Experience

Three decades connecting biology, computation and R&D leadership.

From research scientist in Fortune 50 pharmaceutical companies to VP of global R&D information systems, sixteen years building a computational biology company, and today’s work evaluating AI against scientific reality.

Career

Professional experience

  1. 2022 – 2026

    Independent Consultant, Pharmaceutical Research

    Self-employed · Philadelphia, PA
    • Advised pharmaceutical and life-science organizations on computational biology, bioinformatics and research informatics.
    • Applied AI and machine-learning methods to research problems, assessing where computational output was reliable and where domain review was required.
    • Developed a business plan for a start-up biotechnology company and supported its grant writing, funding strategy and research direction.
    • Performed portfolio analysis for drug-discovery companies and biotechnology start-ups.
  2. 2006 – 2022

    President & Founder

    B-Tech Consulting, Ltd., d/b/a Chemalytics · Philadelphia, PA
    • Founded and led a company developing cloud-based algorithms and software for computational biology, chemistry and drug-discovery innovation, owning scientific direction, software architecture and business strategy across a 16-year run.
    • Wrote grant proposals that secured significant NIH funding for algorithm and platform development, including NIGMS Phase I and Phase II SBIR awards for the Chemalytics cloud virtual-screening platform.
    • Collaborated with pharmaceutical companies and academic research groups on cancer, HIV and antimicrobial drug-discovery programs.
    • Built the scientific software stack end to end (data models, algorithm implementation, cloud delivery) and defined the data standards and validation criteria behind it.
  3. 2003 – 2005

    Vice President, Global R&D Information Systems

    Schering Geigy
    • Held global responsibility for bioinformatics, computational biology, and technical and scientific support for R&D worldwide.
    • Directed scientific computing strategy across geographically distributed research sites, aligning platform investment with discovery priorities.
    • Bridged senior scientific leadership and technical teams, translating research needs into systems and standards.
  4. 2000 – 2003

    Director, Head of Bioinformatics

    Sanofi
    • Led the bioinformatics function, directing computational analysis in support of discovery research programs.
    • Built and managed the scientific computing capability underpinning genomics and target research.
  5. 1995 – 2000

    Head of Bioinformatics, US

    Warner Lambert
    • Established the computational biology capability supporting pharmaceutical discovery research.
    • Applied sequence analysis, genomics and computational methods to target identification and characterization.
  6. 1993 – 1995

    Research Fellow, Bioinformatics

    National Institutes of Health
    • Developed and applied computational approaches to molecular biological data.
  7. 1991 – 1993

    Postdoctoral Researcher

    DuPont
    • Conducted research in molecular genetics and computational analysis of experimental biological data.
Grants & funding

Non-dilutive funding I wrote for and won

As founder of B-Tech Consulting, Ltd., doing business as Chemalytics, I wrote grant proposals that secured significant NIH funding, including an SBIR program from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences that took the Chemalytics cloud platform for virtual screening from a Phase I feasibility study to a Phase II award. Both phases were funded on resubmission.

Award details from NIH RePORTER. Project period 2011–2017.

Capabilities

Core expertise

Scientific
Molecular geneticsComputational biologyBioinformaticsGenomicsProteomicsDrug discoveryExperimental & study design
AI & Data
AI/ML evaluationDomain validationResearch knowledge toolsResearch data platformsData standards & validation
Software & Architecture
Algorithm developmentBioinformatics pipelinesScientific software architectureCloud deliveryTechnical systems strategy
Leadership
Global R&D information systemsScientific computing strategyPortfolio managementCross-site leadershipGrants & proposalsNIH SBIR/STTR
Education

Degrees

  • 1984 – 1993Ph.D., Molecular Genetics
    Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
  • 1980 – 1984B.S., Biology
    Albright College, Reading, PA
Continuing education

Certifications

  • MercorIntroduction to Agents
  • Claude AcademyAI Capabilities and Limitations

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