Archives: Speakers

Early Development Clinical Project and Team Leader, leading pre-clinical operational strategy and First In Human clinical trails globally.

I am a physician-scientist at the intersection of pathology diagnostics, AI, and drug development. Currently a Global Medical Affairs Lead in Pathology at Roche Diagnostics, my mission is to architect the next generation of precision diagnostics through the AI-enabled multimodal integration of digital pathology, spatial biology, and multianalyte tissue detection. With a career spanning elite research institutions and biopharma / diagnostics / biotech, I have a strong track record of bridging the gap between foundational biological discovery and the delivery of transformative clinical tools. Core Areas of Expertise: • Precision Diagnostics: Diagnostic and companion diagnostic (CDx) development, biomarker strategy, and technology assessment. • Digital & Spatial Innovation: AI-enabled integration of traditional morphology, molecular pathology, and spatial biology. • Clinical & Translational Leadership: USA board-certified anatomic pathologist with deep experience in drug safety (toxicology), translational medicine, molecular and investigative pathology, and medical affairs. • Strategic Diligence: Expert in biotech/biopharma life sciences and diagnostics diligence. My Journey: From Foundational Discoveries to Global Leadership From the beginning, my work has been rooted in a deep commitment to revealing and modeling human biology, which was first inspired by studying chemical engineering, cardiology, and immunology. During my MD-PhD at UCLA, I discovered the molecular basis of DNA-protein recognition by bHLH-PAS transcription factors—a finding that helped unify fields as diverse as cell fate determination, toxicology, circadian rhythms, and oxygen sensing. I further honed this expertise through a pathology residency and fellowships at Stanford University, where I later served as faculty. For nearly a decade, I balanced teaching and clinical practice with leading a research laboratory focused on genetics, developmental biology, and cancer biology at UT Southwestern. Since entering industry in 2009, I have applied this rigorous scientific lens to every stage of the drug and diagnostic lifecycle. My goal has been to evolve how we see and treat disease by merging traditional pathology with the power of modern digital and molecular tools.

Health and life sciences leader with extensive experience in patient advocacy and public policy.

Seasoned, forward-thinking, business savvy, highly skilled biomarker, CDx and clinical development business operations biopharmaceutical program management professional. Enjoy building sustainable infrastructure and delivering high-value real-time technology solutions, hiring, managing and leading teams to get there faster and smarter. Focused on creating agile turnkey, robust operations, proven to decrease study start-up lead times, delivering on corporate goals and R&D pipeline milestones. Demonstrated success to Sr. Mgmt. as high value, high performing employee, leader and people manager. Extensive experience in defining and driving operational strategy, commercializing oncology products, spinning off- biotech companies, third-party vendor and alliance management. Significant Sponsor, CRO and vendor facing experience.

I am an attorney specializing in Food & Drug and Healthcare law, with a particular expertise in drug development, government drug pricing and reimbursement issues. I also do compliance, M&A and advocacy in this area. My clients include start-ups and Fortune 500 companies that manufacture and market drugs and medical devices. My public health background and research and international experience inform my practice.

Soo is a senior biotech executive with 25+ years of experience creating value through strategy, partnerships, and disciplined execution. She has a proven track record advancing innovative therapies and aligning scientific, clinical, and commercial priorities to drive enterprise outcomes. Soo has led business development, alliance management, operations, and technical commercialization across global organizations, delivering actionable results through partnerships, transactions, and portfolio execution. She is known for converting complex opportunities into clear strategic narratives that support investment, governance, and long-term value creation. A trusted board-level operator and global connector, Soo brings deep cross-border relationships spanning investors, biopharma partners, and scientific leaders. She builds high-performing teams, instills a culture of accountability and quality, and consistently delivers against ambitious, first-in-class objectives.

Karen Peterson is a nationally recognized patient advocate, community scientist, and Stage IV triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) survivor whose lived experience has reshaped how clinical research teams engage with patients — particularly those historically underrepresented in trials. Her journey began with a life-altering diagnosis that forced her to navigate a complex healthcare system, confront uncertainty, and make critical treatment decisions often without clear guidance. What emerged from that experience was not only survival, but a calling: to ensure other patients would not face research, treatment, and decision-making alone.

Her work quickly expanded beyond peer support into systems change. Karen became a trusted collaborator to researchers, pharmaceutical companies, and clinical trial teams seeking authentic patient insight, including her successful partnership with the Tisch Cancer Institute’s Phase I Clinical Research Team in NYC.

In addition to direct patient navigation, Karen has become a sought-after speaker, consultant, and thought leader. She advises organizations on patient experience strategy, recruitment materials, and community engagement, helping teams design research processes that reflect real patient needs. Her voice has been featured across media, conferences, including The Today’s Show , Health.com and Black Doctors.org.

Today, Karen Peterson stands at the intersection of advocacy, research, and health equity. Through Karen’s Club and her broader role as a community scientist, she continues to champion a future where every patient — regardless of background — has the knowledge, confidence, and support needed to participate in research and access innovative care.

Global biopharmaceutical executive with 25+ years of enterprise leadership across the US, Europe, Japan, China, and APAC. Proven record in securing diversified biotech financing, leading corporate transformation initiatives, portfolio strategy prioritization, governance, organizational leadership, and health system stakeholder engagement. Experienced in leading both early and late‑stage development companies through pivotal inflection points—including structured financings, mergers & acquisitions, delivered 15+ FDA, EMA, and PMDA approvals/launches across therapeutic areas, built high‑performing fit for future global organizations. Enthusiastic for impactful patient centric solutions, health system sustainability initiatives and refining development efficiencies to accelerate speed-to-market.

Highly motivated, results driven Clin Ops leader with medical background and over 20 years of experience in clinical research (biotech, CROs), from IND/FIH to global ph3. Combines deep industry knowledge with a proven track record of clinical trial execution across multiple functions. Extensive experience in early phase oncology, as well as other therapeutic areas (rare disease, autoimmune etc). Broad skillset (CRO/vendor management, clinical operations, safety and DM oversight, medical monitoring) with ability to be an individual contributor as well as building and leading my team. Speaker at the industry conferences (SCOPE, OCT etc) My passion is planning and executing clinical trials in the most efficient and creative way while staying on budget. I enjoy building high functioning and stable clinical teams and department infrastructure. Operational oversight, cross-functional coordination and leadership. Training programs, process development and improvement, SOP writing.

Phill Gallacher, Senior Vice President, Clinical Development Operations and Clinical Program Management , Cullinan Oncology

Phill is the SVP, Head of Clinical Operations & Program Mgmt. at Cullinan Therapeutics.

He has over 30  years of experience in Clinical Development across a wide spectrum of environments, organizations and therapeutic areas within Clinical Operations, Program & Portfolio Management, and Functional Line Management / Leadership.

Prior to joining Cullinan, Phill led the Clinical Development Operations at Aprea Therapeutics for over 5 years in various solid tumor and hematological indications, and prior to that he spent over 10 years at Biogen where he had several roles across Clinical Operations, and Program & Alliance Management encompassing both late phase and early phase Neurology development programs.