biannual Ophthalmologist’s “Power List” in 2016, 2018, and 2020 as one of the top 100 most influential people in the world of ophthalmology. He is the team ophthalmologist for the Cleveland Cavaliers (National Basketball Association).

Dr. Kaiser graduated magna cum laude with Highest Honors from Harvard College and magna cum laude from Harvard Medical School. He completed an internal medicine internship at Massachusetts General Hospital, an ophthalmology residency at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, and a vitreoretinal fellowship at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute where he was awarded a Heed Ophthalmic Fellowship.

Dr. Khanani is the Managing Partner, Director of Clinical Research, and Director of Fellowship at Sierra Eye Associates, as well as a Clinical Professor at the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine.

Dr. Khanani founded the clinical research department at Sierra Eye Associates, which has since become one of the nation’s leading centers for clinical research. He has served as the principal investigator in over 120 clinical trials and has been a top enroller for several Phase 1-3 trials. He is also at the forefront of several collaborative studies examining real-world outcomes for newly approved treatments. Additionally, Dr. Khanani has been the first to perform surgical procedures in various clinical trials focused on sustained drug delivery and gene therapy. His extensive body of work includes numerous publications in highly regarded journals such as The Lancet, Ophthalmology, and JAMA Ophthalmology.

Dr. Khanani is a lead principal investigator for several ongoing clinical trials and contributes to national and international clinical trial steering committees and scientific advisory boards. These efforts are aimed at developing new treatment options for patients with retinal diseases. A sought-after speaker, he is frequently invited to present at major national and international meetings. In 2021, Dr. Khanani founded the Clinical Trials at the Summit meeting to foster discussion on clinical trial design and data.

Dr. Khanani is a distinguished member of both the Macula Society and the Retina Society, and he has earned various honors throughout his career. In 2019, he was named Healthcare Heroes Physician of the Year by Nevada Business Magazine for his dedication to ophthalmology. In 2023, he was chosen to deliver the prestigious Ernst Bodenheimer Memorial Lecture at the Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Khanani was also the recipient of the Macula Society Lawrence J. Singerman Medal in 2025, American Academy of Ophthalmology Achievement Award in 2024, American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS) Presidents’ Young Investigator Award in 2021 and the ASRS Presidential Award in 2024. Dr. Khanani was also named the Top 10 ophthalmology researchers in the world in The Ophthalmologist Power List 2025.

Dr. Regillo is Professor of Ophthalmology at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University, Chief of the Retina Service at Wills Eye Hospital and founder and former director of the Wills Eye Clinical Retina Research Unit in Philadelphia. He received his medical degree from Harvard Medical School and performed his ophthalmology residency and vitreoretinal fellowship at Wills Eye Hospital. He has been the principal investigator of numerous major clinical trials developing new medical and surgical treatments for retinal disorders such as macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy and has authored more than 200 publications along with over 30 book chapters and nine major books. He is invited to lecture worldwide and serves on the scientific editorial board for several top ophthalmology peer-reviewed journals. As a recognized leader in the field, he is a recipient of many national and international awards, including the American Academy of Ophthalmology Achievement, Senior Achievement, Secretariat, and Lifetime Achievement Awards and the American Society of Retinal Specialists Honor and Senior Honor Awards. He was also selected as a Charter Inductee of the Retina Hall of Fame and named to the Ophthalmologist Power List (Top 100 most influential people in the world of ophthalmology).

Dr. Fajgenbaum is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in Translational Medicine & Human Genetics at the University of Pennsylvania, Director of the Penn Center for Cytokine Storm Treatment & Laboratory, Executive Director of the Castleman Disease Collaborative Network, and Associate Director, Patient Impact for the Penn Orphan Disease Center. He is doing groundbreaking work to advance precision medicine for Castleman disease, a condition that he is battling as a physician, researcher, advocate, and patient. Combining omic technologies with machine learning and other bioinformatic tools, Dr. Fajgenbaum has discovered novel predictive biomarkers of treatment response and novel treatment approaches, including one that is saving his life and others. Now, he is spreading this approach to other diseases such as COVID19.

For over 25 years, Dr. Forrest worked as a pharmaceutical industry physician leading the global development of pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and biological drugs. As Senior Vice President at Wyeth Vaccines, Dr. Forrest was responsible for all late phase clinical and pharmaceutical science development activities for vaccines in the Wyeth pipeline, including Prevnar 13®; the meningococcal B vaccine (Trumemba®) and an early investigational Staphylococcus aureus vaccine. This role included managing a vaccines’ development organization situated in North Carolina and New York, responsible for all R&D CMC and Manufacturing activities. In addition, Dr. Forrest was responsible for management and oversight of all Vaccines Clinical Research clinical trial and development activities globally with a dedicated vaccines clinical staff. He led the clinical activities supporting the market authorization for RotaShield® (EU), Prevnar® (Global), and FluMist®. Dr. Forrest also served as the Corporate Officer and Member of the Board of Wyeth K.K. during his tenure in Japan. He joined United Biomedical, Inc. in 1993 leading the earliest international clinical development of HIV vaccines, initiating clinical trials in China, Australia, and Thailand. At Chiron Corporation he was the global clinical team leader for a meningococcal C conjugate vaccine (Menjugate®). Dr. Forrest is an investment banker with a Westchester, NY based investment bank (Young America Capital, LLC) where he co-heads Life Sciences Investment Banking. He also owns an independent FINRA-registered investment advisory firm that is regulated by the State of New York (Aeolian Advisors Corp.).

Dr. Pachuk has over twenty-five years R&D leadership experience in the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors with expertise in both drug, device, and vaccine development with significant experience in nucleic-acid based therapeutic platforms including ASO, RNAi and nucleic-acid based vaccines. Her key areas of therapeutic focus are viral diseases including Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, and Coronavirus, metabolic disease, HCC, and indications associated with Ischemia Reperfusion Injury. She was involved in advancing multiple product candidates into the clinic and market including several first-in-man compounds. She received her Ph.D. in molecular virology from the University of Pennsylvania where she studied the molecular biology of coronaviruses. She also has a dual Regulatory Affairs Certificate from RAPS (Regulatory Affairs Professional Society) in Medical Devices and Pharmaceuticals.

Dr. Rubin is Professor of Medicine with secondary appointment as Professor of Computer Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania. The NIH, NSF, DARPA, the Global Alliance for TB Drug Discovery, and the Gates Foundation have funded his basic biochemical and genetic research in infectious diseases, resulting in more than 100 peer-reviewed papers. He served on national and international scientific review panels including the NIH, NSF, NASA Intelligent Systems Program, DARPA, and The Medical Research Council, South Africa. He was a member of the U.S. National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity and the Dept. of Defense/National Academy of Sciences Biological Cooperative Threat Reduction Program. Dr. Rubin is the founder of Energize the Chain a non-profit organization and GAVI INFUSE and funded partner that ensures the delivery of vaccines to people in the most remote regions of the world by utilizing power and connectivity in the private sector, such as that available at cell tower sites to power the refrigeration systems that are necessary to keep vaccines at the proper temperature.

Dr. Weiss obtained her PhD in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics from Harvard University working on paramyxoviruses and did postdoctoral training in retroviruses at University of California, San Francisco with Mike Bishop and Harold Varmus. She moved to the University of Pennsylvania in 1980, where she is currently Professor and Vice Chair, Department of Microbiology and Co-director of the Penn Center for Research on Coronaviruses and Other Emerging Pathogens at the Perelman School of Medicine. She has worked on many aspects of coronavirus replication and pathogenesis over the last forty years, making contributions to understanding the basic biology as well as organ tropism and virulence. She has worked with murine coronavirus (MHV), MERS-CoV and most recently SARS-CoV-2. Her work for the last ten years has focused on coronavirus interaction with the host innate immune response and viral innate antagonists of double-stranded RNA induced antiviral pathways. Her other research interests include activation and antagonism of the antiviral oligoadenylate-ribonuclease L (OAS-RNase L) pathway, flavivirus- primarily Zika- virus-host interactions and pathogenic effects of host endogenous dsRNA.