• partial operator roles in medicinal chemistry, product management, project management, research and strategic consulting.

• Thrived in a dynamic startup environment wearing multiple hats, including AppSci (demos, sales calls, VoC), persona development (drug discovery team), and training across departments.
• Leveraged my scientific background to create user personas for key target markets, leading to improved product-market fit.
• Championed a user-centric approach, spearheading product discovery processes and design jams through multiple iterations despite shifting priorities.
• Partnered with the CTO to build the product foundation in a fast-paced startup environment. Fostered a culture of learning and experimentation, and pioneered PM practices to bring more structure to the organization.
• Developed skills in UX research (prototype testing, usability testing) while collaborating with talented designers.

Gilead, External Innovation Department. Senior Research Scientist
• Led research collaborations, including formation of teams, planning, execution, data package deliverables, and alignment with R&D strategy toward identification of new medicinal entities.
• Led a collaboration project within a PROTAC / heterobifunctional degrader portfolio, leading to GS-6791 in development for RA
• Gilead Collaboration lead on the Structure Based Covid Alliance (SBCA), a multi-company philanthropic research consortium established to discover small molecule candidates for treating coronavirus infections.
• Established, led and maintained a multi-disciplinary target tracking portfolio for strategic planning in the protein degrader space.
• Prepared and presented proposals for initiating projects Mro and PLpro targets to discover broad spectrum anti-coronavirus small molecules. Both projects were approved, and subsequently folded into the SBCA.
• Regular presentations and updates to collaboration g

• initiated and led collaboration with computational chemistry.
• Proposed strategies for 2 new research projects. Both proposals were selected as finalists.
• Provided project analyses for immune and neurologic targets on two therapeutic area subgroups.
• Chaired the 13 member multidisciplinary Chemical Safety Committee for 2.5 years and was a member of the Executive Safety Committee.
• Managed CMO synthesis of supplies of late stage compounds for salt screening.
• Designed small molecules for antibiotic, antiviral, neurologic and immunologic disease targets

• Drove exploratory project from lead identification through animal POC in 3 months, as project co-lead.
• Presented at a Scientific Advisory Board off-site event.

• Project Team Lead Chemist for the Cathepsin
● program as it progressed to Phase 1 trials.
• Representative on the transition team during program sale and transfer to a new sponsor.
• Designed and synthesized Cathepsin
● phase I- completing compound, CRA-
• Assessed cathepsin inhibitors for use in inflammation and oncology on a strategic subteam
• Presented a proposal of DPP-IV for diabetes to the New Targets Committee. It received a top rating.
• Designed and synthesized a radiolabeled tool for use with disease model collaborators at UCSF.
• Designed and synthesized CRA-012087, an early candidate that provided animal POC in asthma.

research associate in medicinal chemistry working in pain and inflammation targets