Amy Jobe contributes her seven years of experience in academic research to her work with companies that develop complex therapeutic platforms, medical devices or hybrid assets. She specializes in developing accurate, easily understood narratives of clients’ science and technology for use in media outreach, data announcements, and support throughout medical and scientific conferences as well as IPOs and other corporate milestones.

Prior to joining LifeSci, she completed a Ph.D. in biological sciences as well as a postdoctoral fellowship at Columbia University in a Nobel Prize-winning structural biology laboratory. Combined with pre-doctoral research experience, Amy is knowledgeable in the areas of structural biology, biochemistry, genetics, and epigenetics.

She earned her bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from Cornell University.

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.

Brett is a Vice President of Account Management, specializing in commercialization at LifeSci Communications. She has spent her career providing strategic support to her clients, partnering with them to develop and oversee the implementation of marketing strategies across various disease states. Brett has experience in both the unbranded and branded space and has worked alongside industry leaders to launch award winning campaigns. Prior to joining LifeSci, Brett worked at several marketing agencies including Fingerpaint and Razorfish Health. Within these agencies, she managed accounts in dermatology, psychiatry, immunology, and oncology with a focus on digital HCP initiatives. She received her bachelor’s degree in economics from Dickinson College.

Brianna Bundshuh strategizes and executes all business development efforts at LifeSci Communications where she specializes in proposal writing, contract drafting, and developing LifeSci’s messaging and marketing materials. Since working at LifeSci, Brianna’s efforts have led to the company tripling in size in both client and employment numbers. Outside of her business development efforts for the company, Brianna manages onboarding for all LifeSci accounts as they transition from prospect to new client. She also manages logistics for LifeSci’s conference events such as the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference and the BIO International Convention.

Brianna began her career at LifeSci as an executive assistant to the founding partner and CEO where she oversaw many of the company’s day-to-day activities including business development efforts, employee recruitment and hiring, client onboarding, employee onboarding, company travel, expense management and cost allocation, scheduling, and event organization. Prior to LifeSci, Brianna worked as an executive assistant and project coordinator to two partners at Grimshaw Architects where she assisted with administrative tasks such as travel and expense management on projects for organizations such as John F. Kennedy Airport, Newark Airport, and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of New York. She also organized company events for staff and coordinated activities between internal teams such as financing, IT, and business development.

Brianna received her bachelor of arts degree in English Language and Literature from Pace University.

Brigid Duffy brings over a decade of brand building, strategic planning, and creative leadership to LifeSci Communications as Creative Director, Strategic Copy. Brigid is adept at finding insights to unlock ideas, developing brand narratives, and bringing the client promise to life with unforgettable creative.
 
Prior to joining LifeSci, Brigid led creative initiatives at several healthcare-focused creative agencies. She launched award-winning integrated patient and HCP campaigns across a range of therapeutic areas, including rare and infectious disease, women’s health, CNS, oncology, and diagnostic services. As a journalist, Brigid covered the latest developments in the fields of gastroenterology, general surgery, and anesthesiology.
 
Before Brigid discovered her deep passion to connect people to life-changing products, she focused on consumer clients. She has conceptualized and executed experiential campaigns for Nickelodeon, Microsoft Surface, and Nike, among others.
 
Brigid graduated magna cum laude from the University of Richmond with a B.A. in English and Philosophy. She received the writing award in kindergarten.

Brittany Leigh, Ph.D., came to LifeSci from academic research where she’s published eighteen peer-reviewed articles and presented at two dozen conferences. Prior to joining LifeSci, she trained as a National Institutes of Health Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Vanderbilt University where she employed techniques in genetics, microscopy, and virology to investigate cellular mechanisms behind current vector control strategies. Prior to her time at Vanderbilt, Brittany received her Ph.D. from the University of South Florida in Biological Oceanography 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.

Cameron Turner is an Assistant Account Executive at LifeSci Communications. Cameron is committed to establishing communication strategies that aim towards media outreach to achieve the client’s goal.

Prior to joining LifeSci, Cameron worked at HealthSTAR Communication, a healthcare agency where he organized pharmaceutical meetings to occur. There he gained experience in project management, as he developed weekly reports of internal and external research that targeted the clients needs.

Cameron holds a B.A. in Communications with a concentration in Public Relations and broadcasting from Manhattan College.

Catie Detri is a Manger of Digital Strategy at Life Sci Communications. Catie’s experience consists of digital strategy and marketing in both agency and nonprofit sectors focused on branded and unbranded social media and web development. Prior to joining LifeSci, she worked at Evoke KYNE, a healthcare communications agency, as a senior digital specialist who oversaw digital initiatives for pharmaceutical and biotech companies. Catie holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Health from East Carolina University.

Dr. Cherilyn Cecchini brings a unique clinical background and perspective to LifeSci as a board-certified physician-scientist. She completed her general pediatrics training at Children’s National Medical Center, a top 10 children’s hospital, where her academic research focused on physician-patient communication at end of life.

As medical director, Dr. Cecchini oversees the development of impactful medical content for clients targeting healthcare practitioners (HCPs), patients and caregivers. Her experience treating patients and her vast knowledge of the medical field is highly valuable to client teams. She provides strategic insight and has successfully overseen the execution of communications plans ahead of PDUFA dates and product launches.

Dr. Cecchini remains well connected to a large network of physicians and other HCPs. She previously served on the Board of Directors for the American Medical Women’s Association after she held numerous leadership roles at both the local and national level. As an influencer in the social media space, she can connect clients with other influencers in different therapeutic areas to create interactive, engaging content across the social and digital landscape.

Dr. Cecchini’s medical communications team at LifeSci also specializes in digital content creation for key opinion leaders. She has contributed to and collaborated with multiple platforms that are well-read by medical professionals. Dr. Cecchini has also served as a guest physician educator for United States Medical Licensing Exam preparatory courses, enabling her and her team to create compelling medical education content across a range of areas including embryology, child psychiatry and pediatric critical care.

Dr. Cecchini earned her M.D. from Sidney Kimmel Medical College (formerly Jefferson Medical College) after receiving her B.S. in biology from The Pennsylvania State University.

Christian is an Associate Creative Director at LifeSci Communications with nearly 20 years of experience in both the consumer and healthcare spaces. In that time he has helped build, launch, and maintain multiple brands and integrated campaigns across a range of disciplines including rare disease, neurology, dermatology, weight loss, cardiovascular, consumer electronics, and sports/entertainment, among others.

His approach to effective communication focuses on delivering conceptual solutions that achieve a distinct relevance to the strategic imperatives of a brand while providing audiences with targeted messaging in a clear and comprehensible manner.

Christian earned his Bachelor’s of Science in Graphic Design Communication from Philadelphia University.

Prior to joining LifeSci, Dana worked at Live Nation Entertainment in Washington DC, as an executive assistant and operations coordinator. In this role, she managed contracts and pre-settlements for all events, designed venue proposals, and analyzed budgets. During her time at LiveNation, she was able to train new divisional and national general managers as well as successfully manage high-profile events. Dana earned her Bachelors of Arts degree in public relations and a minor in general business from the University of Maryland.

Dan supports the day-to-day deliverables for a wide range of clients involved in oncology, gastrointestinal diseases, rare diseases, and medical technology. He has experience developing communications materials including corporate messaging, press releases, social media materials, and media documents. Dan has assisted clients through several milestones including data announcements, IPO and PDUFA preparation, and financing rounds.

Prior to joining LSC, Dan worked at two of the world’s largest public relations firms including Burson Cohn & Wolfe and Rubenstein Strategic Communications supporting campaigns for some of the firm’s key clients including the Hospital for Special Surgery, the Center for Reproductive Rights, and Colgate. Additionally, Dan got started in the healthcare public relations field by working at Medical Dynamics.

Dan has a bachelor’s degree in sport management and a double minor in marketing and business administration from Towson University.

Dan is Vice President of Business Development at LifeSci and leads the agency’s new business initiatives. Joining most recently from an eight and a half year career managing Bloomberg’s biotech and pharmaceutical client relationships, Dan has worked with notable clients such as Celgene, Pfizer, Novartis, Takeda, Allergan, and Teva.

He gained his knowledge in the sector by working directly with the companies’ business development, competitive intelligence, investor relations, and treasury departments. Prior to his time at Bloomberg, Dan worked for HedgeCo Networks, where he was Director of Advertising Sales, working with service providers to the hedge fund industry.

Dan graduated from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, with a bachelor’s in English.

Divya Advani is a Senior Associate, Digital Marketing at LifeSci Communications. At LifeSci, Divya works on social content creation and strategy for clients, executes paid digital and social media campaigns, computes social analytics, and creates social listening reports.

Prior to joining LifeSci Communications, Divya was a digital and social communications intern, under the Digital Activation team at Pfizer. During her year-long internship, Divya created multiple social media campaigns, conducted social media audits, created social analytics presentations, and much more.

She is a recent graduate from Boston University, holding a Bachelors of Science degree in Mass Communications, with a concentration in Public Relations.

Emma Santos is a senior account executive at LifeSci Communications. 

Emma has supported digital strategy development and tactical execution for clients across the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, health services and consumer products industries, as well as associated policy areas, including biosimilars, drug pricing, Medicare and supply chain transparency. She has worked with companies representing a variety of therapeutic areas, including neurology, oncology and rare diseases. Emma has comprehensive experience in managing corporate social media channels and executing social campaigns. 

Prior to joining LifeSci, Emma worked at Edelman and GCI Health.

Emma holds a bachelor’s degree in public relations from the University of Maryland.

Ericah Whitmill is the Senior Manager, Digital Marketing Lead at LifeSci Communications.

Here at LifeSci, she specializes in digital strategy and execution to develop solutions that meet a client’s main goal based on user insight and data. Ericah manages many of our paid social and digital initiatives to amplify a client’s messaging and develop plans to reach their target audience. She works closely with internal teams to achieve a client’s overall goal by introducing strategic digital marketing initiatives that can help amplify messages and accomplish the overarching objective.

Ericah’s background consists of digital marketing in various in-house industries bringing a creative touch and out of the box thinking to our clients in the healthcare and biotech industries. Prior to LifeSci, she worked on the Brand Strategy team at William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. During her time at HarperCollins, Ericah rebranded and managed William Morrow’s and their affiliate’s social channels and influencer marketing program as well as assisted on a multitude of digital and social marketing campaigns.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communication from The Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University.

Esther is the office administrator at LifeSci Communications, a global communications and marketing agency serving clients in life sciences and medical technology. She oversees office operations, coordinates recruiting efforts, and manages office events. Esther also supports the senior leadership team.

Prior to LifeSci Communications, Esther worked in human resources at GIC, one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds and institutional investors. She also served as the executive assistant to the president of the Americas. As part of the executive office, Esther executed a wide range of events with heads of state and prominent industry leaders. She also oversaw onboarding, recruitment coordination, and learning and development initiatives.

Esther started her career at the Harry Fox Agency, one of the largest music licensing agencies in its time. She managed client accounts which included major music publishing companies, ensuring the proper collection and distribution of music royalties.

Esther graduated from the Berklee School of Music with a Bachelor of Music.

Felicia D. Atkinson, M.S. is an Account Executive at LifeSci Communications. Felicia has worked in various roles in the medical field, with focuses including oncology, pediatric neurology, and infectious disease clinical research. Her prior roles include being an entrepreneur, restaurateur, and chief operations officer. Through her various roles, she has gained experience in patient recruiting, experimental design, performance tracking, risk identification and mitigation, interfacing with study sponsors, maintaining a chain of custody of day-to-day activities, social media management, and franchise development.

Prior to joining LifeSci, Felicia received her Master of Science in Cancer Biology, Prevention and Control from a joint Masters program at the University of the District of Columbia and Georgetown University. She was the Manager of Operations at Odylia Therapeutics, Inc, where she lead the planning and execution of projects with external partners as well as a wide range of internal initiatives. Felicia conducted clinical research on the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials while working at Emory University School of Medicine.

Felicia received her bachelor’s degree in Biology from Fort Valley State 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.

Hannah Holmquist is a Director at LifeSci Communications, with multiple years’ experience in healthcare public relations, but getting her start in consumer public relations.

Hannah brings valuable experience in crafting disease education and lay-friendly medical messaging, working with HCPs, KOLs and patients, in addition to facilitating SMTs, national surveys and national/international ad boards. She has helped her clients communicate and build relationships with caregivers, patients, influencers, and advocacy groups to tell their stories to media, in different disease states. Some of her more recent work includes crisis communications work and corporate messaging and strategy for executive leadership teams – elevating them amongst their peers, developing their social profiles, drafting speaker recommendations, and telling their company narrative to the media.

Her passion for healthcare continues to grow as she sees the great impact healthcare work and education can have on so many people, including patients, caregivers, and the broader public.

She has experience working in multiple disease spaces such as neurology, oncology, epilepsy, Rhett syndrome, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and Rare – and has worked with both clinical-stage biopharmaceutical companies and molecular diagnostic companies.

Before joining LifeSci Communications, Hannah partnered with multiple clients on strategy and project initiatives at Real Chemistry, Syneos Health and Ketchum.

Hannah grew up in Southern California and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies from the University of San Diego. She now lives in Nashville, TN with her dog, Roman.

Hannah is a Project Manager at LifeSci Communications.

Before joining LifeSci, Hannah worked in project management at PrecisionValue, a leading Market Access Marketing Agency. At PrecisionValue, she led hundreds of projects with varying teams for pharmaceutical clients pre-, during-, and post-FDA approval. Hannah has experience working with multiple pharmaceutical companies across several therapeutic areas. She has extensive knowledge of process and workflow management.

Hannah earned her bachelor’s degree in Strategic Communications with minors in Disability Studies and Leadership from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. 

Heather is a Senior Copywriter at LifeSci Communications. Passionate about the intersection between life sciences and the arts/humanities, Heather brings an interdisciplinary perspective to content creation for LifeSci’s clients, producing work that is distinctive, thoughtful, and empathetic. 

Prior to joining LifeSci, Heather gained experience in a variety of creative industries, including market research, design research/strategy, graphic design, and innovation consulting. 

Heather graduated from Northeastern University with a B.S. in Behavioral Neuroscience. During her academic career she interned as a researcher at Harvard Medical School and Biogen Inc., while contributing to Northeastern’s science magazine, NU SCI, as a staff writer and editor. 

Isaiah Brown is an Assistant Account Executive at LifeSci Communications, improving and supporting client relationships with his creative approach. Before LifeSci, Isaiah received his Master of Public Health degree from Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

Prior to earning his MPH, Isaiah was a health communications intern with the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. He has experience as a medical assistant upholding quality care for internal medicine and pediatric patients. Additionally, Isaiah worked as a clinical research assistant for the Mount Sinai Department of Surgery and the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center.

He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology from Hampton University.

Jacki Farnese is a LifeSci Art Director with extensive experince in digital content creation.

She brings over seven years of experience in foundational branding and UX design within biopharma and biotech. Jacki has developed a wide range of materials for conferences, presentations, and informational marketing assets for both healthcare providers and patients.

Jacki graduated with two bachelor’s degrees in Biology and Visual Art from Rutgers University. She also received certification in Graphic Design from Parsons School of Design.

Jacquelyn is responsible for all project management initiatives at LifeSci Communications. She has experience leading an array of digital and print marketing projects designed for different audiences including HCPs, patients, and caregivers.

Before joining LifeSci, Jacquelyn worked in project management at GSW, a Syneos Health Company focusing in pharmaceutical advertising. During her time at GSW, she led a team to commercialization of a dual indication, first of its kind oncology treatment. Throughout her career as a project manager, Jacquelyn worked with several pharmaceutical companies including Bristol Meyers Squibb, Pfizer, Amgen, and Bayer and has a vast knowledge of market best practices, process, and workflow.

Jacquelyn received her bachelor’s degree in advertising, management emphasis, from Temple 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 Director 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.

Jonathan Pappas is a seasoned PR strategist, media relations specialist and digital marketer with over 16 years of corporate PR agency experience driving high-profile visibility and public awareness campaigns for global brands, publicly traded companies, and entrepreneurs.

His award-winning media relations work has served the interests of large and small life science companies, VC-backed startups and passionate nonprofits.

Recognized for his innate ability to dig deep within an organization, Jonathan builds strong connections with clients to identify and shape authentic, original, and compelling story angles.

He has built extensive, long-standing relationships with members of the national, regional and trade media, achieving consistent coverage in every major news outlet, including AP, Bloomberg, Boston Globe, CNBC, CNN, Economist, Fast Company, Financial Times, Forbes, Fortune, Governing, NBC News, The New York Times, Reuters, TIME Magazine, TODAY Show, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and WIRED Magazine – among many others.

As a former local community news reporter, he understands media relations from both sides of the news desk.  An expert in thought leadership positioning, he has ghostwritten articles featured in The New York Times, Fortune, Huffington Post, Forbes, Entrepreneur Magazine, Inc. Magazine and Success Magazine.

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.

Justin brings nearly a decade of academic and commercial research experience, coupled with a broad range of commercial business development expertise, to help distill complex scientific programs into easily understood messages across a range of therapeutic areas. He has helped both clinical and pre-clinical stage companies develop communications strategies and messaging covering a range of topics including new drug approvals, strategic partnerships, SPAC mergers, and IPOs.

Prior to joining LifeSci, Justin worked in business development for Ximbio, the world’s largest non-profit dedicated to life science research tools of all types. At Ximbio, he managed in-licensing relationships with academic institutions and startups to assist with the commercialization of the tangible life science research tools created at these institutions. He also managed commercial business development clients in the biotech and pharmaceutical space who were interested in licensing these materials for commercial research use.

Justin earned his Ph.D. from Virginia Tech where he developed his expertise in in vitro modeling of rare mitochondrial disease and evaluating small molecule therapeutic interventions. He has co-authored over a dozen peer-reviewed scientific journal articles, presented his work at more than 20 scientific conferences and spoken both domestically and internationally about his work. Justin also holds a master’s degree in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology and a bachelor’s degree in Biology from East Carolina University.

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.

Kristin Politi works across all LifeSci accounts to help clients advance and execute their corporate media strategies and goals. She also specializes in leading efforts to develop and refine corporate messages and communication materials. Kristin has executed strategies for over 50 companies and hundreds of products spanning a broad range of health conditions for biotech, biopharma, medtech and medical device companies. She has supported pre-commercial awareness campaigns for pipeline products targeted to investors and strategic audiences as well as commercial and marketing strategies targeted to clinician and consumer audiences.

Prior to LifeSci, Kristin spent nearly a decade in the global scientific community as an academic researcher. She is the co-author of seven peer-reviewed publications. She completed her PhD at Columbia University in the Pathobiology and Molecular Medicine Program. Her work and collaborations, at the Center for Motor Neuron Biology and Disease, focused on the underlying mechanisms of neurodegeneration in ALS. Prior to Columbia, Kristin was a research associate at Abpro, a biotechnology company focused on antibody development. As an undergraduate, Kristin conducted research in neuroscience and biochemistry at Franklin and Marshall College and at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from Franklin and Marshall College.

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.

At LifeSci, Madelin contributes to the media relations team in the development of strategic approaches to assist a wide range of clients in achieving their objectives. 

Prior to joining LifeSci in a full-time capacity, Madelin was a media relations intern at LifeSci where she immersed herself in the life sciences industry. In this role, she utilized her marketing background to bring a creative touch and support the media relations team on client projects, organized client data and annual media hits, as well as conducting industry research. 

Madelin holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing from the Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics at the University of New Hampshire.

Maya Romanchuk is an Account Executive at LifeSci Communications. At LifeSci, Maya supports a wide range of communications initiatives across several biotechnology companies. Her areas of specialization are inclusive of messaging development, media outreach capabilities in support of major company milestones, managing social media accounts, and assisting clients at various stages of clinical development in their day-to-day activities.

Prior to joining LifeSci Communications, Maya interned at Amicus Therapeutics for three consecutive summers 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, comparing competitors’ materials in order to optimize Amicus’ position in the field. As a Patient & Professional Advocacy Intern, she worked directly with Fabry patients to initiate the identification of eligible applicants within the rare disease community in order to recruit patients to be a part of the company’s very first Fabry Patient Advisory Board. She also piloted a competitive analysis Gene Therapy Landscape in which key differentiates of contending rare disease organizations involved with Gene Therapy were researched and highlighted.

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.

Melanie has 20 years of experience in corporate communications gained both in agency and in-house roles. Having worked across multiple geographies including London, Geneva and New York, she has built and led global PR programs for various companies across multiple sectors including finance, life sciences and luxury goods. Most recently, Melanie was in charge of media relations for Swiss private bank, Banque Syz.

Over the years, Melanie has built close working relationships with senior management teams, providing them with advice on their communication strategy, executive communication and crisis management, thereby helping them to reinforce their companies’ positioning both internally and externally. 

Melanie graduated from Trinity College, CT with a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and Political Sciences. She is fluent in English, French and Spanish, and is based in Geneva, Switzerland.

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.

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.

In her role at LifeSci, Mollie specializes in media relations, driving outreach and pitch material development while building strong reporter relationships across verticals. She provides strategic counsel for clients across and above milestones, with a keen eye for unique opportunities to make complex data accessible to wide-ranging audiences.

Prior to joining LifeSci Communications, Mollie began her career at Weber Shandwick, supporting media outreach and strategy for clients specializing in neuroscience, women’s health, sleep and alopecia. She has secured coverage in top-tier, national consumer, trade and local media for a variety of pharmaceutical clients, with notable earned placements in Forbes, Women’s Health, SELF, Shape, Medscape, Cheddar and The Wendy Williams Show among other outlets.

Mollie received a B.A. in Communications and Political Science from Villanova University.

Mónica is an Associate Director of Europe and Israel 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.

Nick Ambrosi is an Associate Designer at LifeSci Communications. In this role, Nick is dedicated to supporting the creative team in designing websites, contributing to social media content, and executing animations for clients.

Before joining full-time, Nick was a creative intern for LifeSci. He worked closely with the team to help create and edit branded print, digital, and video assets.

Nick holds a B.F.A. in Communication Design from Pratt Institute.

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 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.

Peter Yarem is an Assistant Account Executive at LifeSci Communications. At LifeSci, Peter is dedicated to creating key communication materials, conducting media outreach, and developing unique social media posts on behalf of his clients.

Prior to joining LifeSci, Peter was an intern at Just A Fan’s Analysis (JAFA) in London, England, where he helped perform data analysis on the company’s social engagement as well has helped curate social media campaigns surrounding their app. He also interned at LifeSci before joining the team full-time.

Peter earned his B.S. in Marketing from the Sigmund Weis School of Business at Susquehanna University.

Princess Sutherland supports a variety of the agency’s high science-focused programs focused on oncology, precision medicine and rare diseases. She has experience developing messaging and communications materials, as well as strategizing and executing media outreach initiatives and social media campaigns in support of patient advocacy, disease awareness, medical conferences and major company milestones.

Prior to joining LifeSci, Princess received her Masters of Public Health with a focus in Global Health from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She worked as an associate at the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in the Bureau of Maternal, Infant, & Reproductive Health (BMIRH) and The Office of Informatics & Research (OIR), where she supported policy reform and community initiatives. Princess also conducted community-based drug policy and prevention advocacy work in Buenos Aires.

Princess received a bachelor’s degree in public health studies from Johns Hopkins University where she focused on life sciences research.

Rachel Meyer is an Account Executive at LifeSci Communications. She works with clients to develop strategic communications materials, gain media attention, create social media content and build company messaging. She has worked with 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. She also served as an intern at LifeSci prior to 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.

Rachel is the Copy Supervisor at LifeSci Communications. With more than a decade of communications experience and a lifelong passion for medicine and life sciences, Rachel has been instrumental in shaping the public image of nonprofit organizations like The Lung Cancer Research Foundation, The Doe Fund, YAI, and others. Most recently, she was the Director of Communications at URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity, where she led brand strategy and developed campaigns across earned and paid media platforms to educate the public about the importance of reproductive and gender-affirming health services. 

Throughout her career as a writer, Rachel’s work has been featured in more than 30 national publications including The New York Times, USA Today, The Washington Post, and The Atlantic.

Rachel holds a Master of Arts in International Affairs from The New School and a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from Augusta State University.

At LifeSci Communications, Raena works with a wide range of companies from the immuno-oncology space, medical devices, to proprietary platform technology. Her corporate communications expertise includes development of key messaging, strategic communications materials, social media content creation, and assisting in media outreach.

Raena has a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from The City University of New York Graduate Center where she studied gene regulation of the olfactory system at Hunter College. She employed fluorescent microscopy to analyze protein and RNA expression of odorant receptors. Prior to beginning her Ph.D. Raena completed her Master’s at the College of Staten Island in Neuroscience, Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, where she worked at the Institute for Basic Research investigating the effects of an attention improving drug on sociability of Autism Spectrum Disorders.  She has extensive experience in molecular genetics and molecular biology and worked in scientist roles in government biotech as well as a biotech startup. Her prior experience at a biotech start-up as a R&D Scientist focused on the development and scalability of manufacturing biosensors and diagnostic technology.

Raena received her Bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of Winnipeg.

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.

Slavena supports clients working in a variety of areas including COVID-19, rare diseases, gastrointestinal diseases, and oncology. She has experience developing a variety of communications materials including press releases, corporate decks, social media posts, and materials for media outreach. In addition, she is part of LSC’s medical communications team where she develops materials such as factsheets, op-eds, and white papers for an HCP audience.

She has a medical degree from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and a BA in biology from the Macaulay Honors College at Hunter College. Slavena is a lifelong lover of poetry, and her work has been published in Doximity, Pulse, Hektoen International, and The Healing Muse.

Vas Bitsas is the Paid Media Supervisor 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 an 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.

Victoria Milla is a Senior Associate, Digital Marketing at LifeSci Communications. 

Here at LifeSci, Victoria assists in building impactful strategy for organic and paid campaigns, creates content for social media platforms, as well as builds analytics reports to find insights and recommendations for optimizing strategy and execution across social media platforms. Prior to joining LifeSci, Victoria worked with a digital marketing agency that specialized in Direct-to-Consumer campaigns, developing strategy and execution for retail brands across all digital paid media with a focus on E-commerce.

Victoria holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and a Bachelor of Arts in Natural & Applied Sciences from Florida International University, as well as a certificate in Digital Marketing from Cornell University.

As Senior Frontend Developer, Walid is focused on creating compelling digital experiences. By working closely with the design team, Walid helps bring each website design to life with the best user experience (UX) in mind. Every project is an opportunity to create something distinctive, effective, and strategic.

Walid’s personal mission is to make complex technology simple and easy to use through rigorous user research and interaction design. His experience comes from years of solving a variety of web development challenges throughout his career as Associate Creative Director. Before joining LifeSci Communications, Walid’a experience comes from creating solutions for recognizable brands such as BMW, Realogy, the NFL, BD, and Novartis.

Walid earned his bachelor’s degree in Media Arts & Animation from the Art Institute of Philadelphia. He is an Adobe Certified Expert as well as a Certified Google Partner.