The Speakers

Prior to being named the editor-in-chief of the Science family of journals, Dr. Thorp held top leadership positions at two major U.S. research universities, supporting interdisciplinary research and promoting diversity as the chancellor of UNC Chapel Hill and provost at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. In addition to his encouragement of research, Dr. Thorp has created innovations of his own, developing technology for electronic DNA chips and co-founding two pharmaceutical companies.

Dr. Collins is a physician-geneticist well known for his revolutionary discoveries of disease genes and his leadership of the international Human Genome Project. He has received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the National Medal of Science, and was named the 50th winner of the Templeton Prize. He currently leads the NIH and is recognized for being the only Presidentially appointed NIH Director to serve more than one administration.

Dr. Cindy Gay is an Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, and is the Medical Director of the UNC HIV Cure Center. She has a M.P.H. from the University of North Carolina School of Public Health (1998) and an M.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine (1999). She is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine (2002) and the American Board of Internal Medicine, Infectious Diseases (2007). Her clinical expertise within infectious diseases includes HIV, with a particular interest and experience in acute HIV infection. Her research includes a variety HIV clinical and translational research, ranging from expanded HIV testing, clinical trials in acute HIV infection, and more recently, early phase research on HIV eradication.

Governor Roy Cooper appointed Machelle Baker Sanders as Secretary of Commerce on February 12, 2021. A native of Belhaven, North Carolina, Sanders brings extensive experience in both management and leadership to her role at Commerce. A seasoned pharmaceutical and biotechnology executive, Secretary Sanders earlier in her career served as vice president of manufacturing and general manager of Biogen’s largest and most advanced manufacturing facility in Research Triangle Park (RTP). She also held leadership positions overseeing manufacturing, global quality assurance and quality control functions at Biogen, Purdue Pharmaceuticals, and Diosynth-Akzo Nobel. Prior to joining the Department, Secretary Sanders led another cabinet-level agency, the North Carolina Department of Administration.

A graduate of North Carolina State University, Sanders holds a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and a Master of Health Administration from Pfeiffer University. As a native North Carolinian and mother of twin daughters, she is passionate about improving the status of women in our state. Some of her work includes creating a Women’s Innovation Network at Biogen. After all, as Sanders puts it, “Improving the status of women in North Carolina is not just a woman’s issue. This is a family, poverty and economic issue.”

Sanders is also a strong supporter of diversity and inclusion and currently is the Chair of the North Carolina Commission on Inclusion, North Carolina Complete Count Commission and the Andrea Harris Social, Economic, Environmental, and Health Equity Task Force. Additionally, she serves on the Interagency Council for Coordinating Homeless Programs (ICCHP), Governor’s Advisory Council Commission on Aging, Governor’s Advisory Council on Hispanic/ Latino Affairs, North Carolina Commission of Indian Affairs and the N.C. State Board of Visitors. Her passion to help improve the lives of North Carolinians today and for a better tomorrow has led to her present role as the state's Commerce Secretary, heading up North Carolina's lead agency for economic, community, and workforce development.

Dr. Corbett is a research fellow and the scientific lead for the Coronavirus Vaccines & Immunopathogenesis Team at the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Vaccine Research Center. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Corbett and her team utilized their previous knowledge of optimal coronavirus S proteins and developed the vaccine to protect people from the coronavirus. She is also working on rebuilding trust with vaccine hesitant populations, such as the African American community.

Dr. Fischer is an Associate Research Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Duke University. His research focuses on exploring novel nonlinear optical contrast mechanisms for molecular imaging. He holds an M.A. and a Ph.D., both from the University of Texas at Austin.

Dr. Olich is an administrator, educator, author, speaker and entrepreneur with experience building partnerships and developing innovative interdisciplinary projects. She has presented at more than 60 conference sessions, published in academic publications, and co-founded Diba Industries, Durham, NC, and Danbury, CT. In her present role as Vice President, University Collaborations, she establishes networks to link ideas and people and oversees the RTI University Scholars Program and the RTI Internship Program.

An expert in the fields of computational chemistry, cheminformatics and structural bioinformatics, Dr. Tropsha works to develop new methodologies and software tools for computer-assisted drug design. Dr. Tropsha has authored more than 190 peer-reviewed papers and 20 books and book chapters and was named a K. H. Lee Distinguished Professor. Currently, as an associate dean, he provides oversight and strategic direction for research and training programs in data-rich areas of pharmaceutical sciences.