Dermatology Innovation Forum 2025

Biography

Dr. Girardi is the endowed Evans Professor and Vice Chair of Faculty Development & Scientific Innovation for the Department of Dermatology at the Yale School of Medicine. As a physician-scientist, Dr. Girardi’s NIH-funded research program of over 20 years has significantly advanced our understanding of cutaneous lymphoma, cutaneous immunology, and cutaneous carcinogenesis. His work, featured in journals such as Science, Nature, Nature Immunology, Nature Genetics, Nature Biomaterials, and PNAS, has resulted in hundreds of papers with over 11,300 total citations. The holder of seven biomedical patents, plus four more pending, Dr. Girardi is dedicated to translating scientific discoveries into tangible applications. His global impact is evident in leadership roles on the Research Leadership Council for Advancing Innovation in Dermatology, the United States Cutaneous Lymphoma Consortium, and the International Society of Cutaneous Lymphoma. Dr. Girardi’s influence extends beyond research to mentorship, where he has guided over 50 pre-doctoral and post-doctoral research fellows, many of whom have become academic leaders in dermatology. His mentees have received prestigious awards and include two Howard Hughes Fellowship recipients and five Yale School of Medicine Thesis Award recipients. Dr. Girardi’s commitment to innovation and mentorship is further reflected in his active involvement with the Yale Dermatology’s Faculty Mentorship Committee where he advises junior faculty on career development and early career awards, and his role as Co-Director of Yale Dermatology’s NIH grant in physician-scientist training. With a diverse educational background including graduating magna cum laude from Brown University with a dual degree in Biology and Computer Science and the Honors Thesis Award along an MD from the Yale School of Medicine, and many awards such as a two-time recipient of a Yale Blavatnik Award in Innovation and induction into to the American Association of Professors and the American Society for Clinical Investigation, Dr. Girardi is a foremost leader in dermatological research, innovation, and mentorship.

Biography

Dr. Howard L. Kaufman is the President and Chief Executive Officer at Ankyra Therapeutics. He is a leading authority on intratumoral immunotherapy. In his academic career he led pivotal studies of Talimogene laherparepvec in melanoma and avelumab in patients with Merkel cell carcinoma resulting in regulatory approvals. Dr. Kaufman was born in Chicago, Illinois and received his MD degree from Loyola University, completed a residency in General Surgery at Boston University and fellowship training in Tumor Immunology and Surgical Oncology at the National Cancer Institute. His academic positions included Division Chief of Surgical Oncology and Associate Director of the Cancer Center at Columbia University, Associate Dean and Cancer Center Director at Rush University, and he was a tenured professor at Rutgers University and and Associate Director of the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey. In 2016 he joined the biotechnology community and has served as Chief Medical Officer at Replimune, Head of Research and Development at Immuneering prior to leading Ankyra. He also maintains an academic appointment as Lecturer at Harvard Medical School and sees skin cancer patients at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Kaufman has published over 600 peer-reviewed scientific papers, books, review articles and abstracts. He is a member of numerous professional societies and served as President of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer. He received numerous awards including the Humanitarian Award from the Melanoma Research Foundation.

Biography

Dr. Vijendra Nalamothu obtained his Ph.D. in Pharmaceutics from the University of the Sciences’ Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, studying under Dr. Joseph Schwartz and Dr. Rod Wigent. Before founding Tergus Pharma, he held the position of Global Head of Dermatology R&D at Promius Pharma, where he led the development of specialty branded dermatological products from conception to market launch.
Dr. Nalamothu’s career also includes a stint at Sanofi-aventis’ Worldwide Dermatology (Dermik), where he headed the Early Compound Assessment group. His expertise spans novel dosage form design, topical drug product development, and clinical trials across multiple countries. His interests include novel dosage form design and development of topical drug products, developing new disease models in animals, designing proof of concept studies in humans, animal toxicology studies, human clinical trials, process scale-up and manufacturing.
In 2012, Dr. Nalamothu established Tergus Pharma, a Dermatology Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO). Under his leadership, Tergus Pharma grew significantly, culminating in the construction and FDA approval of a 100,000 square foot commercial manufacturing facility in 2022. In 2024, he successfully merged Tergus Pharma with MedPharm and stepped down to pursue new ventures.
Throughout his career, Dr. Nalamothu has contributed to numerous publications, secured patents for his inventions, and frequently presents at international conferences. In 2024, North Carolina Governor, Roy Cooper, appointed Vijendra as the Member of the Board of Directors to North Carolina Board of Science, Technology & Innovation. His unique blend of scientific knowledge and practical experience in R&D has made him a sought-after speaker and member of various pharmaceutical research groups.

Biography

Dr. Raff is a physician-scientist and board-certified dermatologist at the forefront of AI-driven drug discovery. As Vice President, Head of Translational Medicine at Montai Therapeutics, he leverages AI to decode untapped chemistry and develop breakthrough medicines for chronic diseases. Dr. Raff previously served as Vice President of Clinical Development at EQRx and Director of Translational Medicine at LEO Pharma. He is an Instructor at Harvard Medical School and maintains a clinical dermatology practice at Beth Israel Lahey Health. He received his MD/PhD at the University of Southern California, completed his dermatology residency at Harvard, and his post-doctoral fellowship as an NIH-funded T32 fellow under R. Rox Anderson MD at the Wellman Center for Photomedicine. Dr. Raff is a member of the AID Research Leadership Council, was a founding member of the AID Education Committee, and previously served as AID Education Committee Chair, Virtual Magic Wand Co-Chair, and Director of the Hacking Dermatology Initiative.

Biography

Dr. Snyder is the Head of Research and Development at Generate Biomedicines, a biotechnology company that uses artificial intelligence, machine learning and protein engineering to create novel medicines. Prior to joining Generate in 2022, Dr. Snyder was a Principal at the biotech incubator Two River, following her role as Associate Vice President and Head of Translational Oncology at Merck. She previously was Translational Medicine Lead at Adaptive Biotechnologies, and started her career as faculty and federally-funded Principal Investigator at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Dr. Snyder is a Cancer Steering Committee (CSC) Biomedical Co-Chair for the Executive Committee of the FNIH and co-leads the SITC Biomarker Working Group. She is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at NYU and Bellevue Hospitals, Section Editor for the Journal for the Immunotherapy of Cancer, and was a member of the board of Navigating Cancer. Dr. Snyder received her medical degree and internal medicine training at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Mount Sinai Hospital, followed by medical oncology fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC).

Biography

Dr. Vasilakos is CEO of TLR Biosciences, a start-up biotech company focused on cancer immunotherapy, using toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists for systemic and cutaneous malignancies. Additionally, he consults for Pharma Latch, an Irish company specializing in intradermal microneedle delivery devices for the vaccine.

With over 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, he has developed immunotherapies for cancer and chronic viral diseases, as well as vaccine adjuvants. His career spans roles in research, business development, and executive leadership, particularly in companies focused on out-licensing to large pharma. He has extensive experience in developing IND packages and business development strategies, including securing academic and government collaborations through MTAs.

Additionally, Dr. Vasilakos worked with drug delivery companies, gaining expertise in intradermal microneedle devices, transdermal drug delivery, and inhalation delivery systems for biologics. His primary focus in drug delivery was business development, but I also contributed technically to microneedle drug delivery projects.

Biography

Dr. Xu is currently the CEO and cofounder of Sibel Health – a commercial stage award-winning medical technology company spun out of the Querrey Simpson Institute for Bioelectronics of Northwestern University. He also holds the position as the Ruth K. Freinkel MD Professor at Northwestern University and Medical Director of the Querrey Simpson Institute for Bioelectronics at Northwestern University. He received his undergraduate degree in bioengineering from Rice University summa cum laude. He completed his medical training at Harvard Medical School with special honors as a Soros Fellow, and a Masters in Health Policy and Finance with Merit from The London School of Economics as a Marshall Scholar. Dr. Xu has authored more than 150 peer-reviewed publications and listed as an inventor on 20 pending and granted patents. His work has been funded from the NIH, DoD, FDA, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He has developed numerous digital health technologies applied broadly across numerous clinical indications. His publications have appeared in The New England Journal of Medicine, Science, Nature, and The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, garnering from The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post. As an MIT 35 Under 35 honoree, his technologies have garnered six FDA-clearances, and launched in 20 countries across 6 continents. He is a board member of Advancing Innovation in Dermatology, a non-profit dedicated to supporting the development of new solutions in the field of dermatology.

Biography

Dr. Beddingfield is a physician-scientist and biotech entrepreneur. He is currently CEO and Board Director of Rubedo Life Sciences. He also serves as Chairman of the Board of Sagesse Bio and as a director of Cytrellis Biosystems. Previously he was an Executive Partner at Apollo Health Ventures, a longevity and age-related disease fund. He served as CEO and director of Kira Pharmaceuticals developing biologics for immunology, inflammation, and rare diseases from 2020 to 2023. He was founder, president, chief executive and member of the board of directors of Sienna Biopharmaceuticals Inc. and took the company public in 2017. Previously he served as Chief Medical Officer of Kythera Biopharmaceuticals, acquired by Allergan in 2015. He has led the development and approvals of global leading brands in medical dermatology, aesthetics, neurology, metabolic, and other therapeutic areas. These brands include Botox, Juvederm, Voluma, Kybella, Latisse, Aczone, and Tazorac.

Since completing his training, Frederick has maintained a clinical and teaching practice at UCLA. He is a board-certified dermatologist and emergency medicine physician and fellowship trained in dermatologic surgery and cutaneous oncology. Frederick completed his medical degree with honors at UNC Chapel Hill, his residency and fellowship training at UCLA, and his PhD in Policy Analysis Research at RAND. He serves on the medical advisory board of the Children’s Skin Disease Foundation and Camp Wonder. He is co-founder of the Dermatology Summit and Dermatology Innovation Forum conferences, and a Board Trustee of Advancing Innovation in Dermatology.

Biography

William Ju, MD, FAAD is a board-certified dermatologist and has over 20 years of biopharmaceutical experience in a wide variety of therapeutic areas, including dermatology. He is president and a co-founding trustee of Advancing Innovation in Dermatology, Inc. Dr. Ju has been president and chief executive officer of Follica, Inc. and chief operating officer at PTC Therapeutics, Inc. (PTCT). In addition, he has held executive positions at Pharmacia Corporation/Pfizer, Inc. Merck & Co., Inc., and Hoffmann La Roche, Inc. in a broad range of product development and leadership functions. Dr. Ju served as project leader for SUTENT®, introduced CANCIDAS® into humans, and was part of the product development teams for CRIXIVAN® and TRANSLARNA™.

Dr. Ju began his pharmaceutical career at Hoffmann-La Roche where he was a clinical leader for the development of dermatology compounds. Before entering industry, Dr. Ju was a senior staff fellow in basic research in the Laboratory of Cellular Oncology under Douglas Lowy, M.D. and was affiliated with the Dermatology Branch at the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health. He obtained his M.D. with Alpha Omega Alpha honors at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and his A.B. with Phi Beta Kappa honors at Princeton University.

Biography

Seth Orlow, MD, PhD has over 25 years of experience in medicine, science, and finance. As a faculty member at New York University, Dr. Orlow rose to become Chair of its leading dermatology department. He serves as a Senior Advisor with Pharus Advisors, focused on strategic transactional/investment banking advisory services in the dermatology and personal care sectors. In 1995 he co-founded Anaderm, a dermatologic discovery company backed by Pfizer and OSI Pharmaceuticals. He participated in the sale of Anaderm to Pfizer in 2002. From 2001-2010, he rose from Advisor to Partner with Easton Capital Partners, a venture capital firm focused on healthcare and consumer products. At Easton, he was involved in the sourcing, diligence, funding, oversight and exit of investments in many healthcare companies such as Acorda, Conor Medsystems, Protez, Salmedix and Transave. Dr. Orlow has licensed technologies to companies ranging from Pfizer to SkinMedica. An author of over 200 medical/scientific publications, he is an internationally sought-after speaker and thought leader. A graduate of Harvard in Biochemical Sciences and with an MD-PhD in Molecular Pharmacology from Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Dr. Orlow trained in Pediatrics and Dermatology at Mt. Sinai and Yale.

Biography

Kristen B. Slaoui, PhD has been the Chief Corporate Development Officer at Galderma, the world’s largest independent global dermatology company, since 2020. Since joining Galderma, she oversaw several significant transactions including the acquisition of Alastin Skincare in 2021, adding to Galderma’s premium portfolio. Prior to this role, she spent 20 years with GSK, first in the research labs, where her work in pulmonary disease resulted in the discovery of the long-acting muscarinic receptor antagonist in the approved medicines Anoro™ Ellipta™, Incruse™ Ellipta™, and Trelegy™ Ellipta™. She holds multiple patents, has authored more than 40 original peer-reviewed publications, and she has had ongoing roles as a peer reviewer for a dozen established medical journals. She joined GSK’s Business Development team in 2006 and held various roles of increasing seniority, and executed more than $30 billion worth of deals and acquisitions, including the $3.6 billion acquisition of Stiefel Laboratories in 2009 (where she subsequently served as VP and Head of Business Development & Licensing), participating in the $20+ billion three-part transaction with Novartis in 2015, and the $5.1 bn acquisition of Tesaro in 2018, with transactions covering the pharma R&D, commercial, emerging markets, specialty pharma and consumer spaces.

Dr. Slaoui earned Bachelor’s degrees in both Biology and Classical Studies from Gettysburg College. She earned her PhD in Physiology from The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and completed an NIH Post-Doctoral Fellowship at the University of Washington in Seattle, WA.

Biography

Qing Yu Christina Weng is a physician-scientist, entrepreneur, and biotech executive. She is the Chief Medical Officer of Pelage Pharmaceuticals, a biotech developing innovative treatments for hair loss by targeting stem cell metabolism. Prior to Pelage, Christina led business development and strategy at Kira Pharmaceuticals, a global company developing complement therapeutics. Christina co-founded Mymiel, a high-performance clean skincare line, where she served as Chief Strategy Officer. As faculty at Harvard Medical School and attending dermatologist at the Massachusetts General Hospital, she specializes in melanoma and pigmentary disorders. She is on the Board of Directors for the Dermatology Innovation Forum and the Dermatology Summit. She is on the Advisory Board for Immunis, a regenerative medicine company developing secretomes for age-related dysfunction.

Christina attended the California Institute of Technology, where she received her bachelor’s degrees in Biology and English with honors. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Harvard Medical School, where she received her medical degree and was a fellow of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. She completed dermatology residency at the Harvard Combined Dermatology Residency Training Program with advanced clinical training at the MGH Laser & Cosmetics Center. Her postdoctoral bench research was at the Cutaneous Biology Research Center of MGH. Her clinical research has led to new guidelines recommended by the American Academy of Dermatology for drug monitoring. She has received research grants and awards from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, American Skin Association, American Dermatological Association, and National Institutes of Health. She holds multiple patents.