Chair: Amy Lavelle (Associate Director, PPD, part of Thermo Fisher Scientific)
Amy Lavelle began her career in contract research and biotechnology as a scientist at Commonwealth Biotechnologies, Inc. She received her Ph.D. in Human and Molecular Genetics at Virginia Commonwealth University. Amy returned to the pharmaceutical industry as a principal investigator in the Immunochemistry Research and Development department at PPD. As Associate Director of Immunochemistry R&D, she manages a team of research scientists supporting LBA method transfer, development and validation of novel biologics, particularly ADCs, and commercial and novel biomarker GLP-like validations and non-GLP qualifications. Amy is part of a cross-functional Cell and Gene Therapy Task Force, focusing on training strategy. She is a co-lead for PPD’s Women’s Empowerment Network, chair for the AAPS Women in Pharmaceutical Sciences (WIPS) Community and part of the AAPS Career Development Committee.
Vice-Chair: Priya Muralidharan (Scientist, Seqirus, Inc.)
Priya Muralidharan is a pharmaceutical scientist with background in inhalation and vaccine product development. She obtained her masters in pharmaceutical engineering from New Jersey Institute of Technology and PhD from the University of Arizona. Currently working as Scientist I in drug product development group at Seqirus Inc. During free time she enjoys dancing, biking, yoga and spending time with family. As a member of Women in Pharmaceutical Sciences Community, she is excited to support the mission and goals of this community and looks forward to contributing to it.
Learning Opportunities Managers: Patrice Jackson-Ayotunde (Associate Professor of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Maryland Eastern Shore), Pankajini Mallick (Principal Scientist, Neurocrine Biosciences)
Dr. Patrice L. Jackson-Ayotunde is an Associate Professor of Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore School of Pharmacy and Health Professions, Princess Anne, MD. She completed her Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences (concentration in Medicinal Chemistry) 2009 from Howard University (Washington, DC). After her tenure at Howard, she continued her research training as a postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown University in the Drug Discovery Program. Dr. Jackson-Ayotunde’s research laboratory engages in early drug discovery and development of novel anti-seizure analogs as potential agents for the treatment of drug-resistant epilepsy. She currently holds a U.S. patent for her work in the area of enaminones derivatives. Her laboratory works very closely with the Epilepsy Therapy Screening Program (ETSP) at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NIH. She serves as the Faculty advisor for the Pharmacy Student Government Association and the UMES American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists Student Chapter. Dr. Jackson- Ayotunde is currently a member of the American Epilepsy Society, American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, and American Chemical Society: Medicinal Chemistry Division, and the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) where she currently serves as the Learning Opportunities Manager for the AAPS Women in Pharmaceutical Science Community. She is also a member of The Princess Anne (MD) Chapter of The Links, Inc.
Pankajini Mallick is a Principal Scientist at Neurocrine Bioscience where she applies state-of-the-art knowledge in various competencies including Pharmacokinetics (PK), PK/PD, and physiologically based (PBPK) models to predict human exposure of small molecules to guide candidate selection for further development to treat neurological, psychiatric, and endocrine related disorders. Dr. Mallick received her PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from University of Houston (Texas), where she researched on the role of innate immune system in regulation of drug metabolism and its implication on drug-drug interaction. After graduation, she joined as a postdoctoral fellow at ScitoVation (ICSS division of The Hamner Institutes for Health Sciences) and then transitioned into the role of Scientist III, where she focused on development and application of PBPK modeling and In vitro to In vivo Extrapolation (IVIVE) in chemical risk assessment. She possesses a significant track record of publications in leading journals in the area of toxicology, computational modeling, and drug metabolism.
Secretary: Silvi Chacko (Senior Scientist, Bristol-Myers Squibb)
Silvi Chacko, Ph.D. is a Principal Scientist at Bristol Myers Squibb. Scientific professional with broad cardiovascular, fibrosis, oncology drug discovery experience in leading teams for ADME/PK projects. Experienced in integrating innovative technologies for providing solutions to stakeholders. Promoter for data accessibility for business & operational aspects to push frontiers in science. Champion for STEM education for underserved children in US and India. Advocate for the fund-raising initiatives for American Heart Association (AHA).
Member Engagement manager: Vibha Jawa (Executive Director, Bristol Myers Squibb)
Dr. Vibha Jawa is an Executive Director for Biotherapeutics Bioanalysis in Nonclinical Disposition and Bioanalysis (NDB) organization at Bristol Myers Squibb. In this role, Vibha is responsible for leading biotherapeutic and cell therapy bioanalytical (BA) function supporting PK and immunogenicity. She provides strategic and scientific oversight for BMS developmental portfolio. Prior to BMS , Vibha was at Merck for 4 years where she served as head of Predictive and Clinical Immunogenicity group and at Amgen for 14 years supporting Clinical Immunogenicity from Discovery to Development for biotherapeutics. Vibha brings more than 20+ years of experience in supporting biologics , vaccine development and gene therapy with contributions to multiple IND, BLA and MAA filings. Vibha is a recognized leader in the area of Bioanalysis and Immunogenicity with more than 50 peer reviewed publications and serves as a Reviewer and Editor for The AAPS Journal and J. Pharm Sci. She is an active member of American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS), American Association of Immunology (AAI), European Immunogenicity Platform (EIP) and Federation of Clinical Immunology Society (FOCIS). Within AAPS, she is actively involved as a Steering Committee member of the Therapeutic Protein Immunogenicity Focus Group (TPIFG) and is currently leading the Immunogenicity Risk Assessment and Mitigation Community as well as Industry Innovation and Quality (IQ) Consortium for Cell/Viral/Gene therapies. Outside of the work, Vibha enjoys volunteering as a board member for the state youth orchestra and mentoring high school students.
Past Chair: Charvi Nanavati (Associate Director, Ionis Pharma)
Charvi Nanavati is Associate Director, Clinical Pharmacology and Pharmacokinetics at Ionis Pharmaceuticals, a leading biotechnology company in Antisense Oligonucleotide (ASO) drug development. She serves as a clinical pharmacology lead and PK/PD modeling expert on cross functional drug development teams across several therapeutic areas including cardiovascular, oncology and rare diseases. Prior to Ionis, Charvi was at Halozyme Therapeutics where she led the development and implementation of mechanism-based and population PK/PD modeling and simulation with a focus on characterizing the subcutaneous delivery of monoclonal antibodies and combination therapy in oncology. Charvi received her Bachelors in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai, India and her Masters and PhD. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University at Buffalo, State University of New York with an emphasis on PK/PD and Systems Pharmacology. Charvi currently serves on the AAPS Women in Pharmaceutical Sciences and AAPS Pharmacokinetics, Pharmacodynamics and Drug Metabolism Communities
Student Representatives: Dalal AlKhelb (Pharmacology Ph.D. Candidate, Northeastern University), Jordie Kamuene (Biomedical Science Ph.D. Candidate, Northeastern University)
Dalal AlKhelb is a Pharmacology Ph.D. Candidate at Northeastern University. Her research interest focuses on the behavioral and neurochemical interactions of the opioid-cannabinoid systems. She was honored to join the AAPS-WIPS subcommittee as a student representative, eager to facilitate connections between the early in carrier pharmaceutical scientists' and the professional members of AAPS-WIPS.
Jordie Kamuene is a Biomedical Science Ph.D. Candidate at Northeastern University. Her research focuses on the physiology and pharmacology of voltage-gated ion channels in the heart. She joined the AAPS-WIPS subcommittee as a student representative because she is passionate about creating a bridge between WIPS members and graduate students in pharmaceutical sciences.