Panelists:

Leigh Baxt, Ph.D.

Dr. Leigh Baxt is a Director, Biology at the Sanders Tri-Institutional Therapeutics Discovery Institute. The Sanders TDI helps academic labs from the Tri-I community, made up of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, The Rockefeller University and Weill Cornell Medicine, take the first steps toward translating their novel discoveries into new medicines.

Leigh leads a portion of small molecule portfolio including strategic efforts to evaluate and triage small molecules as the first step in translating basic science to translational research. Prior to joining Sanders TDI, Leigh trained in infectious diseases completing a Ph.D. at Stanford University studying Entamoeba Histolytica followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard Medical School studying Shigella flexneri and a position as a staff scientist at the Broad Institute where she learned translational research methods in her genomics studies of host factors influencing antibacterial autophagy.

Leigh is also passionate about outreach into the scientific community providing mentoring, education and consulting on translational research and career paths. Leigh was also a member of the 2022 Women In Power Fellowship coordinated by the 92Y and the Belfer Center for Innovation and Social Impact.

James Bellush, Ph.D. (Panel Moderator)

Dr. James Bellush is a Manager of Scientific Scouting for the Business Development and Licensing team at Weill Cornell Medicine. In this role, he helps to continually expand the pipeline of Weill Cornell innovations by sourcing and developing research projects with high commercial translation potential. James is also responsible for identifying external funding opportunities, research collaborations and strategic alliances with industry and academic partners.

Prior to joining the Center for Technology Licensing in 2024, James worked as a venture associate with RTW Investments, a full-life cycle health care investment firm based in New York. In this role, he was responsible for the sourcing, scientific diligence and preclinical development of assets for RTW portfolio companies. James has drug development experience across a range of therapeutic areas which include cardiovascular, neurological and rare disease.

James received his doctorate in Molecular Biology from Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, where he used genomics approaches to study how chromatin structure influences DNA replication and transcription dynamics during C. elegans embryogenesis (lab of Dr. Iestyn Whitehouse, Memorial Sloan Kettering). He holds a B.S. in Biology from Moravian University, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude.

Samantha Larsen, Ph.D.

Dr. Samantha Larsen is an Associate in RTW's New Ventures group. RTW is a NYC-based life science investment and innovation firm with $6.5B AUM. There she is responsible for evaluating therapeutics for CNS disorders, rare and genetically defined diseases as part of both RTW’s venture and asset selection arms.

Prior to joining RTW, Sam was an Alzheimer’s Association Research Fellow at NYU School of Medicine, where she paired genomics with electrophysiology to better elucidate the etiology of neurodegenerative disease. Her doctoral work, published in Nature and Cell Stem Cell, demonstrated epidermal stem cells retain an epigenetic memory of inflammatory encounters marking them as bona fide contributors to innate immune memory. She is the recipient of numerous awards including the Regeneron Prize for Creative Innovation.

Sam received her Ph.D. in Cell Biology and Development from the Rockefeller University, a B.S. in Molecular Biology with a minor in Chemistry and a B.A. in History from the University of Pittsburgh.

Ronak Savla, Ph.D.

Dr. Ronak Savla is Director, Strategic Ventures at Catalent Pharma Solutions. In his role, Ronak is responsible for expanding and nurturing the company’s strategic partnerships with life science venture capital firms, biotechnology incubators, consulting firms and academic technology transfer offices. Previously, Ronak led the Medical Affairs and Competitive Intelligence functions at Innate Pharma, a biotechnology company harnessing the innate immune to develop novel therapeutics. Ronak has a Pharm.D. and Ph.D. from Rutgers University and a M.B.A. from Johns Hopkins University – Carey Business School.

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