Accelerating Clinical Development through Design, Diversity & Digitalization in Oncology and Beyond

Geoffrey Kannan, PhD, MD, Executive Medical Director, Head of Americas Oncology Therapeutic Area Expertise, Fortrea

Geoffrey Kannan, PhD, MD, is an Executive Medical Director in the Oncology Therapeutic Area, Head of the Americas Oncology Team and Lead for the Pediatric Oncology Medical Science Leadership Center. Dr. Kannan also provides medical and scientific governance to Sponsors, supporting development and execution of oncology clinical trials. Dr. Kannan brings more than 25 years of oncology scientific and medical experience to Fortrea.

Brian Dolan, Vice President, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, Fortrea

Brian Dolan is a mathematician, inventor and cyberneticist with decades of experience building enterprise-grade artificial intelligence products. Equally comfortable in product, sales and technology roles, Brian excels at translating complex business problems into tractable mathematical solutions. He leverages 10 years of CXO experience leading multiple companies from seed to growth stage, including Yahoo, Greenplum and Deep6 AI and others. Before joining Fortrea, he most recently served as the CEO of Verdant AI.

Alicia M. Baker McDowell, DRSc, MS, EMBA, Head of Regulatory Strategy and Product Development Consulting, Fortrea

Alicia Baker McDowell is Head of Regulatory Strategy and Product Development Consulting at Fortrea based in Southern New Jersey. Alicia has over 28 years of drug development experience, including over 25 years in global regulatory strategy. Alicia has registered products across the globe in over 90 countries and is experienced in direct agency interactions with health authorities, including US FDA, EMA, Health Canada, MHRA, NMPA, PMDA, KFDA, TGA and others.

Her experience spans small molecules, biologics, advanced therapies and devices across multiple therapeutic areas. She is also well versed in rare disease development and expedited development pathways and designations. Recently, she has lead an enterprise wide workstream on Diversity Plans at Fortrea transitioning into a strategic offering for clients with the team engaged in writing over 30 diversity plans.

Melissa Harris, Head of Global Patient Recruitment and Engagement, Fortrea

Melissa Harris has 23 years of industry experience dedicated to accelerating patient recruitment from all possible feeds, including site EHRs, AI and data-enabled recruitment channels, digital and online media and community engagement programs. Melissa works to harness the benefits of applying innovative solutions toward successful patient recruitment and retention campaigns while driving health literacy, diversity and inclusion and patient access equity to reduce study burden and facilitate enrollment into everyday life. Melissa heads up Fortrea’s Voice of Patient program to drive patient insights into every step of the drug development paradigm and is a Co-Lead of Fortrea’s Site Advisory Board.

Ryan Kirby, Associate Director, Digital Health and Innovation, Fortrea

Ryan Kirby has 20 years of industry experience. He has served in various roles at Fortrea since 2012 that include Study Start-up, Clinical Monitoring, Clinical Operations management, and Digital Health & Innovation. He is a founding member of Fortrea’s Digital Health organization and a recognized leader within the field.

Ryan supports strategic partnerships and specializes in digital strategy development to drive operational efficiencies and innovation through internal and external collaboration. He has been instrumental in changing how Fortrea partners with industry leaders to develop a better digital ecosystem to support trial delivery. Ryan’s special interest lies in exploring the latest digital technologies to improve patient experience and stakeholder engagement.