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Accelerate your career by attending the first metaverse-based MSL training experience on
What to Expect
From navigating challenges to mastering interviews: Gain industry insights and coaching to accelerate your MSL career.
All Times Eastern
Note: This Happy Hour Event is complimentary to all Main Event registrants. The Happy Hour only fee is $5, which includes access to the Virtual World, networking opportunities, industry insights, giveaways, and a personalized avatar.
Managing Director
BESTMSLs
Born in New York, Michael grew up in Trumbull, Connecticut. He attended the University of Michigan for undergrad and went on to the University of Connecticut for medical school.
After completing his residency in internal medicine at the University of Chicago Hospital, he left clinical medicine to pursue a career in medical education.
Michael has over 20 years of experience in the MSL industry, with his first position as a contract MSL with BESTMED.
After serving as an MSL for Pharmacia/Pfizer in Ophthalmology in support of XALATAN, he served as national director for multiple MSL teams and has subsequently hired, managed and trained dozens of MSL teams both domestic and international.
Michael also serves as President of The Doctor's Channel and loves all things tech.
Managing Director
BESTMSLs
David created the very first scientifically credentialed MSL team in the industry at BMS, and over 30 teams since. Over the years he has hired, trained, and managed hundreds of Medical Science Liaisons.
Program Director
Director of MSL Excellence & Engagement
BESTMSLs
Adrienne has enjoyed a long career in Medical Affairs leadership roles spanning academic medicine and research, medical communication and advertising agencies, and in pharma.
She has a proven record of developing, leading, and executing large-scale national field-based activities, both live and via omnichannel digital endeavors, with world-class thought leaders across a variety of therapeutic areas. Recognized by industry for dedication advancing communication in disease education and the ability to critically evaluate and create scientific literature that aid healthcare professionals better optimize patient health. Her current passion is helping aspiring and new MSLs become successful contributors to Medical Affairs teams.
Adrienne earned a doctorate and multiple advanced degrees in Applied Physiology from Columbia University, an MBA in Business Management and Administration from Walden University, and BFA in dance from the Juilliard School. She is the Founder/President of Performing Health, a company created to support the nutritional and body awareness needs of young preprofessional athletes and dancers. Her expertise in medical education and communication has given her a national voice sharing healthcare marketing trends. Adrienne is excited to create this new program with BestMSLs to help aspiring and new MSLs achieve their goals in their quest to become high performing MSLs and subsequent Medical Affairs leaders.
Prinicipal Consultant
Strengths Savvy
Leanne has a 20-year history as Head of Human Resources in both the biopharmaceutical and financial services industries, with an emphasis in Recruitment/Talent Acquisition. In her role, Leanne interviewed thousands of candidates, and trained hundreds of employees on legal and effective recruitment and hiring techniques. She has hired MSL/CTL teams and worked with MSLs in various capacities in both her HR roles, and in her business as a Career Coach and a Strengths Coach.
Outside of her work in Human Resources, Leanne co-founded a business called Strengths Savvy, that conducts Strengths-based teambuilding workshops for businesses. Much of Strengths Savvy’s work to date has been with the pharmaceutical industry, most often with Medical Affairs teams. Additionally, Leanne works as a Career Coach to assist those in the job search, and as an Executive Coach for higher-level employees seeking career enhancement and advancement. Leanne enjoys helping people to understand their strengths, determine their best path, and present and perform at their highest level.
Leanne holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of Notre Dame, and previously worked as an financial consultant for a litigation consulting firm in Chicago. She lives in Charlotte, NC with her husband, and enjoys family time together with their four daughters, as well as traveling, yoga, and singing in a chorale.
Director, Field Medical
PharmaEsentia USA
For almost 18 years Stefanie Cribb has been a mentor and leader in field medical affairs. Stefanie’s leadership values include learning from her past experiences and applying impactful, innovative, and efficient thoughtfulness to lead and drive results. She believes in leading by example, utilizing effective communication and being consistent.
In her most recent position Stefanie was the Executive Director, Medical Affairs- Head, MSL Team for Coherus Biosciences where she was responsible for all field medical activities leading a team of up to 11 MSLs. Prior to joining Coherus in 2018, Stefanie has been in pharmaceutical industry medical affairs for 13 years where she held multiple positions including, MSL, managed care liaison, and health economics and outcomes liaison. She has managed several internal and external medical affairs projects and has served as a trainer and mentor for newly hired MSLs. Earlier in her career she spent 10 years as a critical care pharmacy specialist in hospital practice.
Stefanie holds a Bachelor and Doctorate in Pharmacy from the University of South Carolina and completed a pharmacy practice residency from Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo, NY. She currently resides in Florence, SC and has been married for 28 years and has raised three children, a music teacher, an aspiring healthcare professional and a special needs young man. She enjoys cooking and entertaining and spending time with great friends and family.
Founder and CEO
JMH Consulting LLC
Jennifer M. Hayes is a highly accomplished and experienced Medical Affairs professional with over 21 years of experience in the hospital & healthcare, and pharmaceutical industries.
As a recognized leader in the field of infectious diseases, Jennifer has demonstrated exceptional leadership skills, effectively managing teams and achieving company goals. Her extensive expertise in medical affairs has allowed her to successfully manage and oversee a variety of projects and initiatives. With a career spanning multiple companies and roles, Jennifer has become a trusted and respected expert in medical affairs strategy, field medical strategy/tactics, medical congress support, project management, territory management, MSL metrics, scientific resource development, KOL identification, and KOL management, among others. Her ability to develop and execute effective medical affairs strategies has led to numerous successful outcomes, including the execution of investigator-initiated trials, real-world evidence site identification and support, compassionate use programs, MSL advisory boards, medical roundtables, and a virtual KOL advisory network.
Currently, Jennifer is the CEO and Founder of JMH Consulting LLC, a boutique medical consulting firm that provides customized solutions to the life science industry. She takes a holistic approach to her work, starting with a strategic medical vision in the pre-clinical and early clinical stages of a product's life cycle, which leads to success and a strong foundation when preparing for product launch. Her mission is to demonstrate the value of medical affairs as an equal partner, rather than simply playing a supporting role.
Jennifer earned her Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) degree in Pharmacy from Ohio Northern University and completed a post-graduate pharmacy residency at the Detroit Medical Center. She has been honored with Shionogi Presidents Award for excellence in Cefiderocol Launch Planning and Execution. Jennifer has also been honored with Shionogi Nice Challenge Award for building a Field Facing Team during COVID-19.
Medical Science Liaison
KARL STAROZ Endosopy
Lisa’s journey to Medical Affairs started with a profound desire to impact the medical and healthcare landscape. After graduating PA School in 2011 from Daemen University in Buffalo, NY, she quickly developed a passion for the field of a urology and a desire to practice to the highest extent of her clinical training leading her to complete a postgraduate fellowship in urology from UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, TX in 2015. She continued to practice clinically, specializing in urology with an emphasis in procedural urology and robotic surgery first-assisting. Her dedication to education extended to mentoring the next generation of healthcare professionals as a trusted student preceptor and lecturer in PA schools and serving as a PA school admissions panelist. In addition to serving on the board of directors and the social media committee, she also became a recurrent lecturer, and clinical skills workshop leader at national events for the Urological Association of PAs.
In the height of the pandemic, Lisa completed a Doctor of Medical Science degree and transitioned into her new role as the first Medical Science Liaison at KARL STORZ-Endoscopy where she seamlessly bridges her clinical acumen with innovative technologies, fostering advancements in patient care. Lisa’s urologic expertise is being utilized to build strong relationships with KOLs, effectively communicate complex medical scientific information bridging the gap between scientific research and clinical practice, and gather and escalate valuable actionable insights to key internal stakeholders.
Lisa remains passionate about mentorship and inclusivity in healthcare, currently serving as membership chair for the PAs for Women Empowerment and founding member and co-chair of an employee resource group, PRISM LGBTQIA+. As a recent aspiring MSL and now current MSL, she is excited to participate in this new program with BEST MSLs.
Medical Director
Global Medical Affairs | Otezla
AMGEN Inc.
Yuri Klyachkin is a distinguished medical professional with an extensive background in medical affairs, immunology, and molecular biology. With over a decade of experience, Yuri has played pivotal roles in the pharmaceutical industry and academia. Currently serving as the Medical Director of Global Medical Affairs at Amgen, he has spent nearly four years shaping the company's medical strategies and ensuring the accurate dissemination of medical information.
Yuri's expertise also extends to his time at Celgene, where he served as a Senior Regional Medical Liaison, specializing in Inflammation and Immunology. His work involved connecting with healthcare professionals and key opinion leaders, contributing to the development of medical strategies, and staying updated on healthcare trends. Additionally, Yuri's academic journey was marked by his significant contributions at the University of Kentucky, where he served as a Senior Investigator and conducted groundbreaking research. His accomplishments include securing prestigious fellowships, authoring multiple publications, and presenting his research at international conferences.
Yuri resides in Lexington KY and enjoys spending his spare time with his family, playing tennis, and attending his kids' athletic events.
Senior Medical Director
Moderna, Inc
Mary is a physician and medical media and communication expert who began her medical journey in Australia. Her clinical career started in sports medicine, where she worked as team physician for North Sydney and NSW Rugby teams, emergency ski doctor at Perisher Blue and Charlottes Pass ski resorts, volunteering at the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games as an on-site doctor. She then joined the Orthopedic Research Institute at St. George Hospital in Sydney, working in the shoulder and upper limb injury clinic and performing research activities with the department of biomechanics.
Her passion for communication and media led to a period of study at the Victorian College of the Arts in Melbourne, where she earned a diploma in film & TV production, and during that time worked as an advisor and assistant director for medical TV shows and feature films.
After moving to New York in 2007, she was fortunate to talk into a microphone at the National Association of Medical Communicator’s conference and soon after became a contributing host for ReachMD medical radio on Sirius XM. This led to a partnership with The Doctors Channel as a host and producer.
During that time, an opportunity arose to join a medical affairs team with a small biotech company called Chelsea Therapeutics. Now, 10 years later, Mary has worked in both small and large biotech and pharma companies in both medical affairs and clinical development, having exposure to all phases of drug development from small molecule to drug-device and platform technology companies. She has maintained a passion for medical education, communication and working with teams to bring out their very best.
Founder and President
KPCUBE LLC
Kalpana Patel is a seasoned medical affairs executive with over 20 years of pharmaceutical experience working in pain management, oncology, immunology and infectious diseases. Kalpana began her career in industry as a medical science liaison, and quickly progressed to management and leadership roles at Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Assertio Holdings Inc, and most recently as Vice President, Medical Affairs at Scilex Pharmaceuticals Inc. Kalpana has built, trained and led MSL teams and MA departments from the ground up while supporting numerous product launches.
Kalpana is known for her strategic thinking, strong leadership abilities and excellent communication skills to deliver peak performance. By focusing on strong relationships, Kalpana is passionate about coaching and mentoring colleagues to contribute at their highest potential.
Kalpana has a B.S. and PharmD degree from Rutgers, Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy and an infectious disease research fellowship training from Hartford Hospital. In her spare time, Kalpana is a health and fitness enthusiast and enjoys spoiling her twin girls with home cooked meals, travel and quality time with extended family.
Prinicipal Consultant
Ben Bieman Consulting, LLC
Carol is an innovative senior-level medical affairs professional with over 25 years of industry experience in both small and large pharma/biotech companies. Her experience includes 12 product launches and multiple roles on MSL teams, including MSL director. She's held several other leadership positions in medical affairs and commercial and has also served as an individual contributor in scientific communications, publications, HCP education, and product training. Carol has a reputation for building constructive cross-functional relationships and is equally skilled in medical affairs strategy as she is in operations.
She has a successful track record of managing through change, developing teams, creating efficiencies, and overseeing collaborative projects. Carol's skills are often sought by companies in the process of building out their medical affairs, patient advocacy, or market access teams. However, one of her most gratifying professional activities is mentoring mid- or early-career professionals who are hoping to move to the next level or change gears a bit
National MSL Director
AbbVie Eye Care
Tonya has over 25 years of pharmaceutical-biotech industry experience and a diverse leadership background. She excelled in sales leadership, new market development and marketing roles with Schering-Plough, Merck/Schering-Plough, and Amgen Inc. prior to joining Abbott in 2007 as a District Manager for the Renal Care sales organization. In 2012, Tonya transitioned to headquarters to become the Field Operations Liaison (Specialty) within the Commercial Analytics & Operations Team. She played an integral role in ensuring operational readiness for AbbVie’s 1st HCV and Neuroscience commercial team launches. Tonya was then selected as the HCV Nurse Ambassador National Manager in 2014, in this role she was responsible for building and on-boarding a national multi-level organization consisting of nurses with a unique mission to motivate and encourage patients to obtain their cure from Hepatitis C.
In 2016, Tonya joined the US Medical Affairs organization as a Field Director for the newly formed Women’s Health Team. In this role, Tonya and team educated healthcare professionals on the unmet needs associated with Endometriosis and Uterine Fibroids. Tonya has also contributed to AbbVie as the Clinical Trials Pipeline Director supporting US Specialty therapeutic areas, the National Director for Women’s Health leading the MSL team through their first USMA virtual launch and has been serving for the last 2 years as the National Director for the Eye Care field medical organization.
Tonya and her husband are empty nesters of two independent daughters and spends her free time with her family and friends or traveling.
Senior Director, Head of Field Medical
Zevra Therapeutics
David R. Wood, PhD, is an experienced medical scientist, specializing in Medical Affairs leadership, entrepreneurship, and education. He earned his PhD and began his career in cell and gene therapy research, focusing on vector design for treating rare inborn errors of metabolism, cardiovascular disease, and neurovascular disease.
Dr. Wood entered his pharmaceutical career as an MSL with BESTMSLs and subsequently assumed progressive leadership roles, overseeing the development and expansion of multiple MSL teams. While his primary focus has resided within Field Medical Affairs, he has also had the privilege to serve and/or direct various other functions within the Medical Affairs landscape, including positions as a Medical Director, Head of Scientific Communications, Medical Information, Patient Advocacy, Health Economics and Outcomes Research (HEOR), and Head of Medical Affairs.
Dr. Wood's extensive experience spanning different facets of Medical Affairs has provided a solid foundation for cross-collaborative success. His primary interest remains in Field Medical Affairs, where he initially began as an MSL. He remains committed as a lifelong learner, educator and mentor. Dr. Wood emphasizes team development through personal growth and ethical leadership, fostering a positive, collaborative, and productive work environment.