KEYNOTE ADDRESS: THOUGHTS ON THE WELL-BEING OF BIOMEDICAL SCIENTISTS

Sharon Milgram, Ph.D.

Director, Office of Intramural Training and Education, NIH

Dr. Sharon Milgram joined the NIH Office of the Director in 2007 as the Director of the Office of Intramural Training and Education (OITE) where she directs a trans-NIH Office dedicated to the career advancement of over 6000 trainees.

Sharon received a BS degree in Physical Therapy from Temple University & a Ph.D. in Cell Biology from Emory University. She completed postdoctoral training at The Johns Hopkins University before joining the faculty at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. There, she rose to the rank of Full Professor in the Department of Cell & Developmental Biology. She served as the Associate Director of the Medical Scientist Training Program, Director of the Interdisciplinary Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program, & the Director of the Summer Undergraduate Research Experience.

https://www.edi.nih.gov/blog/communities/game-changers/dr-sharon-l-milgram

CAREER PANELISTS

Nicole Jandick, Ph.D.

Dr. Jandick completed her undergraduate in Genetics and her PhD in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology at Iowa State University. Her PhD work focused on identifying tumor environments to use mammalian orthoreovirus, a cancer killing virus in. She graduated in May of 2023 and started working at a startup, EmitBio and its parent company KNOWBio in June of 2023. Emitbio is a company that has focused on development a device that lessons symptoms and prevents further disease of COVID-19 by using blue light. The device is currently in clinical trials and her job focuses on identifying other viruses and diseases it could work against.  

Stephanie Wickham, Ph.D.

Dr. Stephanie Wickham brings over two decades of extensive experience in large molecule biologics, spanning both research and industry. Her academic journey, including graduate and post-doctoral fellowships, concentrated on protein biochemistry, exploring structure/function protein interactions, and advancing small molecule enzyme inhibitors. Throughout her career, Stephanie has been dedicated to building and leading technical scientific teams, notably contributing to Manufacturing Sciences and Technology and Research and Development teams. In recent years, her focus has expanded to cultivating client and industry relationships, collaborating with the business development team to establish partnerships that enhance Cytovance's service offerings. Stephanie holds a B.S. in Chemistry and Mathematics, complemented by a Ph.D. in Microbiology, underscoring her multidisciplinary expertise.  

Elaine Hamm, Ph.D.

Elaine Hamm, PhD, is the CEO of the pharmaceutical accelerator, Ascend BioVentures where she manages early stage life science startups and evaluates the commercial potential of life science technologies. She is on the executive team for Cadenza Bio, a company focused on developing a life changing therapeutic for Multiple Sclerosis; CLAIRIgene, a startup out of Duke developing gene therapy for Alzheimer’s Disease and Parkinson’s; and Otologic Pharmaceutics which is developing new drugs for hearing loss and tinnitus. She also serves as the Executive in Residence for the Tulane University School of Medicine. Dr. Hamm received her PhD in Microbiology from the University of Oklahoma and holds several licensed US and International patents. 

Ruth Rasmussen, Ph.D.