Archives: Speakers

Jon is a seasoned professional with over 20 years of experience and has demonstrated expertise in helping Pharma, Biotech and CROs solve complex and challenging development issues; ensuring clinical studies remain on their critical path to success. Throughout his tenured career, Jon has held pivotal roles at Pfizer and Avantor where he has made significant contributions to the development and launch of life saving and life changing medicines and he now brings that expertise to Emsere. As a speaker, Jon engages audiences with insightful discussions, drawing from his extensive experience and unique perspectives.

Prasanna Rao is a distinguished AI practitioner and industry thought leader, currently serving as the Chief Products and Innovation Officer at Saama. With over 30 years of experience in information technology and analytics, including more than a decade in healthcare and life sciences, Prasanna brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to his role.

Previously, as Global Head of AI/ML, Clinical Data Sciences at Pfizer Research & Development, Prasanna worked closely with stakeholders, vendors, business SMEs, machine learning developers, and data scientists to foster innovation and advance the adoption of AI in clinical data sciences. His tenure at IBM Watson as a Watson Solution Architect was marked by significant achievements in implementing AI systems for a diverse range of clients.

An accomplished speaker, Prasanna regularly presents at major industry conferences, including SCDM, DIA, SCOPE, DPharm, Tufts University CSDD, and Outsourcing Clinical Trials (OCT). He is also the holder of an IBM patent titled “Monitoring Clinical Research Performance,” further cementing his status as a leading authority in leveraging technology for clinical development in the pharmaceutical industry. Prasanna continues to drive transformative advancements in AI and machine learning, delivering groundbreaking solutions to accelerate clinical research and development.

Steve Warner, PhD, is the Senior Vice President, Head of Translational Research & Medicine – Oncology at Sumitomo Pharma America. He specializes in small molecule drug discovery, new screening platforms in drug discovery, and translational research focusing on cancer therapeutics. He is an expert in the discovery of novel cancer agents, with experience spanning organizations including the University of Arizona, the Translational Genomics Research Institute, SuperGen Inc, the Huntsman Cancer Institute. Dr. Warner co-founded Tolero Pharmaceuticals in 2011, which was acquired by Sumitomo Pharma in 2017. Throughout these experiences, Dr. Warner has led drug discovery projects that have produced ten first-in-human clinical compounds and has published dozens of peer-reviewed publications and patents from multiple drug discovery projects.