Career Possibilities Panel & Speed Networking - Research, Drug Discovery, PreclinicalAs the STEM landscape continues to evolve, professionals are increasingly embracing non-linear career paths that reflect their expanding skills, interests, and goals. This series is designed to support STEM professionals navigating career shifts—whether exploring new sectors, pursuing leadership roles, or transitioning into emerging fields. The panel will have an informational interview type feel with panelists sharing their career paths, a look at what their job entails, and transferable skills for those looking to make a change. Panelists will include: Nahal Habibi - Senior Scientist, Non-Viral Delivery, Orbital Therapeutics
Date and Time: Agenda: Location: Cost: Given our mission is to promote women's development in STEM we would like to offer a free spot in our workshops to those in transition between jobs or who cannot afford the ticket price. Please contact [email protected] if you qualify.
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Panelist Bios Nahal Habibi is a Senior Scientist on the Non-Viral Delivery team at Orbital Therapeutics, where she drives the development of next-generation targeted lipid nanoparticle platforms for autoimmune diseases, oncology, next-generation vaccines, and protein therapeutics. Prior to joining Orbital Therapeutics, Nahal was one of the first scientists in the formulation and delivery sciences group at Laronde (now Sail Biomedicine), where she contributed to building the company’s LNP platform and advancing its RNA-based therapeutics. Nahal earned her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Michigan, where her research focused on engineering nanoparticles capable of overcoming biological barriers, including the blood-brain barrier, for applications in nanomedicine. She brings more than a decade of combined academic and industry experience in RNA delivery, nanomaterials engineering, and formulation sciences. Dr. Nazila Miller is a Director of Drug Product Development Group at Takeda, with more than 19 years of experience in developing biologics from early phase through licensure, including antibodies, bispecifics, ADCs, enzymes, and peptides. She is an expert in parenteral formulation and sterile manufacturing, leading global Chemistry Manufacturing and Control, and drug product strategies and contributing to programs such as Takhzyro®. Nazila has authored many publications and book chapters on biophysical characterization, formulation, and CMC strategy, and is a co-inventor on patents. She is a recognized thought leader and frequent invited speaker, and represents Takeda in the International Consortium for Innovation and Quality in Pharmaceutical Development (IQ), helping to shape best practices for biologics CMC. Nazila loves to mentor and is a recurring invited lecturer, and has a strong track record of building and nurturing high-performing technical teams. Sharon Townson is an accomplished biotech leader, with more than 18 years of experience in building innovative technology platforms to address first-in-class targets. She currently holds the role of Chief Scientific Officer at Monte Rosa Therapeutics, a clinical stage public company. Sharon joined the company over 5 years ago, where she originally served as Chief Technology Officer, bringing deep expertise in molecular glues and targeted protein degradation. Previous leadership roles also include Kymera Therapeutics, where Sharon served as Executive Director of Platform Biology. She was also on the leadership team at Warp Drive Bio where she was responsible for developing their novel molecular glue approach to selectively target different mutations of KRAS; assets that were transferred to Revolution Medicine post-acquisition. Sharon began her career at Pfizer as a structural biologist and holds a Ph.D. in structural biology and biochemistry from the University of Manchester in the UK.
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