Speaker Biographies
Annika Carlsson

Annika Carlsson, Ph.D., is the Global Director of the Mercodia Bioanalytical Service Laboratory, specializing in regulated bioanalysis for pharmaceutical and CRO drug development programs. With over 20 years of experience in ligand binding assay development and validation within industry, combined with six years of academic research focusing on beta-cell damage pathways, she brings a unique blend of scientific and technical expertise to the Bioanalytical Services team.
Driven by a dual passion for understanding the scientific rationale behind biomarker studies and adhering to the stringent regulatory requirements of FDA, ICH and EMA guidelines, she has established herself as a key contributor to advancing bioanalytical practices. Her expertise encompasses pharmacokinetics and biomarker assay development and validation, life cycle management of assay reagents, and the implementation of robust quality assurance programs.
Richard DiMarchi
Richard DiMarchi, Ph.D., is a Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Gill Chair in Biomolecular Sciences at Indiana University. He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and the National Inventors Hall of Fame, and is a former Group Vice President at Eli Lilly and later at Novo Nordisk. He is recognized for his contributions to the discovery and development of rDNA-derived Humalog®, rGlucagon®, and Forteo®. His academic research has broadened the understanding of glucagon physiology and the discovery of single molecule multimode agonists for the treatment of diabetes and obesity. He is founding chairman of the Peptide Therapeutics Foundation.
In addition, he is co-inventor on more than one hundred U.S. patents and co-author to more than two hundred fifty peer-reviewed scientific publications. He was identified as a top five translation researcher by Nature Biotechnology. Since 2003, he has co-founded eight successful biotech companies. In the last decade, he has received the Merrifield Award for career contributions in peptide sciences, the German National Erwin Schrödinger-Preis, the Meienhofer Prize, the Max Bergmann Medal, the ACS Alfred Burger career award in medicinal chemistry, and the 2023 AAAS Bhaumik Breakthrough Award for GLP-1 Rx in obesity.
Jonathan Douros

Jonathan Douros, Ph.D., is a pharmacologist specializing in incretin therapeutics and metabolic disease. As a Senior Scientific Director at the Indiana Biosciences Research Institute (IBRI), he is dedicated to translating high-impact basic research into early drug discovery. He is a native of the Raleigh/Durham region of North Carolina where he attended Shaw University and went on to perform his doctoral training at North Carolina State University, studying the role of leptin to regulate metabolic stress responses in the tilapia. After receiving his Ph.D. in 2015, he went on to a postdoctoral fellowship under Dr. David D’Alessio at Duke University, assessing the improvements in islet function following bariatric surgery. At Duke, he was able to collaborate with leading incretin biologists and pharmacologists who fostered an appreciation for early drug discovery. In 2020, he joined the Novo Nordisk Research Center Indianapolis (NNRCI), where he led in vivo pharmacology efforts with a primary focus in the type 2 diabetes and obesity therapy areas. In 2022, he took the position of associate director of biology and pharmacology leading a team working on drug discovery projects across multiple therapy areas including metabolic and rare diseases before transitioning to his current role at the IBRI.
Tim Opler

Tim Opler is a Managing Director in Stifel’s Global Healthcare Group, leading strategic and financing transactions across multiple healthcare sectors. He co-founded Torreya and became part of Stifel through the 2023 acquisition. For nearly 20 years, he has focused exclusively on life sciences advisory; completing more than 150 financing, licensing, and M&A transactions across the industry with a total value of over $100 billion. Highlights include running the largest share buyback in history for Pfizer, leading a $3.9 billion convertible bond exchange for Amgen, working on Chiron’s $5.1 billion sale to Novartis, and managing Genentech’s inaugural $2 billion bond issue.
Before co-founding Torreya, Tim was Vice President of Strategy at FibroGen, where he helped raise $117 million for the company and negotiated licensing deals. Previously, he was a Managing Director in Healthcare Investment Banking at Credit Suisse First Boston and held senior roles at W.R. Hambrecht, Deutsche Bank, and Merrill Lynch.
Prior to his career in investment banking, he was a professor in the finance department at Ohio State University. He earned a B.S. in Economics and Philosophy from Florida State University, and a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Adam Mendelsohn

Dr. Mendelsohn has served as a member of the Vivani Medical Board and the Chief Executive Officer since the company’s merger with Nano Precision Medical was completed in August 2022. Prior to the merger, Dr. Mendelsohn was a co-founder of Nano Precision Medical and its Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, setting the strategic vision for the company since 2011.
Dr. Mendelsohn received his Ph.D. in bioengineering at the UC San Francisco/UC Berkeley Joint Graduate Group in Bioengineering, Class of 2011, during which he was awarded an NSF fellowship to perform research at Kyoto University and published multiple peer-reviewed articles describing new treatment options for Type 1 diabetes through the immuno-isolated transplantation of insulin-producing cells under the direction of Professor Tejal A. Desai. While in graduate school, Dr. Mendelsohn served as the director for the Venture Innovation Program in Life Sciences and completed his certificate in Management of Technology with the Haas School of Business.
Dr. Mendelsohn has served as a Technical Advisor to the Alfred E. Mann Institute for Biomedical Engineering at USC, a fellow of the Startup Leadership Program, the President of UCSF’s Graduate Division Alumni Association, and is currently a board member of the Maestro Foundation.
Zach Zalewski

Zach Zalewski, Ph.D., J.D., currently serves as a Strategic Director at the United States Pharmacopeia (USP), a non-profit organization founded in 1820, whose mission is to ensure quality in medicines, dietary supplements, and foods. Previously, he worked as a Consultant at Avalere (now Avalere Health), a Washington, D.C.-based healthcare advisory firm. In this role, he worked with and advised innovator and generic/biosimilar pharmaceutical industries, non-profits, and pharmaceutical compounders on issues relating to FDA Regulatory Strategy and Market Access.