Fatima serves as the Vice President of Global Patient Affairs at Blueprint Medicines, a global, fully integrated biopharmaceutical company that invents life-changing medicines. We seek to alleviate human suffering by solving important medical problems in two core focus areas: allergy/inflammation and oncology/hematology.
In her role, Fatima leads transformative collaborations with external advocacy groups, empowering and educating those affected by systemic mastocytosis. She has led the launch of significant initiatives such as GRTY Health’s SM patient platform, MastoConnect (https://mastoconnect.com), and Colors of SM (https://www.colorsofsm.com/), in partnership with the advocacy community, and actively chairs the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (ED&I) patient committee, which looks to address the needs of marginalized and underrepresented communities.
With over two decades of experience in the biopharma sector, Fatima is a dedicated and passionate advocate for patients. Celebrated by PharmaVoice 100 as one of the most inspiring leaders in patient advocacy, her work focuses on amplifying patient voices and harnessing the collective power of individuals to make a positive impact. Fatima is committed to enhancing patient engagement in the development of transformative medicines, ensuring that the patient perspective is integral to every stage of the process.
She inspires her colleagues to foster a culture of purpose-driven advocacy, ensuring that patient welfare remains at the forefront of their mission. Beyond her professional role, Fatima is deeply involved in civic activities, continually dedicating herself to enhancing patient welfare and advocacy on a broader scale.
Stefano Ferrara is a Clinical Development Expert and Director of Clinical Science at BeiGene, specializing in oncology clinical development with a focus on innovative cancer treatments. With over 20 years of leadership in global oncology clinical trials, he has played key roles at Celgene Corp, Novartis Pharma, and Sanofi-Aventis, specializing in GI, Lung, GU, and Pediatric cancers. Stefano is passionate about increasing accessibility to cancer treatment globally. He holds a strong commitment to humanitarian efforts as a supporter of Save the Children. Stefano brings his expertise in both science and advocacy to his role on the advisory board
Cesare is co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Oncoheroes Biosciences Inc., a Boston-based biotech company focused on pediatric oncology drug development. Cesare has more than 20 years of experience in the drug development field, in both scientific and commercial roles. Previously, he held senior positions at AMRI, Aptuit Laurus, ThalesNano and Auxiliis. Cesare started his career as research scientist in a pharmaceutical company (Eisai, London) and in academia (Institute of Enzymology, Budapest).
Following the death of his first daughter Laura to cancer, Cesare set up aPODD Foundation, a London-based charity focused on accelerating paediatric oncology drug development. As aPODD’s chairman he is actively involved on a pro-bono basis in drug repurposing projects, advocacy efforts and research collaborations.
Cesare holds an MSc in Applied Molecular Biology and a PhD in Neurosciences from UCL, University of London, as well as an MBA from the Central European University, Budapest.
For the past 27 years, Darren has developed a well-rounded knowledge and experience with all level of Governments, Industry and First Nations. Starting with working with the Alberta Government from 1998 to 2010, Darren had focused his career in land management, wildfire management, Consultation and Indigenous Litigation. Darren then worked for Cenovus Energy in Stakeholder Relations in 2010, developing an understanding of the oil and gas industry until he was seconded and then hired by his First Nation, Cold Lake First Nations, in 2014. Darren worked in multiple roles at his First Nation, including Executive Advisor to the Chief and Council, Chief Administrative Officer, Consultation Director, and the Lands and Resources Director. In October 2022, Darren started managing both his First Nation’s 100% owned environmental businesses, Nu Nenne Environmental LP and co-managing a newly developed partnership company, Nu Nenne Advisian Environmental LP with Worley Consulting.
With 25 years of experience, Elena has supported 100+ resource and energy projects through her expertise in delivering environmental and social services.
Elena is recognized as an influential figure in the sustainability sector, serving on multiple government and industry leading practice steering committees. Her significant contributions to the field were acknowledged in 2021 when she was voted among the top ten women worldwide working in sustainability by the Transition Economy (TE100).
Elena is a seasoned sustainability leader, who is driven by a passion for creating meaningful impact and positive change. She actively collaborates with industry, government, civil society groups, and affected communities to promote responsible energy and resource development. Her areas of expertise include community engagement, Indigenous participation, environmental and social impact management, as well as environmental approvals.
Dr. Lauria is an environmental consultant with 30 years’ post graduate experience – 25 of those years have been working around the world with Worley. Dr. Lauria provides strategic advice to clients across the globe in support of their sustainability planning, enablement of development, community planning and regulatory advocacy. Dr. Lauria has built and led teams across the globe to collaborate and deliver successful environmental outcomes for industrial developments.
Dr. Lauria has extensive experience in structuring and managing large environmental and social teams for industrial sectors in offshore, onshore, and remote locations. Currently Dr. Lauria heads up Worley Consulting’s global environment and sustainability business.
Dr. Lauria has a degree in Marine Biology with Business from the University of London, and her Ph.D was focused on biophysical interactions in estuarine systems at the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton UK. She is passionate about the changing definition of success, the importance of diversity of thought and advocates for industrial projects to be developed with a positive impact to community, biodiversity and water.
Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed is a strategic life sciences executive and early-stage company builder with a proven track record of bridging scientific rigor with capital-efficient business strategies. He currently serves as the Director of Project & Portfolio Strategy at Greenstone Biosciences, where he directs matrixed, cross-functional workflows to advance discovery pipelines to IND readiness and enables venture spin-outs. Additionally, Dr. Ahmed acts as a Strategic Advisor for Accanito Therapeutics, guiding capital strategy and foundational business operations to transition academic oncology assets into company-sponsored clinical trials.
Deeply embedded in the San Francisco Bay Area venture and academic ecosystem, he is also a Visiting Scholar at Stanford University, focusing on integrating advanced methodologies into practical drug development. A recognized thought leader in translational modeling, Dr. Ahmed has published extensively on regulatory modernization and New Approach Methods (NAMs)—including “Clinical Trial in a Dish” frameworks—in leading journals such as Circulation and Nature Reviews Drug Discovery. He holds a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Toronto.
