Speakers

Ángel Alberich-Bayarri is the Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Quibim, a global company specializing in designing and developing pioneering tools that combine advanced medical image analysis and AI to achieve precise diagnoses and suitable treatments. Their recent solutions have focused on cancer detection and prediction. He holds a degree in Telecommunications Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Valencia and a doctorate in Biomedical Engineering. He is the inventor of 7 patents and has received numerous international awards for his innovative work, including the MIT Innovators Under 35. With more than 15 years of experience in the medical imaging and computer vision field, he possesses deep knowledge of the challenges and opportunities in diagnostics and drug development. He has authored over 100 articles in prestigious international journals and is a featured speaker at major international conferences.

Dr. Castle has been responsible for the clinical development and performance of the Laboratory, Specialty Drug and Gene Therapy programs at EviCore by Evernorth for over 9 years. In addition to his 15 years of experience in the Specialty Drug field, Dr. Castle has been working in the genomic and molecular diagnostic field since 2007. During this time, he has been responsible for both designing initiatives that support the advancement of precision medicine and developing programs that ensure these tests are used appropriately.

Dr. Castle is board certified in Family Medicine. He completed his Sports Medicine fellowship at The Ohio State University in Columbus and practiced sports medicine for over a decade at the Baylor College of Medicine and the Baylor Sports Medicine Institute in Houston, Texas, serving as team physician for numerous professional, college, and high school sports teams.

Andrea is President and CEO of LUNGevity Foundation. She became involved with lung cancer advocacy following her mother’s death from the disease in 2008. After receiving a diagnosis of stage IV lung cancer in 2006, Andrea’s mother underwent numerous treatments and clinical trials at several major academic institutions to no avail. Together with her father, Andrea was her mother’s primary caregiver during this time. Determined to drive more money into lung cancer research, Andrea left the successful software company that she helped launch, to found Protect Your Lungs, an organization focused 100% on funding early detection research. In 2010, Andrea merged Protect Your Lungs with LUNGevity, a Chicago-based organization, to form the nation’s leading lung cancer-focused non-profit.

Andrea’s strong business background combined with her connections to the worlds of research and advocacy have enabled her to build one of the preeminent patient advocacy organizations in the lung cancer space. LUNGevity funds translational research into both early detection and more effective treatments of lung cancer as well as a highly coveted Career Development Awards program. LUNGevity also fills unmet needs for people diagnosed with lung cancer by providing education, support, and survivorship programs. Recognizing the need to build awareness and understanding about lung cancer, LUNGevity has built the largest grassroots network of events and advocates across the country.

Sarah is an accomplished leader with more than 25 years of industry experience and is responsible for leading a world-class research and development team of more than 100 scientists supporting translational sciences and diagnostics. She led a team at Bristol Myers Squibb that supported more than 20 drug approvals, top-line results, and other key regulatory milestones in a single year during the pandemic.

Prior to her time with Bristol Myers Squibb, Sarah was Head of Precision Medicine and Vice President at Celgene (acquired by Bristol Myers Squibb in 2019), where she built and led a world-class precision medicine team. Prior to Celgene, Sarah was the Global Head of Future Precision Medicine at Novartis, where she developed innovative solutions to support accurate and precise use of advanced diagnostic platforms. Sarah has also held multiple positions with increasing responsibilities at Johnson & Johnson (medical device & pharmaceutical sectors).

Colin Hill is a leading voice in AI and precision medicine. He is the CEO and co-founder of Aitia, whose leading Gemini Digital Twin platform accelerates pharmaceutical discovery and development, primarily focused on oncological and neurodegenerative diseases. He currently serves on the boards of Fulcrum Therapeutics (rare genetic diseases), Centrexion Therapeutics (non-opioid pain therapeutics), and Critical Path Institute (C-Path, a nonprofit generating solutions to accelerate therapeutics development for unmet medical needs). He previously served on the boards of Biotelemetry Inc., CRO PPD Inc., and AesRx.

In 2004, Colin was named to MIT Technology Review’s TR100 list of the world’s top 100 innovators under the age of 35. Publications and television appearances include The Wall Street Journal, CNBC Morning Call & SquawkBox, Nature, The Boston Globe, Politico, Forbes, Wired, and The Economist. He graduated from Virginia Tech with a degree in physics and earned Master’s degrees in physics from McGill and Cornell.

Gina Ross Murdoch, MBA, serves as the Personalized Medicine Coalition’s President and CEO. Ms. Murdoch is a respected leader known for her expertise partnering with biotech, pharmaceutical, and healthcare organizations to align strategy, policy, and partnerships with high impact for both patients and markets. Known for a collaborative, data-driven leadership style, she has served as President and Chief Executive of the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America and Deputy Executive Director of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (now Blood Cancer United), in addition to key roles at the American Diabetes Association, the MS Coalition, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, and the American Cancer Society.

With a 20+ year history in the healthcare advocacy industry, Ms. Murdoch has consistently championed innovation in patient-centered care, multi-stakeholder collaboration, organizational expansion, and patient engagement.

Michael Osso is President and CEO of the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation, the leading nonprofit organization focused on both research and patient support for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), with the mission of curing Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis and improving the quality of life for the millions of Americans affected by IBD. The Foundation has played a role in every major research and treatment breakthrough in IBD, investing over half a billion dollars in research to date and supporting more than 2,500 research projects. Under Michael’s leadership, the Foundation established IBD Plexus®, a research accelerator housing the most comprehensive collection of IBD patient data and biosamples in the world, and launched IBD Ventures, a venture philanthropy program. He also serves as Chairperson of the National Health Council’s Board, representing 185 organizations and over 133 million Americans with chronic diseases. A Wharton graduate, he previously held senior roles at The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (now Blood Cancer United).

Dr. Shaknovich is a physician-scientist with over 20 years of leadership experience in academia and the biomedical industry. She began her career in pathology and led a basic science laboratory at Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York, where her research focused on the mechanisms of epigenetic deregulation in cancer. She later served as Chief Medical Officer at Cancer Genetics and as Head of Clinical Laboratories at GRAIL, where she played a key role in the development and launch of the first-in-class Multi-Cancer Early Detection (MCED) test. In December 2024, Dr. Shaknovich joined Agilent Technologies as Chief Medical Officer of the Life Sciences and Diagnostics Group, where she leads the Medical team and contributes to advancing the company’s strategy and leadership in the biomedical field.

Dr. Ned Sharpless is a physician-scientist, entrepreneur, and former senior federal official with leadership experience spanning medicine, biotechnology, and U.S. health policy. He was appointed by President Trump as the 15th Director of the National Cancer Institute (2017–2022) and also served as Acting Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2019, leading two multi-billion-dollar agencies through periods of crisis and institutional change. As NCI Director, Dr. Sharpless led the world’s largest cancer research organization, with a focus on strengthening the biomedical research ecosystem and accelerating translation. His tenure emphasized increasing investigator paylines, expanding data sharing and open science initiatives, elevating childhood cancer research, and steering the agency through the operational and scientific challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. As Acting FDA Commissioner, he guided the agency through the EVALI (e-cigarette and vaping–associated lung injury) epidemic, advanced modernization of FDA staffing and operations, and launched the Smarter Era of Food Safety initiative. He also helped advance FDA policies supporting accelerated approval, expanded access, and Right-to-Try implementation, with a focus on improving timely patient access to innovative therapies for serious and life-threatening diseases.

Prior to government service, Dr. Sharpless was the Director of the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center and Wellcome Distinguished Professor of Medicine at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. He authored more than 200 original reports in basic science and health policy and is an inventor on more than a dozen issued or pending patents. He founded G1 Therapeutics, translating discoveries in cancer cell-cycle biology into COSELA, an FDA-approved therapy for patients with advanced small cell lung cancer.

He is the co-founder and Managing Director of Jupiter BioVentures, a venture studio that incubates innovative biotechnology companies. Dr. Sharpless serves on several for-profit and nonprofit boards and is Professor of Cancer Policy and Innovation at the UNC School of Medicine. He is a Fellow of the AACR Academy and an inductee of the Association of American Physicians, the American Society for Clinical Investigation, and the National Academy of Medicine.

Rachel Sher is a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulatory leader with experience in policy and legislative strategy. With over 20 years of experience, Rachel previously served as the Vice President of Policy and Regulatory Affairs for the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD), where she led its federal policy and regulatory work. Sher worked in the Commissioner’s Office at the FDA, where she led the agency’s engagement on the 21st Century Cures Act legislative process, which involved working directly with FDA leadership and medical product centers to give strategic advice and guidance. Prior to heading to the FDA, Rachel spent ten years on Capitol Hill working as FDA Counsel for the Committee on Energy and Commerce, where she helped oversee the Committee’s FDA-related portfolio, drafting and negotiating all major FDA legislation enacted during her tenure.

Dr. Michael Sherman is Principal at Sherman Healthcare Solutions, LLC, a firm providing consulting services, fractional executive-level support, and independent board service to the healthcare industry. He focuses on diagnostics, life sciences, healthcare services and related areas, particularly addressing issues relating to market access, pricing and reimbursement, and he holds a faculty appointment at Harvard Medical School.

Prior to joining RA, Dr. Sherman served as executive vice president and chief medical officer at Point32Health, and before that he was chief medical officer of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, where he was a leader in expanding access for innovative cell and gene therapies and treatments for rare diseases and diagnostics. Dr. Sherman serves on multiple boards of directors and has held executive roles at Humana, United Healthcare, and elsewhere. Before pursuing an MBA at Harvard Business School, Dr. Sherman received his M.D. from Yale and B.A. and M.S. from the University of Pennsylvania.

Lauren Silvis serves as Senior Vice President of External Affairs at Tempus, overseeing regulatory, public policy, government affairs and strategic communications. She has held a number of senior career public health roles, serving as a Senior Advisor at the Department of Health and Human Services, Chief of Staff of the Food and Drug Administration and Deputy Center Director for Policy in FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health. She currently serves as a member of the Council of Councils for the National Institutes of Health and Board Vice Chair for the Personalized Medicine Coalition. During her time in government, she advanced policies to promote innovation in precision medicine, real world evidence, clinical trials and digital health. Earlier in her career, she was a partner at the international law firm Sidley Austin LLP, focusing on regulation of pharmaceuticals and medical devices. Lauren graduated from Duke University and earned her law degree from Georgetown University Law Center.

Dr. Tsimberidou is a Professor of Medicine in the Department of Investigational Cancer Therapeutics, and a Katherine Russell Dixie Distinguished Endowed Professor at The University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center. She has designed highly innovative clinical trials that have changed the standard of practice of oncology and improved the clinical outcomes of patients with solid tumors and hematologic malignancies. She pioneered the personalized medicine program across tumor types at MD Anderson. In 2007, she developed the IMPACT (Initiative for Personalized Medicine and Advanced Cancer Therapy) program and demonstrated that identifying tumor-specific molecular aberrations and selecting therapy based on tumor abnormalities of individual patients with advanced cancer is associated with better overall outcomes compared with standard approaches. Her research accomplishments have garnered extensive media coverage by ASCO, The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, the Bloomberg report, and The Boston Globe. She has published over 350 articles in high-impact peer-reviewed journals and book chapters and co-edited major textbooks in Oncology. She has been invited to present her work at numerous conferences. She has received prestigious awards, and she was appointed to serve on several committees at ASCO and the Worldwide Innovative Network (WIN) consortium in Precision Medicine. She is a board member of the Personalized Medicine Coalition. Dr Tsimberidou is a Fellow of ASCO (FASCO) and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Priscilla serves as Executive Director for No Patient Left Behind (NPLB), a nonprofit dedicated to advancing policies that protect biomedical innovation while ensuring patient access to affordable prescription medicines.

With more than 20 years of experience in health policy, strategic advocacy, and public affairs, Priscilla has held senior-level positions spanning advocacy, communications, and public policy across both nonprofit and private sector organizations. Prior to joining NPLB, she was Vice President of Public Affairs at Walgreens. She also led strategic communications and public affairs at the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) and served as Vice President in the healthcare division at APCO Worldwide.

Priscilla’s career reflects deep experience engaging policymakers, industry leaders, and the public on complex issues at the intersection of innovation and access. Her leadership is informed by both her professional expertise and her experience as a patient navigating serious illness and healthcare systems.

Michael Ybarra, M.D., is the Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President at the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA). At PhRMA, he is responsible for medical affairs, coalition building, stakeholder engagement, and strategic partnerships in support of PhRMA’s federal public policy priorities, with a focus on patient access and reimbursement for innovative medicines. He leads PhRMA’s work on vaccines.

Dr. Ybarra is an emergency physician and graduate of Stanford University and Georgetown University School of Medicine, where he also completed his residency training in emergency medicine. In addition to his experience at PhRMA, he has over a decade of experience in clinical medicine as a practicing emergency physician, including seeing patients throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. He served in senior roles in the American Academy of Emergency Medicine (AAEM) prior to joining PhRMA, and he currently sits on the boards of the National Health Council, Personalized Medicine Coalition, and the Academy of Physicians in Clinical Research (APCR).