This Lunch & Learn is a virtual event, using Zoom Meeting. After registration, you will receive emailed instructions for joining the meeting. Grab your lunch in the comfort of your home or office, and join us online!

Interested in learning more about careers in the Bioscience industry? Please join Oregon Bioscience Incubator (OBI) and Oregon Health & Science University Knight Cancer Institute’s Cancer Early Detection Advanced Research Center (CEDAR) for an exciting panel featuring scientists employed in various Bioscience positions discussing their career paths and the skills required to be successful in their respective fields.

Our panelists are Kateri Spinelli, PhD, Elliott Parker, Holly Rockweiler, and Emmanuel Akporiaye, PhD. See bios below. The moderator is Andre Walcott from OHSU CEDAR.

Please note: This session will be recorded, and we invite questions from attendees.

About the Panelists:

Kateri Spinelli, PhD, is a clinical researcher and medical writer in the Center for Cardiovascular Analytics, Research and Data Science (CARDS) at the Providence Heart Institute in Portland, OR. On the CARDS team, she coordinates and runs clinical cardiology and health services research projects, with a focus on collaboration and communication. She earned her PhD through the Neuroscience Graduate Program at OHSU and pursued postdoctoral research in the OHSU Neurology department. During her post-doc, Kateri considered a number of career paths within and outside of academia. She learned that there are many wonderful, rewarding career options for PhD-trained scientists and she looks forward to sharing some of her insights with you.

Elliott Parker’s goal is to democratize the use of AI and 3D printing in clinical settings. He currently works as the founder and CEO of Additive Care, a company that uses Artificial Intelligence to create virtual reconstructions of patient data for presurgical training. With a background in laboratory biology, Elliott spent ten years performing experiments at the bench level. However, lab research felt too far away from patient care, and he later moved into clinical project management, liaising between hospitals and pharmaceutical companies. In 2013, believing in the revolutionary potential of this technology, he transitioned full time into 3D printing.

Holly Rockweiler is co-founder and CEO of Madorra, a women’s health company dedicated to changing the treatment paradigm for vaginal dryness. She co-founded Madorra 6 years ago as a spin-out of the Stanford Biodesign Fellowship. Prior to Biodesign, she worked as a Senior Research Scientist in the Cardiac Rhythm Management division of Boston Scientific. At Boston, she co-developed a new sensing algorithm for cardiac resynchronization therapy that enables more efficient care for patients living with heart failure. Her work has led to fifteen pending and issued patents. Holly holds a M.S. and a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis.

Emmanuel Akporiaye, PhD, has worked in therapeutics development for over 30 years. His research has focused on tumor-immune cell interactions in the tumor microenvironment and developing strategies to stimulate the endogenous antitumor immune response by overcoming tumor-mediated immune suppression. As the Chief Executive Officer of Veana Therapeutics, he sets the strategic and scientific direction of the company. He develops and manages research collaborations, initiates partnerships with major pharmaceutical companies. He is also Adjunct Member at the Earle A. Chiles Research Institute of Providence Cancer Institute and Adjunct Scientist at the Legacy Research Institute in Portland, Oregon. Dr. Akporiaye is a Fulbright Senior Scholar. He received his PhD in Microbiology from the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, and received post-doctoral training in the Life Sciences Division of the Los Alamos National Laboratory where he studied tumor escape mechanisms in the tumor microenvironment and the role of tumor-infiltrating immune cells in tumor control.

Thank you to Commerce Bank for sponsoring this event.