Beyond the AI Hype:
The Beginning Of Smarter Science

Andreas Steinbacher

Senior Digital Director Therapeutics Discovery at Novo Nordisk

Andreas Steinbacher has a background in mechatronic engineering and holds a PhD in Physics. Before pursuing his academic career, he worked on enhancing measurement and regulation systems for large-scale chemical production sites. During his undergraduate studies, he explored the field of biophysics and specialized in spectroscopic method development and automated data analysis within analytical and physical chemistry during his PhD and postdoctoral roles. His academic endeavors paved the way for his transition to the pharmaceutical industry, joining Roche Pharma Research and Development (pRED) where he spearheaded digitalization in research laboratories and successfully implemented a digital lab automation platform before venturing into solving preclinical data management challenges. He joined Novo Nordisk to build up an area that is responsible for creating new digital solutions for Entity Registration Systems, Research Sample Inventories, ELNs & LIMSs, etc. He also works with Data Scientists and Researchers to develop innovative strategies and methods for (generative) AI that advance data-driven drug discovery. Recently, he transitioned into the Therapeutics Discovery area at Novo Nordisk to drive the digital transformation and creating strategies to build a viable data & digital ecosystem.

Rory Kelleher

Senior director and global head of business development, NVIDIA

Rory Kelleher is the senior director and global head of business development for life sciences at NVIDIA. He’s responsible for defining the GTM strategy, key partnerships, ecosystem engagement, and solution development to bring accelerated computing and AI into life sciences, drug discovery, and genomics markets. He collaborates with industry leaders to establish partnerships that aim to improve productivity through AI.  

Dr. Becky Upton

President at Pistoia Alliance

Becky has served as President of the Pistoia Alliance since 2022 and is a long-time champion of pre-competitive collaboration to drive innovation and new breakthroughs in life sciences R&D. Under her leadership the Pistoia Alliance has grown to include around 200 members from across the global biopharma ecosystem and a diverse and award-winning portfolio of over 20 projects and communities focused around four strategic priorities: Delivering Data-Driven Value, Harnessing AI to Expedite R&D, Sustainability-Driven R&D and Accelerate Late-Stage R&D. Becky is passionate about creating value for members, strengthening relationships with regulators, and driving the life sciences industry forwards by supporting the adoption of emerging technologies and standards and through the delivery of education, training and change management initiatives. She regularly speaks at a number of high profile industry events.
Prior to the Pistoia Alliance, Becky held senior positions at VWR (now part Avantor) where she worked for over a decade in sales, business development, and scientific services, before becoming Managing Director at scientific instrumentation and analytical services company Pion. Becky was previously a Project Manager and Chief Portfolio Officer at the Pistoia Alliance, before re-joining the Alliance as President after holding a Director role at Impellam Group where she led the company’s STEM services strategy.
Becky has a PhD in Biochemistry from Imperial College and an MBA from Cranfield University.

Amy Yeung

Head of Cellular Services, Cellular Operations at Wellcome Sanger UK

Dr. Amy Yeung leads the Cellular Services team within Cellular Operations at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, overseeing the delivery of robust, scalable cellular research projects in partnership with the Scientific Programmes. Her team enables delivery of large-scale projects including organoid derivation from patient tissues and stem cells, human iPSC differentiation, genome-engineered cell lines, and both CRISPR and non-CRISPR screens. By integrating rigorous quality control, traceable workflows, and collaborative cross-functional operations, her group enables the Institute to achieve robust and reproducible scientific outcomes to support the rapidly evolving science at Sanger.

Amy completed her PhD in Microbiology & Immunology at the University of British Columbia, followed by a postdoc at the Sanger Institute, where she applied human iPSC-derived models to study host-pathogen interactions. She subsequently joined GSK as a Stem Cell Portfolio Manager, leading multiple global projects and cross-functional teams to advance targets into drug discovery pipelines. She returned to Sanger to establish and lead the Cellular Services team driving scientific and operational excellence and currently contributing to the adoption of institute-wide systems, including the new Sapio LIMS/ELN, to enable Sanger mission through seamless, efficient and transparent operations.

Kevin Cramer

Founder & CEO, Sapio Sciences

Kevin Cramer serves as the founder and CEO of Sapio Sciences, leveraging a wealth of tech expertise to lead product design and development within the company. His dynamic career includes strategic roles at tech and life sciences companies such as Siebel Systems, Sybase, Biomind, and Veloxity, with a unique skill set that blends technical acumen and sales prowess.

Kevin is driven by his dedication to accelerating the drug R&D process. His vision encompasses a unified platform designed to streamline the creation of large and small molecules, assess their efficacy, manage data capture at scale, and harness the power of data visualization. The platform also incorporates advanced analytical and AI strategies to augment the discovery process.

Mike Hampton

CCO, Sapio Sciences

Mike Hampton is the CCO at Sapio Sciences, where he leads global commercial strategy and operations, including marketing, solution consulting, customer success and sales. He brings over two decades of international experience in life sciences, spanning commercial leadership, digital business transformation, and customer success. Mike’s focus is on accelerating growth by developing strong partnerships with pharma and biotech and strengthening Sapio’s position as the industry leader in AI-native lab informatics.

With deep expertise in R&D digital transformation, customer relationship development, and value-based engagements, Mike is passionate about helping customers accelerate the entire drug development lifecycle.

Federico Lionetti

BioMedical Software Engineer, Navignostics AG

Federico Lionetti is a biomedical engineer and software developer for a start-up dedicated to advancing personalized cancer diagnostics. At Navignostics, a Swiss biotechnology company specializing in spatial single-cell proteomics, he leads the company’s software development, managing the software components of a next-generation medical device and its associated data analysis pipelines. He is also responsible for the development and validation of core systems such as the Laboratory Information Management System and the Clinical Portal. In addition, his work focuses on automation, image analysis, and cloud infrastructure. With a strong interdisciplinary background, Federico bridges biomedical engineering and software development to enable innovative solutions in digital health and precision oncology.

Christine Tsien Silvers, MD, PhD

Healthcare Executive Advisor, Amazon Web Services

Christine Tsien Silvers, MD, PhD, serves as Healthcare Executive Advisor at AWS. In the 25+ years prior to joining AWS in 2020, she worked clinically as an emergency physician, did research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard Medical School in AI/ML for improving patient care, and served as Chief Medical Officer at two healthcare technology startups. At AFrame Digital, she focused on remote patient monitoring and wearables, while at HealthReveal, she focused on clinical decision support algorithms to preempt the development of adverse events such as strokes and heart attacks. Chris trained at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital and is Board certified in both Emergency Medicine and Clinical Informatics. She has published peer-reviewed scientific articles on her AI/ML work, opinion pieces about her medical training experiences, and the book Blueprints Clinical Cases in Emergency Medicine. She is passionate about leveraging technology to improve healthcare..

Gordon McCall

COO, Sapio Sciences

Gordon McCall is a proven business leader with deep operational and financial expertise now serving as Chief Operating Officer at Sapio Sciences. After more than two years as Sapio’s CFO—where he played a pivotal role in scaling operations and supporting the company’s rapid growth—Gordon has transitioned into the COO role to lead Sapio’s global delivery and customer experience strategy.With a background that includes leadership positions at high-growth private equity-backed companies and a successful tenure as CFO at Dotmatics Gordon brings a uniquely strategic and hands-on approach to operations. In his new role Gordon is responsible for ensuring that Sapio customers not only achieve fast time to value but also experience seamless high-quality delivery across every touchpoint—from initial onboarding to daily platform use. His focus spans delivery excellence customer satisfaction and operational scalability as Sapio continues its international expansion.

Sean Blake

CIO, Sapio Sciences

Sean Blake has over 20 years of IT leadership experience spanning technology operations project management systems implementation and application support with deep expertise in regulatory compliance including 21 CFR Part 11 Sarbanes-Oxley FISMA FDA requirements and U.S. and international data privacy laws.He has led complex initiatives across the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors directing international cross-functional teams and executing critical IT strategies. Most recently he served as Chief Information Officer at BioAgilytix overseeing global IT strategy and operations in alignment with business objectives and regulatory requirements.Sean holds a BS in Information Systems Management from the University of Maryland Baltimore County and a master’s certificate in Advanced Information Assurance and Security from Villanova University.

Fran Carmody

Head of Customer Delivery, Sapio Sciences

Fran Carmody serves as Head of Customer Delivery at Sapio Sciences, where he leads the execution of customer implementations, onboarding, and support services. With over 20 years of experience at the intersection of science and technology, Fran plays a pivotal role in ensuring seamless, high-quality customer experiences that drive measurable outcomes for Sapio’s clients. Throughout his career, Fran has focused on helping life sciences organizations harness technology to accelerate innovation. Prior to joining Sapio, Fran held senior leadership positions at IDBS, where he served as Head of Global Professional Services and Services Enablement Manager. There, he worked closely with R&D, IT, and business leaders to deliver scalable, AI-driven digital lab solutions, while building high-performing services teams across global markets. Fran’s expertise spans scientific informatics, SaaS solutions, and GxP environments, with a proven track record in project management, process optimization, and customer success. At Sapio Sciences, he is focused on optimizing service delivery frameworks and scaling operations to meet growing demand across biopharma R&D, clinical diagnostics, and manufacturing.

Rob Brown

Global VP, Head of the Scientific Office, Sapio Sciences

Rob Brown is Global VP and Head of the Scientific Office at Sapio Sciences.
He was previously at Dotmatics, where he was Head of Global Presales, Product Marketing & Product Management.
Earlier in his career, he ran product marketing teams at Accelrys, SciTegic, and MSI.
Rob started his career as a postdoc and later research scientist at Abbott Laboratories (now Abbvie). He received his PhD in Cheminformatics from the University of Sheffield, UK.