President's Advisory Council

Harvey Arbit has more than 40 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry spanning the areas of regulatory affairs, clinical research, quality control, and product development. Dr. Arbit is the founder of, and consulting partner for, Arbit Consulting, LLC, providing regulatory strategy and support for industry, academia, and investigator-initiated sponsored clinical research.

Nancy Barbour is senior vice president of Drug Product Science & Technology at Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS). In this role, she is responsible for global product and process development for the entire pipeline of small molecules, biological compounds, and devices. Dr. Barbour joined BMS in 1991 after receiving her BS in pharmacy from ACPHS and PhD in pharmaceutical chemistry from the University of Kansas.

Rebecca Blanchard is the Vice President of Experimental Medicine at CRISPR Therapeutics. Prior to joining CRISPR, Dr. Blanchard was the head of Clinical Pharmacogenomics within the Human Genetics and Pharmacogenomics department at Merck. Her career in academia and in industry has spanned preclinical, translational, and clinical development across multiple therapeutic areas.

Robert Blum co-founded Buffalo Clinical Research Center, LLC (BCRC) in 2001. BCRC is a state-of-art Phase I research facility assisting pharmaceutical companies with early phase drug development. BCRC engages in a wide range of research activities including “first-time-in-man” safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetic/ pharmacodynamic studies, bioavailability/ bioequivalence, drug interaction, gender-and food-effect studies.

Mac Bonafede is Vice President of Research Consulting at Veradigm, an Allscripts Company. He has extensive experience in the areas of healthcare research, education, and consulting. Before joining Truven Health, Dr. Bonafede served on the faculty at Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, where he taught courses covering research and statistical methods, total quality management, and evidence-based medicine.

David Carpenter is Executive Director, Clinical Research, at Evecxia Therapeutics, a privately funded clinical stage pharmaceutical company based in Research Triangle Park, NC. Evecxia’s mission is to develop and commercialize novel products to treat patients suffering from common, disabling and costly neuropsychiatric conditions in which current therapies are often suboptimal in order to help those suffering from mental illness lead fuller, more meaningful lives. Dr. Carpenter previously held senior leadership drug development roles at GSK, Sanofi, Dart Neuroscience and Roivant Sciences.

Christopher Conway is President at Curia Global (previously Albany Molecular Research, Inc.). Prior to joining Curia, Mr. Conway held sales, marketing, and leadership positions at Johnson & Johnson, where he completed J&J’s Leadership Development Program and received both Johnson & Johnson’s Global Standards of Leadership and Global Innovation Awards.

As the Vice President, Market Access, Distribution and Patient Access Services at Incyte Corporation, Joseph Cordaro is responsible for leading commercial functions and field teams responsible for Payer National Accounts, Strategic Accounts, Distribution, Patient Access Services, and Channel Marketing for current and future products. Prior to joining Incyte, Dr. Cordaro held leadership positions with AstraZeneca, Roche Pharmaceuticals, and Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation.

Chris Dadas is the Vice President, Global Head Medical Affairs Vice President, Global Head Medical Affairs at Eiger BioPharmaceuticals, Inc. His work fully integrates medical communications from many internal and external stakeholders, driving corporate research strategy and scientific direction. Prior to his current position, Dr. Dadas served in a variety of roles at AbbieVie and Allergan, Inc.

Dr. Diliberto has more than 44 years of academic, pharmaceutical industry, and government R&D experience. His past positions have included serving as Professor & Chair of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Campbell University College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences and Group Leader in the Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology Section in the Pharmacology Division at Burroughs Wellcome Co.

Chris Di Lascia is the President, CEO, and co-founder of Transition Patient Services (TPS). He was previously employed with Aventis Pharmaceuticals where he held the position of Global Marketing Director for Lovenox. He began his pharmaceutical industry career as a Hospital Sales Representative with Eli Lilly and Company before leaving to join Schering-Plough as a Managed Care and Government Affairs Manager.

Clayton Edwards is Chief Operating Officer at AllianceRx Walgreens Prime where he leads the organization’s enterprise operations comprised of nearly 80% of the work force. Operations include specialty and home delivery operations​; business innovation and advanced therapies; facilities management, logistics and engineering​; service delivery and ops excellence​; plus, operations planning and execution.

Seve Falati is a registered patent attorney and Managing Partner of Albany-based FALATI Intellectual Property Law & Management Consultancy firm, where he leads a group of seven intellectual property law attorneys. His clients include U.S. and foreign based entities with interests in new and emerging technologies. In addition to his law degree, he has a PhD in Pharmacology and completed a three-year Postdoctoral Fellowship at Harvard Medical School / Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

Gina C. Gould, PhD, has been a museum enthusiast since childhood and is happy in her role as President of “miSci,” Schenectady’s Museum of Innovation and Science. Her love of the environment, the history of Earth, and the objects that testify to that history, has shaped her career. After receiving a BS in Zoology from SUNY Oswego, Gould joined the Peace Corps as the Curator of Mammalogy of Paraguay’s National Museum of Natural History. Thereafter, Gould worked for Ralph Appelbaum Associates, the acclaimed international museum design firm in NYC until she was awarded a fellowship by the American Museum of Natural History to Columbia University’s PhD program in earth and environmental sciences at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. Since then, Gould has pursued a career in developing science exhibitions for museums nationwide. An Associate Research Professor in the Center for Environmental Sciences and Engineering at the University of Connecticut, Gould enjoys bringing her love of science and her passion for telling those stories through immersive hands-on STEAM exhibitions and programming for people of all ages and interests.

After earning both her Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) and MS in Pharmaceutical Sciences from ACPHS, Jaclyn began working at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals in 2012 and currently serves in the role of Associate Director, CMC Project Management. Her previous positions at Regeneron have included Senior Manufacturing Process & Technology Associate and Associate Manager, Technology Transfer.

Frank Grosso is the Executive Vice President Corporate Development at ActualMeds Corporation. He has 35 years of Long Term Care Pharmacy experience, including serving as Vice President of Pharmacy Services for Genesis Healthcare, a long term care provider. His responsibilities at Genesis included oversight of the operational and contracted pharmacy services for 411 Nursing Centers and Assisted Living Communities. 

Marylee Grosso is Managing Partner, HealthCare Consults, LLC, an independent consulting company that addresses the challenges faced by post-acute care providers, vendors, and professional organizations in a rapidly changing regulatory and reimbursement environment. Prior to her current role, she served as Corporate Senior Director of Clinical Operations for Genesis Healthcare, overseeing the clinical pharmacy practice standards of the Nursing and Medical Affairs Departments in over 500 centers. 

Stephen Hulse is the Senior Director, Healthcare Market at Genentech, one of the world's leading biotechnology companies. He has 25+ years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, including extensive management expertise at the district, regional, and national levels. He is an experienced marketer of several major branded franchises, including international strategic development, and domestic business development initiatives.

David Kvancz is Senior Vice President, Strategic Client Relationships at Visante, a healthcare consulting firm with a focus on medication use and system optimization. Before joining Visante, Mr. Kvancz served as Vice President of National Pharmacy Programs and Services for Kaiser Permanente and, prior to that experience, he was the Chief Pharmacy Officer for the Cleveland Clinic Health System.

Shawn Leland ’08 is the Founder and CEO of Elevation Oncology, which was formed in 2019 and went public in 2021. Shawn brings over a decade of experience in medical affairs and business development for the pharmaceutical/biotech industry. Shawn has been involved in global transactions totaling more than $450 million in upfront payments and milestone payments at Eli Lilly, ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Argos Therapeutics and Verastem Oncology. He holds a PharmD from ACPHS and completed an industry fellowship with Bristol Myers Squibb through Rutgers.

Stephen McCormack is passionate about the development of medical products, technologies, and services that address unmet medical needs. He currently serves as Managing General Partner, Exela LLC. His scientific contributions and patents include delivery of drugs to the eye, medical devices for the treatment of tinnitus, and diagnostic tests for cervical cancer.

Adeka McIntosh, MD, is a board certified Radiologist with Radiology Associates of North Texas.  He completed his medical training at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, and then spent several years in residency programs, first at the University of Michigan, and then at the University of Minnesota.  The focus of his residency was general surgery and diagnostic radiology.

He completed a fellowship at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. There, his sub-specialties were pediatric radiology and pediatric interventional radiology.

Nancy Phillips, ’74 BS Pharm is the founder and CEO of Phillips Gilmore Oncology Communications, a 27-year old Philadelphia-based global medical communications company, specializing in oncology, hematology, and biotechnology. Upon graduating from Albany College of Pharmacy, Nancy became one of the originators of the profession of oncology pharmacy, working for a decade at the SUNY Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse.

Ernesto Samuel has more than 35 years of global experience in cosmetic, radiopharmaceutical, and pharmaceutical industries in the USA, Canada, Europe and Asia. Mr. Samuel previously held senior leadership positions at Syncor, INC; Pharmalogic, LLC and IBA Molecular, INC, spanning areas of operations, quality assurance, and regulatory affairs. Currently, Mr. Samuel is the CEO of Pharmaceutic Labs, a 503B Outsourcing Facility in Albany, NY manufacturing sterile and non-sterile medications and CEO of Biomed Innova, an FDA registered laboratory located on the campus of Albany Medical Center (AMC) and is part of AMC’s Biomedical Acceleration and Commercialization Center (BACC). Biomed Innova specializes in new drug formulations, analytical testing, clinical studies and quality and regulatory consulting.

Walter Thorne is the market president and publisher of the Albany Business Review. Thorne joined the Business Review in 2019 as advertising director and was promoted to President in July 2021. He brings over 30 years of sales and leadership experience to the Albany Business Review where he leads a talented team that is responsible for implementing strategies that help customers grow their business, advance their career, and simplify their professional life.

Darren Triller is Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Anticoagulation Forum, the largest multi-disciplinary member organization of anticoagulation specialists in North America (www.acforum.org). In this role, he has led sequential FDA-funded efforts to define and advance Anticoagulation Stewardship as a national care model. He also led the recent creation and approval of a novel, ASHP-approved PGY2 pharmacy specialty residency in Thrombosis and Hemostasis Management. He has contributed to the development of national quality measures, developed an app for the periprocedural management of anticoagulants, and has published extensively on drug safety topics.

Mr. Ullmann brings leadership, experience, and skills as an executive manager with a unique background in both private and public sectors of the health care and wellness industries. He has developed more than 30 start-up companies, and for 16 years served as the Founder, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of a publicly-traded New York-based health management company (Wellcare) which developed and managed six operating HMOs.