On September 26, 2024, the NIH Oxford-Cambridge Scholars and Alumni embarked on an enriching visit to Regeneron, fostering connections between future scientific leaders and established experts in biotechnology. Hosted at Regeneron’s headquarters, the visit featured a full day of discussions, presentations, and networking opportunities that highlighted the ongoing collaborative spirit between academic and industry research.
The day began with a warm welcome and light breakfast, followed by an introduction to Regeneron and its prestigious Postdoctoral Program by Susan Croll, Co-Director of the program, and Devon Southwick, Postdoctoral Program Coordinator. The Scholars had the chance to learn about cutting-edge research opportunities and career pathways at Regeneron.
Regeneron scientists Ido Rippon, Judith Altarejos, Chunguang Guo, Kalyani Nambiar, and David DiLillo presented their work in a series of engaging talks, offering insights into the research driving the company’s innovative efforts in immunology, genetics, neuroscience, and oncology.
Lunch provided an opportunity for informal discussions before transitioning into the afternoon agenda, which spotlighted Scholar-led initiatives. Anagha Krishnan, Hannah Dada, and Chiara Benetollo led a presentation on the “Science Unlocked” program. System-impacted youth, particularly in STEM, face poorer educational outcomes due to a lack of hands-on learning opportunities in prison curriculums, prompting the creation of “Science Unlocked”, a series of monthly science demonstrations at the Youth Services Center in DC. IBRA Director of Engagement and Events, Alexandra Ambrico, introduced IBRA’s mission, impact and reach, and their new network for international researchers.
A key highlight of the afternoon was the Scholars’ scientific presentations, where Anagha Krishnan, Hannah Dada, Sooraj Achar, and Henry Taylor shared their cutting edge research. Alumni Hannah Mason and Adjoa Smalls-Mantey discussed their research and careers. These sessions provided a platform for both Scholars and Alumni to showcase their work and engage in thought-provoking discussions with Regeneron scientists.
The day concluded with a closing reception, offering the group an opportunity to network with George Yancopoulos, Regeneron’s co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer, and other members of the Regeneron team.
This visit underscores the importance of collaboration between industry and academia in advancing biomedical research. Both Scholars and Regeneron scientists gained valuable insights, and the event highlighted the alignment of their scientific goals, particularly in the realms of biomedical innovation and education. We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to Regeneron for their generous support and commitment, which has been instrumental in advancing our efforts to make a meaningful impact in supporting biomedical research leaders.
In a significant partnership with the International Biomedical Research Alliance (IBRA), leading biotechnology company Regeneron recently hosted an exclusive Career Development and Exploration Initiative for NIH Oxford-Cambridge Scholars in New York. The two bodies posed challenging scientific and medical queries to the participating Scholars and considered their ideas on pushing scientific boundaries.
Scholars with aspirations to forge new pathways in science and steer potential cures through the clinical process journeyed to New York. Here they visited Regeneron’s facilities and met with the alumni of the NIH Oxford-Cambridge Scholars Program who are currently based at prominent research centers including Rockefeller University, Memorial Sloan Kettering, and the Flatiron Institute.
In the course of the initiative, fourth-year Scholars John Hancock, Asmay Gharia, Sahba Seddighi, and Kritika Singh had the opportunity to meet and glean advice from program alumni like Drs. Dan Bronder, Mike Gormally, and Sonya Hanson. They shared their transition experiences from graduate students to working professionals in the science field. Furthermore, Dr. Anita Gola welcomed the Scholars to Rockefeller University for a tour and discussion session with other resident scientists.
At Regeneron, Scholars were presented with the company’s history by Dr. Susan Croll, along with information about the Postdoctoral Program opportunities. Regeneron scientists, Drs. Craig Meagher, Joe Odeochu, Sarah Ebstein, and Dylan Kwart, also gave insights into working within the biotech firm and joined a lunch session with co-founder, President, and CSO, Dr. George Yancopoulos. The visit underscored Regeneron’s unrivaled capacity for consistently turning scientific theory into medical practice, a prowess that has led to a myriad of FDA-approved treatments for a wide spectrum of diseases. The Scholars rounded off their visit with presentations of their own work and plans for possible future collaboration with Regeneron.
In summing up the visit, IBRA Director Dr. Ralph Korpman hosted a riveting cocktail and dinner party co-hosted with IBRA Chairman Mr. Steve McLean, welcoming both Scholars, Alumni, and prominent scientists and physicians, some of whom were Nobel laureates.
The Alliance aims to bring together Scholars of the NIH Oxford-Cambridge/Wellcome Trust Programme with leading academics, entrepreneurs, financiers, policy makers, and practitioners to help solve the problems that are highly relevant to society. Each year, six Scholars are invited to New York City to attend career development field trips leading up to the Lasker Awards.
A visit to Regeneron provided the Scholars with an opportunity to visualize, experience, and discuss careers in industry. The Scholars were introduced to the post-doc program at Regeneron and learned about their exciting projects and collaborations. Each of the Scholars prepared short presentations, which provided the scientists at Regeneron insight into the exciting work being done at the NIH, Oxford, Cambridge, and the University of Manchester. After the presentations, the Scholars were invited to have lunch with scientists and were given the opportunity to meet one-on-one with scientists of their choice. “I had a one-on-one with Dr. Andrew Murphy who is the EVP of Research,” explained Scholar Samuel Katz. “I wanted to ask him about some projects he was on and get his feedback on some ideas I’ve been thinking about. It was a very interesting discussion, I completely forgot to eat!” Scholar Daniel Bronder also met with Regeneron scientists over lunch and stated, “I particularly enjoyed meeting Drs. Crawford and Gurer over lunch and gaining more insights on their respective science. It was really cool to read their papers and then sit down with them to have a conversation.”
Following lunch, the Scholars toured Regeneron’s facilities and learned about the technology they use. Scholar Audrey Winkelsas learned that the Regeneron Genetics Center is generating four to five terabytes of data per day and sequencing approximately 10,000-15,000 exomes per week! They viewed robotized laboratories, challenging their thoughts about what science looks like when tasks such as pipetting and plating are automated. These automations create datasets which facilitate bioinformaticians’ pipelines. The Scholars listened in on a very diverse set of scientific talks, including one about a potential treatment for cardiovascular conditions and one on the response to the Ebola virus outbreak. “The trip to Regeneron was an insightful look into what science in industry really was like. It was refreshing to hear from the representatives how the driving force behind their innovation was not profit, but the science. This definitely broke down some of the preconceived notions I had about working in biotech, and everyone we met was very welcoming and seemed very happy to be working there,” stated Scholar Jessica van Loben Sels.
The following day, the Scholars visited Arsenal Capital Partners. The goal of this visit was to provide the Scholars with a bettering understanding of the role of business and specifically private equity investments in the healthcare sector. Scholars gained an understanding of how Arsenal invests in outsourced business service companies that focused on biopharmaceutical research, development and commercialization, and services to providers and payors with an aim towards improving efficiency and reducing costs. “The visit to Arsenal capital provided a unique introduction to the role of private equity in healthcare and biotech, which I had no previous exposure to. It was very interesting to hear the partners discuss the mission of Arsenal capital in improving healthcare and has created for me a newfound curiosity about private equity,” remarked Scholar Andrei Ramirez-Valdez.
The Scholars presented their research to a group of pharmaceutical executives, healthcare investors, and Alliance Board Directors. Scholar Kathleen Bashant-Day stated that “this was an opportunity to pitch our research in a setting that we hadn’t before been exposed to. It was interesting to see how business-minded people approach science and gratifying that they were excited about what we are doing.”
That evening, the Scholars were the guests of honor at a cocktail reception held in the home of Alliance board member Ann W. Jackson. Guests included individuals representing science, business, academia, private industry, philanthropy, the Lasker Foundation, and their 2019 essay contest winners, as well as New York City area alumni and NIH OxCam program faculty.
We gratefully thank Dr. George D. Yancopoulos and his colleagues at Regeneron, Arsenal Capital Partners, and with the supporters of the International Biomedical Research Alliance for their contributions to the experiences and events that provided an invaluable visit to New York for the Scholars.
What brought the NIH OxCam/Wellcome Trust Scholars to New York City this September? With a coveted invite to the Lasker Awards on Friday, September 21st, the Alliance hosted six students for the week leading up to their awards attendance on Friday. This experience started off with educational and social events, focusing on developing and educating them on their career paths. This initiative was created to expose scholars to a variety a career options as well as providing the opportunity to conduct formal presentations on their research. The scholars attending these special events included Megan Ansbro, Brian Caffrey, Justin Demmerle, Joseph McAbee, Juan Pablo Ruiz and Lynda Truong who are all in the final stage of gaining their PhDs, with some returning to medical school shortly to finish their MD. The Alliance organized field trips that focused on academia, industry, investing, and medicine.
We kickstarted the trip on Wednesday, September 19th with a visit to PointState Capital to meet Dr. Kenan Turnacioglu. Dr. Turnacioglu is responsible for portfolio management of healthcare investments at PointState. Dr. Turnacioglu graduated from Rutgers University with a B.A. in History and Biology, and obtained a PhD from University of Pennsylvania in Cell and Molecular Biology. Thereafter, Dr. Turnacioglu conducted postdoctoral work in pancreatic cancer at Johns Hopkins Medical Center.
During his PhD, Turnacioglu learned important skills which accelerated his career in healthcare investing. These skills included critical thinking and problem solving, as well as collecting and analyzing data. Because there are not many people in investing that hold PhD’s, Dr. Turnacioglu described how it was useful and unique, especially in his own career path. Dr. Turnacioglu provided the scholars with a look at the day-to-day activities of PointState. He also discussed how an internship during the PhD would be extremely valuable and would provide the tools and experience necessary to determine if a career in investing would be right for the scholars. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Our next visit was to see Dr. Martin Blaser, who warmly welcomed the scholars to his historic home at the Washington Mews. He spent time getting to know everyone by learning about their background and interests, as well as their research projects. Dr. Blaser is a physician and microbiologist who has published extensively on how changes in the human microbiome impact the development of several of the illnesses that have increased in recent years, including esophageal diseases, obesity, diabetes, and asthma. His work over thirty years focused on particular organisms, including Campylobacter species and Helicobacter pylori, which also are model systems for understanding the interactions of residential bacteria with their human hosts. He was elected to the National Academy of Medicine and the American Academy for Arts and Sciences. He holds twenty-five U.S. patents relating to his research and has authored over 530 original articles.
Dr. Blaser’s career path excited the scholars and they were fascinated by the journey and decisions he made which led him to where he is today. The majority of time the scholars spent with Dr. Blaser focused on antibiotic resistance, discussing which socioeconomic groups where most are affected and why, along with how he is trying to combat this soon-to-be epidemic. The scholars learned about the importance of microbial diversity and how society is slowly losing the microbiome because of antibiotics. The scholars also loved discussing Dr. Blaser’s book Missing Microbes. They were able to get their book copies signed and could not be more excited to read it when they returned home. Following our educational events, the scholars then attended dinner at Gallow Green and saw Sleep No More, an interactive play based on Macbeth at the McKittrick Hotel.After a walk through Washington Square Park, the group found themselves at the New York Genome Center (NYGC). Alliance Director Emeritus Dr. Harold Varmus (also a Lasker and Nobel Laureate) invited the scholars to tour the NYGC. Dr. Nicolas Robine, a member of the faculty who works on their cancer initiative, showed the scholars the laboratories and brought them to see the high-tech sequencers to learn about how they sequence high throughput human data. They learned about how the NYGC was founded and how it functions as a collaboration between major institutions in New York City and Long Island. Bright and early the next morning, the scholars visited Regeneron Pharmaceuticals to learn about biomedical research careers in industry. The day at Regeneron included an overview of the company, tour of the facilities, scientific presentations by their staff scientists and presentations made by the scholars about their research projects. NIH Gates-Cambridge Scholar Joseph McAbee said, “I really enjoyed the tour of Regeneron and hearing from some of the leaders from various departments and learning about what they are working on and so indirectly learning about career opportunities.”
NIH Gates-Cambridge Scholar Megan Ansbro said, “At Regeneron I thought it was very nice that they encouraged post-docs who matched some of our research interests to join us for the day. I also enjoyed learning about their post-doc program – which sounds unique and very cool! And finally, I liked learning about all of the genome projects they’re doing at the Regeneron Genetics Center.” NIH Wellcome Trust Scholar Brian Caffrey also commented on how much he enjoyed getting a feel for the work they did and how they “streamlined the velocimouse system,” which he found to be very cool! Later that evening, the Scholars were the guests of honor at a cocktail reception held in the home of Alliance board member Ann W. Jackson. Guests included individuals representing science, business, academia, private industry, philanthropy, and the Lasker Foundation and their 2018 essay contest winners, as well as New York City area alumni of the NIH OxCam program.
We gratefully thank Dr. Turnacioglu, Dr. Blaser, Dr. Varmus, Dr. Robine and staff at the New York Genome Center, Dr. Yancopoulos and his colleagues at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, along with the supporters of the International Biomedical Research Alliance for their contributions to the experiences and events that provided an invaluable visit to New York for the Scholars.
Once again this September, the International Biomedical Research Alliance was fortunate enough to host six students in the NIH Oxford-Cambridge Scholars Program for a visit to the New York area to meet with science icons.
The trip began on Wednesday, September 21st with a meeting at the newly-opened (August 2016) Roy and Diana Vagelos Education Center at Columbia University Medical Center with P. Roy Vagelos, M.D. Dr. Vagelos is the Chairman of the Board of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and the retired Board Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Merck & Co., as well as Board Member Emeritus of the Alliance.
In a conference room within the 14-story glass tower with sweeping views of the Hudson River, Dr. Vagelos related the story of his career – from his humble beginnings and early ambitions to help care for people, to his research at the NIH, in academia, and finally to his rise at Merck, all the while putting humanity at the forefront of his work. Dr. Vagelos played a pivotal role in 1987 in committing Merck to donate Mectizan – as much as needed for as long as need – with the goal to help in eliminating river blindness. Today, the Mectizan Donation Program is the longest-running, disease-specific drug donation program of its kind and has been foundational in the growth of a number of other drug donation programs. The program reaches more than 250 million people in affected areas annually, with more than 2 billion treatments donated since 1987. NIH Oxford-Cambridge Scholar Huayu Ding noted, “I was most impressed by Dr. Vagelos, both in meeting him in person as well as in hearing stories about him from people at Regeneron. He had a clear vision of how science and drug discovery should be carried out and strong principles about how to run a company to help people. In addition, he had an excellent sense of humor.”
The following morning, the scholars traveled to Tarrytown, New York for a day-long visit to the campus of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals. George Yancopoulos, M.D., Ph.D. Founding Scientist, President of Regeneron Laboratories and Chief Scientific Officer, has enthusiastically welcomed NIH Oxford-Cambridge Scholars to his company each September. The visit included an overview of the company, tour of the facilities, scientific presentations by Regeneron scientists as well as presentations made by the scholars on their research projects. NIH OxCam Scholar Joanna Cross commented, “As someone who has only been involved in academic research, it was helpful to have first-hand experience [visiting] with a bio-tech company. The profit side of industry has previously made me apprehensive about leaving academia, but I was impressed that Regeneron is still mainly science-driven. The equipment available, especially in the genetics section, was amazing.” Scholar Keval Patel remarked, “The opportunity to visit Regeneron was my first exposure to a pharmaceutical company. One thing I noticed during my visit was how proud each person we interacted with was with the work they were conducting. Dr. Yancopoulos is a great role model for many of us starting our biomedical science careers, and it was inspiring to see his enthusiasm for science, even at this stage in his career, during our presentations.”
Later that evening, the Scholars were the guests of honor at a cocktail reception held in the home of Alliance board member Ann W. Jackson. Guests included individuals representing science, business, academia, private industry, philanthropy, the Lasker Foundation, and New York City area alumni of the program.
The following morning, the group attended the Breakfast at Lasker – an intimate gathering of the 2016 Lasker laureates, the NIH Oxford-Cambridge Scholars, the Lasker Clinical Research Scholars, winners of the 2016 Lasker Essay Contest, and representatives of the Alliance. Moderated by Jordan Gutterman, M.D., the breakfast was a roundtable discussion where the young scientists freely posed questions to the winners in order to gain sage career and life advice. Recommendations from the laureates were constructive and priceless.
Bruce Albert (University of California, San Francisco), winner of the 2016 Lasker~Koshland Special Achievement Award in Medical Science, reminded the young trainees that the “people at this table do not ask small questions – go for big problems” as they were urged to continue to conduct their research in the face of what may often seem to be a litany of failures. “It was reassuring to hear that the Lasker winners also ran into many obstacles on their road to discovery, and their stories reiterated the point that perseverance and good science will eventually lead to success,” noted Scholar Ding.
William G. Kaelin, Jr. (Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Harvard Medical School), co-winner of the 2016 Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award for his work in oxygen sensing, offered practical advice and emphasized the need for more young scientists to involve themselves in research-related social media discussions in order to advance science communication. He noted that “cancer is like having 9/11 every other day,” and the urgency and importance of research needs to be communicated to the public through all means. The laureates echoed the notion that students should not shy away from being the spokespeople for science.
Referring to the three co-winners of the 2016 Lasker~DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award (Ralf F. W. Bartenschlager of the University of Heidelberg, Charles M. Rice, of the Rockefeller University, and Michael J. Sofia, formerly at Pharmasset; now at Arbutus Biopharma), Scholar Patel expressed that “It was amazing to meet with the people responsible for the discovery and development of the cure to a disease [Hepatitis C] that, until my second year of medical school, was a lifelong condition for those infected. As a PhD student, it was inspiring to meet successful scientists who had to overcome years of negative results with incredible persistence to make a profound discovery.”
The Scholars raised questions about interviewing for positions where they may be lacking in a specific skill. You “must learn new things on the industry side to be effective at what you do,” urged Sofia. The laureates described techniques as being “enabling but transient.” Scholar Cross added, “After listening to the Lasker winners, it inspired me to be bolder as I move forward in my career. It is both scary and exciting to leave graduate studies and decide what path I want my career to take, especially if the area lies outside my prior experience. However, the advice from the winners was to not be put off by unknown techniques but to be brave and show what I can do.”
On the topic of both the advantages and challenges of global collaborations, the laureates agreed that these collaborations are imperative and are becoming easier to manage. One of the strengths of the NIH Global Doctoral Partnerships and the NIH Oxford-Cambridge Scholars Program that the Scholars freely articulate is that negotiating their dual-mentored collaborative projects on both sides of the Atlantic better prepares them for a dynamic research career in a way that few programs can claim. Scholar Cross observed how welcome the Scholars were made to feel: “Everyone was willing to share their experiences and advice and one of the P.I.s approached me to ask my opinion on a discovery his lab had made. This experience reinforced my belief that collaboration is of the utmost importance and I was grateful for the opportunity to attend.”
The breakfast was followed by the 2016 Lasker Awards luncheon in which Dr. Claire Pomeroy, in her opening remarks, acknowledged the NIH Oxford-Cambridge Scholars Program alongside the Lasker Clinical Research Scholars. Sean Carroll, Vice President of Education at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and professor of molecular biology, genetics, and medical genetics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, delivered his keynote address entitled “Seeking Thrills Through Science.” For full descriptive information on the 2016 Lasker Award winners, video viewing of award overviews, and expectance speeches, please visit http://www.laskerfoundation.org/awards/.
In summing up the meetings and events hosted by Dr. Vagelos, the Alliance, Regeneron, the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation, and the Alliance, Scholar Andrew Breglio commented, “I can’t thank everyone enough for an incredible trip to the Lasker Awards. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet, converse with, and learn from so many influential figures in the world of science and medicine. I think those few days help me gained some clarity in regards to my career trajectory.”
on Friday. This experience started off with educational and social events, focusing on developing and educating them on their career paths. This initiative was created to expose scholars to a variety a career options as well as providing the opportunity to conduct formal presentations on their research. The scholars attending these special events included Megan Ansbro, Brian Caffrey, Justin Demmerle, Joseph McAbee, Juan Pablo Ruiz and Lynda Truong who are all in the final stage of gaining their PhDs, with some returning to medical school shortly to finish their MD. The Alliance organized field trips that focused on academia, industry, investing, and medicine.
Once again this September, the International Biomedical Research Alliance was fortunate enough to host six students in the NIH Oxford-Cambridge Scholars Program for a visit to the New York area to meet with science icons.