AI in Biopharma: Hype, Hope, and the Hard Truths
The pace of AI innovation is staggering - but are end users in biopharma keeping up? In this candid conversation, women leaders across tech, academia, and life sciences tackle the disconnect between AI advancements and adoption. Expect myth-busting, hard questions, and actionable insights. Join us for an engaging discussion exploring the realities behind AI's role in biopharma.
"AI in Biopharma: Hype, Hope, and the Hard Truths" will highlight the potential and limitations of artificial intelligence in transforming drug discovery, development and healthcare.
About Panelists:
Dr. Ava Amini is a Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research in Cambridge, MA. Her research focuses on developing new AI methods to understand and design biology, with the ultimate aim of realizing precision biomedicines that improve human health. In addition to research, Ava is passionate about AI education and outreach — she is a lead organizer and instructor for MIT Introduction to Deep Learning, an in-person and global course on the fundamentals of deep learning, where she has taught AI to 1000s of students in-person and over 100,000 globally registered students online, garnering more than 11 million online lecture views. Ava completed her PhD in Biophysics at Harvard University and her Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Molecular Biology from MIT and has been recognized by the National Academy of Engineering, the National Science Foundation, TEDx, Venture Beats, and the Association of MIT Alumnae, among others, for her contributions.
Dr. Belen Fraile is the Chief R&D Data Science Officer at Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine, leading the integration of data science and AI across the R&D organization. Her focus is on accelerating drug discovery, enhancing clinical development, and delivering personalized patient care through advanced analytics, digital health technologies, and AI-driven solutions. Previously, Dr. Fraile held senior leadership roles at Moderna as Global Head of Digital Medicine and Data & Digital Officer, and at Novartis Oncology as Chief Data & Digital Officer, where she spearheaded digital and data transformations. She also led Population Health Management and Enterprise Analytics at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and held leadership roles at Philips, focusing on applying data and analytics to improve healthcare outcomes. Dr. Fraile holds an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management, an MSc in Health Care Policy and Management from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and an MD from Complutense University of Madrid. Her career centers on the intersection of healthcare innovation, data science, and digital health.
Dr. Dina Katabi is the Thuan and Nicole Pham Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT, and the driving force behind MIT’s Center for Wireless Networks and Mobile Computing. A distinguished MacArthur Fellow, and a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Sciences, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1 she stands as a prominent figure in the fields of wireless networking, digital health, and applied machine learning. Her innovative research has garnered significant recognition, including the prestigious ACM Prize in Computing, the ACM Grace Murray Hopper Award, and multiple ACM "Test of Time" awards, highlighting the lasting impact of her contributions. Beyond her academic achievements, Katabi's work has translated into real-world applications, with her lab successfully launching startups like PiCharging and Emerald, demonstrating the practical and transformative potential of her research. Her work consistently pushes the boundaries of technology, impacting both academic and commercial landscapes.
Dr. Joan LaRovere is Director of Innovation and Outcomes and an Attending Physician in Cardiovascular Critical Care at Boston Children’s Hospital, as well as an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School since 2011. Dr. LaRovere is also Co-Founder and Vice-President of the Virtue Foundation, an NGO with Special Consultative Status to the United Nations, where she is focused on a data-driven, evidence-based approach to development, including the use of data, analytics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence to help optimize the Foundation’s interventions and engagements around the globe. Dr. LaRovere holds a Bachelor of Arts in Visual and Environmental Studies from Harvard University, a Master of Science in Genetics from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, a Doctorate in Medicine from Columbia University and an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management.
Dr. Sonia Timberlake is a discovery leader with deep hands on experience building drug pipelines and AI platforms in the life sciences, and more than 10 years experience leading teams in Biotech. She started her industry career building a single-cell sequencing platform for immune profiling, which was acquired in 2016 by Juno Therapeutics. As head of data science at Juno, Sonia was fortunate to work with a world class discovery team on new methods for cancer target discovery and chimeric T-cell engineering. She subsequently went on to help build Finch Therapeutics, where as head of research she built the discovery platform based on a novel beside-to-bench translation of genomic data for target ID and hit ID. Sonia currently runs a consulting business, focusing on leveraging novel high throughput technologies and AI to accelerate R&D. Sonia has a BS from Caltech and a PhD from MIT. She lives in Arlington, Mass with her family.
This insightful discussion will be facilitated by Rhie Lim, is a former CNBC reporter turned entrepreneur and tech investor. As a co-founder of LifeCanvas Technologies, Inc, a company transforming the field of 3D bioimaging, Rhie built the startup from the ground up into a profitable venture. She led a cross-functional team spanning Science, AI/ML, Software Development, Finance, Sales, Marketing, and HR, and raised over $17M from institutional investors and the NIH. Rhie also brought MIT’s first global entrepreneurship bootcamp to Seoul, South Korea, which culminated in a network of 1,200 alumni and the creation of 100+ ventures that collectively raised over $70M. Prior to this, she was a financial news reporter for CNBC Asia, covering South Korean blue-chip stocks such as Samsung, and securing exclusive interviews with numerous opinion leaders, including Warren Buffett. Rhie is passionate about filling market gaps and helping entrepreneurs build products and solutions that have a lasting impact. She holds an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management.
Whether you're an industry professional, researcher, or simply curious about the intersection of technology and biology, come connect with us at CIC Cambridge on May 7th.
Big shout out to MResult for making this event possible!