Our Team

Ashley R. Robinson has over 20 years of experience in institutional equity finance, with a focus on the healthcare sector. He began his Wall Street career at Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc., where he spent time in both the New York and Boston offices after successfully completing the firm’s extensive capital markets training program. Mr. Robinson then spent 15 years at Leerink Partners (formerly Leerink Swann; now SVB Leerink), where he was a Managing Director and Sr. Partner. At Leerink, Mr. Robinson helped establish and build the institutional franchise, and was responsible for the firm’s largest client relationships. During Leerink’s rise to prominence as one of the leading healthcare investment banks, Mr. Robinson developed deep relationships with the leading US healthcare investors. He served as “Deal Captain” on the majority of Leerink’s capital markets transactions, and was the primary liaison between sales, trading and equity capital markets. Prior to joining LifeSci, Mr. Robinson was the Healthcare Product Specialist and Sector Head at Guggenheim Securities, LLC, where he was responsible for building a research franchise in that sector. Mr. Robinson earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Hobart College where he was a three-sport athlete and double-majored in Economics and Russian Area Studies.

Bob Yedid has 30 years of healthcare experience as a buy-side analyst, portfolio manager, growth equity investor and investment banker. He has extensive experience with healthcare companies, especially in the medtech/diagnostic, specialty pharma and biotech sectors. Bob focuses on providing CEOs and CFOs with strategic advice on key investor issues to enhance stock valuation through effective and compelling messaging and clear, consistent communications with institutional investors. Bob’s experience and perspective as an investor in public and private healthcare companies informs his strategic investor relations work for companies with market capitalizations from $100 million to over $5 billion. He has worked with biopharma, medtech and diagnostic companies in providing ongoing investor relations advice as well as working on IPOs, follow-on offerings and equity-linked securities. In addition, Bob has advised companies in M&A transactions, dual track processes, and C-suite executive transitions. Before working with healthcare companies on investor relations starting in late 2011, Bob was a Portfolio Manager and Senior Research Analyst at Principled Capital, a fund with $1.5 billion of AUM, for 10 years with responsibility for all health care investing. Prior to Principled, he was a Vice President at Warburg Pincus, one of the world’s largest private equity and venture capital firms, investing in health care. Bob was a member of the Board of Directors of The Medicines Company (MDCO, acquired by Novartis) and Eurand International. He also spent 15 years in investment banking, including serving as Managing Director in Healthcare Finance Group at Bear Stearns & Co. (now JP Morgan), having worked on capital markets and M&A transactions of over $5 billion. In October 2019, Bob was appointed as a member of the Board of Directors of Vaxart, a publicly traded vaccines company, and is a Board member of Enalare Therapeutics (private). Bob earned a BA in Economics from Yale University and an MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

Bruce Mackle brings nearly 25 years of healthcare-dedicated experience in the financial industry on the sell-side, on the buy-side and as an investor relations advisor. Over the course of his career, Bruce primarily served as a healthcare trading desk analyst and a healthcare sector sales specialist at firms including Wells Fargo, UBS, HSBC, and most recently, JMP. Prior to JMP, he worked at Bertner Advisors, a healthcare-focused investor relations advisory firm, where he managed a client portfolio of both public and pre-IPO companies. His buy-side experience includes positions at two healthcare-dedicated funds, Tokum Capital and Steeple Capital. Bruce began his Wall Street career as a healthcare equity research analyst at Gruntal & Co. and UBS. He earned an M.B.A. in Finance and Economics from New York University’s Stern School of Business and a B.A. from Cornell University.

Chris Calabrese has over 20+ years in institutional equity sales, with a focus in Healthcare. Chris is a managing director at LifeSci Advisors in a relationship manager role. Joining most recently from Ladenburg Thalmann where he was the head of Healthcare Sales. Chris spent 10 years at Ladenburg where he was a managing director in sales coverage for a range of buyside healthcare accounts from all around the country. Chris started his career in Capital Markets Institutional Sales back in 2000. Prior to Ladenburg he was in a similar role as an MD in healthcare sales at WJB Capital for over 5 years. He was also head of business development and instrumental in the creation of their corporate access platform. Chris helped oversee all operations and roadshow calendar. Chris graduated from WestChester University in 1992 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communications. He holds his series 7 & 63 licenses.

Chuck Padala brings over 25 years of Institutional Equity Sales, Trading and ECM experience at several large investment banks, including Citigroup, Lehman Brothers and SunTrust, where he spent 20 years, and supervised the firm’s NY Sales & Trading desks. Chuck later joined Brean Capital where he ran the firm’s Equities division and was Head of ECM. Prior to joining LifeSci Advisors, Chuck also served as President of the Securities Traders Association’s NY affiliate and
served two consecutive terms on STA’s national Board of Governors. STA is the largest organization representing professional traders and was formed as a grass roots response to the founding of the SEC in 1934, in order to give market participants a voice in Washington DC. Chuck graduated with honors from New York University.

Prior to joining LifeSci Advisors as a Managing Director and Relationship Manager in 2019, Corey Davis had 22 years of experience as a sell-side equity research analyst covering a diverse array of biotech and specialty pharmaceutical companies. He was previously a Senior Analyst and Managing Director at Seaport Global Securities, Canaccord Genuity, Jefferies, HC Wainwright, Natixis Bleichroeder, and J.P. Morgan (and its predecessor Hambrecht & Quist). His formal coverage universe has included well over 200 companies throughout the course of his career. As a long-term sellside analyst at several premier investment banks, he has covered and advised countless executives at both public and private on a wide variety of matters including corporate messaging, investor targeting, capital raising, earnings targets, clinical trial design and interpretation, strategic directions, etc. He has extensive experience in developing proprietary predictive financial models, exhaustive writing and presentation skills, and refined abilities to deliver convincing opinions and recommendations to the sophisticated healthcare institutional investor audience. He is valued for his forward thinking and two+ decades of interactions with healthcare specialists at all of the leading buyside and venture capital firms. His network of contacts among biopharma corporate executives, healthcare investors, and industry thought leaders spans almost every therapeutic area of pharmaceutical development. Sine 2019 at LifeSci Advisors, he is focused exclusively on advising both public and private biotech clients on all aspects of capital markets to help them optimize relationships and communications with the investor community in order to secure the necessary funding for clinical development and execute on corporate strategy. He has won numerous awards including multiple Institutional Investor rankings, and The Wall Street Journal’s “Best on the Street”. He graduated magna cum laude with High Honors in biology from Middlebury College in 1991 and received his Ph.D. in molecular biology from Princeton University in 1997.

Dan Ferry joins LifeSci Advisors from Guggenheim Securities, where he specialized in connecting healthcare companies with buy-side investors, venture capitalists, KOLs, sell-side analysts, and the investment bank. Mr. Ferry spent nearly 4 years at Guggenheim Securities putting together numerous non-deal roadshows, collecting feedback from investors, and helping shape investor outreach strategies. Prior to Guggenheim, Mr. Ferry worked at Lazard Capital Markets where he participated in many successful healthcare company financings. Over the course of his career, Mr. Ferry has developed long-standing relationships with the healthcare investment community. Mr. Ferry received a BS in Finance from the University of Southern California. He currently resides with his wife and three children in the Boston area.

Guillaume has more than 15 years’ experience in life sciences and finance. He worked for 10 years as a sell-side biotech analyst at Canaccord and UBS in London and Zurich before becoming an investor relations spokesperson for Sanofi and CFO of Hartis Pharma. Guillaume has a Doctorate in Pharmacy from the Université Paris Descartes and a Masters in Finance from the London Business School.

Hans Herklots is an IR and corporate communications executive with over 25 years of corporate and agency experience. He has been involved in shaping the IR & communication strategies for private financings, M&A, partnering, and IPOs, which in aggregate exceed $3 billion.

Prior to joining LifeSci Partners in 2014, Hans Vitzthum gained more than 25 years’ experience in healthcare research product management, capital markets and equity sales at Cowen & Co., Leerink Partners and Lazard Capital Markets. Hans spent 12 years running the morning research call at two investment banks and has served as “Deal Captain” on more than 100 healthcare IPOs and follow-on offerings. He has worked in healthcare research product management for 15 years and has developed extensive and long-standing relationships with the institutional investment community. Hans earned his Applied Baccalaureate from Columbia College.

Irina Koffler has been working as a relationship manager and in corporate communications with LifeSci advisors since 2019. She has 13 years of sell-side experience covering specialty pharmaceutical, small cap biopharma, and generic stocks, with a focus on dermatology, gastroenterology, CNS and anti-infective stocks. She has previously worked at UBS and was Managing Director of Specialty Pharmaceuticals at both Cantor Fitzgerald, and Mizuho Securities. Prior to her Wall Street career, Irina spent 10 years in industry, working across both clinical research and marketing roles at companies including Forest Laboratories, and contract research organizations such as Quintiles. Irina has a B.A. in Biological Sciences from Cornell University, and M.S. in Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine from University of Maryland, and an MBA from the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University.

Joyce Allaire has more than 25 years of healthcare IR and capital markets experience. She has been at LifeSci Advisors since 2013 and has been instrumental in building the business and brand, including leading the creation of the LifeSci KOL event offering. Today she operates as Managing Director and Senior Relationship Manager, working with premiere healthcare clients on all aspects of investor relations, business strategies and capital markets initiatives. She brings both a high level of industry knowledge, and also a broad reach to buy and sell-side constituencies. Joyce began her career at Hambrecht & Quist in Boston and post-merger, worked at JP Morgan in New York servicing healthcare focused institutional investors. She spent seven years at Leerink Swann & Co. as a Senior Healthcare Sales Specialist where she was responsible for research sales and capital markets efforts. Joyce received an MBA from Bentley College and graduated from Assumption College with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Finance.

Kevin Gardner brings over 22 years of experience in Institutional Equity Sales covering numerous research verticals in the U.S. and Europe, with a particular focus on healthcare. Gardner joins the LifeSci team after spending 10 years as Managing Director at Ladenburg Thalmann & Co., for whom he opened and successfully managed a Boston office. Kevin was instrumental in building up the Ladenburg healthcare franchise, having been closely involved in many of Ladenburg’s flagship banking transactions. Gardner started his career at Credit Lyonnais Securities (USA) where he focused on U.S. and European securities across multiple sectors, with enhanced emphasis on healthcare. Gardner then spent 10 years as Managing Director at Natexis Bleichroeder, opening up and managing their Boston office. While there, Kevin worked with some of the top healthcare analysts on Wall Street in both the U.S. and Europe, and was the driving force behind substantial growth in the firm’s revenues and exposure within the institutional investor community. Over these years, Gardner has developed strong relationships with some of the top healthcare investors in the world. Kevin has a BA in Economics from Boston College.

Ligia is an Associate Director at LifeSci Advisors, she advises European biotechnology companies on their corporate communications strategy in order to enhance their investor outreach program and to facilitate their access to global capital markets and potential partners. Previously, Ligia worked at Edelman and Prosek Partners, she built global brand awareness campaigns and shaped the communication strategies around M&A, corporate restructurings, FDA and EMA approvals for clients. Ligia is based in London, UK.

Mary-Ann has over 20 years experience in Life Sciences across both investment and corporate roles, including 12 years on the buy-side, as healthcare analyst and Global Head of Healthcare at HSBC Asset Management. She has also led the market research capabilities of two digital healthcare companies delivering channel checking services to investors and applying research to business and strategic purposes. Mary-Ann is a Chartered Financial Analyst and holds the Certificate of Investor Relations. Mary-Ann is based in London, U.K

Moran brings over 20 years of Investor Relations experience, having worked with Israel’s largest and most prominent private and publicly traded companies. Prior to joining LifeSci Advisors, Mrs. Meir-Beres was a senior account executive at KM Investor Relations, Israel’s first and largest IR firm, where she provided companies from a wide range of sectors ongoing investor and financial media relations consulting, as well as advisory services related to public and private securities offerings, mergers and acquisitions, and crisis management. Prior to joining KM, Ms Meir-Beres was part of the IR team at Teva (NYSE: TEVA), Israel’s largest healthcare company. Moran earned her BA and Master Degree in Law from Bar-Ilan University in Israel.

Monique brings to LifeSci over 20 years of Wall Street experience. Her expertise includes roles as both a senior institutional investment analyst with large global asset managers, and as a trusted investor relations advisor providing insight and strategic counsel to senior management teams. Monique was a founding partner at Access Capital Advisors, where she partnered with senior management teams to develop investor communications programs tailored to convey each client’s value proposition to Wall Street. Prior to her career in investor relations, Monique spent 15 years investing in small-cap healthcare companies as a fundamental research analyst. Her experience encompasses both large multi-national firms like Deutsche Asset Management and Fiduciary Trust and small boutique firms like Rochdale Investment Management and Palisade Capital. She was an active member of each firm’s investment committee responsible for firm-wide sector allocation decisions. Monique began her career at a Washington D.C. industry trade association serving as a liaison between government and industry interpreting government regulations and advising on the rule making process. Monique has her MBA in Finance from New York University Stern School of Business, and dual degrees in Chemistry and German from St. Olaf College. She holds her Series 7 and Series 66 licenses.

Before joining LifeSci Advisors, Steven Halper was a sell side research analyst for more than 27 years. During that time, Mr. Halper focused on Healthcare IT/Digital Health, Managed Care and Pharmaceutical Services industries at several major firms including Cantor Fitzgerald, FBR Capital Markets, Thomas Weisel Partners (TWP) and Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette (DLJ). During his analyst career. Mr. Halper was recognized by different organizations, including Institutional Investor, The Wall Street Journal, Starmine and TipRanks as one of the most highly ranked analysts in his respective coverage areas. Mr. Halper holds a BS in Economics from Binghamton University and an MBA from Fordham University. Mr. Halper is very active in career development at both Binghamton and Fordham and regularly advises students from both schools who wish to pursue a career in equity research.

Sandya has over 10 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, working for Novartis, Merck KGaA/ EMD Serono and Debiopharm. She has built expertise in business development, driving identification of partnering opportunities, competitor landscape analysis, market opportunity assessment and asset valuation. Sandya holds an M.Sc. in Biochemistry from the University of Geneva and a B.Sc. in Biochemistry from St Andrews University.

Tom Shumaker has nearly 20 years of experience across multiple areas of the capital formation and entrepreneurial ecosystem. Tom has led more than $50BN in debt and equity financings as well M&A transactions for clients. He spent nearly a decade at BMO Capital Markets (“BMO”), where was instrumental in building the firm’s Food, Consumer & Retail Investment Banking Group into one of the premier mid-market consumer players on Wall Street. At BMO, Tom led BMO’s coverage of high-growth consumer sector, including restaurants, wellness, and packaged foods, serving clients in both the U.S., Canada, and Asia. He was also responsible for establishing and managing relationships with many of the world’s top consumer-focused private equity firms. Prior to joining BMO, Tom was part of the Industrials and Services Investment Banking Group at Credit Suisse and the Equity Capital Markets Group at Citigroup. Tom also has entrepreneurial experience in both the fitness and specialty insurance sectors. Tom also currently serves as a Senior Advisor to BAM Elevate, the private growth equity fund recently formed by Balyasny Asset Management. He has an MBA from the University of Chicago and a BS from Georgetown University. He lives in Jackson, Wyoming.

Tim McCarthy brings over 21 years of investment experience across all healthcare sectors and capitalization ranges, focusing on life science investments at Kingdon Capital Management, Millennium Partners, Healthco/SAC Capital and Credit Suisse Asset Management. His extensive buy-side track record, when combined with specialty pharmaceutical sell-side research at CSFB, cash equities trainiing at Lehman Brothers, and public accounting experience at Arthur Andersen LLP, provides a well-rounded perspective to the team. Tim earned a BS with Special Attainments in Commerce from Washington and Lee University and an MBA in Finance and International Business from the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University. He is a CFA charter holder and completed all CPA qualifications.

Brian Ritchie has over 20 years of healthcare investor relations and communications experience. He focuses on developing, implementing
and overseeing investor relations programs for leading medical technology, biotechnology, specialty pharmaceutical, and
healthcare services companies. Brian has also worked on a number of financial transactions, including IPOs, follow-on
offerings, venture rounds, and M&A agreements. Prior to joining LifeSci, he spent over eight years at FTI Consulting as a
Senior Director within the Strategic Communications segment’s Capital Markets Practice and healthcare & life sciences
sector. Previously, Brian spent nearly six years at Noonan/Russo Communications, where, in increasingly senior positions, he
focused on investor relations for a large variety of life sciences and healthcare companies. He holds a B.S. in communication
arts from St. John’s University, where he graduated Cum Laude.

Christopher Chu brings over 20 years of experience providing comprehensive investor relations programming and corporate communications across broad sectors, including healthcare and biotechnology. He has led strategic, internal and crisis communications, and transaction advisory services for IPOs, M&A, and public financings. Examples of his diverse transaction work include the reverse merger and introduction of Cellular Biomedicine Group to the capital markets, the IPO of Markit, its investor relations program buildout and subsequent merger with IHS; and also, the Republic of Ghana’s $1B sovereign bond raise. Before joining LifeSci, he held senior agency roles with The Piacente Group, Grayling, and Taylor-Rafferty. Additionally, he has led client investor relations advisory services on behalf of the Depositary Receipts group at J.P. Morgan. He completed pre-med studies and earned a B.A. in English from Stony Brook University. He also holds a M.S. in Information Systems from Pace University.

David brings over a decade of investor communications and corporate finance experience acrossmultiple healthcare sectors, including life science tools, diagnostics and biotechnology companies.Pairing his depth of knowledge of investor relations and capital markets David has successfullystructured, built and implemented IR programs for oncology and molecular diagnostics companies,most recently for Rover Diagnostics, Inc. and Ascenda Diagnostics, (formerly Provista Diagnostics,Inc.). David began his career at BNP Paribas’ Corporate Investment Bank where he was worked inStructured Credit and Debt Capital Markets originating transactions ranging $100M-$2Bn acrossmultiple industries. David earned his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from St. Lawrence University,with concentrations in Econometrics and Modern Game Theory

Dory A. (Lombardo) Kurowski has over 15 years of experience conducting corporate and investor communications for life science companies. She has worked both in-house at biopharmaceutical companies and for various life science clients at agencies, and therefore brings. the perspective of both sides to investor communications. Prior to joining LifeSci Advisors, Dory served as Director of Corporate Affairs at Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and the head of Corporate Communications and Investor Relations at Emisphere Technologies, Inc. Dory also served on the communications steering committee with Wyeth before and after Progenics’ first product, RELISTOR® was approved. Prior to being in-house, Dory worked for Feinstein Kean Partners, Morgen-Walke and LaVoie Strategic Communications with a wide range of life science clients, helping them pre- and post-IPO to craft their value propositions to the investment community and gain media exposure. During this time, she also was part of Biotechnology Industry Organization’s investor steering committee and organized the first thought leader panels for the annual BIO CEO and Investor Conference. Dory began her career in the life sciences as a Director of Research for Ledbetter Davidson International, a retained executive recruitment firm that was instrumental in placing many leading pharmaceutical and biotech executives. Dory holds a B.A. in Psychology from Manhattanville College and completed elective graduate work at NYU Stern School of Business and Boston College Carroll School of Management.

Garth Russell has approximately 20 years of healthcare IR and corporate communications experience. He has successfully worked with biotechnology and life science companies to establish investor relations capabilities that dovetail with broader corporate communications programs, including public relations and social media. Garth has provided strategic IR counsel to companies through IPOs, secondary offerings, M&A transactions and changes in management. Garth previously worked with KCSA Strategic Communications as Managing Director of Investor Relations, during which his responsibilities included overseeing the firm’s healthcare practice. He holds a B.S. in Marketing from SUNY Plattsburgh. Garth is a NIRI-National and NIRI-New York chapter member.

John P. Fraunces, Jr., has over 20 years of investment experience within the health care sector. John is founder of Synaptic Capital Group LLC, where he managed the equity long-short healthcare fund, Synaptic Medical Fund, L.P. He was also the Fund Manager of the Turner Medical Sciences Long-Short Mutual Fund, which was awarded Lipper’s equity long-short mutual fund of the year in 2015. Prior to Turner Investments, John served as the Portfolio Manager for the Health Care Sector with Solaris Asset Management, where he was responsible for stock selection across all of the firm’s equity strategies. He began his buyside career as a Senior Analyst with Gardner Lewis Asset Management, where he covered health care equities across the firm’s long-only and long-short portfolios. Before moving to the buy-side, John worked in the equity research departments of PaineWebber and Vector Securities. Supplementing life sciences investment experience is significant work in competitive intelligence. In addition to his investment experience, John has several years of experience conducting major competitive intelligence projects for global pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in the fields of oncology, hematology, biosimilars, metabolic syndrome, obesity, diabetes, renal disease and neurological disorders. John began his career as an assistant scientist of peptide chemistry with Magainin Pharmaceuticals, where he conducted small molecule and peptide mimetic drug research for therapeutic applications in oncology and infectious disease. He holds a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Scranton and received a M.B.A. from Lehigh University.

Joost is an expert in content visualization. He has over 20 years of experience in different areas of fundamental research and product development along with a PhD in Biomedical Science. Previously, Joost worked at Genmab for 12 years, where he specialized in content visualization, scientific communication, and early marketing strategies. Joost is based In Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

John’s career as a life sciences aficionado spans journal editing, book writing, business planning, public awareness campaigns, and advisory roles for corporations, government departments and lawmakers. His publishing career encompassed jobs as Editor of Trends in Biotechnology, European Editor of Nature Biotechnology and Editor of Scrip Intelligence. Beyond communication, John co-founded the business consultancy, Critical I, in 2002.

Mari presents a strong science background, corporate communications expertise and industry knowledge. Prior tojoining LifeSci she worked at Canale Communications, where she supported various life science companies through strategic communications, corporate messaging and content development, to make scientifically complex stories engaging and accessible for target audiences. Mari earned her Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She holds a Bachelor of Science from Pitzer College, and she completed the Managing Science in the Biotech Industry – an MBA-style program offered by the American Society for Cell Biology and Keck Graduate Institute.

An experienced public relations professional in the United Kingdom, having approx. 20 years experience in communications within the European and US life sciences industry. Mike runs financial communication and retail media relations across the Europe & the U.S.

Michael Wood has 20 years experience advising the biotechnology and life science industries, having worked as a sell side analyst, institutional investor and investor relations professional. As a sell-side analyst he worked at Lehman Brothers, UBS and Hambrecht & Quist (now part of JP Morgan). On the buy side, he spent four years working on a healthcare sector fund at Welch Capital Partners in New York. He has also acted as an independent advisor to venture capital firms on PIPE transactions and late stage private investments. Michael is a native of Dublin Ireland and holds an Honors Degree in Microbiology from Trinity College Dublin. He also studied Investor Relations and Corporate Communications at New York University.

Paul Arndt is an investor relations and corporate communications executive with nearly 30 years of corporate and agency experience. Previously, Paul was Sr. Manager of Investor Relations for Spectrum Pharmaceuticals during which time the company saw a more than 23-fold growth in its market capitalization, an increase in sell-side analyst coverage from two to seven and an increase in institutional ownership from 25% to more than 70% through proactive investor targeting. Prior to Spectrum, he led investor relations and corporate communications for NeoPharm, Inc., where he was responsible for executing long-term investor, corporate, employee, and media relations programs designed to develop and refine core messages to optimize value creation, contributing to a more than 500% increase in market capitalization and a doubling of analyst coverage through several corporate events. Paul also served as an IR consultant at Hill & Knowlton and David A. Noyes & Company. Paul earned his MBA from the Lake Forest Graduate School of Management in Chicago and his Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Quincy University in Quincy, Illinois. He is also a NIRI-National and NIRI-Chicago chapter member, and a former Officer of the NIRI-Orange County, California chapter.

Richard is an experienced broadcast journalist and media professional. He spent several years as an Executive Producer with Bloomberg Media in Hong Kong, where he oversaw TV operations across the Asia-Pacific region. He was also responsible for setting up affiliate channels in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Mongolia. Prior to that, Richard worked as a senior producer at Al Jazeera, based first in Doha and then later in Kuala Lumpur. After leaving Bloomberg, Richard moved into corporate communications, working for an independent strategic communications consultancy. He holds a BA in History from King’s College, London.

Sam has 20 years of experience as a journalist and corporate communications professional. As reporter and bureau chief for Reuters, Sam spent several years writing about the healthcare industry in Switzerland and elsewhere in Europe and investing across industries during postings in London, Geneva, Zurich, Romania, Bulgaria and Ireland. He moved into corporate communications as a senior editor with the Danish transport company Maersk (2014-2018), working closely with senior executives. In 2018, Sam founded CCC, an independent strategic communications consultancy based in Copenhagen, where he now lives. Sam holds a BA in History from University College London and speaks several languages with varying degrees of fluency, including German, Spanish, French and Danish.

Tom Johnson is seasoned professional with 20 years of experience managing internal and
external corporate communications for healthcare companies. He specializes in simplifying
complex business issues into a simple, consistent narrative that resonates with key audiences.
Prior to LifeSci, Tom managed investor relations for biotech and specialty pharmaceutical
companies in oncology (Delcath Systems, developer of a novel liver cancer therapy), GI imaging
(E-Z-EM, a leader in imaging contrasts), and cardiology (Vasomedical, developer of innovative
physical therapies for congestive heart failure.) Tom also spent several years as a producer for
a healthcare specialty agency now part of Havas Health. Tom holds a B.A. in history and political
science from Syracuse University.

Thomas Galassi is a Managing Director of Investor Communications at LifeSci Advisors. He has extensive communications, legal, and academic research experience in a broad array of fields including biophysics, nanotechnology, tissue engineering, and metabolic diseases. Before transitioning to investor relations, Thomas was a patent agent at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati (WSGR). As a patent agent, he worked exclusively with universities and start-up/growth stage companies in the biotechnology space, advising clients on matters related to patent prosecution, investor communications, due diligence analyses, licensing matters, and freedom to operate searches. Prior to his time at WSGR, Thomas earned his Ph.D. in the Physiology, Biophysics,and Systems Biology department at Weill Cornell Medicine. While at Weill Cornell, Thomas completed his dissertation research at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center where he developed a novel optical reporter that serves as the basis of a recently founded start-up company. He also served as President and Director of Content Programming of the Bench to Bedside Initiative, a grassroots initiative that provided scientists and clinicians in the NYC area with training related to the commercialization of scientific intellectual property. In addition to a Ph.D., Thomas holds a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering from Tufts University.

Vicki Campbell, the Creative Director of LifeSci Advisors brings over 20 years of biomedical graphics experience to the team. She has extensive experience designing high impact slide decks, mechanism of action illustrations, PowerPoint templates, and figures for scientific publications. Prior to joining LifeSci, Vicki was the Digital Media Expert at The NemetzGroup, a dedicated team of consultants focused on life sciences that collaborate with cross-functional teams and provide counsel at all phases of the product lifecycle. She concurrently ran Vavoom! Design where she was responsible for dozens of IPO and private placement funding roadshows and held embedded roles with the teams at LocustWalk and MacDougall BioMedical Communications. Before she founded Vavoom! Design, Vicki worked as the Media Manager at Applied Molecular Evolution (now Eli Lilly) and was a Biomedical Graphics Artist at The Scripps Research Institute where she was formally trained to prepare biomedical graphics. Vicki has a degree from UCSD and 4 professional certificates from UCSD Extension.

Anna has a strong scientific background and professional experience in venture capital investments. Prior to joining LifeSci she worked at IBI Investment House and Tech Fund building up expertise in venture investments including due diligence, strategy, deal flow management, and portfolio support. Previously, Anna was a researcher at the Biochemistry Institute, University of Zurich, with publications in top tier scientific journals. She holds an M.Sc. in biology and biochemistry from the University of Zurich and a B.Sc. in life sciences from Ben Gurion University.

Andrew Eriksen is an Associate Relationship Manager at LifeSci Advisors, LLC. Prior to joining LifeSci in 2019, he worked for a boutique investment bank where he was primarily responsible for sourcing and conducting due diligence on prospective companies in the technology sector. Additionally, he also held a role at an investment research firm where his focus was market research for the Private Equity sector. Andrew received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a dual focus in Finance & Business Analytics from the University of New Hampshire.

Ashley Sierchio is an Associate Relationship Manager at LifeSci Advisors. Prior to joining the Associates team, Ashley was a Coordinator for LifeSci’s Non-Deal Roadshow team where she organized investor meeting schedules for clients and coordinated for LifeSci’s Annual Corporate Access Event. She began her career working in interior design and luxury goods. Ashley has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a Minor in Studio Art from The Catholic University of America, and an MBA from London School of Commerce.

Andrew has close to 10 years’ experience in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. In addition to a range of roles across both competitive intelligence and business analytics, Andrew spent 3 years on the sell-side as an Equity Analyst at UBS covering large-cap European pharma. A pharmacologist by training, Andrew holds a degree in Pharmacology from King’s College London.

Carey Gallant is an Associate Relationship Manager at LifeSci Advisors, LLC. Prior to joining LifeSci, Carey spent four years in immuno-oncology research at Synlogic Therapeutics. During his time at Synlogic, Carey co-led the development of cellular based assays modeling tumor microenvironments and inflammatory diseases. Carey graduated from the University of Vermont with a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering and a minor in Mathematics.

Jack McAleese is an Associate Relationship Manager in LifeSci’s New York office. Prior to joining LifeSci, Jack was a business analyst at a global management consultancy, working primarily with investment banking, energy, and technology clients.

Jack received his Bachelor of Arts in Economics and minor in Politics & International Affairs from Wake Forest University.

Prior to joining LifeSci, Megan worked as an associate consultant for a boutique consultancy focused on innovation and growth strategy with clients primarily in the Technology, Healthcare, Financial Services and Consumer Packaged Goods industries. During her time there, she completed two Adtech projects for a major social media platform. Her responsibilities ranged from project coordination to data analysis and slide deck execution. Megan graduated from Brown University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Biology and Master of Science in Biotechnology during which she completed a Master’s Thesis titled Human Cell-Based In Vitro Toxicity Testing Landscape: Market Analysis and Trends Report. She is also an alumni of the Brown Varsity Women’s Soccer team.

Özhan has an extensive background in biomedical sciences, evolutionary biology, and sociomicrobiology with a strong interest in venture capital investments, outreach, and communications. Before joining LifeSci, Özhan worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Gulbenkian Science Institute in collaboration with the NOVA University Lisbon, and later at the University of Zürich investigating the genetic bases of bacterial social evolution and adaptation, published stimulating novel findings in prestigious scientific journals which would potentially lead to new therapeutic approaches that target the social fabric of the bacterial infections that are, or have a high potential to be, resistant to multiple antibiotics. Özhan holds a PhD in biomedical sciences from the NOVA University of Lisbon and completed his bachelor’s degree in molecular biology and genetics at Istanbul Technical University and the University of Strasbourg.”

PJ Kelleher is an Associate Relationship Manager in LifeSci’s Boston office. Prior to joining the firm in 2018, he interned at various asset management firms in the Boston area. Peter received his Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Finance from Connecticut College.

Sophie Vitzthum is an Associate Relationship Manager working in the Investor Relations department of LifeSci Advisors. Prior to joining LifeSci in 2020, Sophie worked for a portfolio investor team at Neuberger Berman where she earned her Series 7, and subsequently joined the corporate communications division at a media consulting firm. Sophie holds her Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and French from Trinity College.

Troy is an Associate Relationship Manager working on the Investor Relations team at LifeSci Advisors. Troy began his career working on the equity capital markets and institutional sales teams at Fidelity where he earned his Series 7, 66, and 55 licenses. Prior to joining LifeSci in 2019, he was a Senior Consultant at Capco specializing in business strategy. Troy Earned his BA in Economics, and BA in Government and Law from Lafayette College.

Tracy Sebastian is an Associate in LifeSci’s New York office. Prior to joining LifeSci, she was an Associate at T. Rowe Price and Westwicke. She holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Abigail Healy supports business development and client onboarding activities for LifeSci Advisors. She is responsible for identifying new business and strategic partnership opportunities and building relationships with new and prospective clients. Abigail has been working with companies in the life science space for 8 years. She has worked in account management and business development for specialist life science consultancy companies, partnering with privately owned and publicly listed companies in the US, Europe and Asia. Abigail is based in the UK.

Dean Schwartz is an Associate at LifeSci Advisors in New York. He holds a BA in Economics and minor in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Georgia leads business development strategy for LifeSci Advisors. Georgia has been working in the Life Sciences industry for nearly 10 years, beginning her career in corporate development, before moving into executive search where she partnered with biotech companies, primarily in the Boston area, to scale and refine their boards and executive teams through key inflection points. Georgia joined LifeSci advisors in March 2020.

Mike Moyer spent 18 years on Wall Street in institutional sales at Leerink, Summer Street, and most recently at Stifel as a healthcare sector sales specialist. Prior to joining LifeSci in 2019, Mike was VP of Portfolio Strategy at Ziopharm. Mike began his career as a pharmaceutical sales representative at Dura Pharmaceuticals, and has a BA from the University of Pennsylvania.

Aida has over 20 years experience in corporate access, managing roadshows in the UK and Europe. Prior to joining LifeSci Advisors, Aida managed the North American equities corporate access team in London at RBC Capital Markets for 11 years. Prior to that, Aida worked with the US institutional equity sales team at Bear Stearns in London. Aida began her career working on the US equities desk at CIBC World Markets, London.

Angela brings more than 15 years of experience in Corporate Access. She began her career in the Boston office of Credit Suisse working on the Institutional Equity Sales desk. Prior to joining LifeSci Advisors, Angela worked for SVB Leerink & Jefferies building relationships between senior corporate management teams and institutional investors with a focus in Healthcare. Angela graduated from University of Massachusetts with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and a Minor in Business Management.

Alex Starr is a Non-Deal Roadshow Lead for the High New Worth division. Joined LifeSci in 2019 with intentions to rapidly expand the High New Worth roadshow offering for LifeSci Clients. Prior to joining LifeSci, Alex earned a degree from the Williams School of Commerce from Washington and Lee University.

Anne has over 20 years’ experience in institutional equity sales. She started her career at Banque Harwanne and joined the Banque NSM (ABN AMRO Group) where she became head of Institutional Sales Europe. In 2004, she founded Finapsis an independent advisory firm specialising in fundraisings for listed and non listed companies, where she completed numerous transactions in healthcare and software. Anne graduated from Reims Management School.

Casey DeBaecke has more than 25 years of experience in Institutional Equity Sales. She began her career in the Boston Office of First Boston Corporation working in Equity Research. Casey then spent fifteen years at Credit Suisse where she was responsible for Institutional Equity Research Sales in the MidAtlantic Region. Prior to joining LifeSci Advisors, Casey worked for 10 years at UBS in the Institutional Equities Group providing Research Sales coverage to accounts in the MidAtlantic territory. Casey graduated from Boston College with a Bachelor of Science in Finance and a Minor in Asian Studies.

Chris Nardo specializes in working with private companies, primarily offering strategic advice to venture stage companies and arranging non-deal roadshows with VCs and crossover investors. Prior to joining LifeSci Advisors, Chris led the non-deal roadshow team at The Ruth Group for five years where he focused on investor targeting and outreach for companies looking to meet with Venture Capitalists. Chris began his career at Angelo Gordon & Co. as a junior analyst. He graduated from Hofstra University with a BBA in Finance, Concentration in pre-med and a Minor in Chemistry.

Eric Ribner is a Managing Director and Relationship Manager of LifeSci’s Non-Deal Roadshow (NDR) business. He leads LifeSci’s efforts in introducing their clients to Family Offices, Financial Advisors, RIA’s and High Net Worth individuals. He also manages several client relationships at the firm. Eric spent more than 20 years working on Wall Street in various capacities, including as an Executive Director of Institutional Sales at Oppenheimer & Co. and on the buy-side, first as a Managing Director of Equity Research at NorthStar Capital Funds and then as a Senior Vice President at George Weiss Associates, where he helped manage over $200 million in equities in the financial, industrial, energy and metal sectors. Eric resides in Connecticut and has two children.

Mr. Gaul has 25 years of experience in equity sales, including 14 years in institutional healthcare equity sales. Most recently, he was in equity research sales at Vertical Research Group, an independent equity research boutique, and previously served in similar roles at Adams, Harkness & Hill, Canaccord Adams, and Leerink Partners. During his career, Mr. Gaul has established and developed relationships with many top-tier buyside investors and sell-side analysts and investment bankers. Throughout his careeer, Mr. Gaul has managed numerous deal and non-deal roadshows in all major financial markets in the United States. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Economics from Wheaton College.

Over the past 20 years Floriane has developed close working relationships with a broad spectrum of European healthcare investors, including generalists, family offices, high net worth individuals and healthcare specialists. Floriane is based in Geneva, Switzerland.

Joanne has over 20 years’ experience on the sellside having previously worked at CIBC World Markets and Oppenheimer within US and Canadian Institutional Equities and Capital Markets. Jo’s expertise is within corporate access, roadshow logistics, event and conference planning. Jo is based in London, UK.

John Mullaly has more than 20 years of experience in institutional equity sales. He began his career at Robertson Stephens before taking on a greater healthcare focus SG Cowen Securities. Most recently, John worked as a healthcare sector specialist institutional salesperson at William Blair and then at Wells Fargo Securities. Over his career, John has fostered relationships with dedicated healthcare investors, sell-side analysts and investment bankers. John has successfully managed numerous deal and non-deal roadshows. John graduated from Northeastern University with a Bachelor of Arts in economics and received his Masters in Business Administration at Boston University.

Matt Kelly has 20 years of experience in Institutional Equity Sales. Most recently he was in
Equity Research Sales at First Analysis Corporation with a focus on healthcare and technology companies. There, he was responsible for Institutional Equity Research Sales for the U.S. East Coast & Montreal. Prior to that, he spent 15 years in Institutional Equity Research Sales at Sidoti & Company, LLC. focusing on small cap companies. He managed the Boston Institutional Equity Research Sales team while servicing institutional clients in Boston and New York. Throughout his career, Matt has built well established buy-side relationships and garners extensive Non Deal Roadshow experience.
He graduated from Gettysburg College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business and a Minor in Finance & Economics.

Michael Mills is an Associate for LifeSci’s Non-Deal Roadshow (NDR) Business. Prior to joining LifeSci in 2021, Michael worked at Maxim Group where he developed extensive sell side experience with both retail and institutional investors predominantly in the healthcare sector. In addition to business development and client management, he had the opportunity to work closely with Maxim’s Compliance department to ensure all capital markets activities aligned with SEC and FINRA regulations.

Prior to working at Maxim Group, Michael served as both a Financial Analyst and a Business Development Associate at Med-Metrix. Med-Metrix is a Revenue Cycle Management Firm that provided consulting to hospitals and large physicians practices.

Michael graduated Kean University with a Bachelor of Science in Finance and has earned FINRA issued Series 7 and 63 licenses.

Niki has over 20 years’ experience in the industry starting out at Cowen in institutional equity sales and then at JP Morgan and Fortis Bank as healthcare specialist equity sales, marketing healthcare companies and deals to EU healthcare investors. In 2009 Niki founded Aetia Ltd, a FCA regulated firm focused on fundraisings for the healthcare sector, and has a track record raising capital for public and private life science companies at various stages of development.

Norma has over 20 years’ experience in institutional equity sales and has been heavily involved in marketing PIPEs, IPOs and secondary offerings to European specialist healthcare & tech funds. For the last 8 years Norma was healthcare specialist sales on the US institutional equity desk at Oppenheimer in London, covering UK, Swiss and German specialist investors. She spent the first half of her career on the US equity sales desk at CIBC in London where she had overall responsibility for Swiss investors and managed a team selling the firm’s US equity research product into Switzerland while personally focusing on healthcare and technology stocks. Norma earned a BSc in Financial Economics from University of London.

Patrick Mikus has 20+ years of experience in Institutional Equity Sales, including more than 18 years involving healthcare equity research. Most recently, he was in Equity Research Sales at B. Riley FBR and previously served in similar roles at Thomas Weisel Partners, Canaccord Adams, Needham & Co. and D.A. Davidson. During his equity sales career, Mr. Mikus established and developed relationships with many top-tier buy-side investors as well as sell-side analysts and bankers. Mr. Mikus has also worked in product management and managed numerous deal and non-deal roadshows in the United States. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Colgate University.

Richard started his career as a healthcare specialist salesperson for HSBC in 1997. He then sold European pharmaceuticals and biotech equities at UBS Warburg, during which time he was ranked #1 in the Extel Survey. Subsequently he worked in global healthcare specialist sales at HSBC. His last healthcare-related job was in European pharmaceuticals sales at boutique broker New Street Research. Before starting at LifeSci Advisors, Richard was a fund raiser for the Rhodes Trust in Oxford. Prior to his career in healthcare specialist sales, Richard sold Asian equities at HSBC James Capel and GK Goh Securities. His first job in the City was for the European M&A Team at Hambros Bank. Before embarking on a career in finance, Richard served in the British Army. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Exeter, and a Master’s Degree from the University of Oxford.

Ryan Gaitan graduated from Quinnipiac University with a B.Sc. in Finance and a Master of Business Administration with a Concentration in Finance. Prior to joining LifeSci Advisors, Ryan worked at The Ruth Group where he helped private companies seeking to raise capital by organizing non-deal roadshows with crossover investors and venture capital firms. Ryan began his career at Third Bridge Group as a research analyst.

Shiran brings over 8 years of experience in the financial industry. She is a certified Public Accountant by training and a certified Portfolio Manager. Prior her joining LifeSci Shiran was a Senior Investment Manager in Yelin Lapidot mutual funds, a highly valued investment house in Israel. Shiran’s experience including valuations and analysis of financial statements, participation in public offering, bonds issuances and private placements. Prior to joining Yelin Lapidot, Shiran was a Senior Associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) were she audited international public and private companies from a wide range of fields ,partnerships and Venture Capital Funds . Shiran earned her BA in Accounting and Economics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and her MBA from Tel Aviv University.

Alonzo is the current Manager of HR and Operations for LifeSci Partners. He brings a wealth of administrative, logistical and leadership expertise to the firm, after having over 15 years of support experience with both internal and external clients at Clear Channel/iHeart Media, Angelo, Gordon & Co., and Citigroup. Known as the “Concierge”, Alonzo is responsible for daily office management operations, assisting in Diversity and Inclusion initiatives, onboarding both new clients and employees, and basically just getting “IT” done. He is a native of Nashville, TN and now resides in NYC as guardian to his dog and cat.

Oengus has over 25 years’ experience in Finance and Administration. He started his career as an auditor with Ernst & Young and gained extensive international experience as CFO in several companies including Debiopharm. Oengus holds an accounting degree from University College Dublin, Ireland, and an MBA from INSEAD, France. He is fluent in three languages (English, French and German) and lives in Geneva, Switzerland.

Neil Canavan is a veteran science journalist with over 20 years of experience who leverages his network to provide speakers for, and moderates, KOL events such as 1st Thought, Benchtop Bios (LifeSci’s podcast platform), and related platforms. Neil’s contacts, and knowledge within the setting of oncology are also leveragd for BD purposes. Neil holds a master’s degree in molecular biology from Rutgers University.

Pauline Gad is a KOL Strategy and Management Associate on the KOL Events Team, where she works with LifeSci’s clients and research team to plan, organize, and execute investor events. Prior to joining LifeSci in 2021, Pauline graduated from New York University where she studied Psychology, Chemistry, and was on the Pre-Medical track.

Sara Parigian works closely with LifeSci’s clients and research team to plan, organize, and execute investor events. As VP of KOL Strategy and Management, Sara’s primary focus is corporate access and event planning. Sara has organized over 400 corporate events including KOL events, R&D Days, Commercial Days, and Analyst Days since joining the LifeSci team in 2018. Prior to joining the KOL team, Sara was part of LifeSci’s Non-Deal Roadshow team where she coordinated investor meeting schedules for clients. Sara began her career at H.C. Wainwright & Co. as first a sales and corporate events intern and then as an investment banking summer analyst. She received her BS in Finance and Marketing from University of South Carolina.

Tara Sobierajski is an Events Coordinator on the KOL Events Team, where she works with LifeSci’s clients and research team to plan, organize, and execute KOL events. Prior to joining LifeSci in 2019, Tara worked at Celgene Corporation on the Digital Communications team as well as the Global Pricing and Market Access team. During her time at Celgene, Tara co-led technology development for a Pricing and Market Access Launch Readiness tool, helping 15+ countries and product teams with the technology to keep track of their deliverables across the Hematology/Oncology space. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from Siena College.