Dr. Korzenik is a specialist in Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endoscopy that focuses on developing new therapies for inflammatory bowel disease and primary sclerosing cholangitis. He is also well recognized for his compassion and dedication to his patients and for his integrative team approach to patient care. He is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, the Founding Director of the Crohn's and Colitis Center at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, the Director of the Resnek Family Center for Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis Research at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Resnek Family Distinguished Chair in Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Dr. Korzenik has been involved in inflammatory bowel disease research and patient care for almost 25 years. His insights in Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis have opened new avenues of research and possible therapies, and he was among the first investigators to research the intestinal microbiome for clues about the role it may play in the development of inflammatory bowel disease as well as in its management through nutrition and therapeutics. Dr. Korzenik is an author of over 100 peer-reviewed articles and research papers and frequently speaks at professional meetings. He was named Humanitarian of the Year in 2013 by the New England Chapter of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America and was awarded the Torch of Friendship in 1999 by the Mid-America Chapter in St. Louis. Moreover, he has sequentially been selected as a Top Doctor by Boston Magazine in 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023.

Dr. Korzenik has led and was involved in many major clinical trials of new therapies for inflammatory bowel disease. For example, he has initiated a different therapeutic approach to Crohn’s disease through a set of multi-center clinical studies utilizing granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) and granulocyte macrophagecolony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) as therapeutic agents. In addition, based on an understanding of ulcerative colitis as a vascular disease and under-appreciated properties of heparin, he has previously developed clinical trials using heparin for the treatment of ulcerative colitis. His research has also focused on uncovering better biomarkers that can guide drug development and determine which interventions tested in clinical trials may be most effective and on understanding what initiates and perpetuates inflammation.

Prof. Dr. Séverine Vermeire obtained her MD from KU Leuven in 1995 and a PhD at the same University in 2001. She further trained at the Universidad Nacional de Asuncion, Paraguay (1993), at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics in Oxford, UK (1997-1998) and at the Montreal General Hospital McGill University Canada in 2000–2001. She is staff member at the Gastroenterology & Hepatology Department of the University Hospital Leuven and Full Professor of Medicine at the KU Leuven. Since 2021, she is Research Director of Biomedical Sciences at KU Leuven.                                          

Prof. Vermeire is actively involved as principle investigator in RCTs with new therapeutic compounds and has been lead investigator on several of these programs. Her scientific work resulted in more than 600 peer-reviewed articles and focuses on the role of the microbiome and genetic susceptibility in IBD and on identifying prognostic and predictive signatures of treatment response. She participated in the International iCHOM consortium on development of Patient-Centered Outcomes for Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

She was awarded an Advanced H2020-European Research Council (ERC) Grant (2016-2022) and was President of the European Crohn’s and Colitis Organisation (ECCO) from 2014-2016 and of the  Belgian IBD Research & Development (BIRD) Group from 2011-2013.

Juan Patarroyo is an experienced biomedical scientist and life sciences operations expert with over 25 years of experience in immunology/microbiology, with specific expertise on mucosal immunology and the microbiome. He is fascinated by the interplay between the immune system (and in extension the body) and the commensal microbes and their associated (by)products. By understanding and leveraging this interplay, he strongly believes that we can develop meaningful and safe immunomodulatory drugs to treat and cure disease.

Juan has designed, executed, and supervised a large range of in vitro and in vivo studies to evaluate immune signaling and candidate molecules for go/no-go drug development decisions within pharma (Novartis, Pfizer, Vedanta Biosciences) and academia (UCSF). He has built and managed R&D labs of newly formed biotechnology companies (Vedanta, Commence) and advised life sciences companies on science strategy and operations at LabCentral. His work has directly contributed to the advancement of several drug candidates to preclinical testing and of VE303 (Vedanta) to the clinic. Most recently, Juan was a Principal Scientist at the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research and established a discovery platform harnessing the gastrointestinal microbiome to identify next-generation small molecules for autoimmune and allergic conditions, with a focus on discovering therapeutics that promote wound healing and epithelial barrier function in inflammatory bowel disease.

Early on, Juan has helped shaped our understanding of the role of major histocompatibility (MHC) class II restricted antigen processing and presentation in the central nervous system and in the role played by myelin-specific antibodies in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a model of multiple sclerosis. He has also been involved in studies characterizing the mechanism and protective effect of glatirameracetate (Copaxone), atorvastatin (Lipitor) and anti-CD20 antibody (Rituxan) in CNS autoimmune disease. Juan then joined the multiple sclerosis group at Pfizer to support the discovery and development of new drugs. There, he evaluated new anti-inflammatory biologics and small molecules. As the role of the microbiome in human health became established, he led evaluated natural ligand derivatives for their ability to promote immunotolerance and mucosal repair in inflammatory bowel disease.

Tomi Sawyer serves as a drug discovery and development consultant. Tomi is an accomplished and entrepreneurial drug hunter, medicinal chemist and chemical biologist with a track record of developing both peptide and small molecule drugs. Tomi has over four decades of industrial experience in both pharma and biotech and is well known for his contributions to GPCR, kinase, protease and protein-protein interaction drug discovery. He is the inventor of the marketed drugs Afamelanotide (Scenesse®, Clinuvel) and Ponatinib (Iclusig®, Ariad Pharmaceuticals [now Takeda]) and is credited with over 600 scientific publications, patents, and presentations.

Tomi is currently the Chief Drug Hunter and President of Maestro Therapeutics, a consulting/advisory enterprise that supports peptide drug discovery in academia, biotech and pharma. Tomi Sawyer has recently retired from his position as Distinguished Scientist, Global Chemistry at Merck Research Laboratories. In this role, he provided leadership to the Peptide Drug Hunter Network and several peptide R&D programs as well as innovative core capabilities and knowledge engine. He previously also served as the Chief Scientific Officer of Aileron, Senior Vice President, Drug Discovery at Ariad Pharmaceuticals, Senior Director, Chemical Sciences at Pfizer and was a past President of the American Peptide Society.

Tomi is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Massachusetts and the Northeastern University Center for Drug Discovery. In addition, he is a Distinguished Alumni Entrepreneur from his undergraduate alma mater, Minnesota State University at Moorhead, and previously served as a member of the MSUM Alumni Foundation Board of Directors. At his graduate alma mater, the University of Arizona, Tomi is a Distinguished Alumni Entrepreneur and has received a Professional Achievement Award from the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry and the College of Science.

Dr. Gavin Hirst is a seasoned drug discover and executive leader with more than 30 years of experience in small molecule drug discovery across five therapeutic areas, with a strong focus in immunology and oncology. His career spans more than 50 drug discovery programs, leading to the advancement of over 10 molecules into clinical trials and the co-invention of Vabomere, an FDA-approved treatment for complicated urinary tract infections. Dr. Hirst has a sustained record of optimizing drug-like properties integrating both traditional and collaborative AI approaches to deliver high-quality development candidates and INDs in both global pharmaceutical companies and emerging biotechnology ventures.

Most recently, Dr. Hirst served as Chief Scientific Officer at Atomwise Inc., a biotechnology company pioneering AI/ML-driven drug discovery. In this role, he provided scientific leadership and strategic direction, integrating cutting-edge artificial intelligence with real-world drug discovery to shape and advance a robust portfolio in Immunology and Oncology.
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Previously Gavin served as Interim Chief Scientific Officer and Senior Vice President of Chemistry at the precision oncology company Turning Point Therapeutics, which was acquired in 2022 by Bristol Myers Squibb for $4.1 billion. During earlier work as Senior Director of Medicinal Chemistry at Johnson & Johnson, Gavin oversaw a broad portfolio of small-molecule programs targeting a diverse set of autoimmune diseases,including inflammatory bowel disease and psoriasis. He chaired the Global Medicinal Chemistry Council and was the global chemistry representative for the cheminformatics steering committee. Dr. Hirst guided his teams to deliver a number of clinical-stage assets, such as the GI-restricted Pan-JAK family selective inhibitor Lorpucitinib, that moved into clinical development for the treatment of familial adenomatous polyposis, a form of colorectal cancer.

Prior to Turning Point, Gavin was Vice President of Discovery Research at Takeda California, directing immunology, oncology, and metabolic diseases portfolios. His teams delivered multiple compounds to clinical studies, most notably mivavotoinib, a dual SYK/FLT3 inhibitor that advanced to phase II for DLBCL and other non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas. Gavin’s earlier roles include VP of Medicinal Chemistry at Mpex pharmaceuticals, Senior Director of Medicinal Chemistry as SGX pharmaceuticals and Associated director of Medicinal Chemistry at Abbvie.

Gavin obtained his Ph.D in Synthetic Organic Chemistry from the University of Southampton, UK and continued his fascination with Organic Chemistry as a postdoctoral scientist at the University of California, Irvine with Prof. Larry Overman. Gavin has authored >100 scientific publications, presentations, patents and patent applications.

Caroline Kurtz, Ph. D, provides scientific and strategic guidance for drug development stage programs grounded in over 29 years of experience developing unique products for patients with metabolic and gastrointestinal diseases. Dr. Kurtz’s direct experience includes leadership in preclinical, clinical development and regulatory affairs for products in the stages of lead identification through marketing authorization. She brings specific expertise in developing novel therapeutic platforms, operating through local delivery in the GI tract, and rare disease drug development. In addition, throughout her career Dr. Kurtz has been a leader in the establishment of strong cross-functional and cross-company collaborations and teams.

Prior to joining Lightship Scientific Consulting, Dr. Kurtz was Chief Development Officer at Synlogic Inc, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing engineered living cell therapies for the treatment of rare metabolic and immune-mediated diseases. At Synlogic, Dr. Kurtz oversaw translational research and development activities for discovery and clinical stage programs for inflammatory bowel disease, oncology and rare metabolic diseases, including advancing into Phase 3 the investigational product SYNB1934 for phenylketonuria. Prior to Synlogic, Caroline served as Vice President and Program Lead at Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, bringing the novel peptide drug linaclotide, (LINZESS®), from preclinical development through commercialization for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome and chronic constipation. LINZESS is now one of the most highly prescribed products for patients with irritable bowel syndrome. Dr. Kurtz also worked at GelTex/Genzyme, overseeing the discovery and development of polymers for the treatment of infectious diseases, including leading a clinical stage program for the treatment of C. difficile colitis.

Her early scientific training was in the fields of immunology, virology, and autoimmune demyelinating diseases. Dr. Kurtz holds a Ph.D. in Immunology from Harvard University, and a BSc (summa cum laude) in Biochemistry from the University of New Hampshire.

Dr. Christian is a pharmaceutical and biotech executive with more than 20 years of regulatory and drug development experience across pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. She has created high functioning, fit-for-purpose teams for emerging biotech, envisioned and built new capabilities in large pharma (e.g. Bristol-Myers Squibb Oncology Strategic Collaborations, leading to success in >$50M in development partnerships), and led R&D efforts across a variety of therapeutic areas including, but not limited to, CNS, immunology, and immuno-oncology in all phases of development.

Dr. Christian serves as the Senior Vice President of Regulatory at C4 Therapeutics, a clinical stage biotech developing a pipeline of targeted protein degraders for oncology. Besides her role at C4, Dr. Christian also serves as a scientific advisor to several emerging biotech companies and lectures at MIT on Regulatory Strategies for developing drugs and devices.  

Prior to C4, Dr. Christian was the Senior Vice President of Regulatory, Quality and Compliance at Lyndra Therapeutics, a rapidly growing clinical stage biotech whose mission is to reinvent medicine for a healthier world. She was also a founding member of Cyclerion Therapeutics, a spinout of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals focused on serious and orphan diseases, where she led Regulatory, Quality and Pharmacovigilance. Before her role at Cyclerion, Dr. Christian was Vice President of Global Regulatory Affairs at Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, where she transformed the regulatory organization, successfully negotiated approval of a stalled marketing application for Linzess® in China, advanced rare disease assets into Phase 1 and 2 and built organization models that enabled the spinoff of various assets.    

Prior to joining the world of biotech in Boston, Dr. Christian created and led successful and innovative teams at Bristol-Myers Squibb by identifying novel ways to accelerate research and the delivery of medicines to patients globally. Dr. Christian also held roles of increasing responsibility in Global Regulatory Affairs at Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development (now Janssen Pharmaceutica) across several therapeutic areas.