NCLifeSci Annual Meeting 2026

Tom Alapaattikoski, chief executive officer, Brinter

Alapaattikoski is an American‑Finnish technology entrepreneur, inventor, and investor. He has spent nearly 20 years building growth companies, and he has been awarded several national and international awards and honors. He has a track record of founding and scaling deep tech ventures that merge advanced manufacturing with life sciences. Under his leadership, Brinter has advanced biosynthetic orthopedic implants aimed at transforming patient outcomes worldwide. A Techstars and Plug and Play alum, Brinter was selected as TIME Magazine’s Invention of the Year 2025. Alapaattikoski holds a M.S. in technology and an MBA.                                  

Lauren Ansley, emcee, Ansley Corporate Entertainment

Ansley is a conference emcee, workshop facilitator and audience engagement partner with a background in stand-up comedy. Through her Work the Room framework, she helps conferences and organizations create experiences where people connect with one another, communicate with confidence and walk away with ideas that actually stick. She partners with associations, corporations and event professionals to intentionally weave connection throughout the entire experience. A TEDx speaker coach, podcast host and self-proclaimed introvert with extroverted tendencies, Ansley understands how to read the room, draw people into the experience and create interaction that feels natural rather than forced. She is based in Charlotte and works with conferences and organizations nationwide. 

Andrew Barnhill, senior vice president, Biotechnology Innovation Organization

Barnhill is responsible for the growth and sustainability of BIO’s 1,000 members around the world. Until July, he was vice president of policy and government affairs for IQVIA and led the company’s engagements with governments, policy think tanks and trade associations. Most recently, Barnhill was named to The Hill’s Top Lobbyists for five consecutive years for the corporate category and was named one of Washington’s 500 Most Influential People by Washingtonian magazine in 2025 and 2026. Earlier in his career, he built the public affairs function at BioDelivery Sciences International (NC company) and served as director of federal policy for GSK. He began his career on Capitol Hill before working at a national lobbying firm. Barnhill has a master's degree from Duke University and a law degree from the University of North Carolina.

Nicole Bell, chief executive officer, Galaxy Diagnostics

Bell is an experienced executive in the medical device and diagnostics industries in roles ranging from science and engineering to business development and marketing. At Advanced Liquid Logic, a company that sold to Illumina for $96M, she ran product management and interfaced with top companies across medical diagnostics. At TransEnterix Surgical, she served as the vice president of research and development, driving the development of a surgical robot from breadboard design to FDA submission in three years and propelling the company’s market cap to over $500M. Her best-selling and award-winning memoir, What Lurks in the Woods, vividly details her family’s experience with undiagnosed tickborne infection. She also served as the primary author of “The State of Lyme Disease Research in the United States,” and regularly collaborates with the Center for Lyme Action to change the political landscape for Lyme disease and related coinfections.

Carson Billingsley, process engineer, Novonesis

Billingsley is a multifaceted bioengineer committed to advancing biomanufacturing to tackle major challenges facing the nation and our world in the 21st century. In his current role, he is developing hands-on expertise in commercial biomanufacturing and technical innovation at scale. Previously at Novonesis, he served a leading role in executing their North American strategy across regional sites and business areas. Billingsley also worked as a policy analyst for the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology in Washington, D.C. He holds a Master of Engineering in bioengineering from the University of California, Berkeley, and earned his B.S. in biotechnology from Indiana University Bloomington.

Fritz Bittenbender, senior vice president and head of public affairs and access, Genentech

Bittenbender leads a broad portfolio of functions, including policy, evidence access and strategy, access solutions and patient strategy, channel and contract management, corporate communications and external affairs. He is a member of Genentech’s executive committee and also serves on Genentech’s U.S. leadership team. With more than two decades in senior life sciences and government leadership roles, Bittenbender brings a holistic perspective to healthcare, informed by his vast experience as a purchaser, partner, supplier and working within the highest levels of state government. Prior to joining Genentech in 2016, he held senior roles at Cephalon and the Biotechnology Innovation Organization. He previously served as Pennsylvania's secretary of administration (the commonwealth's chief operating officer) and as deputy chief of staff to former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge. He currently serves as the board chair of BIO. He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and its Fels School of Government.       

Meghan Bradshaw, executive director, Center for Lyme Action

Bradshaw is a public health advocate and government affairs leader dedicated to advancing policies that improve outcomes for patients with Lyme and other tick-borne diseases. In her current role, she leads national legislative strategy and mobilizes grassroots advocates in all 50 states, and she has helped secure hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding to strengthen research, surveillance, and public health initiatives. Bradshaw’s work bridges patient experience, scientific priorities and bipartisan policymaking to drive durable federal action. She serves as an advisory committee member for the Columbia Lyme and Tick-Borne Diseases Research Center Clinical Trials Network. She completed her undergraduate studies in organizational communication and political science at UNC Charlotte and earned her master’s in public health from UNC Chapel Hill.

                                                                                                                                                 Dan Estay, founder and chief executive officer, SonoVascular

Estay has 35+ years of global healthcare experience with a successful track record of building and growing medtech businesses. His company has developed the SonoThrombectomy System, a next generation thrombectomy catheter system to treat venous and arterial thrombosis. He has held senior leadership positions in general management, business development and strategic planning with leading healthcare companies, including Abbott and Johnson & Johnson. Estay has a deep understanding of global markets and led Abbott’s cardiovascular device business in Asia for six years, based in Tokyo, Japan. He also serves as a mentor-in-residence at Duke University in the new ventures group and is a board director at VQ Biomedical, a Duke University spinout developing an intravascular membrane oxygenation catheter. Estay received his B.S. in business administration from Syracuse University and his MBA from the University of Miami Herbert Business School.

Rachael Fones, senior director, head, regulatory and policy design and delivery innovation, R&D Solutions, IQVIA

Fones leads regulatory, government and public affairs engagement on issues shaping the clinical research and drug development environment. She advises IQVIA leadership on policy developments and supports external advocacy to improve the global business and research climate. With 20 years at IQVIA, Fones specializes in translating industry challenges into policy solutions and regulatory insight into business and customer strategy. She is an active participant in industry policy forums, including the Association of CROs, where she has chaired multiple committees and regularly contributes to cross‑stakeholder efforts focused on regulatory and clinical trial modernization. Prior to joining IQVIA (then Quintiles), Fones worked on healthcare policy and advocacy for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida and as the executive director of the Health Care Quality Alliance in Washington, DC, a member organization founded by PhRMA, the American Medical Association, medical specialty societies and patient, minority health and issue advocacy organizations. Fones holds a B.A. in political science from Tulane University.

Laura Gunter, president, North Carolina Life Sciences Organization

Gunter directs the work of the life sciences advocacy association and works closely with state and federal partners on the advocacy and policy front. Before becoming president, she served as NCLifeSci’s membership development and government affairs director. Previously, Gunter served as business development director for NCBiotech and as a technical sales representative for Fisher Scientific. She received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Virginia and earned a MBA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 

Steve Kearney, global medical director, SAS

Kearney helps lead the SAS's strategy and innovation initiatives focused on digital health, artificial intelligence and advanced analytics across healthcare, life sciences and the public sector. Prior to joining SAS, Kearney served in medical outcomes at Pfizer, where he worked on health outcomes research, emerging healthcare technologies, population health initiatives and healthcare transformation programs. Earlier in his career, he held a joint faculty appointment with Duke University and the University of North Carolina, practicing in both inpatient cardiology and outpatient medicine while helping develop one of the first electronic disease registries at Duke Health. He also helped pioneer early web-based medical education programs at UNC. He received his Pharm.D. from Campbell University and a B.S. in health and human services from East Carolina University.                                                                  

Jason Krentz, chief operating officer, AskBio                                                 

Krentz brings over 20 years of advanced therapy and biologics technical operations experience to AskBio. He leads product supply operations, facilities and information technology to ensure the company is prepared to transition its programs from clinical development to commercial operations across its broad pipeline of gene therapy clinical candidates. Prior to joining AskBio, he served as chief technology officer at Tmunity Therapeutics and then transitioned to National Resilience. Earlier in his career, Krentz held executive and senior leadership roles in technical operations at Endo Pharmaceuticals, Auxilium Pharmaceuticals, and Johnson & Johnson. He began his career as a U.S. Navy submarine officer. He received his MBA from St. Joseph’s University and an undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan.

Adam Lotspike, senior director, U.S. government relations, BD

Lotspike leads BD’s state and federal advocacy strategy, harnessing the company’s expansive U.S. footprint to build meaningful engagement with government officials, policymakers and key external stakeholders. He drives initiatives that advance public health, expand market access and shape regulatory policy, with a focus on environmental and product sustainability and supply chain resilience. Through close collaboration across BD’s businesses, regions and functions, Lotspike ensures strategic alignment and organizational cohesion on critical policy matters. Prior to joining BD in 2018, hem held roles in healthcare policy advocacy at California Life Sciences and the American Psychiatric Association. Lotspike received a B.A. in political science and a master's degree in public policy and administration from California Lutheran University.                                                                                                              

Lori McLeod, Ph.D., executive director, patient-centered outcomes assessment, RTI International

McLeod is a psychometrician with more than 20 years of measurement experience, including expertise in instrument development and validation, as well as experience developing appropriate health outcome strategies. In her psychometrics role, she has conducted many psychometric evaluations of both paper-and-pencil and computer-administered instruments. These investigations have included the assessment of scale reliability, validity, responsiveness and work to identify PRO responders. In addition, she has experience conducting and analyzing data from clinical trials and observational studies. McLeod has published numerous related manuscripts in Quality of Life Research, Value in Health, Pharmacoeconomics, Mayo Clinic Proceedings, and Psychometrika. She has experience in a wide variety of therapeutic areas, including chronic pain, dermatology, oncology, psychiatry, respiratory, sleep disorders, urology, gastroenterology and sexual dysfunction. McLeod received a Ph.D. and M.S. in quantitative psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a B.S. in statistics from NC State University. 

Joash Mudalige, vice president and site head, Holly Springs, Genentech

Mudalige leads all aspects of the Genentech's Holly Springs site and its operational readiness to ensure a timely launch of the CVRM portfolio for Roche/Genentech. He also serves on Roche’s Pharma Technical Manufacturing leadership team, collaborating with cross-functional global partners, as well as local and national government stakeholders to build a thriving site. With over 20 years of demonstrated success across engineering, operations and site leadership, Mudalige brings a deeply technical and operational perspective to high-volume biopharmaceutical manufacturing. Prior to joining Genentech in 2026, he spent several years at Pfizer, eventually serving as vice president and site leader for their major sterile injectables plant. He also previously held senior-level roles at GlaxoSmithKline, where he led global engineering strategy and served as the director of engineering. Mudalige received his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Lafayette College

Amber Raines, Ph.D., senior director, client project management, Coriolis Pharma                                              

Raines leads strategic client partnerships and project execution across biologics development programs. She is an expert at particle characterization and identification of (bio)pharmaceuticals with a strong scientific background in biophysical characterization, formulation and analytical development for protein therapeutics. Previously, she served as senior director of rapid analytics at KBI Biopharma, overseeing biophysical and particle characterization centers of excellence, innovation in analytical technologies and collaborations with organizations such as NIST, NIH and AAPS. Raines has over 15 years of industry experience at companies including Amgen and Merck. She holds a Ph.D. in chemical and biological engineering from the University of Colorado Boulder and is an inventor on a U.S. patent related to reducing immunogenicity in therapeutic proteins.                  

Pat Ritschel, chief executive officer, Atsena Therapeutics

Ritschel has more than 30 years of experience in business management, biotechnology and technology licensing. He has founded multiple biotechnology companies, including Torque Bio and StrideBio. Ritschel was an angel investor and played an instrumental role in the formation of gene therapy company Bamboo Therapeutics (acquired by Pfizer in 2016). He spent his early career with Monsanto Enviro-Chem Systems in St. Louis and Hong Kong, and he was a member of the management team that bought out the business, and upon the subsequent sale of the company to DuPont, he joined DuPont as director of business development. Ritschel is active in the rare disease community and currently serves on the board of directors of the Friedreich’s Ataxia Research Alliance. He holds a B.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and an MBA from Washington University in St. Louis.

Marlene Sanders-Seye, director, state government affairs and policy, Merck

Sanders-Seye's passion for public policy, patient health access and health education has guided her career. She worked for several health care entities as a lobbyist in Tennessee and a public affairs patient advocacy liaison for Eli Lilly and Co. prior to joining Merck in 2007. Sanders-Seye has been recognized by several community organizations for her service as board member and volunteer with the Susan G. Komen Foundation of Tennessee, Tennessee Voices for Children and the American Diabetes Association of Tennessee. She holds master’s degrees in public administration and English. 

Kseniya Simpson, Ph.D., partner, Hatteras Venture Partners

Simpson focuses on investing in innovative biotech companies and serves as a board director for Hatteras portfolio companies Incyclix Bio, Trefoil Therapeutics and Ribometrix. She is a board observer for Sensorium Therapeutics, Ten63 Therapeutics, Aer Therapeutics and Code Bio, and she was previously a board observer for Vigil Neuroscience (acquired by Sanofi). Simpson is also involved in the firm’s investments in Axonis Therapeutics, Mercy BioAnalytics, and Yema. Prior to Hatteras, she was a strategy consultant with Triangle Insights Group. Simpson is a scientist by training and has conducted research in the areas of RNA therapeutics, nucleic acid delivery, lipid monolayers and tissue engineering. She has also worked at Yale Ventures and served as a teaching fellow and lecturer at Yale. Simpson earned a Ph.D. in cellular and molecular physiology from Yale University where she worked on siRNA therapeutics under the mentorship of W. Mark Saltzman, Ph.D., and received the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award. She holds dual B.S. degrees in chemistry and biological chemistry from the University of Chicago.

Gina Sloan, Ph.D., chief executive officer and founder, AGRITX

Sloan is focused on improving health and quality of life by translating basic science into new products and markets. She specializes in leadership, product development, commercialization, microbiome investigation, infectious disease and assay development. Before founding Agritx, Sloan served as a scientific advisory board member at Procter & Gamble overseeing research and development efforts and spent ten years at Microban International as director of microbiology and director of innovations. Sloan holds a B.S. in biology from Western Carolina University and a Ph.D. in molecular genetics from Wake Forest University.

Jeff Todd, president and chief executive officer, Prevent Blindness

Todd joined Prevent Blindness in 2003 and became president and CEO in 2018. Under his leadership, the organization has launched the National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health, convened a national summit on vision and public health, produced influential research on the prevalence and economic impact of vision disorders and advanced federal policy, including the Early Detection for Vision Impairment in Children Act. He serves on the boards of directors of the National Health Council, the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness and Vision 2020 USA. He has also served as chair of the Vision Care Section of the American Public Health Association and as a board member of Howard Brown Health. Earlier in his career, Todd led statewide health and safety initiatives for the Indiana Governor’s Office, directed national youth development efforts and oversaw the National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center. He earned a J.D. from Indiana University School of Law–Indianapolis, an M.S. in communications from Butler University and a B.S. from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business. 

Angela Wiles, senior director, federal government relations, Pfizer

Wiles leads on key elements of the company’s federal Congressional advocacy, serving as the liaison to the primary care business unit coordinating closely on vaccine policy, acting as the government relations point of contact for the regulatory policy team, and managing legislative efforts related to the Inflation Reduction Act. Prior to joining Pfizer, she held the position of health policy director for the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions under Ranking Member Richard Burr. In this capacity, Wiles oversaw the HELP Committee minority health care team, which has jurisdiction over legislative, policy and public health matters pertaining to the FDA, CDC, NIH, the nation’s biodefense infrastructure and commercial health insurance. Additionally, she served in Burr’s personal office as his principal adviser on healthcare policy and in the administration of former Georgia Governor Nathan Deal. Wiles is an alumna of the University of Georgia.

You can review directions to the SAS Executive Briefing Center along with a campus map.

If you need hotel accommodations, you will find the Umstead Hotel and Spa on campus. SAS also provides several other hotel recommendations.