Panelists

Kevin Bitterman

Partner

Atlas Ventures

Kevin Bitterman focuses on creating and investing in companies that translate groundbreaking science into innovative medicines.

Kevin serves on the boards of Disc Medicine (NASDAQ: IRON), Judo Bio, Kinaset Therapeutics, Mariana Oncology, and Remix Therapeutics. He is board chair at Chroma Medicine and was the founding CEO of Editas Medicine (NASDAQ: EDIT), Morphic Therapeutic (acquired by Lilly) and Visterra (acquired by Otsuka). He previously served as a director of Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ: AKRO), Vedere Bio (acquired by Novartis) and Taris Biomedical (acquired by Johnson & Johnson) among other ventures. Prior to joining Atlas Venture in 2017, Kevin was a partner at Polaris Partners, where he had been a member of the healthcare team since 2004.

Kevin is active in the life science and healthcare start-up community serving as Chair Emeritus of the New England Venture Capital Association (NEVCA) and as a member of the Harvard Medical School Blavatnik Biomedical Accelerator, BTCA and Q-FASTR Steering Committees.  He is also a member of the Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum Board of Advisors. He received a BA in biology, with highest honors, from Rutgers University before completing his PhD in genetics at Harvard Medical School.

Outside of work Kevin enjoys spending time with his wife and two daughters.  He also enjoys trail running and whiskey, though generally not at the same time.

Peter Marks, MD, PhD

Director

Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, FDA

Peter Marks received his graduate degree in cell and molecular biology and his medical degree at New York University and completed Internal Medicine residency and Hematology/Medical Oncology training at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. He has worked in academic settings teaching and caring for patients and in industry on drug development and is an author or co-author of over 100 publications.  He joined the FDA in 2012 as Deputy Center Director for CBER and became Center Director in 2016.  Over the past several years he has been integrally involved in the response to various public health emergencies, and in 2022 he was elected a member of the National Academy of Medicine.

Diane Berry, Ph.D.

Executive Vice President, Chief Global Policy & Advocacy Officer

Sarepta Therapeutics

Dr. Diane Berry joined Sarepta Therapeutics in December 2011 and serves as the Company’s Executive Vice President, Chief Global Policy & Advocacy Officer. She is also a member of Sarepta’s Executive Committee. She engages policymakers at the federal, state, and local levels, as well as patient advocacy organizations, to advance critical policies related to newborn screening, regulatory policy, and reimbursement and access with a goal of expediting development and patient access to genetic-based therapies for rare diseases. Previously, Dr. Berry served in leadership roles for the federal government, across the legislative and executive branches, overseeing and implementing science and technology and public health activities. She served as a Subcommittee Staff Director and Senior Professional Staff Member for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security and as Chief Scientist, Director of Threat Characterization and Countermeasures and Senior Biodefense Advisor at the Department of Homeland Security in the Office of Health Affairs. Dr. Berry also served as a Science and Technology Policy Advisor and Fellow within the Department of Defense through the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Prior to government service, she was Senior Science Advisor at McKenna Long & Aldridge, an international law and public policy law firm. 

Dr. Berry earned her Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Northwestern University and received her B.S. and M.S. in chemical/biochemical engineering from Tufts University. In 2019, she joined the BioOhio Board of Trustees and was named one of The Top 25 Women Leaders In Biotech by The Healthcare Technology Report.

Moderator

Andrew Lo

Professor & Director of the Laboratory for Financial Engineering

MIT SLOAN SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

Andrew W. Lo is the Charles E. and Susan T. Harris Professor and Director of the Laboratory for Financial Engineering at MIT’s Sloan School of Management. His healthcare-related research interests include: new financial engineering tools and business models for drug and device development and healthcare delivery; statistical methods for incorporating patient preferences into the drug approval process; predicting clinical trial outcomes via machine learning techniques; and novel funding and reimbursement models for creating a robust gene therapy ecosystem. In addition to his roles at MIT, he is a co-founder and director of BridgeBio Pharma, a director of AbCellera, Annual Reviews, n-Lorem Foundation, Uncommon Cures, and Vesalius Therapeutics, a co-founder and chairman of QLS Advisors, and an advisor to several biotech companies.