AI is revolutionizing the new drug-discovery process, with AI-enabled drug discovery more than doubling annually for the last five years. By saving valuable time and resources, reducing financial costs, and eliminating the biases that come with human trial and error, AI is empowering scientists to create new medicines that are better, faster, and more affordable—generating more life-saving drugs and treatments for the patients that need them.
And with the second-largest tech sector in the country and a booming life sciences industry, New York City is uniquely positioned to lead the charge in AI-enabled drug discovery.
In this live panel with experts from industry, government and academia, we’ll aim to:
Kyle Kaniecki, Ph.D., is Vice President of Life Sciences and Healthcare at New York City Economic Development Corporation where he works to help implement the mayor’s $1B LifeSci NYC initiative by supporting translational R&D and accelerating startup formation, IP creation, and job growth. Dr. Kaniecki has 20 years of experience in pharma entrepreneurship, technology transfer, drug development, and academic research. He led operations and pre-clinical development for Perception Neuroscience, a VC-backed, clinical stage neuropharmacology company in NYC, as well as led the development of the companion diagnostic for the blockbuster drug Kalydeco that at the time became the most successful diagnostic test in Johns Hopkins history. Dr. Kaniecki earned his PhD in Genetics & Development from Columbia University, his MS in Biotechnology from the Johns Hopkins University, and his BS in Zoology from UW-Madison.
Priyanka Shah leads the life sciences startup cohort at Endless Frontiers Lab, a highly competitive accelerator program for early-stage science- and technology-based startups. She brings 15+ years of life sciences industry experience across product development, business development and corporate strategy. This includes focused experience commercializing new technologies and scaling businesses across medical device, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical sectors. Priyanka holds an MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business as well as an MS and BS in Biomedical Engineering (summa cum laude graduate, top 1%) from Drexel University.
Michael Baran is responsible for growing venture investment transactions and managing equity investments aligned with future directions of Pfizer. He is currently responsible for Pfizer’s investments in Anjarium Biosciences, Autobahn Therapeutics, Capstan Therapeutics, ImCheck Therapeutics, ImmunOs Therapeutics, Interius Biotherapeutics, Mediar Therapeutics, Parthenon Therapeutics, TRex Bio, and VitaDAO. Mike earned his Ph.D. from Robert Wood Johnson Medical School/Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey in biochemistry. He holds an MBA from Rutgers Business School and received his BS in Biochemistry/Information Technology from Syracuse University.
Server Ertem is the founder and CEO of Sanavia Oncology Inc., a New York-based biotech company developing novel therapies for patients who do not benefit from current treatments. He obtained his Ph.D. in cancer cell biology from Weill Cornell Medicine and completed his postdoctoral training at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, followed by a Runway Startup Fellowship at Cornell Tech in New York City. At Sanavia, Dr. Ertem developed a novel platform that combines high throughput technologies with AI for discovery of high quality, clinically relevant cancer targets with functional roles in drug resistance and development of safer and more effective antibody-based therapies that can overcome that resistance.
Arsalan Arif is a news media entrepreneur who set out in 2015 to build his vision of an independent biotech news company at Endpoints News.