Speakers

Melissa Alexander is a U.S. board-certified anatomic and clinical pathologist with subspecialty board certification in cytopathology and fellowship training in breast pathology and cytopathology. Dr. Alexander received her M.D. from Emory University and her Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of Virginia. She completed residency and fellowships in New York City before joining Mount Sinai Hospital as a full-time Attending Pathologist on the breast service. While at Mount Sinai she practiced on a digital platform for primary diagnosis from 2020-2023.

Dr. Alexander joined AstraZeneca in 2023 where she first served as a regional director and field medical pathologist on the U.S. Medical Affairs Diagnostics breast team supporting the trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd) breast trials in the central U.S. and has transitioned to the lung team supporting the datopotamab deruxtecan (Dato-DXd) lung trials in the Northeast U.S. Prior to joining AstraZeneca she served as a medical director on the medical and scientific affairs team at Leica Biosystems where she was involved in developing companion diagnostics, evaluating emerging biomarkers, creating internal education material and addressing patient safety issues. She also served as Leica’s subject matter expert for breast pathology and digital pathology for primary diagnosis.

Dr. Asgarian is a physician leader with executive experience in biotech and at health plans. He has served as a vice president for a national health plan across divisions and services as well as being a CMO in the laboratory and health innovation space. Dr. Asgarian has more than a decade of experience bringing new clinical products and services to providers and their patients.

George Daneker, M.D., joined Natera with a 30-year track record in academic, community, and commercial healthcare, most recently serving as President and Chief Clinical Officer at Myriad Oncology, where he led the clinical-commercial strategy. His expertise includes driving precision medicine adoption, oncology service line integration, and bridging bench science and clinical investigation to improve patient access to molecular diagnostics across health systems. Dr. Daneker received his M.D. from the University of Maryland and completed a residency in General Surgery at the University of Cincinnati, cell and molecular biology research fellowship at Harvard University/NEDM, and clinical/research fellowship in surgical oncology/tumor biology at the University of Texas’s MD Anderson Cancer Center. He has served on the faculty of Emory University School of Medicine, Georgia Institute of Technology, Clark Atlanta University, and Morehouse School of Medicine.

Kevin Davies, Ph.D., is a British scientific editor and author specializing in the medical and societal implications of major breakthroughs in genetic technologies. His areas of expertise include gene editing/CRISPR, genomic medicine, and his latest passion project – sickle cell disease. Kevin’s new book, published in September 2026 by Harvard University Press, is CURVED AIR: A Biography of Sickle Cell Anemia and the Quest to Cure the First Molecular Disease. The book is a sweeping account of the world’s most famous genetic mutation, from a century of structural racism to the cusp of a cure, featuring exclusive interviews with numerous sickle cell warriors including Victoria Gray. 

Kevin is the author or co-author of half-a-dozen popular science books including Cracking the Genome and The $1,000 Genome. He was invited by Nobel laureate Jim Watson to serve as a co-author of DNA: The Story of the Genetic Revolution. In 2017, he won a Guggenheim Fellowship that led to the publication of EDITING HUMANITY: The CRISPR Revolution and the New Era of Genome Editing, published in 2020 by Pegasus Books. 

Kevin has spent the past 35 years in science publishing. In 1992, he launched Nature Genetics (the first spin-off journal from Nature). In 2018, he created The CRISPR Journal, the first scientific journal devoted to gene editing. He has also served as editor-in-chief of Cell Press, the founding editor of Bio-IT World magazine, and publisher of Chemical & Engineering News.

Kevin graduated with a degree in biochemistry from Oxford University and took his Ph.D. in human genetics from St Mary’s Hospital Medical School in London. After a pair of postdoctoral fellowships at MIT and Harvard Medical School, he hung up his lab coat for the last time and joined the editorial staff of Nature.

Donna de Levante Raphael, Ph.D., is the Director of Research for the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America. In this role, she leads AFA’s efforts to advance scientific understanding, innovation, and equity in dementia research in the hopes of meaningfully improving diagnosis, care, and quality of life for families affected by dementia-related illnesses. Her work focuses on identifying early biomarkers, understanding caregiver burden, and bridging the gap between science and community impact.

Prior to joining AFA in September 2019, she served over 15 years in the fields of public health, aging, and dementia. She is a published author, peer reviewer in scientific, medical, and public health journals, and public speaker.

Michael Dunphy is an International Business Leader at Foundation Medicine, where he leads the company’s Emerging Applications & Data Products portfolio and shapes how clinical and genomic data are used to advance precision medicine. He is focused on turning complex data and emerging technologies into products and partnerships that support better research, more informed treatment decisions, and broader access to personalized care.

With more than 15 years of experience across healthcare, genomics, and technology, Michael has built a career at the intersection of data, product strategy, and commercialization. Prior to Foundation Medicine, he helped scale patient-partnered cancer research initiatives at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and supported the adoption of oncology EMRs across leading health systems at Epic.

Okan Ekinci, MD, MBA, Global Head of Digital Technology and Chief Medical Information Officer at Roche Information Solutions, is a widely recognized applied AI expert on the transformation of diagnostics and a new class of digital tests: digital biomarkers, multimodal medical AI algorithms, radiomic markers from medical imaging; tests that improve disease prediction and enable earlier, more personalized interventions in healthcare.

A cardiologist by training, he joined Roche in 2018 and has served as Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President of Marketing & Innovation for the company’s digital health business. In his current role, he oversees the digital technology strategy, design, and validation, focusing on AI-enabled clinical decision support, integrated diagnostics platforms, and scalable data ecosystems supporting precision medicine. Before joining Roche, Okan held several executive roles at Siemens Healthineers, including Chief Medical Officer and Head of Healthcare Consulting. He has advised healthcare institutions and governments on digital transformation and artificial intelligence and serves as an adjunct professor at the University College Dublin, School of Medicine. He has been acknowledged as one of the Top 50 Health Innovators of 2025 by health.tech.

Okan has collaborated with the Personalized Medicine Coalition for the past several years, providing expertise on emerging AI technologies, digital health infrastructure, and advanced data products in precision medicine.

John is the Senior Medical Director for USCAN for Illumina, where he is accountable for working with payers and employers to expand access to genomic testing and personalized medicine across oncology, cardiology, women’s health, and rare disease. 

He served as the Associate Chief Medical Officer at Priority Health from 2000 through 2020. He was responsible for medical and pharmaceutical technology assessment, policy development, and physician pay-for-performance programs. He was also responsible for multiple health plan innovations, including shared decision-making, digital therapeutics, advanced care planning, surgical optimization initiatives, outcomes-based contracts, oncology medical home programs, and personalized genomic medicine initiatives.

Dr. Fox earned his B.S. in chemistry and biochemistry from the University of Illinois and his medical degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.  He completed a residency in pediatrics, a fellowship with the CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Service, and a Master’s in Health Administration from the University of Wisconsin.

Oskar Hansson, M.D., Ph.D., is Senior Vice President, Neurodegeneration Discovery and Early Phase Clinical Development, at Eli Lilly. He joined Lilly in November 2024; his remit spans discovery, early-phase clinical development, and neuroscience imaging and biomarker development.

Before joining Lilly, Dr. Hansson was Professor of Neurology at Lund University, Sweden (2017–2026), and senior consultant in neurology at Skåne University Hospital (2012–2024). He received his Ph.D. in neurobiology in 2001 and his M.D. in 2005. He founded and led the Swedish BioFINDER studies and co-directed MultiPark, Lund University’s strategic research area in neuroscience (2014–2024). His academic research has addressed the earliest phases of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, particularly the development and validation of cerebrospinal fluid, blood-based, and positron emission tomography (PET) biomarkers; his work on tau PET and plasma phosphorylated tau has helped establish biomarker-based diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease in clinical practice. He has authored more than 600 publications, cited over 108,000 times (h-index 163), and has repeatedly been named a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher.

Jenifer Healy is Vice President of Government Affairs & Market Access at Illumina, where she leads government affairs and market access strategy in the United States and Canada. In this role, she advises executive leadership on legislative, regulatory, reimbursement, and geopolitical developments affecting the global diagnostics ecosystem and helps shape policy strategies impacting the genomics industry. 

With more than 20 years of experience across government and the life sciences industry, Jeni has held leadership roles at USAID, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and on Capitol Hill, where she advised policymakers on healthcare policy, reimbursement, and regulatory affairs and represented the United States in major international health forums. 

Throughout her career, she has shaped healthcare and life sciences policy in both the public and private sectors by building bipartisan coalitions, advancing complex legislative and regulatory initiatives, and leading efforts that have expanded patient access to care, strengthened global health programs, and supported innovation across the healthcare ecosystem. 

Jeni earned a J.D. from George Mason University School of Law and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is a proud Wisconsinite and also a lifelong Green Bay Packers fan.

Christopher S. Hourigan, D.M., D.Phil., FRCP, is a physician-scientist oncologist focused on measurable residual disease (MRD) in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). He chairs the nationwide “MEASURE” clinical protocol (NCT05224661), co-leads the FNIH FDA-NCI-Academic-Industry Biomarkers Consortium for AML MRD, and is incoming chair of the European LeukemiaNet AML MRD international clinical standard of care guidelines.

Professor Hourigan trained at Oxford, Johns Hopkins, and Harvard Business School. Previously co-director of the Myeloid Malignancies Program, tenured Senior Investigator, and Chief of the Laboratory of Myeloid Malignancies at the National Institutes of Health. He served many years on the acute leukemia inpatient service at Johns Hopkins and is currently founding director of the new Virginia Tech FBRI Cancer Research Center in Washington, D.C.

He has been elected to Alpha Omega Alpha, American Society for Clinical Investigation; Fellowship of the American and Royal College of Physicians and awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers.

Sid Jain is a healthcare innovator passionate about reimagining clinical development through the power of data, technology, and biology. As SVP of Clinical Development & Data Science at Recursion, Sid leads teams that blend AI, real-world data, computational biology, and clinical expertise to modernize how therapies are developed. His focus is on transforming clinical development into a more predictive, efficient, and patient-centric process—seamlessly bridging the gap between drug discovery and development in Recursion’s TechBio platform.

Prior to Recursion, Sid served as Vice President of Global Development Data Science & Digital Health at Johnson & Johnson, where he led groundbreaking initiatives like real-world registries and AI-powered trial platforms that accelerated development timelines. Over his 20-year career, he has built and scaled data science and digital health teams across biopharma and health tech companies, including ConcertAI and NantHealth where he held P&L roles. Sid is also a committed advocate for advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in clinical research.

Allen J. Karp is an Operating Partner with Windrose Health Investors. He previously served as Executive Vice President of Healthcare Management and Transformation at Horizon BCBSNJ. Mr. Karp had responsibility for Horizon BCBSNJ’s healthcare value strategy and clinical and network operations. He also led the pharmacy, behavioral health, and healthcare analytics organizations.

Mr. Karp has over 30 years of healthcare experience in leading healthcare delivery and service organizations. His innovative approach to healthcare delivery models provided experienced leadership as Horizon BCBSNJ led a transformation away from fee-for-service to a value-based model that rewards doctors and hospitals for quality, cost-effective care, and enhanced member experience. He currently serves as Lead Director on the Board of Outcomes Matter Innovations, is a Board Member of Cardio One, and serves on the Board of Stellus Rx.

In 2018, Mr. Karp was named as a Leader in Health Care in the NJBIZ Vanguard Series for his work in pioneering the implementation of value-based healthcare in New Jersey and ROI NJ Influencers in Healthcare in 2019 and 2020. He earned a bachelor’s degree in commerce from Rider University and a master’s degree in business administration from Wilmington University.

A veteran leader in the rare disease patient-focused drug development movement, Annie joined the RARE Foundation (formerly the EveryLife Foundation) in 2019, where she’s led numerous, community-driven evidence development efforts including the National Economic Burden of Rare Disease study, The Guide to Patient Involvement in Rare Disease Therapy Development, and advocacy efforts leading to the establishment of FDA’s Rare Disease Innovation Hub. Annie previously held leadership roles at Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy (PPMD) and the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) where she led landmark legislative, regulatory, newborn screening, transitions, and access policy efforts including the MD CARE Act, and the Patient-Focused Impact Assessment (PFIA) Act, which became the Patient Experience Data provision of the 21st Century Cures Act.

She is a sought-after advisor to patient-centered organizations and initiatives across the nonprofit and government sectors, and in 2024 was named by Women We Admire as one of the Top 50 Leaders in Washington, D.C.

Annie’s community roles have included service on the Board of Directors of Cure SMA, the NIH Strategic Planning Working Group on Engaging the Public as Partners in Clinical Research, and as a member of the NIH NCATS Advisory Council. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of Patient Focused Medicines Development (PFMD).

Liam Lee, Ph.D., MB(ASCP), is Franchise Head, Medical Diagnostics, for U.S. Medical Affairs, Oncology, at AstraZeneca, where he leads precision medicine and biomarker strategies across the thoracic oncology portfolio. Dr. Lee’s work focuses on translating advances in molecular diagnostics into clinical practice through companion diagnostic adoption, biomarker education, evidence generation, and improved testing pathways. Previously, he led precision oncology and biomarker strategies at Merck across multiple solid tumors. His industry experience spans several biomarkers including TROP2 NMR, EGFR, MET, HER2, PD-L1, TMB, BRCA/HRD, MRD, and NTR. Liam also serves as Adjunct Faculty at MD Anderson Cancer Center where he teaches molecular diagnostics. He holds a Ph.D. in Pathology from the University of Cambridge.

Terrie Livingston, PharmD, is the Vice President of Medical Affairs at Octave Bioscience, where she leads efforts to pioneer precision neurology across neurodegenerative diseases through novel blood-based biomarker development. A biotech leader with over 25 years of experience, she specializes in clinical research, real-world evidence, and health economics, having previously held senior medical affairs roles at top organizations including Novartis, Biogen, and EMD Serono.

A published researcher, Terrie actively champions diversity, equity, and inclusion to address systemic healthcare disparities. She serves on key advisory bodies across the landscape, including as a Board Member for the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America (MSAA).

Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2006, Terrie uniquely merges her personal journey with deep scientific expertise, ensuring the patient voice remains at the center of healthcare innovation. She earned her PharmD from the University of California, San Francisco.

Eric Mahoney is Associate Vice President of Science Policy and Research Programs at the Personalized Medicine Coalition (PMC), where he supports the organization’s science policy initiatives and strategic programs advancing personalized medicine.

Prior to joining PMC, Eric served at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER), where he led complex regulatory and scientific initiatives supporting generic drug development and review operations. In this role, he collaborated across multiple FDA offices and stakeholders to advance regulatory policy, scientific review processes, and program management activities.

Before joining FDA, Eric conducted biomedical and translational research at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and Columbia University, contributing to studies focused on cancer biology, molecular genetics, and health disparities. He also supported academic research programs spanning neuroscience, regenerative medicine, orthopaedics, and translational drug development and taught undergraduate and graduate-level science coursework.

Eric holds a Master of Science degree in Molecular Genetics, Biochemistry, Immunology, and Microbiology from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Miami University. He also completed Duke University’s Certified Project Management Professional (DCPM) program.

Kristina McGuire has been at Regeneron since 2017 and is building and leading a team that is responsible for delivery of companion diagnostics as well as leading biomarker operations. Throughout the course of her career, Dr. McGuire has gained valuable experience in various aspects of precision medicine and companion diagnostics from positions held at pharmaceutical/biotechnology companies as well as at institutions that provide outsourced laboratory work for the pharmaceutical industry. Her early career at Amgen focused on assay validation; first in a GMP environment and then applying sound validation principles across various technologies to build processes for fit-for-purpose biomarker assay validation and clinical sample analysis for clinical trial support. From there she has continued to support precision medicine but focused her career to become an expert in companion diagnostics and supporting successful patient selection strategies for eventual registration of both the drug and the diagnostic.

Dr. Mauricio Monaco is Vice President, Global Medical Affairs at Revolution Medicines, where he leads global strategic medical affairs planning and execution across the company’s portfolio. A Medical Affairs leader with 28 years of experience in local, regional, and global oncology roles, he has shaped medical strategy across multiple tumor types and assets at Eli Lilly, Merck, Novartis, Pfizer, and Bristol Myers Squibb. Throughout his career, he has worked with multiple targeted agents in oncology, including in biomarker-defined patient subsets, developing medical strategies that support appropriate patient identification and the proper use of these novel therapies.

Dr. Monaco earned his medical degree from Universidade de São Paulo (Brazil), where he trained in General Pediatrics and Pediatric Hematology, and holds an M.Sc. in Biotechnology from Johns Hopkins University (US) and a postgraduate degree in Cancer and Clinical Oncology from Queen Mary University of London/Barts Cancer Institute (UK).

Jimi Olaghere is a CasGevy® recipient who has developed a keen interest in the advancements of cell and gene therapies, since his transformative participation in the groundbreaking clinical trial.

He is passionate about the positive impact these therapies can have on patients in need and has become a staunch advocate for increased accessibility of gene therapies for sickle cell disease patients worldwide.

Dr. Andrew Pecora is a globally recognized healthcare innovator who holds 70+ patents in life sciences and health IT. He is the CEO and Chairman of Outcomes Matter Innovations, a company that offers a point-of-care decision support, technology-enabled solution for all major specialties to enhance clinical quality, reduce unwarranted variations, and make care more affordable. He previously founded and has chaired the Board of Cota since its inception and has a tenure of over 33 years at Hackensack University Medical.

Dr. Pecora is also a seasoned oncologist and one of the world’s experts in blood and marrow stem-cell transplantation, cellular medicine, and immunology research.  He has led award-winning research funded by the National Cancer Institute and the AHEPA Research Foundation and has been involved in clinical evaluation of novel agents including cancer vaccines, replication competent viruses, and targeted therapies.  He has also been involved in laboratory and clinical development of engineered blood and marrow stem-cell grafts for autologous and allogeneic transplantation, as well as cell therapy for regenerative medicine.

Dr. Shakti Ramkissoon is board-certified in anatomic pathology and neuropathology with expertise in adult and pediatric brain tumors. He obtained his M.D./Ph.D. from Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, concentrating on cancer stem cell biology. Dr. Ramkissoon then completed an anatomic pathology residency and neuropathology fellowship training at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) in Boston, MA. After completing his clinical training, he joined the neuropathology faculty at BWH and began his postdoctoral fellowship focused on integrating preclinical data with histologic and molecular findings to inform and design clinical trials for adult and pediatric brain tumors. During his fellowship, he completed a master’s in biomedical informatics within the Center for Biomedical Informatics at Harvard Medical School.

Joachim Reischl is Vice President and Franchise Head of Neurodegenerative Diseases and Oncology at Danaher Diagnostics. He leads disease-area growth strategies, clinical advocacy and innovation partnerships aimed at advancing clinical care pathways. His focus is on accelerating the adoption of diagnostic solutions that enable earlier and scalable disease detection and improve integration into healthcare systems.

Previously, Joachim served as Vice President, External Innovation Diagnostics at Danaher, leading the development of collaborative partnerships across academia, industry, and healthcare stakeholders to support the co-creation and translation of new diagnostic technologies. Prior to Danaher, he held senior leadership roles at AstraZeneca, including Vice President and Head of Diagnostic Science and Vice President, Head of Policy, Portfolio & Externalization for Precision Medicine, where he helped establish diagnostic, alliance, and portfolio management capabilities to enable patient-focused and system-relevant innovation.

Across more than two decades in pharmaceutical research and development, Joachim has contributed to the development of multiple precision medicines and has led biomarker and precision-medicine strategy at Bayer.

He is a biochemist with a Ph.D. in molecular genetics and an M.Sc. in Pharmaceutical Medicine.

As Chief Policy Officer, and Vice President, Science Policy and Government Affairs, Jon Retzlaff directs and oversees the government affairs, science policy, and patient advocacy activities for the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) in Washington, D.C. 

Before joining the AACR in 2010, Mr. Retzlaff held numerous positions, including leading the health and medical practice for a government relations firm in D.C.; serving as legislative director for the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB); working for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in a variety of positions; and being “detailed” to the House (1998) and Senate (2000-2001) appropriations committees.

Mr. Retzlaff earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Minnesota (U of M) in 1989, a master’s degree in public administration from Indiana University (IU) in 1993, and a master’s degree in business administration from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2002.

Dr. Cagri Senyucel earned his M.D. degree in Turkiye and completed his residency and Ph.D. in Radiology. After serving as an Assistant Professor of Radiology specializing in Oncologic Imaging, he joined Eli Lilly & Company in 2011. Over more than 14 years, he held various medical affairs leadership roles across Europe, Asia, and the United States, ultimately leading the global and U.S. medical affairs teams for obesity and cardiometabolic health.

In August 2025, Dr. Senyucel joined Roche Diagnostics Corporation as Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President. He currently leads the U.S. Medical Affairs, Access, and Corporate Development teams across Cardiometabolism, Neurology, Infectious Diseases, and Oncology/Pathology.

Dhanrajan Tiruchinapalli is a translational medicine and precision diagnostics leader with extensive experience in oncology biomarker strategy, drug development, and companion diagnostics. He specializes in integrating translational science, digital pathology, and AI-driven approaches to accelerate clinical development and improve patient outcomes. As a leader of multidisciplinary and global teams, he drives cross-functional collaboration across research, clinical, regulatory, and diagnostic organizations. His expertise spans biomarker development, precision medicine, and the application of innovative technologies to advance cancer therapeutics and personalized healthcare.

Danielle Townsley, M.D., is a physician-scientist, board-certified hematologist, and Head of Oncology Precision Medicine at Amgen. She trained in hematology at the NIH/NHLBI, where she became an internationally recognized expert in bone marrow failure disorders, integrating laboratory investigation with clinical development of novel therapies for aplastic anemia, MDS, and telomere disorders. Her work included seminal NEJM studies, including leading the investigator-sponsored trial that established the current first-line treatment for severe aplastic anemia and contributed to its subsequent FDA approval.

After nearly a decade at the NIH, Dr. Townsley transitioned to industry in 2017, bringing this bench-to-bedside approach to oncology drug development. At Amgen, she leads translational medicine, biomarker, and diagnostic/companion diagnostic strategies across the oncology portfolio, spanning T-cell engagers, KRAS-targeted therapies, and emerging precision oncology programs, with a focus on understanding response and resistance, patient selection, and translating clinical insights back into drug discovery.

Jennifer F. Walsh is Chair of the Federal Government Affairs and Lobbying Practice. She has extensive experience in government affairs, including a lengthy career as a senior staffer in the U.S. Congress and the California Legislature, and as a vice president for Federal Government Affairs at a top 20 Fortune 500 health care company. Jennifer has effectively advanced key issues before the United States Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, and the Administration.

Prior to joining Foley, Jennifer served as vice president for federal government affairs at a leading multinational health care company, where she developed and executed strategies to impact policy objectives and increase the company’s visibility among opinion leaders. Jennifer collaborated with colleagues across the health care industry, including third parties and trade associations, to ensure the effective execution and success of the company’s priorities.

Jennifer served nine years as chief of staff to former Congressman Dennis Cardoza, 18th District of California. She was chief advisor and principal strategist on all legislative and political activity and served as primary liaison with the Bush and Obama Administrations, Members of Congress, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and the California Democratic Delegation. She also served as finance director for the Cardoza for Congress campaign, where she developed and managed a $2 million fundraising effort. Previously, she served as a chief of staff in the California State Legislature as well as a congressional field representative, deputy campaign manager, and House Democratic Caucus program director to former Congressman Vic Fazio, 3rd Congressional District of California.

Alexia Weller is a registered nurse who completed training as a psychiatric nurse practitioner and is a Doctor of Nursing Practice candidate at Virginia Commonwealth University. Her clinical experience spans acute care and psychiatry, with a growing focus on patient advocacy, health policy, and the translation of evidence-based care into practice.

Her advocacy in personalized medicine grew from navigating her grandmother’s experience with non-small cell lung cancer, where delays in biomarker testing and barriers to guideline-recommended care highlighted the gap that can exist between precision medicine and patients’ access to them. Drawing on her perspective as both a healthcare professional and caregiver, Alexia advocates for timely biomarker testing, equitable access to personalized therapies, and inclusion of patient perspectives in healthcare decision-making.

She is particularly interested in how clinicians, patients, policymakers, and healthcare organizations can collaborate to ensure that advances in personalized medicine translate into meaningful improvements in patient care.