The ATS gratefully acknowledges the following members of our society who’ve donated their time to develop this pioneering event.
All planners have met ATS requirements for disclosure of conflicts of interest and attested compliance with the ATS Professionalism and Ethical Conduct Policy.
Co-Chair Speaker - Sarah Spencer
Sarah Spencer is a Principal with EcoR1 and is responsible for due diligence and analysis of biotechnology companies for value-oriented investment opportunities. Prior to joining EcoR1 in 2018, Ms. Spencer spent two years at the University of Virginia Investment Management Company, where she performed diligence on investment managers across asset classes. She graduated from the University of Virginia with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and a minor in History
Co-Chair Speaker - Timothy Watkins, MD, MSc
Tim is a Vice President in Inflammation Therapeutics, heading the fibrosis and pulmonary disease Clinical Development franchises at Gilead Sciences. His career has consistently centered him in the biomedical and biopharmaceutical sectors. There, he has focused on improving outcomes for patients with serious diseases, where there are few therapeutic options. Tim is valued for his ability to construct innovative, science-driven strategies with an enterprise mindset, building and leading teams to successfully execute goals. He currently heads the development strategy for therapeutics targeting inflammatory and fibrosing interstitial lung and liver diseases, including IPF and NASH. His experience spans early to late aspects of Clinical R&D, from Phase I safety trials to Phase II proof-of-concept trials, to Phase III programs linked to global registration and commercialization. Tim has worked across a broad number of disease areas, previously serving as a lead for Gilead's respiratory virus programs, but also for inflammation and fibrosis assets spanning PSC, IBD and ocular inflammation. His current role keeps him highly engaged in Gilead’s pipeline, its BD strategy, as well as in scientific studies with industry and academic partners.
Tim is a member of several professional societies, including the American Thoracic Society where he helped found and continues to co-chair the Respiratory Innovation Summit, a well-attended symposium held in conjunction with the annual meetings of the ATS. The RIS brings together leading companies, clinicians, academics and investors in the respiratory, critical care and sleep domains.
Lyn Baranowski, MBA
Lyn Baranowski is the Chief Executive Officer of Avalyn Pharma, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing targeted medicines for patients with rare lung diseases in need of better therapeutic options. Avalyn currently has two programs in clinical development: inhaled versions of IPF & ILD medicines pirfenidone and nintedanib. With inhaled delivery, Avalyn’s platform promises to fundamentally improve the product profile of the molecules in two ways: by increasing lung exposure at smaller doses than the oral forms, potentially improving efficacy, while decreasing systemic exposure, resulting in improved tolerability / AE profiles.
Lyn has more than two decades of experience leading a vast array of functions in biotech, big pharma, and venture capital firms with a focus in the respiratory therapeutic area. Prior to joining Avalyn, Ms. Baranowski served as chief operating officer at Altavant Sciences, a biopharmaceutical company that successfully built and developed a portfolio of therapies for rare respiratory diseases prior to its 2019 acquisition by Sumitomo Dainippon. Earlier in her career, she served in senior-level corporate development and commercial roles, including vice president of commercial development at Pearl Therapeutics, which successfully developed a portfolio of asthma & COPD medicines prior to its sale to AstraZeneca for $1.15 Billion in 2013; and vice president in a healthcare-focused venture capital firm based in New York. She had previously held roles in business development, marketing and public affairs with Novartis Pharmaceuticals in Switzerland and the U.S.
She earned an MBA from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Arts from American University. In addition to her role at Avalyn, Ms. Baranowski serves on the board of directors of Rani Therapeutics, a company developing technology for the oral delivery of biologic drugs, and on the planning committee for the American Thoracic Society’s Respiratory Innovation Summit, an annual meeting that unites the innovators, investors, and clinicians who are leading the fight to create powerful new treatments for deadly and crippling diseases of the lungs and airways.
Craig Conoscenti, MD, ATSF
Dr. Conoscenti received BS from Fordham University and his M.D. from St George’s University School of Medicine. He completed his residency and chief residency at Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack, NJ. Following this he completed his pulmonary and critical care medicine fellowship at the Norwalk Hospital an affiliate of the Yale University School of Medicine.
Dr. Conoscenti is the Sr. Vice President for Clinical Development at Avalyn Pharma where he leads the clinical development, clinical operations, and data management teams. Prior to Avalyn Dr Conoscenti was at Boehringer Ingelheim from 2002 and until 2021 where most recently he was the Therapeutic Area Head and Executive Director for Interstitial Lung Diseases in the Clinical Development and Medical Affairs Specialty Medicine Department.
Prior to entering industry, he practiced in a clinical academic program at Norwalk Hospital in Norwalk, CT for 19 years serving as a senior consultant in pulmonary and critical care medicine. Additionally, he was research physician in the Hinds Center for Respiratory Research and the director of the diving and hyperbaric medicine division. He was a faculty educator for both the fellowship and residency programs. His clinical and research focus was interstitial lung disease and pulmonary blood flow.
He is a Fellow of the American Thoracic Society and the American College of Chest Physicians, where he has held several committee positions, and the European Respiratory Society. He received the Norman S Brady Fellowship where he served sabbatical time at the Brompton Chest Hospital in London studying quantitative and qualitative chest CT analysis in interstitial lung disease. He is a frequent speaker and lecturer nationally and internationally.
Josh Fessel, MD, PhD, ATSF
Dr. Fessel is currently Chief Medical Officer of the Division of Clinical Innovation at the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), providing translational and clinical science thought to some of NIH’s most interdisciplinary programs. He also helps to lead clinical trial efforts and data science efforts in several trans-agency COVID and long COVID programs. His clinical background is in adult pulmonary and critical care medicine. Dr. Fessel is a member and Fellow of the American Thoracic Society, and a member of the ATS Committee on Drug Device Discovery and Development. His scientific background is in free radical biochemistry, redox biology, molecular metabolism, and mitochondrial biology and their roles in complex disease phenotypes. Prior to coming to NIH 4 years ago, Dr. Fessel was on faculty at an academic medical center, dividing his time between patient care and running a basic and translational research lab.
Stephen F. Flaim, PhD
Dr. Flaim holds a doctorate in Human Physiology and Pharmacology from the University of California at Davis. He held faculty positions in Medicine and Physiology at the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine and senior management roles at the Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research Institute, the Squibb Institute for Medical Research, Alliance Pharmaceutical Corporation, Trega Biosciences, Inc., Galileo Pharmaceuticals, Inc., OncoFluor, Inc., CardioCreate, Inc. and Leading Biosciences. Dr. Flaim is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association, the American College of Clinical Pharmacology, and the Royal Society of Medicine. Dr. Flaim is Chair Emeritus of the Board of Governors for the Tech Coast Angels, Past President and Chair Emeritus of the San Diego Network of Tech Coast Angels and Emeritus Director of the Angel Capital Association. He is a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, founding member of the Board of Directors and CEO for the John G. Watson Foundation and is active in numerous regional and national scientific organizations. He is a founding member and Technology & Business advisor to the Institute for the Global Entrepreneur at the University of California, San Diego. He is Senior Special Advisor & Investor-in-Residence to the Office of Innovation & Commercialization in the Division of Extramural Research Activities at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health. He is also an Entrepreneur-in-Residence with the Small Business Education & Entrepreneurial Development (SEED) Office in the Office of the Director of the National Institutes of Health.
Co-Chair Speaker - Cecilia Gonzalo, MBA
Ms. Gonzalo is a Partner at Oberland Capital. Prior to joining Oberland, she was a Managing Director at Vatera Healthcare Partners where she focused on venture capital and private equity investments in the biopharmaceutical industry. Previously, Ms. Gonzalo was a Managing Director with Essex Woodlands, a healthcare-focused growth equity firm. Ms. Gonzalo previously worked for 12 years in the healthcare group of Warburg Pincus LLC, a global private equity firm. Prior to her tenure at Warburg Pincus, Ms. Gonzalo worked at Goldman, Sachs & Co as an Analyst in the firm's Investment Banking Division and Principal Investment Area. Ms. Gonzalo previously served as Co-President and board member of the Harvard Business School Healthcare Alumni Association. Ms. Gonzalo earned an A.B. in Biochemical Sciences from Harvard College and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
Jason Kirkness, PhD, ATSF
Jason is Senior Vice President of Medical and Clinical Affairs . He has 20 years training and experience in Pulmonary Physiology and Sleep Medicine and was previously Assistant Professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, USA, where his focus of investigation were novel technology, biological instrumentation, diagnostics, and therapies for chronic diseases. He has received research funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Science Foundation (NSF), and the American Heart Foundation, Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) among others. He is an active, long-standing and contributing member of the American Thoracic Society (ATS), member of the ATS Drug Device Discovery and Development Committee. He has authored more than 70 peer reviewed publications, book chapters and editorials as well as patents in respiratory medicine.
Amanda Mason, PhD
Amanda leads Search & Evaluation for the Inflammation therapeutic area at Amgen, on the Business Development team. In this role, she is responsible for opportunity identification, technical due diligence, and deal execution across all asset stages and modalities. Prior to joining Amgen in 2019, Amanda worked at the University of Southern California where she co-founded a new team responsible for early technology evaluation and biotech entrepreneurship. Previously, Amanda worked at Bain as a management consultant focusing on business development and strategy for biopharma clients. She has served as an adviser or consultant to multiple venture capital firms including Clarus Ventures (now part of Blackstone) and WaveMaker 360 Health. Amanda has a PhD in Developmental and Stem Cell Biology from the University of California San Francisco and an AB in Molecular and Cellular Biology from Harvard University, where she graduated summa cum laude. In her free time, she is an avid scuba diver and ceramic artist.
David G. Morris, MD
Dave joined Valo as Chief Medical Officer in January 2022 and was promoted to President of Therapeutics & Technology that spring. Dave is responsible for enterprise-wide portfolio strategy and oversight and plays a critical role in integrating Valo’s therapeutic and technology capabilities with the design and development of our Opal Computational Platform™.
Dave has over 25 years of experience as a physician-scientist and global pharmaceutical executive with expertise across research, development commercialization, and venture financing. Previously Dave was the CMO of Enterprise Therapeutics and an Operating Partner of the Novartis Venture Fund. At Novartis, Morris also served as Global Head of Clinical Operations, Analytics, and Regions where he was responsible for clinical trials operations, monitoring, digital innovation, and data analytics. Prior, he was Development Franchise Head of Primary Care and Development Franchise Head of Respiratory. He has also held both discovery research and translational roles in academics and industry. Within Novartis and through the Novartis Venture Fund he has had founding and board-level roles in a series of companies, including a founding role of real-world data company TriNetX.
Dave received his BS in Neurosciences from the University of Rochester, his MD from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, and completed his Residency at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. He maintains ABIM board certification in Internal Medicine, Pulmonary, and Critical Care Medicine.
Kathleen Rousche, PhD, MS
Dr. Kathleen Rousche serves as the Director of an Innovation Office (Translational Alliances and Coordination) within the Division of Extramural Research Activities, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health. In this role, Kathleen oversees programs and activities designed to accelerate the translation of new discoveries into innovative biomedical products to prevent, diagnose, and treat heart, lung, and blood disorders. The Innovation Office coordinates the NHLBI Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, and manages three translational research initiatives directed at advancing new technologies from the university to the marketplace: the NIH Centers for Accelerated Innovations (NCAI) and the NIH Research Evaluation and Commercialization Hubs (REACH) programs. The office is a central point-of-contact for information about the NHLBI’s small business funding opportunities, facilitates alliances between the federal and private sector stakeholders, and offers resources, entrepreneurial training, and advisory services to support biomedical innovators to more efficiently and effectively transition discoveries to benefit public health. Kathleen has a diverse background in translational biomedical research, program administration, teaching, and alliance management, and held positions in industry, academia, and medical communications prior to joining the NIH.
Lewis Rubinson, MD, PhD
Dr. Rubinson is a Vice President for Technology in the B.Next (life sciences) practice at IQT. IQT has a distinct role at the intersection of government, venture capital and the startup world; its a not-for-profit, strategic investor in startup technologies relevant to national security. Within this mission space, Lewis concentrates on innovative biomedical devices, therapeutics, diagnostics, data and analytics as well as enabling innovative platforms.
Dr. Rubinson attended medical school at Northwestern University Medical School. After training in Internal Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, he completed a fellowship in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Johns Hopkins University, where he also achieved a PhD in Clinical Investigation. Dr. Rubinson was a faculty member at University of Washington School of Medicine and subsequently in the Program in Trauma and Critical Care at the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center (STC) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine where he achieved the rank of Professor Medicine. Lewis has led numerous clinical innovation projects and programs, been a principal investigator for NIH-sponsored and industry-sponsored clinical trials, and served on clinical advisory boards of startup biomedical companies. His real-life response experiences span being a boots-on-the-ground federal and international responder to health tragedies, government operational leader during major events such as Super Storm Sandy, and recently as the lead physician executive at a major referral hospital during the first few years of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Michelle Turenne
Chief of Strategic Alliances, Lead RIS Staff
American Thoracic Society
After 17 years in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, Michelle joined the ATS Staff in 2007, serving as a liaison between the Society and its industry partners. Her experience launching multi-million dollar products through a comprehensive corporate association strategy, and working with start-up companies where $500 is a big decision allows her to have conversations with customers at all stages of the product life cycle.
Michelle has steered the Respiratory Innovation Summit since its inception. She leads a team of people who manage all interactions with the Society’s industry partners and patient advocacy organizations, personal and planned giving, and her team staffs the ATS Committee on Drug Device Discovery and Development. The team she has built has been recognized four times with commendations from the ATS President.
She is a member of the American Society of Association Executives, and currently serves as a member of Board of Directors for the James Madison University Alumni Association.
Michelle received a business degree from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA, where she was an active member of the marching band and several other ensembles, and is a life member of Kappa Kappa Psi.
Dustin Bell
ATS Manager of Industry Operations, Lead RIS Staff
American Thoracic Society
Dustin retired from the US army in December 2022. He has served in TEN combat deployments – 3 in Iraq, 4 in Afghanistan, 1 in Syria and 2 in Africa. From 2016 to 2020, he was an Asymmetric Warfare Special Operations Advisor and selected by the New York Department of Emergency Services to create a task force to help manage a major training exercise for over 200 FDNY and NYPD personnel. He was also Sergeant of a sniper section and a machine gunner.
He has received the Bronze Star Medal twice, Meritorious Service Medal twice, the Army Commendation with Valor Medal, Army Commendation Medal seven additional times, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal and numerous other awards and commendations in service to the US Army. During his time in the military, he has attended the Basic Leaders Course, Advanced Leaders Course, Senior Leaders Course, and Master Leaders Course. He has attended multiple Career enhancing schools including, Air Assault, Sniper, Anti-Terror Evasive Drivers Course, Combat Lifesavers course (advanced), Infantry Leaders Course, Joint Firepower and Control course, Military Deception Planners Course, Multiple Survival Courses, and the Harvard negotiation course. After twenty years of distinguished military service, Dustin is thrilled to be living full-time in Florida with his wife Katie and their beautiful family Davidson (4) and Daisy (2).
