See the significance of the life sciences field from those who know it best when Princeton Innovation Center BioLabs hosts “Science Matters: New Jersey Newcomers Blazing New Trails” on Thursday, September 28, from 5 to 7 p.m. at its 303A College Road East site in Plainsboro.
The event offers three New Jersey biotech incubator residents and industry experts the platform to showcase their work in the state’s thriving life science ecosystem, particularly as it relates to new research on medical diseases.
As the scientific scene expands with new and developing companies, these professionals “will share their insights and experiences, discuss innovation, capital formation, managing for growth, and the strategic landscape in New Jersey,” according to the event details.
The day will be split into three parts, starting with a welcome reception, a panel discussion and Q&A, and wrapping up with networking and reception. To register online for free, visit the Princeton Innovation Center BioLabs’ EventBrite page for the event.
The first speaker is Sheila Kennedy, the VP of market access and marketing for Mount Sinai spinout LinusBio, a “patient-centric, precision exposome medicine company” in North Brunswick, its website explains, that “bridges genomics and the environment to transform the way complex health conditions are diagnosed and treated.”
Kennedy, who has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, previously served in leadership roles for organizations like AstraZeneca and Verrica Pharmaceuticals.
Physician-scientist Dr. John Pena is the founder of the Cornell Medical School spinout SonderRX, which uses “advanced imaging technology and new screening methods to develop therapeutic solutions for ophthalmic diseases,” or conditions affecting the eyes.
Pena has a doctor of medicine from Weill Cornell Medical College at Cornell University, where he was also a former assistant professor of ophthalmology and completed his residency training in the same field at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. He has a Ph.D. from Rockefeller University.
Dr. Shahram Hejazi is a venture capital investor, entrepreneurship specialist, and lecturer in both electrical engineering and at the Keller Center at Princeton University, where he was formerly the 2014-2015 James Wei Visiting Professor in Entrepreneurship.
In his bio, the Princeton faculty member is described as “a life science investor and entrepreneur with general management experience in both early-stage ventures and large global companies.”
He currently serves as the managing director and CEO of BioAdvance, a venture capital firm that has invested in more than 100 of the mid-Atlantic region’s health businesses.
Hejazi is also the founding CEO of Princeton University spinout Optimeos Life Sciences, which “developed a novel nanoparticle platform to deliver the potential of RNA medicines across the range of human disease” with technology that advances the intracellular delivery process. He received his Ph.D. in electrical engineering with a focus in biophysics from SUNY Buffalo and an executive business education from Stanford University.
Bristol Myers Squibb’s director of professional societies and associations, Linda Brown, will moderate the panel. Brown is a biopharmaceutical professional who leads global medical affairs and strategic collaborations for the company.
She is also the vice president of strategic alliances and programs at BioNJ and serves on the advisory board of the New Jersey Bioscience Center-Incubator in North Brunswick after having chaired the group in 2018 and 2019.
