Prior to joining bluebird, Derek was the senior vice president of CMC at Evelo Biosciences. At Evelo, Derek established the initial process development function and supply chain for clinical studies and drove strategy for product development. Prior to his time at Evelo, he served as vice president of technical and Strategic Product Development at Alexion Pharmaceuticals, where his responsibilities included developing and supporting all manufacturing processes globally as well as global clinical supply chain. Derek holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Minnesota and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering with High Distinction from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI).

Jean Bender leads Visterra’s Pharmaceutical Sciences department, responsible for development, technology transfer and manufacturing, clinical supply and CMC sections of regulatory submissions. Prior to Visterra, Jean was Senior Director, BioProcess Engineering at Medimmune. She has authored more than 15 publications and presentations and holds a patent for preparing highly concentrated antibodies by ultrafiltration. Jean received her MS in Chemical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley and her BS in Chemical Engineering from Lehigh University. Jean has been on Pall’s Scientific Advisory Board and serves on the Recovery of Biological Products Board and on the Chemical Engineering Advisory Board for Lehigh University. Jean is active in the American Chemical Society and the BioInnovation Group (BIG).

Susan Abu-Absi is Chief Technology & Manufacturing Officer at 2seventy bio, an oncology cell therapy company.  She leads the Technical Development & Operations organization comprised of supply chain, internal and external manufacturing, CMC strategy, and process and analytical development. Previously, she led the oncology manufacturing organization at bluebird bio, having joined in 2017 as Vice President of Process and Analytical Development. Prior to joining bluebird, she spent more than ten years in the Global Product Development & Supply organization at Bristol Myers Squibb supporting clinical and commercial biologics drug substance manufacturing. Before BMS, Susan was a member of the Process Sciences organization at Bayer Healthcare in Berkeley, CA.  Susan earned a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Minnesota, and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering, Summa Cum Laude with Honors, from the University of Toledo.

Gregg Nyberg is a biopharmaceutical executive with twenty-five years of experience in process development, clinical manufacturing, technology transfer and commercialization. He is currently Chief Technology Officer at Landmark Bio, where he is responsible for translational research, process and analytical development, facilities and engineering, digital integration and clinical manufacturing for advanced therapies including cell and gene therapy.  Prior to joining Landmark, Gregg served in multiple leadership roles at Merck, Amgen and Wyeth BioPharma/Genetics Institute.  Most recently, Gregg was Head of Biologics Process Research & Development at Merck, where he was responsible for discovery interface, process development and clinical manufacturing for Merck’s biologics pipeline.  Gregg received his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.