Board Members - MassBio

Jennifer Wipf

Marissa Romano — Thu, 27 Apr 2023 20:19:27 +0000

Jennifer leads Ginkgo’s commercial function, responsible for growing the cell engineering business and delivering value for customers. From bringing programs onto the platform to guiding customer success all the way through to commercial scale-up and product delivery, Jennifer and her team bring synthetic biology products to life. Jennifer brings a technical background and experience in large-scale biological manufacturing; prior to Ginkgo, Jennifer spent more than a decade at Merck and Co., where she worked in Vaccine development, Plant management domestically and internationally, and U.S Market commercial roles.  Jennifer holds an M.S. in Chemical Engineering from Stanford University and a B.S. in Bioengineering from the University of Arizona.

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Mike Shafer

Marissa Romano — Thu, 27 Apr 2023 19:13:38 +0000

Mike is the SVP and President Pharma Services Group, Thermo Fisher Scientific

He joined Thermo Fisher in 2009 as Vice President and General Manager of China and was named President of China in 2012. In 2015, Mike was appointed President of the Chemical Analysis business, and in 2016, following the acquisition of FEI Company, he became President, Materials and Structural Analysis. Prior to joining Thermo Fisher, Mike worked at 3M Company for more than 15 years, managing various industrial and electronics businesses. With 3M, he spent seven years in the Asia-Pacific region, serving as APAC Business Director for the company’s Industrial & Transportation Businesses as well as APAC Electronics Market Materials Division Manager. Mike earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Minnesota.

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Stacia Reidy MacNaught

Marissa Romano — Thu, 27 Apr 2023 19:08:51 +0000

Eustacia Reidy MacNaught (Stacia) is Vice President, External and Community Affairs at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Stacia is responsible for developing the strategy and overseeing the execution of the company’s local government, philanthropic and community efforts, as well growing and enhancing Vertex’s reputation as a leading corporate citizen and trusted community partner. She has implemented several multifaceted and strategic partnerships to address inequities and community needs. Under her leadership, Vertex created a global STEAM education program to inspire the next generation of science leaders, including a partnership with Boston Public Schools, expanded its workforce development programs to diversify the talent pipeline, and deepened its commitment to social justice and racial equity.

Prior to joining Vertex, Stacia served in a similar role as the Chief of External Affairs at MassBio, overseeing all government affairs, economic development initiatives, and communications for the organization. During this time, she was instrumental in the development and passage of the $1B Life Sciences Initiative, including the creation of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center.

Stacia has also held senior legislative staff positions with the Massachusetts House of Representatives in healthcare policy, and specifically the Medicaid program.

Deeply committed to the community, Stacia serves as a board member for several nonprofit organizations, including the Boston Private Industry Council, Camp Harbor View, Boston Beyond, i2 Learning, the Massachusetts Business Roundtable, and the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. She also serves as a volunteer at Milton Academy and a mentor to several first-generation Harvard College students.

Stacia earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in government from Harvard College and lives in Milton with her husband and three children.

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Michael Luther

Marissa Romano — Thu, 27 Apr 2023 19:02:23 +0000

For the last two years, Dr. Michael Luther has been the Global Head of Astellas’ Search & Evaluation in Business Development leading efforts to drive deals and investments in support of Astellas drug discovery and development efforts from emerging start-ups to acquisition of late-stage clinical assets. Mike is based in Cambridge, MA. Mike brings over 35 years of experience as an entrepreneurial scientist and executive in the biopharmaceutical industry including various senior leadership roles ranging from biotech start-ups and global CROs and pharmaceutical companies.

Before joining Astellas, Mike was the CEO and founder of Bantam Pharmaceutical, a biotech company focused clinical development of cancer therapeutics leveraging mitochondrial stress response pathways and targets.

In past roles, Mike was the Senior Vice President for Drug Discovery & Development at Curio and founding CEO for the North Carolina Research Campus, a public-private partnership to accelerate bench-to-market activities in life sciences.

Mike has over 20 years in senior executive roles in the global pharmaceutical industry including Vice President and head of drug discovery divisions for both Merck and GSK. At GSK, he led multiple discovery teams that resulted in the successful launch of 4 novel therapeutics in oncology and metabolic disease as well as initiating the pharmaceutical industry’s initial efforts in precision medicine and drug repositioning. 

Dr. Luther holds a Bachelor of Science degree from North Carolina State University, a doctorate from St. Louis University School of Medicine, and an MBA from Duke University. He was a Carl Stone Muscular Dystrophy Fellow at The Salk Institute and is the author of over 75 publications and patents.

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Dennis Huang

Marissa Romano — Thu, 27 Apr 2023 18:58:07 +0000

Mr. Huang joined Ultragenyx in May 2015 and is responsible for leading the technical and pharmaceutical development, manufacturing and supply chain functions covering broad technical modalities like small molecules, recombinant proteins, nucleic acid medicines and AAV gene therapy. This includes product approvals and launches for Mepsevii ®, Crysvita® and Dojolvi®. In addition Mr. Huang is the executive team member responsible for the Gene Therapy Platform strategy, research, product development, manufacturing and supply chain.

 Prior to joining Ultragenyx, Mr. Huang was Senior Vice President of Manufacturing and Supply Chain for InterMune Inc., where he led the global manufacturing and supply chain organization for the company which led to the US approval of Esbriet ®. Prior to InterMune, he served as Vice President of Biologics Manufacturing and Development for Allergan, Inc. where he held dual responsibilities in R&D and Global Technical Operations. Earlier in his career, Mr. Huang held leadership positions at Novartis AG (formerly Chiron, Inc), Genentech, Inc., and Synergen (currently Amgen), where he worked in various roles including manufacturing, quality and process and analytical development.

 Mr. Huang serves on the Board of Directors of two privately-held biotechnology companies; CytoDel and Ornovi.

 Mr. Huang earned a B.A. in chemistry from Knox College.

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Lauren Celano

Marissa Romano — Thu, 27 Apr 2023 18:54:17 +0000

Lauren is the co-founder and CEO of Propel Careers, a life science search and career development firm focused on connecting talented individuals with entrepreneurial life sciences companies. She has recruited for > 60 innovative life sciences organizations to help them hire talent and has coached thousands of students, postdocs, medical residents, and professionals to advance their careers since co-founding Propel in 2009. Lauren presents often on career development topics to inspire the next generation of talent.  Before Propel, she spent about 10 years in life sciences advancing drug molecules through SNBL USA, Aptuit, Quintiles, and Absorption Systems. She has a B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Gettysburg College and an MBA (focused on the health sector and entrepreneurship) from Boston University.  She is on Boards including MassBioEd (Chair), National Tay-Sachs & Allied Diseases Association; and Advisory Boards: the Professional Science Masters Program at Framingham State University and New England Graduate Women in Science and Engineering.  Lauren actively mentors young scientists through groups like the Association of Women in Science and The international Center for professional development.

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Alan Eisenberg

Marissa Romano — Fri, 28 Oct 2022 13:48:40 +0000

Alan Eisenberg is a corporate affairs executive who leads teams and projects at the intersection of access and reimbursement, program strategy, public policy, and government relations. He was most recently Vice President, Global Public Policy & Government Relations at Alnylam, as Alnylam grew from a pre-commercial company to one with five launched products. At Alnylam, Eisenberg led global public policy and government relations, US public payer accounts, coverage, coding and reimbursement (including development/execution of value-based agreements), US government pricing and analysis, and patient charitable foundations.

Prior to Alnylam, Eisenberg was responsible for US Government Relations for Celgene and spent nearly a decade as Executive Vice President at the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO).

Eisenberg served in a variety of senior policy making roles on Capitol Hill. He is an original author of the Average Sales Price (ASP) methodology used in Medicare Part B reimbursement and a member of teams that wrote several significant health laws, including Medicare Part D, as well as PDUFA III and pediatric exclusivity.

Eisenberg worked at Ford Motor Company in Dearborn, MI, as an economist and finance manager. Eisenberg holds master’s degrees from Harvard (Public Policy) and George Washington University (Finance), and a Bachelor of Science from Union College.

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Eileen Elliott

Marissa Romano — Fri, 28 Oct 2022 13:36:49 +0000

Eileen A. Elliott, Ph.D., is Executive Director, Scientific Affairs & External Partnership and Kendall Square Site Lead at Pfizer. In this role, she leads the strategy for external outreach, communications, colleague engagement, and site affairs at Pfizer’s Worldwide Research, Development, and Medical (WRDM) campus in Cambridge, Mass., and is a core member of the WRDM Operations leadership team. Eileen joined Pfizer in 1995 as a Research Scientist in Immunology and has held positions of increasing responsibility during her nearly 30-year tenure with the company, including multiple research-focused leadership roles at Pfizer’s WRDM site in Groton, Conn.

Throughout her career at Pfizer, Eileen has made pivotal contributions to drug discovery and the company’s business operations, including leading the discovery and development of both small and large molecules for a range of therapeutic targets. A lead contributor to Xeljanz, Pfizer’s JAK3 modulator, and a co-founder of Alexion’s Solaris product, Eileen has more than 25 peer-reviewed publications and has delivered numerous scientific presentations. She earned her Ph.D. in Immunology from Albany Medical College and completed her postdoctoral fellowship in Dr. Richard Flavell’s laboratory at Yale University as a Howard Hughes Fellow. Eileen is a board member of MassBio and the Kendall Square Association.

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Chris Round

Mona McCarthy — Tue, 06 Sep 2022 18:06:53 +0000

As President of EMD Serono, Chris leads the North American healthcare business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany.

Chris is a recognized leader in the pharmaceutical industry with a wealth of strategic and operational achievements. His track record includes launch experience, business transformation from primary care to oncology, leadership of local and regional operations, as well as global responsibilities in executive leadership teams. Chris has been with the organization since 2017, previously serving as Head of International and Core Franchises, where he was responsible for our international business comprised of China, Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Russia and Latin America, and also had global accountability for the Fertility and the Cardiovascular Metabolism & Endocrinology (CM&E) Franchises.

Chris brings 25 years of global pharmaceutical experience to this position, including 20 years at Merck & Co., Inc. Chris started his professional career in finance with PwC in the UK. He holds a BA in Economics and Accounting from Newcastle University in the UK.

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Christopher Murphy

James Robe — Thu, 24 Jun 2021 16:29:53 +0000

Christopher Murphy is a biotech/advanced therapies expert who most recently served as Vice President and General Manager of Viral Vector Services at Thermo Fisher Scientific. Prior to joining Thermo Fisher, Chris was chief operating officer for Brammer Bio, building a best-in-class viral vector services business, and general manager for the Sanofi-Genzyme Allston Landing manufacturing site leading an integrated remediation program associated with the consent decree. Chris has more than 30 years of experience in biologics development, manufacturing, and operations, with a focus on advanced therapies. He holds an M.Sc. in biochemistry from New York Medical College, and a B.Sc. in biology from Rutgers University. In addition, Chris has served as Board Chair for the Massachusetts Biotechnology Education Foundation and serves as a board member at West End House Boys and Girls Club in Allston, MA.

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