Ahmari Alford develops tailored media strategies grounded in experience across media relations, strategic communications, reputation management, and social content creation. She previously supported high-profile clients at FGS Global and brings a strong track record in both execution and account management. Ahmari earned her bachelor’s degree in International Studies from Fordham University.

Alan Brown is the Operations Manager at LifeSci Communications, where he leverages a strong foundation in administrative leadership to drive operational excellence. In his role, Alan oversees day‑to‑day process improvements, resource coordination, and cross‑functional communication to ensure that projects run smoothly, and goals are met on time and within budget. Prior to joining LifeSci Communications, he spent several years as an Executive Assistant, honing his expertise in calendar and travel management, vendor relations, and strategic scheduling. Known for his attention to detail, proactive problem‑solving, and collaborative approach, Alan is dedicated to optimizing workflows and supporting teams across the organization.

Anne brings extensive expertise across the medical sciences spectrum as a physician-scientist, combining six years of laboratory research and eight years of clinical practice as a pediatrician. Her Ph.D. work focused on the molecular basis of erythropoiesis and novel therapeutic targets for anemia. In addition to published peer-reviewed articles and oral presentations at various national conferences, Anne has experience in grant writing as well as publishing LTEs/Op-eds, continuing medical education content for healthcare peers, and email newsletters. Anne is a fluid communicator with all stakeholders and finds joy in working with highly sophisticated and lay audiences alike. Areas of clinical interest include hematology, oncology, clinical genetics, vaccine research, rare diseases across the lifespan, and patient engagement and advocacy.

Anne is active in the field of clinical Pediatrics through her professional organization, continuing medical education and advocacy projects. She maintains an active medical license and board certification.

Anne received her B.A. degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of California at Berkeley. She subsequently completed an NIH-sponsored Medical Scientist Training Program at the University of Virginia School of Medicine where she earned her M.D. and Ph.D. degrees. She completed her residency in General Pediatrics at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and earned her board Certification in Pediatrics in 2016.

Andrew W. Mielach has nearly 15 years of life sciences communications experience working with numerous publicly traded and privately held life sciences companies at varying stages of development. As the strategic lead for many of LifeSci’s high-profile clients, Andrew has worked closely with a variety of management teams to establish communications platforms that clearly define each client’s value proposition, and then execute individualized programs that have successfully elevated each company’s profile in the highly influential business, industry, healthcare and mainstream media. Within his areas of expertise include strategic message development, milestone planning, thought leadership, media relations, crisis communications and corporate branding.

Prior to joining LifeSci, Andrew was a managing supervisor for JFK Communications, where he served as an account co-lead helping to drive physician, patient and disease awareness campaigns for multiple clients primarily in the oncology space. Before JFK, Andrew was a vice president with Ruder Finn, Inc., and worked to execute public relations initiatives for Novartis Oncology’s neuroendocrine tumor (NET) franchise and UCB Pharma’s neurology products. Prior to Ruder Finn, Andrew was a vice president at Tiberend Strategic Advisors, Inc., an investor relations and corporate communications firm where he counseled healthcare clients on message development, corporate positioning, content development, milestone planning and media relations.

Andrew received his bachelor’s degree in Communications from Seton Hall University.

Autumn Von Plinsky is a Senior Art Director on the LifeSci creative team with a specialty in scientific illustration and animation.  Her broad industry background includes experience in 360 branding, website design, corporate decks and template creation, and logo design. Prior to her role at LifeSci, Autumn worked in museum retail & educational design, as well as mass-market packaging, product, and promotional design with The New York Botanical Garden, Kikkerland Design, Inc., and the Yale Great Mountain Forest.

As an illustrator for many LifeSci clients, she has developed custom scientific and medical illustrations for educational outreach, presentations, and informational materials for use by professionals and patients.  She has over 5 years of professional creative experience with subjects ranging from macrobiology & ecology to oncology, neurology, genetics, and mechanism of action illustration.

Autumn graduated from Yale University with a Bachelor’s in Visual Art with coursework in biological science.

Brittany Leigh, Ph.D., leverages her scientific expertise to develop compelling narratives and comprehensive communications strategies for companies across therapeutic areas with complex scientific stories. Bridging across the client services and medical communications team, she works with client partners to develop a scientific strategy to efficiently accomplish key corporate and scientific objectives. Her work includes corporate and scientific messaging, mechanism of action narratives, disease awareness campaigns, clinical trial recruitment, scientific strategy for data dissemination and corporate communications strategy.

Prior to joining LifeSci, she trained as a National Institutes of Health Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Vanderbilt University where she lead the virology research for a clinical trial and investigated cellular mechanism behind vector control strategies to combat transmission of RNA viruses. Prior to her time at Vanderbilt, Brittany received her Ph.D. from the University of South Florida investigating the interplay between the immune system of marine organisms and the ocean of microbes they inhabit. Combined with her pre-doctoral experience in shark cancer resistance research, she maintains a wide array of expertise including genetics, metagenomics, transcriptomics, microbiology, virology, biochemistry, immunology, and oncology.

She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of South Florida in Biology.

Daniel Bryant is a Project Manager within the Digital Engagement Team at LifeSci Communications. He brings nearly 10 years of experience working across various roles in the marketing, communications, and advertising industries. He has held positions in Strategy, Creative Production, and Ad Trafficking.

Prior to joining LifeSci, Daniel worked as a Resource Manager, where he successfully partnered with creative, project management, account, and finance teams to optimize talent allocation.  

Daniel earned his bachelor’s degree in business management from Northeastern University. 

Gloria Gasaatura has over a decade of healthcare communications experience. She works with companies to refine their corporate messaging and share their story with key audiences via a range of communication channels. She recently led a private company’s renaming, messaging and branding efforts to align with the management team’s new vision for the company.

Prior to joining LifeSci, Gloria worked at Lazar Partners, where she led strategic corporate communications and public relations programs for emerging life sciences, biopharma and medtech companies. Her expertise span physician awareness initiatives, data and regulatory milestones, patient advocacy and society group engagement, social media campaigns and disease awareness programs. Her past clients include companies such as Medtronic, Neural Analytics and United Orthopedic Corporation. Prior to Lazar Partners, Gloria was with the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery where she supported patient education initiatives, media relations, member engagement and awareness campaigns. Gloria has worked on a broad range of therapeutic categories including aesthetics, cardiology, neurology, orthopedics, respiratory, infectious diseases, gastroenterology, hematology and inflammation.

She holds a master of science in public relations and corporate communications from New York University.

Golnaz Yamoutpour is an Associate Director of Digital Engagement at LifeSci Communications, bringing over 13 years of experience in digital strategy, marketing, and communications across the biotech, pharmaceutical, and healthcare sectors. She has led initiatives for top industry leaders, including Amgen, GSK, Eisai, Merck, Bristol Myers Squibb, and AbbVie, helping to drive meaningful engagement and support business objectives through innovative digital strategies.

Before joining LifeSci, Golnaz held leadership roles in healthcare and life sciences organizations, including DaVita Clinical Research, where she led digital marketing initiatives focused on clinical trial engagement and participant recruitment. She also provided strategic consulting for various biotech and digital health startups, developing data-driven marketing strategies, and executing successful product launches.

Golnaz holds an MBA from Augsburg University, and a Master of Science in Executive Coaching and Organizational Consulting from New York University.

Jason Braco, Ph.D., specializes in developing comprehensive communications programs for high-science companies across stages of development and therapeutic spaces. As an account executive, he leverages his academic background to transform complex science into approachable and captivating narratives that resonate with sophisticated and uninitiated audiences. His work encompasses corporate and scientific messaging, company rebrands, social media, clinical trial recruitment, communications strategy for corporate milestones and media relations.

Prior to joining LifeSci, Jason was a postdoctoral associate at the Yale School of Medicine and received his Ph.D. in biology from Wake Forest University. Throughout his academic career, Jason focused on basic research that spans genetics, cellular signaling, metabolism, neurobiology and behavior.

John is the Vice President of Web Development at LifeSci Communications. He has been designing and coding in the interactive space since 1996. 

John spent the early part of his career working as a designer/flash developer at Arnold Worldwide where he became an Associate Creative Director. While working at Arnold, John found time to write and publish a book, Flash 5 Primer, which is about designing and programming in Flash.

John has a passion for the whole process and will often switch hats to help the team in any way necessary to deliver a great end product for a client. Through John’s career he has completed projects for Fidelity, Royal Caribbean, Sony, Mercedes, GlaxoSmithkline, Pfizer, Procter & Gamble, Novartis, to name a few. 

John graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Communications from Seton Hall University.

Jonathan is a Senior Web Developer at LifeSci Communications. Jonathan previously worked as a Team Lead of Web Development at Q4. He lead a development team that built websites for public companies such as Honeywell, Robinhood and Kelloggs. Jonathan studied at Juno College of Technology in Toronto, ON. Prior to Web Development, Jonathan worked as a Financial Advisor.

Jordyn Temperato is a Senior Account Executive at LifeSci Communications. At LifeSci, Jordyn leverages her broad experience to help lead numerous communications initiatives including, media outreach, social media campaigns and messaging development for life science companies representing a wide variety of therapeutic areas. Prior to joining LifeSci, Jordyn worked at Haymarket Media and PRWeek. There she assisted the editorial and marketing departments by developing articles on leadership and unique consumerism, producing media kits and reporting current events to support varying initiatives. Additionally, Jordyn brings expansive public relations experience in managing social media networks, curating marketing campaigns and creating promotional corporate content. Jordyn holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Mass Communications from the University of South Carolina.

Karissa L. Cross, Ph.D., brings a decade of interdisciplinary scientific research experience to LifeSci Communications, where she specializes in communicating complex scientific concepts to diverse audiences for biotech and healthcare companies across various fields and stages of development. Karissa has served clients across cell and gene therapy, oncology, rare disease, women’s health, and neuroscience to execute their external communications needs, including scientific messaging, corporate communications, social media and media relations, with an eye to scientific accuracy and audience-appropriate tone.

Prior to joining LifeSci Communications, Karissa completed a postdoctoral research fellowship at Vanderbilt University, where she received a prestigious National Science Foundation award to investigate the complex evolutionary relationship between host genetics, the microbiome, and the emergence of new species. During her graduate work conducted at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Karissa studied the human microbiome and how it influences oral health and systemic diseases. She has published twelve peer-reviewed scientific publications and has presented her findings at national and international conferences. Karissa also holds a Certificate in College Teaching from Vanderbilt University.

Karissa completed her bachelor’s degree in microbiology from North Carolina State University and her Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of Tennessee – Knoxville.

Kendy is an Account Executive at LifeSci Communications with a background in biology, theoretical chemistry, and pharmacology. Prior to joining LifeSci Communications, Kendy performed her doctoral studies at Duquesne University in theoretical chemistry, where she utilized computational techniques to investigate the structure, dynamics, and interactions of biomolecules necessary for the development of novel therapeutics.  The applications of her research spanned from modeling and simulating membrane-bound protein receptors with novel selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors to modeling and simulating regions of RNA associated with ALS, frontotemporal dementia, and SARS-CoV-2 to understand structural features in which to target for therapeutics. 

She has received a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from Washington and Jefferson College and Master of Science in Biology from Chatham University.

Luke Shiplo, MBA, utilizes his expertise in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries to lead communications programs for clients at various stages of development, with a particular focus on pre-commercial and commercial companies. Luke has experience building business strategies and communications materials while navigating the intricate and highly regulated FDA environment to increase corporate visibility among target audiences.​

Luke has a proven track record of assisting clients through various milestones, including series financing rounds, IPOs, clinical trial recruitment, and pre-clinical and clinical data readouts, in various therapeutic area’s including oncology, neurology, rare disease, infectious disease, immunology, and gastroenterology.​

​Before joining LifeSci, Luke worked in sales and business development in the medical device industry. Additionally, he has an impressive background as a former professional hockey player, which speaks to his exceptional drive and determination.​

​Luke earned his MBA in business administration and management after receiving his B.S. in biomedical marketing from Quinnipiac University Lender School of Business.

Madelin Hawtin is a storyteller who puts together engaging narratives that resonate with reporters, creating new opportunities and raise awareness for the companies she works with.

Madelin uses her marketing background to develop creative ideas to gain media attention. She specializes in podcasts, working with hosts and producers to get company leaders on their shows.

Madelin holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of New Hampshire’s Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics.

Maya Romanchuk is a Senior Account Executive at LifeSci Communications where she provides strategic support and oversees day-to-day activities for a wide range of biotechnology companies spanning various therapeutic areas and stages of clinical development, with a focus on pre-commercial and commercial entities.

Maya specializes in developing and executing corporate communications programs and materials that drive high-profile visibility to key external stakeholders, including industry peers, investors, healthcare professionals, patients, advocacy organizations, and potential partners.

She leverages her expertise in crafting corporate and scientific messaging, providing support for digital campaigns, and executing strategic media relations initiatives to bolster pivotal company milestones – ranging from FDA approval, product launch and commercialization, clinical data readouts and publications, global strategic partnerships, financing rounds, and more.

Prior to joining LifeSci Communications, Maya interned at Amicus Therapeutics where she gained a broad scope of relevant experience working for both the Global Marketing Team as well as the Patient & Professional Advocacy Team. As a Global Marketing Intern, she worked with HCP Educational and Promotional material to optimize Amicus’ position in the market. As a Patient & Professional Advocacy Intern, she gained valuable experience within the rare disease community working directly with Fabry patients, piloting the company’s very first Fabry Patient Advisory Board. She also conducted a comprehensive competitive analysis of the Gene Therapy Landscape, identifying key differentiators among rare disease organizations involved in gene therapy.

Maya holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Health Administration from the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University New Brunswick.

Michael Fitzhugh is VP, Chief of Media Strategy at LifeSci Communications. As a former journalist, he spent 16 years of covering the biopharma industry, most recently as Managing Editor of BioWorld. There, he led a veteran news team tracking the story of how the world creates, protects, and advances innovations to meet pressing medical needs. He has covered the global business and scientific stories behind new medicines, the ongoing battle against cancer, Alzheimer’s, and more recently COVID-19. Prior to BioWorld, he co-wrote and edited several books covering healthcare technology, regulation, policy, and M&A as part of the San Francisco-based venture capital firm Burrill & Company. He started his career as a technologist at the pioneering computer news and reviews site, CNET.
 
Michael graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Arts in English Language & Literature. He also earned a Master of Journalism degree from the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism.

Michael Rubenstein is an Associate Media Relations Strategist at LifeSci Communications with strong experience in public relations, social media content development, investor relations, media relations, account management, and digital storytelling.

He has served as reliable account support for clients in the oncology, ophthalmology, med tech, and rare disease therapeutic areas. He previously worked at LaVoieHealthScience and obtained his Bachelor of Science in Public Relations from Emerson College while graduating with honors as a magna cum laude.

Mike Tattory leverages his expertise in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries to lead communications programs for clients at various stages of development with the goal of increasing company visibility and mindshare among target audiences such as investors, industry experts, and patient groups.

Mike’s career has been marked by his passion for communicating and simplifying complex scientific information for a broader audience. Mike specializes in developing key messages and then implementing them across company platforms to further drive corporate communications efforts. He has successfully led multiple communications programs for clients in various therapeutic spaces such as neurology, cardiology, rare diseases, hematology, immuno-oncology, and infectious diseases.

Prior to joining LifeSci, he worked alongside the marketing teams of large pharmaceutical companies, such as the Novartis Neuroscience brand team, to bolster and refine communications efforts to physicians, consumers, and other businesses.

Mike received his bachelor of science degree in biology from Villanova University.

Mónica is Vice President of Account Services Europe at LifeSci Communications. A veterinarian by training with more than a decade of experience in academic research, Mónica specializes in the development and implementation of strategic communications programs for LifeSci’s high science-focused accounts. She works with clinical and pre-clinical stage biotechnology, pharmaceutical and medical device companies covering a wide range of disease areas, including oncology, rare diseases, metabolic and infectious diseases.

Mónica leads corporate communications programs for multiple clients, providing support through key milestones including data announcements, leadership appointments, regulatory approvals and financings. She oversees the successful communication of key messages in press releases, corporate and scientific presentations, and proactive media and social media programs. Monica has also successfully led complete corporate rebrands for several clients. Utilizing her strong scientific expertise, Mónica supports the firm’s mechanism of action (MOA) projects, including story development and communication through a variety of creative assets.

Prior to joining LifeSci, Mónica was the assistant director of the K=1 Project at Columbia University, where she acted as liaison to communicate scientific results and programmatic ideas while overseeing the establishment of scientific and financial partnerships. Previously, Mónica held a lecturer position at Columbia University and completed two postdoctoral positions at Columbia University and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, where her research focused on the field of microbiology and genomics. Monica has authored nearly 30 peer-reviewed publications. Throughout her years in academic research, Mónica worked passionately on the translation of sophisticated science to diverse audiences, developing numerous science outreach programs.

Mónica earned her Ph.D. at University Complutense of Madrid, Spain, and holds a bachelor’s degree in veterinary medicine (DVM equivalent) from the same university.

At LifeSci, Olivia works on the creative team as a Senior Graphic Designer, supporting a variety of client’s visionary needs.

Prior to joining LifeSci, Olivia worked at an advertising agency in Dublin, Ireland. In this role, she managed the on-going strategy of campaigns and budgets, creative pitches, worked with the design team to curate engaging marketing materials, event planning and collaborated with key social media influencers.

Olivia earned her bachelor of arts degree in Multinational Business from Nicholls State University and her master’s degree in Digital Marketing from Dublin City University.

Owen Blaschak is an Senior Account Executive at LifeSci Communications.

At LifeSci, Owen works with clients in oncology, immunology, regenerative medicine, and several other therapeutics areas, to strategically communicate value with external audiences including investors, industry peers, patients, advocates, and healthcare professionals. Having navigated the planning and execution of announcements around private biotech financings, clinical data readouts, global strategic partnerships, and FDA approvals, Owen can guide corporate communications programs from early preclinical development through product commercialization.

Before joining LifeSci, Owen worked as an Operations Contractor with KPMG. In that role, Owen created communication materials and worked with a team to further develop centralized communication and release management processes.

Owen studied biology at Susquehanna University, where he researched the synthesis and anticancer potential of an organic compound and its derivatives. He then earned a master’s degree in management and organizational leadership from Penn State’s Smeal College of Business, where he focused on strategic communications, management strategy, and finance.

Rachel Meyer uses her breadth of training in strategic communications to build purposeful strategy, develop social media content and amplify company messaging. She utilizes her expertise to translate scientific messaging for a range of external audiences across oncology, infectious disease and genetic medicine companies, among others.

Prior to joining LifeSci, Rachel worked with Essential Creative Group as the Digital Marketing & Account Manager. There she gained experience in social media content creation and media management. Rachel also served as an intern at LifeSci before joining the team full-time.

Rachel holds a B.A. in Digital Technology & Emerging Media as well as an M.A. in Public Media with a concentration in Strategic Communication, both from Fordham University. 

Sky brings experience driving organizations within the life sciences space toward their corporate, product and internal communications goals. With a background in client service, she works with companies to ensure all communications campaigns tell a story that will resonate with their intended audiences.

Prior to joining LifeSci Communications, Sky worked at JPA Health, where she specialized in preparing markets for the launch and commercialization of innovative therapies for clinically underserved diseases. There, she served as a liaison between biotechnology and pharmaceutical organizations, the media, patients and advocacy organizations to drive public relations programs resulting in mutually beneficial outcomes, such as disease education and increased awareness of treatment options.

Sky has been an integral part of many initiatives for companies across the health care landscape, including AstraZeneca, National Institutes of Health, and the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer.

Sky earned a B.A in journalism, with an emphasis in public relations and strategic communication, from Indiana University.

Vas Bitsas is Senior Manager of Digital Engagement at LifeSci Communications.

Vas has five years professional experience working in paid media across various industries including: broadcast television, news and media, real-estate, healthcare and automotive. Here at LifeSci, she is responsible for all paid media efforts for clients across social, search, and programmatic. She works closely with internal teams on campaign execution, optimizations, and campaign analysis to ensure client goals are being achieved.

Prior to joining LifeSci, Vas was the Social Media Supervisor at an LA-based agency leading paid social and influencer campaigns for both Hyundai and Genesis brands.

She is a graduate of Mercyhurst University in Erie, PA and holds a B.S. in Fashion Merchandising with a minor in Communications.

Veronica Eames is Senior Account Executive at LifeSci Communications where she supports corporate communications program development and implementation for clients spanning from preclinical to commercial stages. She has worked with a variety of biotechnology, pharmaceutical and medtech companies focused on a wide range of therapeutic areas including oncology, rare diseases, GI disorders and infectious diseases.

Veronica has aided in planning communications initiatives around key regulatory and clinical milestones, as well as supported larger corporate strategy development. She has led the development of social media campaigns to help clients establish a strong social media presence and brand voice. Veronica has also supported the execution of strategic media relations campaigns designed to increase corporate and executive visibility in front of target audiences including investors, patients, HCPs and potential partners.

Prior to joining LifeSci Communications, Veronica gained clinical experience at Franciscan Children’s Hospital on the adolescent inpatient unit, where she helped children in psychiatric crisis achieve stability. She also conducted research during her undergraduate career focused on the effects of diet on learning behavior and neurogenesis.

Veronica holds a bachelor’s degree in behavioral neuroscience from Colgate University.