Speaker

Here, you can get an overview of the already confirmed speakers for the 2025 conference.

We will gradually add more speakers, so make sure to check in again!

Keynote Speakers

Patrick Cramer

Göttingen, Germany

Patrick Cramer

Georg Schett

Erlangen, Germany

Georg Schett

Georg Schett is professor of Internal Medicine and since 2006 Head of the Department of Medicine 3 – Rheumatology and Immunology – of the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg in Germany.

Prof. Schett graduated from the University of Innsbruck (Austria) in 1994. After his dissertation from medical school, he worked as scientist at the Institute of BioMedical Aging Research of the Austrian Academy of Science in Innsbruck. In 1996, he joined the Department of Medicine at the University of Vienna, where he completed his postgraduate training in Internal Medicine and subsequently in Rheumatology. In 2003 he was promoted to professor of Internal Medicine. Before taking up his position as chair of the Department of Medicine 3, he worked as a scientist in the United States for one year.

His scientific work focuses on creating a better understanding of the molecular basis of immune-inflammatory diseases with rapid translation into clinical practice. Initially, he investigated the immunology of atherosclerosis and focused on antibody-mediated endothelial cell damage. His research work led to the understanding of the phenomenon of LE-cells in 2007.

He was awarded the renowned START Award in 2002 and founded a research group for arthritis in Vienna. Prof. Schett is an ERC award winner and speaker of several DFG- and BMBF-funded joint projects. His work has been awarded numerous prizes, including the Carol-Nachman Prize. In March 2023, Prof. Schett received the 2023 “Funding Prize in the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Programme” awarded by the DFG. He has published over 1090 peer-reviewed articles.

Veit Hornung

Munich, Germany

Piotr Kowalski

Cork, Ireland

Ernst Wagner

Munich, Germany

Industry sponsored speaker

Bernhard Bobusch

My love for science (especially physics and mathematics) brought me to studying engineering science and, since fire is exciting, to fluid dynamics and combustion science.

During my PhD I was in need of a device that was capable of controlling a 900°C airstream in milliseconds – I found fluidic devices. By understanding the underlying principles and optimizing the flow inside them my colleagues and I created the OsciJet Nozzle – a nozzle that enables to take advantage of dynamic jets even under the most difficult conditions and without concessions in durability, reliability, and maintenance of the overall system. Based on this technology we founded FDX.

Taking this concept to the next level, we developed the FDmiX platform. A new type of mixing technology that is able to reduce mixing times and generate nanoparticles and nanoemulsions in continuous flow at exceptional quality at all production scales.

Jose Castillo

José Castillo

José Castillo co-founded Univercells in 2013 and still serves as the company’s Chief Technology Officer today. Under his leadership, Univercells has become a pioneering force in the biopharmaceutical industry, with highly efficient production processes that aim to make biologics available and affordable for all. His goal was to disrupt the industry and position Univercells as a leader in comprehensive manufacturing solutions.

In June 2021, building on his success at Univercells, José founded Quantoom Biosciences, a cutting-edge biotech with a mission to remove the barriers to making mRNA-based vaccines and therapeutics, from sequence up to mass production. As the CEO of Quantoom Biosciences, José continues to drive innovation and create solutions that have the potential to revolutionize mRNA production.

As a recognized technology leader in the biopharmaceutical industry, José brings a strong track record in innovative process design and successful commercialization. Previous accomplishments include the start-up of Artelis, where he designed and developed bioreactors that transformed industrial operations – the iCellis system is now considered standard in the vaccines and gene therapy industry. The technology was industrialized at ATMI LifeSciences and Pall Lifesciences, where José held the position of Cell Culture Technologies Director. Before Artelis, José was Head of Viral Vaccine Industrialization at GSK Vaccines.

With a background in Chemical Engineering, Jose’s education includes a PhD in Applied Sciences from the Université Libre de Bruxelles, and an entrepreneurship degree from the Solvay Business School.

Contact Details: info@quantoom.com

Website: https://www.quantoom.com/

Helen Cho

Helen Cho, PhD is the Head of global R&D of Samyang Holdings Corporation and President of Samyang Biopharm USA Inc. In 2024 Samyang celebrates a century of business growth and expansion in the sectors of Chemical, Packaging, Food and Biopharmaceutical. R&D of Biopharmaceutical division is strategically focused on products for medical surgical care, medical aesthetics, anti-cancer pharmaceuticals and delivery systems for nucleic acid therapeutics, positioning the company as a key player of healthcare industry.

Prior to Samyang, Helen served as the program director for immuno-oncology programs as a member of the Vaccine and Immunotherapeutics Department at Pfizer Inc. She led multidisciplinary R&D programs from discovery, platform development, to early clinical advancement for developing drugs for oncology and CVMED diseases.

She received her Ph.D. in molecular biology and biochemistry from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and completed her postdoctoral training

Patrick Finn

As Vice President of Rare Disease Research and Preclinical Development at Moderna, I bring over 15 years of experience in leading drug discovery and early clinical development. I oversee a diverse portfolio of rare disease programs, driving them from late-stage research through early clinical trials. My expertise lies in strategic leadership, pipeline management, and scientific collaboration—directing multidisciplinary teams across research, CMC, regulatory, and clinical functions to ensure program success. I am committed to addressing unmet medical needs in the rare disease space, focusing on innovative mRNA and gene therapies, while also contributing to business development and leading bioanalytical efforts supporting preclinical and GLP studies.

Régis Gervier

Régis is responsible for creating and leading the Sanofi’s mRNA Center of Excellence, which is key to accelerating the development and delivery of prophylactic and therapeutic solutions based on mRNA technology. The mRNA Center is a fully integrated organization with teams dedicated to mRNA & LNP Research, CMC activities, GMP manufacturing and Applied Data Sciences. The Center of Excellence is located both in the USA and France.

Régis started his career at Sanofi 29 years ago as Process Development Scientist within Sanofi & has since held successive leadership positions at Sanofi and Sanofi Vaccine in R&D and Industrial Operations worldwide. Before assuming his role at the CoE, Régis was leading the global Evolutive Vaccine Facility (EVF) program for France and Singapore. Biotech Engineer by training, he holds complementarily a Master in Microbiology and an MBA from McGill University.

Regina Heidenreich

After studying human biology at the Philipps University of Marburg, the focus of my work at the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research was the analysis of the functionality of vascular endothelial growth factor and the development of endothelium-specific anti-angiogenic therapies of experimental tumors. Following my doctoral thesis, I worked as a research assistant at the St. Elizabeth Medical Center, Division of Cardiovascular Research in Boston on the characterization of endothelial progenitor cells. After my return to Germany, I took over the leadership of the experimental angiology working group at the University Dermatology Clinic in Tübingen with focus on evaluating the contribution of the immune system to therapeutic efficacy in murine tumor model systems. In 2010 I joined the Oncology Research Department at CureVac leading the preclinical development and evaluation of mRNA-based cancer vaccines.

Tim Leaver

Tim Leaver is focused on developing and bringing together solutions that accelerate new medicines by enabling any scientist to be a genomic medicine developer. Cytiva’s Genomic Medicine Toolbox offers scientists and drug developers access to development and manufacturing services, delivery systems and a scalable manufacturing platform for mRNA LNPs. Since joining the company as one of the earliest employees, Tim has led teams across Product Development, Operations and Commercial. Tim holds a degree in Engineering Physics from the University of British Columbia and is a graduate of the adMare Bioinnovations Executive Training Institute. He is a co-inventor on various patents including Cytiva’s NxGen technology.

Tao Lu

Tao Lu is Senior Director of RNA Product at Aldevron, bringing over a decade of diverse experience from leading Danaher Life Science companies like Cytiva, Pall Life Sciences, and Beckman Coulter Life Sciences. His broad roles in product management, sales, marketing, and operations have equipped him with a multidisciplinary approach essential for advancing RNA technologies. At Aldevron, Tao is at the forefront of developing the innovative Sequence-to-Vial Drug Product offering and spearheading RNA product innovations.

Before his time at Danaher, he was a case team leader at Monitor Deloitte. Tao holds a bachelor’s degree in Statistics from Fudan University and an MBA from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. His passion for innovation and collaboration drives him to deliver differential value to clients and improve outcomes for patients in the RNA space.

Sara Nogueira

Sara is the Head of Innovation mRNA Delivery in mRNA services at MilliporeSigma. She leads the development of new ionizable lipid libraries for mRNA delivery. Previously, Sara conducted her doctoral studies in the RNA formulation group at BioNTech, where she focused on revealing structural-function correlations and designing novel lipid nanoparticles for mRNA delivery. Sara holds a Ph.D. in Pharmacy from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and an M.Sc. in Biophysics and Bionanosystems from the University of Minho, Portugal.

Stephanie Ramos

Stephanie Ramos has extensive R&D experience in the biotechnology/pharmaceutical industry at several stages of drug development, from preclinical discovery and nonclinical IND-enabling through clinical assay development and product characterization. Her expertise includes nucleic-based vaccines and immunotherapeutics, small molecules, and biologics, all for a variety of disease indications including autoimmunity, infectious diseases, and cancer. Stephanie is currently VP of R&D Biology at TriLink, leading a team developing innovations in the mRNA space. Prior to joining TriLink, Stephanie spent over 15 years in R&D in different San Diego/Southern California area companies, both small VC-funded startups mid-sized biotech. She received her B.S. in Molecular Biology from UC San Diego and her PhD in Molecular Biology, Genetics and Biochemistry from UC Irvine.

Sönke Stocker

Sönke Stocker is working as Execute Director, Innovation & Strategic Growth at Lonza. He is a trained biotechnologist with an MBA and has a proven track record in commercial development, sales, strategy, and innovation leadership roles. Sönke is passionate about emerging technologies and new market applications. To differentiate the mRNA platform for Lonza, he creates an ecosystem of innovative technology solutions leveraging internal R&D as well as external innovation options.

Ying Tam

Ying Tam, M.Sc., Ph.D.

Chief Scientific Officer of Acuitas Therapeutics, Dr. Ying K. Tam, is a globally respected expert in the areas of nanotechnology and immunology. He obtained his M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Developmental and Molecular Biology from the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, ON prior to his post-doctoral fellowship in cancer immunotherapy at the BC Cancer Agency in Vancouver, BC. Dr. Tam has held several academic positions including Instructor and Assistant Professor in the Department of Hematology/Oncology at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center in Chicago, IL, overseeing the translational stem cell transplant immunotherapy research program. He also served as Adjunct Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of British Columbia.

Prior to Acuitas, Dr. Tam led a program developing a lipid nanoparticle (LNP), nucleic acid-based immunostimulatory drug. Dr. Tam is a founding scientist at Acuitas and helped the company to become a global leader in the application of LNP technology for the delivery of nucleic acid therapeutics. This includes the development of the LNP carriers used in ONPATTRO^® and COMIRNATY^®, a highly effective and safe COVID-19 vaccine produced through a partnership with BioNTech and Pfizer.

Dr. Tam oversees the scientific program at Acuitas and has guided both internal research programs as well as external programs with partners and collaborators. He has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed studies, including several in high-impact journals such as Nature, Science and Cell, and has contributed to grant applications to secure millions of dollars in funding.

Shigetomo Tsujihata

Shigetomo Tsujihata joined Fujifilm Corporation in 2000 and have been involved in R&D related to nanoparticle formulation and dispersion. He has more than 15 years of experience in nano-DDS, with a particular focus on lipid nanoparticles. He manages CDMO projects on LNPs and his team is responsible for molecular design of ionizable lipids, formulation of LNPs, and process development.

Andreas Wagner

Dr Andreas Wagner

is Head of Liposome Technology at Polymun Scientific GmbH. He has significant expertise formulation of liposomes and LNPs and development of the respective processes for their clinical use. He and the team at Polymun Scientific have significantly contributed to the 1^st successful mRNA vaccine Comirnaty by optimizing and up-scaling the LNP process as well as by supporting clinical and early market supply of the successful Covid-19 vaccine.

Dr Andreas Wagner studied Biotechnology at the University of Applied Life Sciences in Vienna, Austria and earned his Master and Ph.D. degrees in the field of biopharmaceutical technology. Dr Wagner is listed as inventor on multiple patents, like the liposome technology and some product patents of liposomal formulations. Furthermore, he has published several peer reviewed articles dealing with liposomes, the technology, products thereof and their application in preclinical and clinical studies.

Javier Giménez Warren

Dr. Javier Giménez Warren is an expert in Organic Chemistry, specializing in oncology therapeutics and vaccine innovation. At Certest Pharma, he directs lipid discovery for next-generation RNA-based therapies.

With a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Zaragoza, Dr. Giménez has developed two international patents in ionizable lipids, highlighting his significant contributions to pharmaceutical advancements.

As Manager of the Lipid Department and Chief Technological Officer, he oversees the transfer of processes to CDMOs, ensuring high-quality production of LNP components. He also engages directly with clients and partners as a Product Manager.

Dr. Giménez’s blend of scientific expertise and managerial skills makes him an asset to Certest Pharma and the biotechnology industry.

Jing Zhu

Jing Zhu is the Vice President, Head of Process Development, at ReciBioPharm, overseeing ATMP process development activities and technology platform establishment. He has 15+ years of experience in process and analytical development, chemistry manufacturing controls (CMC) program steering within the pharmaceutical industry. Prior to joining ReciBioParm, Jing has been at various leadership roles crossing biotech pharma and vendor companies in nuclei acid and viral vector fields.

Adam Zuiani

Adam Zuiani is a Senior Scientist at BioNTech US. His background is in immune responses to viruses, completing his PhD in Immunology at Washington University in St. Louis in 2016. Following a postdoctoral fellowship at Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School he transitioned to mRNA vaccine development at BioNTech. He is currently the pre-clinical lead for BNT166, BioNTech’s mpox vaccine program.

Speaker

Keynote Speakers

Patrick Cramer

Göttingen, Germany

Georg Schett

Erlangen, Germany

Veit Hornung

Munich, Germany

Piotr Kowalski

Cork, Ireland

Ernst Wagner

Munich, Germany

Industry sponsored speaker

Bernhard Bobusch

Jose Castillo

Helen Cho

Patrick Finn

Régis Gervier

Regina Heidenreich

Tim Leaver

Tao Lu

Sara Nogueira

Stephanie Ramos

Sönke Stocker

Ying Tam

Shigetomo Tsujihata

Andreas Wagner

Javier Giménez Warren

Jing Zhu

Adam Zuiani

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