Archives: Speakers

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.

I am a biopharmaceutical executive and board member with more than 25 years of experience working at the intersection of strategy, capital markets, operations, and M&A, spanning early clinical development through global commercialization. I have served as Chief Financial Officer of five public companies and currently serve on multiple boards, including as Audit Chair and Compensation Chair. My experience includes defining corporate strategy for global commercial biopharma organizations as well as early-stage clinical companies, across multiple therapeutic areas and both public and private environments. Over the course of my career, I have led more than $4 billion in public and private financings, including IPOs, follow-on offerings, convertibles, preferred equity, high-yield debt, and structured credit facilities. I have also executed over $1.2 billion in strategic transactions, including M&A, licensing, and platform partnerships, with post-transaction integration efforts generating meaningful and durable cost savings. In operating roles, I have worked closely with CEOs and leadership teams to guide capital allocation, portfolio decisions, investor engagement, and organizational scaling, often during periods of transition or strategic inflection. Earlier in my career, I was CFO of Serono, then the third-largest global biotechnology company, and a member of its executive management board. In addition to board service, I contribute to industry dialogue as a member of the Life Science Leader Editorial Advisory Board and as a frequent guest on the Business of Biotech podcast. I enjoy partnering with boards, CEOs, and leadership teams on strategy, execution, and governance, particularly where clarity, judgment, and disciplined decision-making can unlock long-term value.

A board-certified radiation oncologist, David Raben, M.D. is currently the CMO at Bicara Therapeutics with more than 25 years of academic translational oncology experience and 4 years in pharma, having most recently served as vice president of global product development and product general manager, oncology, at Amgen. At Amgen, his work centered on driving the anti-DLL3 program in neuroendocrine cancers. Prior to that, Dr. Raben served as vice president and franchise leader, clinical development oncology, at Genentech, focusing on precision medicine and immunotherapy trials in head and neck and thoracic cancer, in both late-stage and locally advanced settings. His career started at the Univ. of Alabama at Birmingham for 1994-1998 followed by over 20 years as a professor and member of the University of Colorado Cancer Center, where his main areas of focus included evaluating and combining novel biologic therapies for patients with locally advanced cancers of the head and neck (HNC) and lung. His expertise also includes translational experience in areas such as EGFR signaling, DNA damage repair, TGFb and checkpoint inhibition. Nationally, Dr. Raben served on the NRG Oncology Head and Neck Cancer (HNC) steering committee for the past 15 years and established and led the Radiation Developmental Therapeutics Committee at the NRG. He remains an active member of the American Head and Neck Society, IASLC, ESMO, AACR and ASTRO and currently serves on the ASCO Research committee. Dr. Raben holds a Batchelor of Arts degree from Duke University and earned his M.D. from Wake Forest University. He completed residency training in Radiation Oncology at the John Hopkins Hospital.

Regulatory professional with experience managing Phase 1-4 programs across multiple therapeutic areas.