Archives: Speakers

Thi Doan is a Biomarker Development Postdoctoral Fellow at Novartis, supporting biomarker operations for early clinical development studies. She collaborates with cross-functional teams, central laboratory vendors, and clinical study teams to oversee biomarker sample strategy, laboratory operations, and data delivery to support translational research and precision medicine initiatives. Prior to Novartis, she earned her PharmD and Personalized Medicine Certificate from the University of Florida.

Doris is an established clinical operations leader with 15 years of experience running global Phase I-IV trials at pharma as well as biotech organizations. Her expertise includes clinical trial execution and oversight, outsourcing and sponsor oversight, and inspection readiness, having supported multiple successful regulatory inspections. She holds a Master’s degree from the Technical University of Munich and a PhD from Queen Mary University of London.

Senior Global Regulatory Leader with 20+ years of experience in global drug development across multiple
Therapeutic areas, ensuring access to innovative medicines for patients. Skilled in transforming complex regulatory
landscapes into strategic opportunities.

Extensive experience leading regulatory strategy for innovative medicines across international markets.
Holding leadership roles with responsibility for global regulatory organizations, guiding multidisciplinary
teams and shaping development and approval strategies from early development through commercialization (FIH to
pivotal).

Throughout my career, I served as a regulatory advisor to executive leadership, driving strategic
engagement with health authorities worldwide and enabling regulatory pathways for complex and innovative
therapeutic programs.

My expertise spans global regulatory strategy, portfolio governance, health authority interactions, business
development due-diligence, organizational transformation, and regulatory operating model design.
In addition to my regulatory leadership, I led large-scale digital transformation initiatives across
research and development organizations, overseeing enterprise-wide process modernization and implementation
programs.

Sigal is a strategic, outcome-focused Digital Innovation leader with over 20 years of international experience in leading AI, data and digital strategies and delivering large-scale transformation programmes across complex organisations and environments.

Sigal is the Director of AI, Data and Digital Innovation at Guy’s and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust, and the AI Centre for Value Based Healthcare – a consortium of healthcare organisations, academic institutes and international industry partners.

Sigal’s experience covers roles at national and international organisations across digital, AI and data disciplines – delivering business transformation and growth, technology innovation, AI applications and data services.

Sigal aims to harness rich health analytics, data science, digital innovation and cutting-edge technology to develop scalable solutions that enhance outcomes for patients, families and staff across the healthcare ecosystem.

Susan Li holds a PhD in Polymer Chemistry and Physics from Nankai University in China. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UTSW) in the United States. Before joining Asymchem, she previously worked at PolyPeptide Group where she focused on CMC development for peptide APIs. She also served as a Senior Scientist in the Department of Macromolecular Life Sciences and Cancer Biology at the Stanford Research Institute (SRI), leading efforts to establish a peptide-targeted drug platform for cancer treatment and diagnosis. In 2019, Susan became the Director of Peptide R&D at Sinopep Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd. in China, where she led the development of peptide APIs, including Semaglutide and Desmopressin. Under her leadership, the DMFs for these compounds were successfully completed and found to meet FDA standards. Currently, Susan works as the Peptide Chief Scientist at Asymchem Group, overseeing peptide CMC development and manufacturing. She also leads Center of Tides Innovation Technology at Asymchem which is focusing on green tides development.

Dr. Wuming Yan brings over a decade of experience in oligonucleotide CMC (Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls), spanning the full development lifecycle from pre-clinical research to commercial manufacturing. He has played pivotal roles in the successful development and regulatory approval of oligonucleotide therapeutics, including Izervay and Spinraza. At Asymchem, Dr. Yan oversees all oligonucleotide programs from early R&D through late-phase development and commercial readiness. He is responsible for building and leading a centralized, collaborative oligo team that serves as a one-stop solution for clients, driving innovation and operational excellence in oligonucleotide manufacturing. Dr. Yan is recognized for his strategic leadership and deep technical expertise in oligo process development, scale-up, and regulatory strategy, making him a trusted partner in advancing oligonucleotide therapeutics from concept to market.

Dr. Lin Chen earned his PhD under the mentorship of Professor George Barany at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities. Following his doctoral studies, he spent several years at Axcell Biosciences, a Cytogen subsidiary on the U.S. East Coast, where he led high-throughput peptide synthesis efforts. He subsequently joined Roche Colorado Corporation in Boulder, where he began his career in peptide API process development. After Corden Pharma acquired the Roche Boulder facility, he served as a Distinguished Scientist and Project Lead. At Corden Pharma Colorado, he later advanced to roles such as Process Group Leader and Process Development Manager. Currently at Asymchem, he is the Associate Vice President, responsible for Peptide Manufacturing Technology and R&D.

Dr. Xuecheng Jiao is Vice General Manager of Asymchem’s Center of Synthetic Biology Technology, where he leads the company’s enzyme engineering group and the development of integrated biocatalysis and synthetic biology platforms.

Since joining Asymchem as a Senior Scientist in 2016, he has progressed through a series of scientific and leadership roles, building multidisciplinary capabilities spanning enzyme discovery and engineering, cell-free protein synthesis, automated high-throughput screening, AI-enabled protein design, process development, scale-up, and GMP manufacturing. His work focuses on translating emerging biotechnologies into robust, scalable, and cost-effective manufacturing solutions for small molecules, therapeutic peptides, oligonucleotides, bioconjugates, recombinant proteins, and other complex modalities.

He has played a key role in establishing Asymchem’s AI-enabled, process-driven enzyme engineering platform and advancing innovative technologies in enzymatic oligonucleotide synthesis, peptide ligation, selective bioconjugation, and metabolic engineering. His work bridges scientific innovation with industrial implementation, supporting projects from early proof of concept through process scale-up and commercial manufacturing.

Dr. Jiao is an inventor or co-inventor of more than 100 Chinese patent applications and over 50 international patent applications. He received his combined Master’s and Ph.D. training in Biochemical Engineering from the State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering at East China University of Science and Technology.

As Senior Vice President, Managing Director at Praxis, Karen Grobe brings over two decades of specialized expertise in patient recruitment, retention, and outreach for clinical trials. Her background spans a broad array of complex therapeutic areas including support for more than 230 rare disease trials. Karen leads strategic and operational initiatives across global studies, partnering closely with sponsors, research sites, and patient communities to build participant-centered recruitment strategies.