Archives: Speakers

Elise Brownell, PhD. has spent the last 35 years in the bio/pharmaceutical arena where she has played key roles in Discovery, Development and Opportunity Assessment to drive innovation. After completing her doctorate at Yale University, Elise’s career started at SUNY Stony Brook. She continued her interest in comparative molecular biology during her tenure at Frederick Cancer Research Facility and expanded her facility with molecular genetics while in various functions at Bayer Healthcare. Her efforts were widely recognized by promotion to Director, Project Management, where she led global cross-functional teams. Elise also became a member of the founding team of a venture-backed spin out (Aerovance, Inc), where she became head of project management. Dr. Brownell serves in Interim Executive capacities for a number of emergent and highly innovative companies in the Life Science sector, and as a mentor to the entrepreneurs who run them. Elise received her MS, MPhil and PhD from Yale University, and her BS from Allegheny College

As head of strategic initiatives and a member of the executive leadership team at Suvoda, Kelly is responsible for driving strategic growth across the organization. Prior to this, Kelly spent 4 years as VP of Product Management and Marketing at Suvoda, where she led the strategic direction of the product suite and external communications. She has spent her career in professional services and product development teams, working with Top 10 Pharma companies in e-clinical focused organizations including Phase Forward and Oracle, as well as B2C technology companies. Kelly holds a bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies in Bioethics focusing on Neuroscience and Philosophy, a certificate in Conceptual Foundations of Medicine, and a minor in Italian Literature and Language from the University of Pittsburgh.

In 2012 Atef started as a junior draft engineer at NS railways dealing with various challenges related to interior design and interfaces within several refurbishment projects. In 2015 Atef continued as an interior engineer responsible for interior design changes within refurbishment and overhaul ensuring customer’s demands, admissions requirements and maintenance requirements concerning the relevant lifespan are met. In addition to his current role Atef became in 2020 fire safety engineer dealing with various challenges in meeting the fire safety requirements and sharing his knowledge and experience addressing this topic.