Early, late oncology clinical development.antibody drug conjugates; Depatuxizumab mafodotin; Rova-T; Telisotuzumab vedotin; Elahere; solid tumors. GBM. Lung. Ovarian. Study design and lead. Protocol development; Health authorities interactions.

Supervise and manage a team of PhD and associatesContribute to the expansion of Abbvie's oncology pipeline by leading new antibody- and other biologics type-drug conjugates programsTarget ID and validation, program transition from early to late discoveryAntibody and payload optimization for ADCsCollaboration with cross-functional teams across different AbbVie sites

Group leader: antibody drug conjugate (ADC) for cancerAcademic collaboration coordinator: novel strategy to ID targets for renal cell carcinoma (with UCSD)Responsibilities and accomplishments include:Screening and selection of lead antibody and associated payload for the most advanced ADC program at Tanabe Research LaboratoriesManagement of direct reportsResearch associates training Pre-clinical and clinical project planning under strict timelinesTarget identification, triage and validationLead cross-functional teams of analytical scientists, protein scientists and biologistsDevelop and lead in vitro, cell-based and in vivo assays for lead compound selection and optimizationToxin-linker selection and biochemical conjugation

Project Lead: novel peptide-drug conjugates for cancer (small size ADC-like molecules)Project Lead: novel bi-functional antibody-peptide conjugates with anti-angiogenic activity for cancerBiology Lead: antibody-protein conjugates and novel peptide-mimetics for obesity and diabetes Responsibilities and accomplishments included: Led cross-functional teams of chemists, analytical scientists, protein scientists and biologistsProposed new targets and designed drug concepts and experimental plan with critical timelinesDeveloped, conducted and led in vitro, cell-based and in vivo assays for lead compound selection and optimizationEstablished de novo collaboration and coordinated work with CROs and academicPresented regular project updates to CSO & leadership team and proposed rational Go / No Go decisions Managed one PhD-level direct reportTransferred two pre-clinical projects to Pfizer at site closure

Project Lead: target ID & validation, and biotherapeutic drug development for Glioblastoma (GBM) Responsibilities and accomplishments included: Developed in vitro and in vivo cancer stem cells models of GBM for target ID & Validation Established in vitro and in vivo proof of concept for a novel protein therapeutics targeting GBM cancer stem cells Managed a collaboration with a biotechnology company located in Milan (Italy)

Developed quantitative immunofluorescence cell-based assays to study insulin-regulation of the GLUT4 glucose transporter in adipocytes related to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes