PITCH - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Executive Director Research Strategy
Dr. Burd brings strategic insight as a consultant and portfolio manager in non-profit organizations and Connecticut pharmaceutical companies (Boehringer Ingelheim and Bayer) and start-up ventures. Amy recognizes the value of opportunities where academic research and medical needs collide.
Job Titles:
- Scientific Director at Roche Sequencing Solutions
Dr. LaRochelle translates ideas from visionary thinking to well positioned applications based on sequencing technologies. With a career spanning experiences in large biopharmaceutical company (Roche), biotechnology (454, Curagen) and government science (NCI), Bill is well positioned to understand the perspectives of academic researchers and application of their technology.
Dr. Dixon brings a depth of experience on the commercialization of academic technology as the former President and CEO of BioRelix, and has a broad pharmaceutical industry perspective developed as a Vice President of Bayer Healthcare. Brian also brings his medicinal chemistry expertise to evaluate the potential of PITCH projects.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Principal Investigator
Dr. Crews is the Principal Investigator of the PITCH program and understands the road academic faculty must take to succeed in translating their discoveries for commercial application. Craig is the Lewis B. Cullman Professor member in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, Founder of the New Haven biotech Arvinas and Co-Founder of Proteolix.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Executive Vice President & CIO, Connecticut Innovations
David has an extensive senior-level experience in operations and finance, including more than 10 years as Executive Vice President, Treasurer and CFO of CuraGen Corporation. In his current role as an Executive Vice President & CIO, David is responsible for managing the investment function at Connecticut Innovations, which includes staffing, portfolio and risk management, outreach, budget planning, and performance measurement. He also is responsible for oversight of the Connecticut Bioscience Innovation Fund (CBIF) and the Regenerative Medicine Research Fund (RMRF).
Janie S. Merkel, Ph.D. is Director of PITCH and the Yale Center for Molecular Discovery. Throughout her career, she has connected technologies that generate large datasets with biologists who rely on them. Prior to joining Yale in 2006, she managed projects and service teams for external customers using protein microarray and universal gene expression profiling technologies at Invitrogen (now LifeTechnologies) and Agilix, whose working groups were founded as Yale spinoff companies. Dr. Merkel has published 24 manuscripts. She was a postdoctoral fellow with the microbial sequencing team at The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR). She earned a Ph.D. in Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry from Yale University and an A.B. in Biophysical Chemistry from Dartmouth College.
Dr. Sweet is an experienced leader in pharmaceutical research and development, working predominantly in the field of diabetes. Working in biotech and pharma (Bayer, Pfizer), she led drug discovery/early development portfolios from idea through Phase 2 proof of concept clinical trials. She has significant experience working with academic, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical communities to identify potential research programs, collaborations, and licensing opportunities.
Job Titles:
- Canaan Partners, Executive in Residence
Dr. Farina has successfully developed and registered treatments for HIV, COPD and emphysema, during his career at Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, where he served as Senior Vice President of Development. Deeply committed to state-wide collaboration and economic development, Peter is a board member for non-profit, government and academic organizations within Connecticut.
Job Titles:
- Senior Principal Scientist at Bristol - Myers Squibb
Dr. Gerritz contributes a wealth of knowledge in medicinal chemical gained from his senior role in drug discovery in the pharmaceutical industry. An expert in the design of chemical methods for the identification of small molecules as therapeutic agents, Sam has published extensively in leading science journals and has filed numerous patents. Sam is highly experienced in a scientific advisory role having served on and frequently chaired several committees, boards and panels.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
Dr. Froshauer brings valuable perspectives from her career as an entrepreneur, scientist, investor and technology community builder. With strong ties and roles as an advisor for academic, industry and government partners, Susan deeply understands the climate for innovation and the ripe opportunities for growth.