Partnerships: Two Sides of the Same Coin [Fall 2024 HRA Members Meeting; October 2, 2024]

Partnerships can be so much more than cofunding a research program. From partnering with corporations, to engaging with industry partners, to collaborating with other nonprofits and consortia, diversity in partnership is beneficial to furthering the goals of HRA member organizations.

This session explored how our member organizations can partner with nonacademic organizations to further shared goals in biomedical research.

HRA members and their partners provided dual perspectives and real-life examples on the successes and challenges of the partnership and provided take home lessons for attendees interested in pursuing similar partnerships.

Relevant resources related to this session:

Moderator
Jennifer Brummet, PhD
Associate Director, Scientific Affairs and Partnerships | CurePSP

Presenters
Kuldip Dave, PhD
Senior Vice President of Research | The ALS Association

Dr. Kuldip Dave joined The ALS Association in 2019 and oversees the research program. In this role, he develops and implements the broader research vision by setting annual priorities and department goals including research funding strategy, research programs, and strategic initiatives. He engages with various stakeholders including key opinion leaders from academia, government, industry, and other nonprofit organizations.

Dr. Dave received his bachelor’s degree in biology from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ. He received his Ph.D. degree in Pharmacology and Physiology from Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia, Pa. He went on to do postdoctoral fellowship at a small biotechnology company in Pennsylvania where he was first exposed to the drug development process. He went to work for the pharmaceutical company Wyeth for two years before joining The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s research. At MJFF, he oversaw a $30M portfolio and led two priority therapeutic areas. After nine years at MJFF, he joined The ALS Association has the head of the Research program.

Maaike Everts, PhD
Executive Director, Translational Therapeutics Accelerator | Critical Path Institute

Maaike Everts, PhD, a pharmaceutical scientist with broad experience in drug delivery, discovery and development, is Executive Director of the Critical Path Institute’s Translational Therapeutics Accelerator. Prior to C-Path, she had a leadership role with Parenteral Drug Delivery Solutions at Evonik Health Care, responsible for shaping the drug delivery technology and manufacturing platforms offered by the organization as well as positioning them in the marketplace. Before joining Evonik, Maaike was a full professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), in the School of Medicine, where she structured and lead the Alabama Drug Discovery Alliance, a venture between UAB and Southern Research, and the Antiviral Drug Discovery and Development Consortium, funded by the National Institutes of Health. She had been at UAB since 2002, initially as a postdoctoral scholar in its Gene Therapy Center, where she combined adenoviral based vectors with nanotechnology. She received her Ph.D. in Pharmacokinetics and Drug Delivery from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands.

Deb Gokie
Vice President of Consumer Health and Ease of Use | Arthritis Foundation

Alessio Travaglia, PhD
Director, Translational Science, Neuroscience | Foundation for the National Institutes of Health

Alessio Travaglia, PhD is the Director, Translational Science, Neuroscience at the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH). In his role, he leads the Neuroscience Research Partnership programs, facilitate the advancement and execution of innovative neuroscience research and biomarker development, engages international participation from government, industry, academia, patient-advocacy and private sector organizations

Dr. Travaglia is a neuroscientist with over 15 years of experience in basic and translational neuroscience, in academia, non-profit, management consulting, and venture philanthropy.