Dr. Rachel Meyers, Senior Vice President, Research at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals

 
Dr. Rachel Meyers, Senior Vice President, Research at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals

Dr. Rachel Meyers is Vice President of Research and RNAi Lead Development (RLD) at Alnylam. In this capacity, she plays a key role in the advancement of Alnylam’s RNAi therapeutic programs, from early discovery through clinical development and her team is responsible for program leadership for most of Alnylam’s preclinical and clinical stage programs. In addition to leading the research organization, Dr. Meyers has worked closely with Alnylam’s business development group, playing an integral part in establishing important collaborations, and has functioned as a scientific lead in collaborations with Novartis, Takeda, Isis, Roche and Genzyme. She also led the scientific diligence resulting in Alnylam’s acquisition of the Sirna assets from Merck. Prior to taking on the leadership of the Research and RLD Groups, Dr. Meyers was one of Alnylam’s Research Directors, focusing her efforts on the development of RNAi therapeutics to target infectious diseases, and was the project lead for the company’s RSV program, where she was responsible for advancing ALN-RSV01 from inception, through pre-clinical development and into the clinic. Dr. Meyers was honored by Mass High Tech as one of 10 Women to Watch 2007 and by R & D Directions as one of its Top 20 Scientists 2007. Before joining Alnylam in April of 2003, Dr. Meyers was a Senior Scientist at Millennium Pharmaceuticals (1999-2003) where she was involved in the bioinformatics, molecular and cell biology of target discovery. Dr. Meyers completed her postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School in the field of signal transduction, and received her Ph.D. from MIT in the field of in vitro transcription.  She serves as a Scientific Advisor to Editas Medicine.





 


 LINKS

 https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-meyers-136a8

 https://www.facebook.com/rachel.meyers.7773

• Works at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals

  Past: Millennium Pharmaceuticals
• 

  Studied at Brandeis University

  Past: John Dewey High School
• 

  Lives in Newton, Massachusetts

  From Brooklyn, New York

Experience

VP Research and RNAi Lead Dev

Alnylam pharmaceuticals

April 2003 – Present (13 years 1 month)

Sr Scientist

Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc

1998 – 2003 (5 years)

Post Doc

Harvard Medical School

1994 – 1998 (4 years)

Research Associate

Genetics Institute

1984 – 1987 (3 years)

Education

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

PhD, Biology

1987 – 1993

Brandeis University

BA, Biochemistry

1980 – 1984

 





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Cesar M Compadre, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences USA

.

Cesar M Compadre

University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
USA


Compadre has extensive pharmaceutical research experience, on the development of bioactive compounds based on naturally occurring compounds, and on the use of molecular modeling in drug design and structure-activity studies. He has published over 80 papers and more than 70patents related to the development of bioactive compounds. He is also the developer of one FDA approved antimicrobial technology that is commercially used. He has a BSPharm degree, and obtained his Ph.D degree in medicinal chemistry and pharmacognosy, from the University of Illinois at Chicago. He conducted postdoctoral research on structure-activity relationships studies using molecular modeling at the University of Illinois working with Dr. John M. Pezzuto and at Pomona College working with Professor Corwin Hansch. Additionally, he had a sabbatical experience at NASA Ames Research Center in computer modeling. At the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences he established and directs the molecular modeling facility. He has extensive research collaborations with many scientists locally, nationally and internationally.

Research Interest

Bioactive Natural Products, Molecular Modeling, and Ethnopharmacology Field Research

Cesar M. Compadre, Ph.D.

Professor

Office: Biomed I, Room 246
Phone: 501-686-6493
FAX: 501-686-6057
E-mail: CMCompadre@uams.edu

 https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Cesar_Compadre

 

Dr. Compadre has extensive research experience, on the study of bioactive compounds from natural origin, and on the use of molecular modeling in drug design and structure-activity studies, with over 70 publications, 9 US patents related to the development of bioactive compounds, and one FDA approved antimicrobial technology.  Dr. Compadre has BSPharm degree, and obtained his Ph.D degree in medicinal chemistry and pharmacognosy.  He conducted postdoctoral research on structure-activity relationships studies using molecular modeling at the University of Illinois and at Pomona College working with Professor Corwin Hansch. Additionally, he had a sabbatical experience at NASA Ames Research Center in computer modeling.   At the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences he established and directs the molecular modeling core facility. He has extensive research collaborations with many scientists locally, nationally and internationally.
Dr. Compadre, coordinates and teaches the COP P3 class “Pharmacognosy and Complementary and Alternative Medicine” and  has directed or co-directed over 20 graduate students.

Professional Experience

1994 – present     Director, Biomedical Visualization Center University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
2008 – present     Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
1993 – 2008     Associate Professor Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
1998 – 1999     Visiting Scholar, Bioinformatics Center, NASA, Ames Research Center, California
1988 – 1993     Assistant Professor, Department of Biopharmaceutical Sciences, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
1986 – 1988     Research Associate (Corwin Hansch), Chemistry Department, Pomona College
1985 – 1986     Research Associate (John Pezzuto) Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine and Program for Collaborative Research in the Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago

Research experience

• Nov 1988–
  present

  Professor (Full)

  University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences · Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences
  United States
• Jul 1986–
  Oct 1988
  Pomona College
  USA · Claremont
• Oct 1985–
  Jul 1986

  Research Associate

  University of Illinois at Chicago · College of Pharmacy
  USA · Chicago
• Sep 1980–
  Nov 1988

  Graduate Student- Post-Doctoral

  University of Illinois at Chicago, College of Pharmacy
  USA · Chicago

Other

• Languages
  English, Spanish; Castilian
• Scientific Societies
  MCBIOS
  American Chemical Society
  American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists

 


 





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Abdel Omri

 

Abdel Omri

Laurentian University
Canada
Abdel Omri obtained his PhD from Université de Montréal in 1996. After completing postdoctoral fellowships at McGill University and the University of Toronto (1996-1998), he spent more than 2 years as Research associate at NRC (institute of biological sciences in Ottawa) from 1998 to 2000. He is currently Full Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry with a cross appointment to the Department of Biology, the Biomolecular Sciences PhD Programme, School of Rural and Northern Health PhD Programme. His research interests are focused on Lipid-based drug and vaccine delivery systems. His laboratory employs a multi-disciplinary approach to addressing the antimicrobial resistance to gram negative bacteria in cystic fibrosis patients and in medical devices implants. He is also involved in the education of undergraduate and graduate students through the coordination of several calendar courses in biochemistry, pharmacology and toxicology and pharmaceutical technology. In addition to research, He is actively involved in the research training of both undergraduate and graduate students. He has served in administrative capacities in several international scientific societies. He has published over 50 peer-reviewed research articles over his career on various aspects of drug delivery and targeting in addition to several published book chapters and books (2). He has served on a number of Editorial Boards and Granting Agencies in Canada and abroad. He also has 2 patents.

Research Interest

Biochemistry; Pharmacology; Toxicology; Pharmaceutical technology; Lipid-based drug and vaccine delivery systems.
 

Abdelwahab Omri 

Full Professor

Chemistry and Biochemistry
Science, Engineering and Architecture

S-416, Science Building
Sudbury Campus

705.675.1151 ext 2190

aomri@laurentian.ca

• About
• Research
• Teaching
• Publications

 https://laurentian.academia.edu/AbdelOmri

 https://www.linkedin.com/in/abdel-omri-19842811

 

Biography

Dr. Omri obtained his Ph.D. degree from the Université de Montréal, Canada, in 1995. After completing postdoctoral fellowships at McGill University and the University of Toronto (1996–1998), he spent more than 2 years as Research Associate at NRC (Institute of Biological Sciences in Ottawa) from 1998 to 2000. Dr. Omri is currently a Full Professor at the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry with a cross appointment to the Department of Biology, the Biomolecular Sciences Ph.D. Program, School of Rural and Northern Health Ph.D. Program. His research interests are focused on lipid-based drug and vaccine delivery systems. His laboratory employs a multidisciplinary approach to addressing the antimicrobial resistance to gram negative bacteria in cystic fibrosis patients and in medical devices implants. Dr. Omri is also involved in the education of undergraduate and graduate students through the coordination of several calendar courses in biochemistry, pharmacology and toxicology, and pharmaceutical technology. In addition to research, Dr. Omri is actively involved in the research training of both undergraduate and graduate students. Dr. Omri has served in administrative capacities in several international scientific societies. He has published over 60 peer-reviewed research articles over his career on various aspects of drug delivery and targeting in addition to several published book chapters and books (2). He has served on a number of editorial boards and granting agencies in Canada and abroad. Dr. Omri has 2 patents.

Education

• Pharm B
• MSc
• PhD

Abdel Omri, Ph.D.

Northern Ontario School of Medicine, East Campus
935 Ramsey Lake Road
Sudbury ON Canada P3E 2C6
Email: aomri@nosm.ca
 

Current Position

Professor, Chemistry/Biochemistry
Cross appointed to Northern Ontario School of Medicine, Medical Sciences Division
Cross appointed to Biology, Laurentian University:
Faculty member: Biomolecular Sciences PhD program, Laurentian University
Faculty member: IRNH PhD program, School of Rural & Northern Health Laurentian University
​

Education and Training

Ph.D.  Pharmacology (Faculty of Medicine). University of Montreal, 1996
M.Sc.  Pharmacology (Faculty of Medicine). University of Montreal, 1992
B.Sc.   Pharmacy, University of Baghdad (Baghdad), 1983

Research Investigations

My current interests include:

1. Liposomal delivery of antisense oligonucleotides. Effect on P-glycoprotein function in multidrug resistant cells in vitro and in vivo studies. Cationic liposome formulations are used to promote the penetration of antisense oligonucleotides into the cell membrane and protect them from enzymatic degradation (nucleases).
2. Liposomal delivery of antimicrobial agents towards resistant bacterial pathogens: pulmonary and systemic infections. Construction of liposomes with high encapsulation efficiency, favorable antimicrobial release profile and enhanced bactericidal activity, to overcome the problem of bacterial resistance caused by low permeability of the bacterial cell envelope and by production of antimicrobial-inactivating enzymes.
3. Liposomal formulations of drugs and vaccine for oral delivery. Liposomes are used to protect the encapsulated agents from the harsh gastrointestinal milieu (low pH, phospholipases, and bile salts) and to enhance their absorption to the systemic circulation and to increase the efficacy of these agents while minimizing their frequency of administration. Special liposomal formulation will be prepared, characterized and assayed for their efficacy in vitro and in animal models.

Membership and Contributions in Professional Organizations

1. American Society for Microbiology
2. American Society of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
3. Pharmacological Society of Canada
4. Canadian Society of Pharmaceutical Sciences
5. Ordre des Pharmaciens de Tunisie

Selected Publications

Shweta Gupta, Rajesh Kesarla Abdelwahab Omri. Formulation strategies to improve the bioavailabilty of poorly absorbed drugs with special emphasis on self-emulsifying systems ISRN Pharmaceutics, 2013. In press
Moayad Alhariri, Ali O. Azghani, Abdelwahab Omri. Liposomal antibiotics for infectious diseases. Expert Opinion on Drug Delivery. 2013 Nov;10 (11): 1515-32
Adam Bignucolo, Varun P. Appanna, Sean C. Thomas, Christopher Auger, Sungwon Han, Abdelwahab Omri, Vasu D. Appanna. Hydrogen peroxide stress provokes a metabolic reprogramming in P. fluorescens: Enhanced production of pyruvate. Journal of Biotechnology. 2013 Sept; 167 (3):  309–315
Mai Alhajlan, Moayad Alhariri, Abdelwahab Omri. Liposomal Clarithromycin: Effectiveness, Safety and Modulation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Virulence Factors. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. 2013 Jun; 57(6):2694-704.
Alhariri M, Omri A. Efficacy of liposomal bismuth-ethanedithiol-loaded tobramycin after intratracheal administration in rats with pulmonary Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. 2013 Jan; 57(1): 569-78.
Linette Sande, Marisel Sanchez, Joy Montes, Andrea J. Wolf, Margie A. Morgan, Abdelwahab Omri, George Y. Liu.Liposomal Encapsulation of Vancomycin Improves Killing of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in a Murine Infection Model. Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. 2012 Sep;67(9): 2191-4.

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Ronald T. Wester, Ph.D., Head of Chemistry

 

Ronald T. Wester, Ph.D., Head of Chemistry

Ron Wester is the Head of Chemistry at Nimbus Therapeutics and has more than 25 years of leadership experience in the pharmaceutical industry. Prior to joining Nimbus, Dr. Wester was a medicinal chemistry principal investigator at Pfizer, where he discovered or co-discovered numerous clinical and preclinical candidates including Phase III CETP inhibitor torcetrapib (HDL-cholesterol elevation), Phase II NHE-1 inhibitor zoniporide (cardioprotection) and Phase II renin inhibitor terlakiren (blood pressure reduction). As Executive Director of Cardiovascular & Metabolic Diseases Medicinal Chemistry, Dr. Wester led more than 100 chemists, and was responsible for establishing and advancing a diverse portfolio of projects across six therapeutic areas (atherosclerosis, cardiovascular, diabetes, obesity, osteoporosis and frailty). He chaired the CETP Early Clinical Management Team, overcoming numerous development challenges while advancing torcetrapib through preclinical and Phase I studies. As Vice President of Exploratory Medicinal Sciences, Dr. Wester led up to 325 scientists and technology experts in providing Pfizer drug discovery projects with integrated technology support, including new lead identification, computational sciences, analytical chemistry, reagent provision, biomarker & functional genomics, and exploratory safety. During his tenure at Pfizer, Dr. Wester complemented his scientific and leadership accomplishments with extensive experience across development, in-/out-licensing, legal, finance, human resources and public policy.
He earned his Ph.D. in synthetic organic chemistry from Yale University with Professor Fred Ziegler. Dr. Wester authored or co-authored 26 scientific publications and presentations, and is an inventor on 15 issued U.S. patents.

Rosana Kapeller, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer

 

 

Rosana Kapeller, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer

Dr. Rosana Kapeller is Chief Scientific Officer of Nimbus Therapeutics and holds responsibility for advancing the company’s programs from discovery to early human proof-of-concept. In addition to spearheading Nimbus’ scientific vision, Dr. Kapeller co-led the Series A funding for the company in 2011 and has worked closely with other members of the management team to create multiple strategic business opportunities for the company, including partnerships and collaborations with Schrodinger, Monsanto, Shire and Genentech. Before joining Nimbus, Dr. Kapeller was Vice President of Research and a Co-Founder of Aileron Therapeutics, where she led the development of that company’s “Stapled Peptide” technology. Under her leadership, Aileron secured $60 million in venture financing over its first four years. Prior to co-founding Aileron, Dr. Kapeller held positions of increasing responsibility at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, most recently serving as Director, Molecular and Cellular Biology. Dr. Kapeller earned her M.D. from Rio de Janeiro State University in Brazil, and her Ph.D. from Tufts University Medical School. She conducted her post-doctoral research work at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute where she was named a David Abraham Fellow in Pediatric Oncology. In 2012, Dr. Kapeller was named one of the Top 20 Women to Watch by Mass High Tech. She currently serves as a scientific advisor to Atlas Venture.

 
 LINKS
 https://www.linkedin.com/in/rosana-kapeller-50231b

 https://twitter.com/kapellerrosana
 https://www.facebook.com/rosana.kapellerlibermann

Experience

CSO

Nimbus Discovery

February 2010 – Present (6 years 3 months)

Consultant

Third Rock Ventures

November 2009 – February 2010 (4 months)

Vice President of Research

Aileron Therapeutics

August 2005 – September 2009 (4 years 2 months)

Director

Millennium Pharmaceuticals

August 2002 – July 2005 (3 years)

Scientist/ Sr. Scientist

Millennium Pharmaceuticals

April 1996 – August 2002 (6 years 5 months)

Education

Tufts University

PhD, Molecular and Cellular Physiology

September 1987 – May 1994

UERJ

MD, Medicine

January 1980 – December 1986

 

How to Get to the Senior Levels of Scientific Management
#WESTpanel

Join us for a thought-provoking discussion on successful strategies for women in reaching top management in the sciences. A dynamic panel of women leaders will share their successes, and more importantly their lessons learned, as they have moved up the career ladder in scientific management. Come hear the wisdom of women leaders as they provide candid feedback and insightful advice on what enables women to reach the top.

Panelists: 

Rosana Kapeller, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer at Nimbus Therapeutics Rosana Kapeller is the Chief Scientific Officer of Nimbus Therapeutics and has more than 20 years of leadership experience in the biotechnology industry. Prior to joining Nimbus, she was Co-Founder and Vice President of Research of Aileron Therapeutics, where she led the development of Aileron’s “Stapled Peptide” technology. Under her scientific leadership, Aileron secured $60 million in venture financing over its first four years. Prior to co-founding Aileron, Dr. Kapeller held positions of increasing responsibility at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, most recently serving as Director, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology. She earned her M.D. from Rio de Janeiro State University in Brazil, and her Ph.D. from Tufts University Medical School. She conducted her post-doctoral research work at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute where she was named a David Abraham Fellow in Pediatric Oncology. Dr. Kapeller has published extensively and filed more than 150 patent applications, of which 50 have been issued. In 2012, Dr. Kapeller was named one of the Top 20 Women to Watch by Mass High Tech.

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Donald W. Nicholson, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer

 Donald W. Nicholson, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer

 

Donald “Don” Nicholson is the Chief Executive Officer and Board member of Nimbus. He joined from Merck where he held various strategic, leadership and operational roles in diverse therapeutic areas, including respiratory, inflammation, immunology, bone, endocrine, urology, infectious diseases and neurosciences. He began his career in 1988 at the Merck-Frosst Centre for Therapeutic Research in Montreal and advanced through various positions of increasing responsibility including Vice President & Site Head of the Merck Neurosciences Research site in San Diego, Calif., and most recently as Vice President and Worldwide Discovery Head for the Respiratory & Immunology Franchise, based in Kenilworth, N.J. Dr. Nicholson has co-authored more than 150 publications in peer-reviewed scientific and medical journals and is internationally-recognized for his contributions to the field of apoptotic cell death. He received his Ph.D. and an Honors B.Sc. degree in biochemistry from the University of Western Ontario, and trained as a Medical Research Council post-doctoral fellow at the University of Munich in Germany. He is the recipient of multiple academic and professional honors.