Our Advisory Board
​
At Pharmaceutical Business Conference Group, we believe that the most important part of any conference is its agenda content.
The thought leadership delivered from the stage drives everything else at the event, setting the tone, creating engagement, and providing attendees with actionable insights to improve their roles once the event is finished.
Our expert Advisory Board is drawn from across the global clinical trial landscapes, representing trial sponsors, solution providers, independent consultants, investors, and not-for-profits. As well as making direct contributions to our agendas as speakers themselves, our Advisory Board shape the global message across the Clinical Outsourcing Group Series with unparalleled expertise and collective experience.
_edited.jpg)
Helen Blanco
Chief Operating Officer
Node Pharma
Helen holds a Diploma Engineer in Biophysics and medical technology and a MBA. She has 24 years of international clinical trial experience ranging from phase I to phase III registration studies and has worked for major pharmaceutical companies including AstraZeneca, Mylan and Celgene (acquired by BMS) as well as internationally recognized Contract Research Organizations as Covance (now Fortrea).
The last 9 years, she has for the majority of time worked for the Scandinavian biotechnology industry, e.g. Nordic Nanovector, Oncoinvent, Cantargia, Cytovation and currently Node Pharma.
She is a strong advocate for high quality in clinical development, including patient advocacy organizations in clinical research and a cost efficient strategy for clinical trials set-up.
Andy Thurstan
Senior Director, Patient Services
Wave Life Sciences
Andy has almost 20 years of experience in the clinical trials industry, a decade of which has been devoted to innovations in patient engagement and support with service providers, CROs and biopharma.
​
With a background in media and journalism, Andy has worked across the clinical trials spectrum in clinical events, patient engagement technology, patient concierge services, mobile research nursing, and recruitment and retention. This includes launching two successful patient concierge offerings which have helped propel personalised support for trial participants to the forefront of flexible and accessible trial design.
Andy’s role at Wave Life Sciences encompasses the development, implementation, management and oversight of robust patient support, recruitment and retention strategies to minimise the impact of participation in Wave’s clinical trial programmes for patients and families.
Bonnie Bain
President & CEO
Ipsos, Global Healthcare
Dr Bonnie Bain, PhD is currently CEO of the global healthcare business at Ipsos, one of the world’s largest market research and consulting firms. Bonnie has over 20 years’ experience in the healthcare sector and a proven track record of developing innovative solutions on both the client and agency sides of the business.
Bonnie was GlobalData Healthcare’s first Western analyst, and under her leadership, the company launched a number of premium syndicated reports, analytical tools, and databases in the pharmaceuticals and medical devices space. Prior to GlobalData, Bonnie was Vice President and Global Research & Analysis Director for Informa’s Pharma Division, which includes Datamonitor Healthcare, Scrip Group, and Business Insight. Bonnie also worked for several years at Decision Resources as an Analyst and Project Manager.
On the client side of the industry, Bonnie worked for several years as a Senior Manager in Marketing Strategy and Analytics at Boston Scientific, where her work contributed to the successful commercialization of the first ever Access and Visualization Platform at the company.
Bonnie is a frequent speaker at industry events and works closely with clients in a variety of industries including pharmaceuticals, medical devices, professional services, financial markets, and technology.
She holds a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Purdue University and completed a post-doctoral fellowship in Molecular Pharmacology at the University of Miami School of Medicine. She also holds a graduate certificate in applied management principles from Purdue University's Krannert School of Management.
Lisa Chamberlain James
Senior Partner
Trilogy Writing & Consulting, & TriloDocs
Lisa is a Senior Partner of Trilogy Writing & Consulting. Aside from management activities, she leads client projects, with extensive experience in a variety of documents. Lisa has a special interest in writing for the public, pharmacovigilance, and in patient information.
Following a PhD and post doc. in Pathology at Cambridge, Lisa began her medical writing career in 2000. Since then, she has been involved in the European Medical Writers Association (EMWA) as a member of the Educational Committee, mentor, leader, and assessor of workshops, and is a member of the Americal Medical Writers Association (AMWA)’s Executive Forum, and teaches and reviews workshops for AMWA.
​
Lisa holds an EMWA professional development certificate, is a visiting lecturer for King’s College London, a member of TOPRA, DIA, and PIPA, initiated and chaired the EMWA PV and Communicating with the Public Special Interest Groups, is chair of the Geoff Hall Scholarship Committee, section editor of the ‘Medical Communications and Writing for the Public’ section of Medical Writing, and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine.
Sverre Bengtsson
Industry Expert - Co-Founder Viedoc
Sverre Bengtsson has been in the clinical trials sector over 30 years. He’s a trained statistician and started in biometrics and then went on to business development.
Sverre founded Viedoc Technologies in 2003 and focused on the global business development of the technology, making Viedoc into a global company with offices in all corners of the world. Study design and the digitalisation of clinical trials has been his primary interests.
Since exiting from Viedoc, Sverre has focused on helping life science companies in their go to market strategies, and board positions with a number of life science companies and as an angel investor.
Joan Chambers
Senior Consultant
Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development
Joan Chambers is a senior consultant for the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development advising on research projects and the Center's membership programs.
She brings more than 30 years of senior management experience -- across a variety of strategic and operating roles -- in the life sciences industry.
Joan serves on several boards and committees including US PharmaTimes, the Pharmaceutical Business Conference Group, Citeline Awards, and One Rare.
Joan is an active member of the Drug Information Association (DIA), has published extensively in trade journals, and is a frequent speaker at industry conferences.
Dana Niedzielska
Senior Vice President, Global Clinical Operations
Everest Clinical Research
Dana Leff Niedzielska is the Senior VP, Global Clinical Operations at Everest Clinical Research. She joined Everest in November 2023 through the acquisition of August Research, a Clinical Operations focused CRO working across Europe.
Dana co-founded August Research in 2012 and the company had operations across 14 countries of Europe when it was acquired by Everest. She previously founded and managed AbCRO, a CRO operating in Central and Eastern Europe (2000-2009), as well as SofiaBio a biospecimen collection company operating in Europe (2006-2019).
Dana holds a B.S. from Cornell University and an MBA from The Darden School at the University of Virginia.
Phill Gallacher
Senior Vice President, Head of Clinical Operations & Program Management
Cullinan Therapeutics
Phill is the SVP, Clinical Operations & Program Mgmt. at Cullinan Therapeutics.
​
He has over 25 years of experience in Clinical Development across a wide spectrum of environments, organizations and therapeutic areas within Clinical Operations, Program & Portfolio Management, and Functional Line Management / Leadership.
​
Prior to joining Cullinan, Phill led the Clinical Development Operations at Aprea Therapeutics for over 5 years in various solid tumor and hematological indications, and prior to that he spent over 10 years at Biogen where he had several roles across Clinical Operations, and Program & Alliance Management encompassing both late phase and early phase development programs.
Jasmina Jankicevic
Chief Medical Officer
Innovaderm, Inc.
Dr Jasmina Jankicevic is globally recognized as an expert in dermatology drug and device development. She has led clinical development in dermatology and medical aesthetics for CROs, pharma/biotech, medical device and cosmetic companies including Innovaderm, Premier Research, Allergan, Leo Pharma, and Murad. She has driven program strategy and planning, including implementation of 350+ clinical study protocols in 25+ indications, by leading global cross-functional teams towards successful regulatory submissions, product launches, and innovative lifecycle management.
​
As an international key opinion leader in dermatology clinical development, Dr. Jankicevic has served as advisor to multiple companies on their path to global regulatory and commercial successes. She has also been coaching professionals in the world of clinical reserch to become effective leaders.
​​
​
​
Dr Jankicevic holds Doctor of Medicine degree, Master of Medical Sciences degree, and Board-certification in Dermatology and Venereology from the University of Belgrade, Serbia. She holds medical license issued by Serbian Medical Chamber. She is also a Certified Clinical Research Professional, and a trained journalist. Dr. Jankicevic is a sought-after advisor, keynote speaker and author of numerous articles in peer-reviewed and trade journals.