Annual Career Symposium: “A Kaleidoscope of Biomedical Science Careers”

Jennifer earned her Ph.D. in Pharmacology from Vanderbilt University, where she trained in the laboratory of Jeff Conn. Her research focused on the role of metabotropic glutamate receptors in the hippocampus, allowing her to develop expertise in molecular pharmacology and electrophysiology. Her early career spanned academic and translational research roles, where she led complex in vivo and ex vivo studies. Throughout her research career, she contributed to more than twenty peer‑reviewed publications. This scientific foundation strengthened her ability to communicate complex data clearly and effectively.

Building on that foundation, Jennifer transitioned into medical communications, first as a Senior Medical Writer and now as an Associate Scientific Director at Citrus Health Group. In these roles, she has developed high‑impact scientific content for peer-reviewed publications, congress materials, and strategic medical communications. She works closely with cross‑functional teams to translate complex clinical and preclinical data into clear, accurate, and compelling narratives that support clients across therapeutic areas and help shape evidence‑based communication strategies.

Jacob Bode serves as President and National Business Line Leader for Eurofins Discovery Services North America.  He is part of a dynamic, international leadership team driving a client-focused Contract Research Organization (CRO).

Mr. Bode received his degree from Calvin University in Grand Rapids, MI.  His career began with pharmaceutical research positions at Pharmacia and Pfizer, where he specialized in early drug discovery, ion channel electrophysiology, and cell-based assay development.  Over the past two decades, he has held diverse roles in CRO laboratory management, sales and marketing, mergers and acquisitions, client relations, and business leadership helping to build Eurofins Discovery into a market leading discovery-focused CRO.

A neuroscience consultant, PhD and Vandy alum bridging research, business, and venture. With Big 4 consulting experience, I lead scientific communication, strategy, and diligence by evaluating early-stage research, assessing market opportunities, and informing funding decisions that accelerate breakthroughs in neurodegenerative disease research.

Adeola Davis, PhD, MPA is a Senior Director of R&D Learning & Development at Acadia Pharmaceuticals, where she leads enterprise learning strategy to strengthen scientific, medical, and organizational capability across R&D and Medical Affairs. She is recognized for designing innovative, outcome‑driven learning programs that align development with strategy and organizational transformation.

Adeola is a frequent speaker and contributor on the role of learning in advancing scientific organizations. Her career includes experience across public education, Medical Affairs, and consulting. She earned a PhD from Vanderbilt University, where she trained in Danny Winder’s lab, followed by postdoctoral training in Aurelio Galli’s lab.

Dr. Miranda Hallett’s practice focuses on intellectual property, including litigation, patent prosecution, clearance and prosecution of trademarks, infringement risk assessments, and enforcement of intellectual property rights. Miranda’s patent prosecution practice involves drafting, prosecuting, and analyzing patents, as well as, counseling clients. She represents clients across a wide range of technologies, including medical devices, biotechnology, life sciences, and consumer goods.

Miranda received her Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Vanderbilt University. As a National Cancer Institute predoctoral fellow and American Cancer Society postdoctoral fellow, Miranda researched treatments for breast and colorectal cancers, and factors that affect chemo-resistance. Her research experience includes biochemistry, molecular biology, cell biology and cancer biology, bio-imaging, and chemotherapeutic efficacy testing.

Marilyn Hammer manages a team of scientists on the Personalized Medicine team at the Sarah Cannon Research Institute. Marilyn earned her Ph.D. in Chemical and Physical Biology from Vanderbilt University, where she studied the DNA replication machinery. After completing her dissertation, she worked with the My Cancer Genome group at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center – curating information from the EHR, clinical guidelines, and clinical trial documents to facilitate retrospective clinical studies, clinical decision support, and clinical trial matching – prior to transitioning to a Scientist role on the Personalized Medicine team at SCRI. She now manages this team, which is focused on helping oncologists identify trial options for their patients as well as providing education around molecular profiling technologies and molecular report interpretation.

Cody Heiser is a Senior Scientist in Molecular Profiling & Data Science at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, investigating resistance mechanisms to bispecific antibody therapeutics through multimodal tumor profiling. He earned his Ph.D. in Chemical & Physical Biology from Vanderbilt University, where his spatial multi-omics research led to a human atlas of colorectal cancer evolution, published in Cell. He developed the open-source Python packages dropkick (Genome Research) and MILWRM (Communications Biology) for single-cell and spatial transcriptomics analysis. At Regeneron, he builds scalable analysis pipelines and applies AI/ML to accelerate biomarker and target discovery efforts that guide preclinical studies and expand therapeutic indications.

Mark is an Associate Professor at University College London (UCL).  His academic background is in Clinical Neuroscience and Personalised Medicine, and he currently is the Director of UCL Genomics, a cost recovery core facility located at the UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health in London. He has helped develop, shape and implement genomic facilities worldwide and his current interests lie in equitable education programmes as well as global accessibility to (and implementation of) sustainable genomic platforms. As the Chair of the Science Advisory Group for the Commonwealth Leadership Institute, he leads programmes preparing the next generation of global healthcare and technical leaders and has won numerous global awards in education, personalised medicine and public/scientific communication. He is an active advocate for the support of technical and research staff in entrepreneurship and innovation, patient advocacy, public engagement and career development and he is also the President of the Global Academy for Genomics and Personalised Medicine and scientific advisor and subject matter expert to the Department of Health, Abu Dhabi in the UAE.

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mark-kristiansen-421349241

Robert Lavieri, Ph.D., is currently Vice President, Business Development and Translational Medicine at TrilliumBiO where he leads a team focused on developing new biomarkers and clinical diagnostic tests across a broad range of therapeutic areas including rare diseases, pulmonary, oncology, immunology/inflammation, and neurodegenerative diseases.  Robert has had several “nontraditional” roles spanning basic science, human genetics, translational medicine, clinical R&D, project management, and business development/alliance management across small, medium, and large organizations.  Robert has worked across VC-funded startups, academic medical centers, the biotech/pharma industry, and diagnostics companies.

Robert completed a PhD in pharmacology at Vanderbilt University in the labs of H. Alex Brown and Craig Lindsley focused on the development of small molecule phospholipase D inhibitors.  Robert was the recipient of a predoctoral fellowship from the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) Foundation, and he was also a trainee on the Vanderbilt Institute of Chemical Biology’s (VICB) Integrative Training in Therapeutic Discovery (ITTD) training grant.

Roxana Loperena is a Senior Medical Science Liaison in Dermatology at Arcutis Biotherapeutics, where she supports the launch and clinical integration of innovative therapies for inflammatory skin diseases. Originally from Puerto Rico, she brings a diverse perspective and bilingual expertise that enhance her ability to engage a broad range of healthcare professionals and patient populations. A PhD-trained immunologist and molecular physiologist from Vanderbilt University, she brings deep expertise in dermatology, immunology, and the JAK-STAT pathway, with prior roles at Bristol Myers Squibb and Incyte Corporation supporting first-in-class therapies in atopic dermatitis and psoriasis. Roxana has a strong track record of engaging healthcare professionals, advancing clinical research collaborations, and translating complex scientific data into meaningful insights that improve patient care.

Patrick L. Mulcrone, PhD is a Regulatory Writing Manager in Global Scientific Communications at Eli Lilly and Company. He supports global drug development programs through the strategic development and quality oversight of regulatory documents, including briefing documents, protocols, investigational medicinal product dossiers, and regulatory responses. His work spans weight management, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular outcomes.

Prior to joining industry, Dr. Mulcrone held academic appointments at Indiana University School of Medicine, where he served as an Assistant Research Professor in Orthopaedic Surgery and completed postdoctoral trainings in Pediatrics and Hematology. His research focused on bone biology, angiogenesis, cancer metastasis, and adeno-associated virus (AAV) gene therapy.

He earned his PhD in Cancer Biology in 2017 from Vanderbilt University in the labs of Florent Elefteriou (Baylor College of Medicine) and Julie Rhoades (VUMC) and holds a BA in Molecular Biology and Spanish from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Logan is a USPTO-registered Patent Agent and trained scientist with a robust background in science commercialization, IP strategy, and research translation. He completed a Ph.D. in Biological Sciences at Vanderbilt University, where his research centered on the molecular and biochemical mechanisms of DNA replication initiation. His interest in the commercial pathway of scientific discovery was fostered during a Life Sciences Technology Transfer Internship at Vanderbilt, which broadened his understanding of evaluating new biomedical technologies, performing market analysis, and assessing patentability.

As a Technology Transfer and Intellectual Property Specialist with Leidos supporting the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), Logan leverages his deep scientific training and regulatory experience to manage invention portfolios and advance the commercialization of secure, sustainable energy solutions. Drawing on his prior experience evaluating inventions for commercialization and patentability and managing a docket of over 50 technologies at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), Logan excels at coordinating patent filings with counsel, evaluating invention disclosures, and directly engaging with researchers to deliver IP training and build entrepreneurial capacity.

Debangshu Samanta is currently a Scientific Programs Administrator at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), where he helps shape and coordinate the AACR Annual Meeting, one of the largest global forums in cancer research. In this role, he works at the intersection of scientific discovery and the global research community, helping enable exchange of ideas that span the full continuum of cancer research, from basic science to clinical translation.
He is a Translational Oncology Scientist with over 12 years of experience spanning academia, biotech, and the pharmaceutical industry. He began his career in academia at Johns Hopkins University, where he led research in cancer immunology and tumor microenvironment biology and secured independent funding as a Principal Investigator. He later transitioned to industry roles at Janssen R&D and SK Life Science Lab, where he worked across early clinical drug discovery, including biomarker strategy, translational study design, and identification of development candidates to advance oncology programs into early clinical trials.

Debangshu earned his Ph.D. in Cancer Biology from Vanderbilt University through the Chemical and Physical Biology Program, where he trained in Dr. Pran Datta’s lab studying how long-term smoking contributes to lung cancer progression and chemotherapy resistance

Justin is an integral member of the Sontag Innovation Fund and supports the team comprised of investment professionals and scientific advisors by targeting new technologies to advance therapeutic opportunities in the treatment of brain cancer. In this role, he is responsible for conducting scientific due diligence, market analysis, financial modeling, and critically reviewing investment opportunities along with engaging in on-going portfolio management and supporting and managing Sontag Innovation Fund Fellows. Justin also scientifically contributes to the Sontag Foundation Distinguished Scientist Award Program and supports educational opportunities focused on new developments within neuro-oncology research.

Justin joined the Sontag Innovation Fund from Vanderbilt University Medical Center where he served as a Scientific Research Project Manager helping drive pragmatic randomized clinical trials. His postdoctoral fellowship in Dr. Douglas McMahon’s lab investigated the underlying role of environmental factors in the development of mood disorders, and he completed his PhD in Neuroscience in Dr. Mark Wallace’s lab by evaluating the impact of multisensory processing in autism spectrum disorder.

Dr. Zaid Temrikar is an Associate Director of Clinical Pharmacology at EMD Serono, where he supports early-stage oncology programs, including antibody-drug conjugates and bispecific antibodies.

Prior to joining EMD Serono, Dr. Temrikar worked in Clinical Pharmacology at Gilead Sciences, where he contributed to the regulatory submission and clinical development of the antibody-drug conjugate Trodelvy. His work has focused on PK/PD modeling, dose optimization, translational strategy, and supporting INDs and global regulatory submissions for novel therapeutics.

Dr. Temrikar earned his PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from The University of Tennessee Health Science Center. During his doctoral training, he conducted research in anti-infective drug development, including work on therapies for tuberculosis, and biodefense pathogens. His research included developing translational PK/PD and animal models to support therapies intended for approval under the FDA Animal Rule for biodefense indications.

Dr. Jennifer Zachry has been a pivotal part of Orion’s growth over the past two years. She holds a PhD in Pharmacology with expertise in Neuroscience from Vanderbilt University, where she published in top-tier academic journals, including Nature Neuroscience and Neuron, and won multiple awards and recognition for her work. Jennifer’s strategic vision and business acumen have driven Orion’s market strategy, positioning Orion as a genetic medicine company enabled by a novel delivery platform. She has led Orion to win several awards, including the Eli Lilly Genetic Grand Medicine Challenge, the Chiesi Golden Ticket Challenge, and the Life Science TN pitch competition, among others. Jennifer is set to complete her professional MBA at the University of Tennessee at the end of 2024.