Ronald P. Dudek, is the Director of Technology Development and Marketing and Adapter CAR™ Program Manager at Lentigen Technology, Inc. (LTI).  Ronald is the past President and co-founder of Living Pharma, Inc., a universal CAR T cell company founded in January 2015 and acquired by LTI June 29, 2017. He is also the Former Vice President of Commercial Strategy at Juno Therapeutics, Inc., and one of the first members of the company.

In 2011, Mr. Dudek was the Founding President of Restoration Oncology, Inc. (ROI), a CAR T cell company that developed anti-CD19 CAR T cells for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. The products, clinical program and intellectual property of ROI are now resident in Juno Therapeutics.

Mr. Dudek serves in executive roles at leading cell therapy companies including Xcyte Therapies, Inc., Aastrom Biosciences, Inc., and Miltenyi Biotec, Inc. He has 8 years of immunology research experience (Scripps Research Institute, Hybritech, Inc.), and 25 years of overall biotechnology business experience.

Eduardo Davila serves as Co-Program Leader for the Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy Program within the University of Maryland Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center (UMGCCC). Dr. Davila is also the Director of the Science Training for Advancing Biomedical Research Postbaccalaureate Program (STAR-PREP).

Olivier Danos is the Chief Scientific Officer of REGENXBIO.
He is a pioneer in the field of gene therapy, and has dedicated his career to advancing the use of this technology to develop life-saving therapies for patients. Olivier joined REGENXBIO in 2017 from Biogen where he was a Senior Vice President in charge of Cell and Gene Therapy. Over the past twenty years, he has played leadership roles in cell and gene therapy as Director of the Gene Therapy Consortium of the University College of London, at the Necker Hospital – Enfants Malades in Paris, as Chief Scientific Officer of Genethon and as senior director of research at Somatix Therapy Corporation. He has held senior research positions at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and at the Institut Pasteur in Paris. Olivier is the former President and a founding member of the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy.
Olivier received a Master’s in Genetics and Molecular Biology at University of Paris Orsay, and his Ph.D. at the Pasteur Institute and University of Paris Diderot.

Dr. Walter G. Copan was confirmed by Congress as Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and NIST Director on October 5, 2017.

As NIST Director, Dr. Copan provides high-level oversight and direction for NIST.

He has had a distinguished and diverse career as a science and technology executive in large and small corporations, U.S.  government, nonprofit and other public-sector settings.

Dr. Copan formerly served as president and CEO of the IP Engineering Group Corporation, providing services in intellectual property strategy, technology commercialization and innovation. Until June 2017, he was founding CEO and chairman of Impact Engineered Wood Corporation, an advanced materials technology company. He also is a founding board member of Rocky Mountain Innovation Partners, where he led technology transfer programs and innovation services on behalf of the U.S. Air Force Academy, U.S. federal labs and academic institutions and helped foster entrepreneurial businesses in the Rocky Mountain West. He also served with the National Advisory Council to the Federal Laboratory Consortium for more than 5 years, providing industry inputs to advance the U.S. economic impacts of the federal laboratory system.

Dr. Copan is a patent holder, has authored numerous professional publications and presentations, and has served on the boards of many organizations, including the Licensing Executives Society (LES) USA and Canada, where he recently served as regional vice president for LES USA. He has contributed to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the Council on Competitiveness, the World Intellectual Property Organization and the United Nations on innovation, technology transfer, energy and economic development matters.

Ángel Cabrera is the president of George Mason University, Virginia’s largest public research university operating several campuses across the Washington, D.C., metropolitan region and in Incheon, South Korea. Since 2016, Mason is one of the 115 universities in the United States selected for the highest research category of the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.

Before becoming Mason’s president in 2012, Cabrera led IE Business School in Madrid, and Thunderbird School of Global Management, now affiliated with Arizona State University. Cabrera is the first native of Spain to have served as president of an American university.

Cabrera chairs the Commission on International Initiatives for the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, and serves on the advisory boards of the Council for the International Exchange of Scholars (Fulbright Program), Georgia Institute of Technology, and ITESM in Monterrey, Mexico. He serves on the boards of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, National Geographic, the Bankinter Foundation of Innovation in Madrid, and other civic organizations. He has served on the corporate boards of three public companies: eFunds, PetSmart and, currently, Inovio Pharmaceuticals.

Jarrod Borkat is a 15-year veteran in the biopharmaceutical industry. He joined MedImmune in 2010, where he currently serves as Senior Director/Head, Global External Partnerships & Collaborations. In this role he is responsible for establishing and overseeing global strategic collaborations with universities, non-profit organizations and government entities, across all the therapeutic areas relevant to MedImmune. His team led the creation of several multi-million dollar collaborations, including one with Johns Hopkins University and one with University of Maryland. Prior to this role, Jarrod led the Portfolio Strategy & Management function for MedImmune, helping the organization optimize its R&D portfolio. Before joining MedImmune, Jarrod worked at Boehringer Ingelheim (BI) Pharmaceuticals, Inc. for 11 years, rising through the ranks in the sales and commercial organization. During his time at BI, he spent two years in Germany, working at their corporate headquarters, leading the global commercial strategy for their CNS franchise. His last position prior to leaving BI was Director of U.S. Marketing, HIV. Jarrod has won multiple awards throughout his career, including being recognized as an industry “Top 25 Direct-to-Consumer Marketer of the Year” in 2007. He is also active in several industry organizations and has served on industry-related panels. In addition to his professional accomplishments, Jarrod serves on the Kentlands Board of Trustees and the Kentlands Community Foundation Board. He also ran a marathon on all 7 continents with his father, making them the first father/son duo to have accomplished this challenging endeavor. Jarrod earned an M.B.A. from Kennesaw State University, with concentrations in finance and marketing, and earned a B.S. in Biology from the University of Georgia.

William E. Bentley is Robert E. Fischell Distinguished Chair in Engineering at the University of Maryland and Inaugural Director of the Robert E. Fischell Institute for Biomedical Devices. His group develops molecular tools that facilitate expression of biologically active proteins and that manipulate signal transduction pathways, including those of bacterial communication networks. His lab also develops strategies for opening ‘communication’ between devices and biological systems. He is co-PI of Maryland’s Center of Excellence in Regulatory Science and Innovation with the FDA and the National Capital Consortium for Pediatric Device Innovation with Children’s National Medical Center. He is a Fellow of the ACS, AAAS, AIMBE and the American Academy of Microbiology.

Mr. Bendis is an entrepreneur, corporate executive, venture capitalist, investment banker, innovation and technology-based economic development leader, international speaker and consultant in the technology and healthcare industries. He currently serves as the founding President and CEO of Innovation America (IA), a national public-private partnership focused on accelerating the growth of innovation economy in America. As one of the most recognized experts in the field of innovation economy, Mr. Bendis has served on numerous distinguished boards and task forces including the White House U.S. Innovation Partnership Advisory Task Force, the Small Business Innovation Research Committee, the National Association of State Venture Funds board; State Science and Technology Institute, and the Ernst and Young Entrepreneurial Institute as a national/regional Judge.

Mr. Bendis has provided global consulting services to over 16 countries and 22 states, several cities and regions, along with international organizations including the United Nations, NATO, UK Trade and Industry, European Commission, French Embassy, the German Marshall Fund, The Canadian Consulate, METI, AKEA, the International Science Parks and Innovation Expert Group and other global entities. Mr. Bendis is a frequent consultant and speaker to 16 International innovation based economic development organizations, as well as over 20 states, regions and cities throughout the U.S. He was voted one of the Top 5 Speakers on innovation economy in 2012.

Ripley Ballou, MD is Vice President and Head, US R&D Center of GSK Vaccines in Rockville, MD. Previously he was Head of Clinical Research and Translational Science, Vaccine Discovery and Development at GSK’s Vaccines headquarters in Rixsensart, Belgium. He has also served as Deputy Director for Vaccines, Infectious Diseases Development, Global Health at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Dr. Ballou is an expert in vaccine development and has worked in this field for more than 30 years. Trained in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases, he began his work on vaccines at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research where he led the team that with GlaxoSmithKline co-developed RTS,S, the world’s most advanced malaria vaccine. Dr. Ballou has numerous publications in the field of vaccine development and infectious diseases.  

Alex M. Azar II was sworn in as the Secretary of Health and Human Services on Jan. 29, 2018. Azar has spent his career working in both the public and private sectors, as an attorney and in senior leadership roles focused on advancing healthcare reform, research and innovation.

From 2001 to 2007, Azar served at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – first as its General Counsel (2001–2005) and then as Deputy Secretary. During his time as Deputy Secretary, Azar was involved in improving the department’s operations; advancing its emergency preparedness and response capabilities as well as its global health affairs activities; and helping oversee the rollout of the Medicare Part D prescription drug program.

In 2007, Azar rejoined the private sector as senior vice president for corporate affairs and communications at Eli Lilly and Co. From 2012 to 2017, he served as president of Lilly USA LLC, the company’s largest affiliate.

Azar clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia prior to practicing law for several years.

Azar graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in economics and government from Dartmouth College and earned his law degree from Yale University. For the past 10 years, Azar has lived in Indiana with his wife and their two children.