Aaron Derdowski
Professional Experience: Aaron has monitored dozens of medical congresses, served as a subject matter expert at client ad boards, and participated in several competitive simulations / workshops with brand teams. During his 8 years in the industry, Aaron has contributed to or led over 300 competitive intelligence, competitive monitoring, and conference engagements.
Subject Matter Expertise: Aaron has led projects across a broad variety of disease states for numerous clients, with particular focus in oncology, hematology, and rare diseases.
Professional Background: Prior to founding Anchor Point, Aaron co-managed the Life Sciences practice for a large, well-established competitive intelligence firm; he entered the consulting world via postdoctoral fellowship in neurodegeneration, then through medical writing, scientific writing / editing.
Ph.D., Microbiology & Immunology, Vanderbilt University
B.S., Chemistry, Grand Valley State University
Travis Smith
Professional Experience: Travis has served various roles in 200+ consulting, competitive insights, and event monitoring projects during 7 years in the pharmaceutical industry. Prior to his time in the pharmaceutical industry, Travis helped lead multi-agency research projects as a consultant for federal clients focusing on topics including medical device technology and chemical/biological threat readiness.
Subject Matter Expertise: Travis’ areas of subject matter expertise are oncology, immunooncology, biosimilar development and defense, medical commodities, and diagnostics.
Professional Background: Prior to founding Anchor Point, Travis co-managed the Life Sciences practice for a large, well-established competitive intelligence firm and previously worked as an Associate at Booz Allen Hamilton providing CBRNE-related subject matter expertise to US Government clients including DARPA, the Department of Defense, and the US Intelligence Community.
Ph.D., Cell and Developmental Biology, Vanderbilt University
B.S., Molecular Biology, University of Denver
James Perry
Professional Experience: James has served both leading and supportive roles across numerous engagements during his 4+ years in the industry, primarily for competitive, conference, and social media monitoring but also including competitive intelligence projects.
Subject Matter Expertise: James’ key focus areas have included malignant and benign hematology, cell & gene therapy, rare diseases, pain, and medical devices.
Professional Background: Prior to joining Anchor Point, James was a Senior Analyst at a large, well-established competitive intelligence firm and earlier worked as a Science Writer helping to produce written and visual content across a broad range of scientific topics.
Ph.D., Integrated Biomedical Sciences, The Ohio State University
B.S., Microbiology & Cellular & Molecular Biology, University of Maine
Thiviya Jeyakumar
Professional Experience: Thiviya has supported the preparation and presentation of scientific documents for conferences, donor board meetings, and funding agencies.
Subject Matter Expertise: Thiviya’s areas of expertise include inflammation, immunology, oncology, microbiome, and infectious diseases.
Professional Background: Prior to joining Anchor Point, Thiviya was a Ph.D. candidate and Teaching Assistant at McGill University where she completed her doctoral thesis on genetic susceptibility to inflammatory and infectious diseases.
Ph.D., Biochemistry, McGill University
B.S., Biochemistry, McGill University
Laura Geben
Professional Experience: Laura has supported the preparation and presentation of scientific documents for conferences, venture capital investors, and regulatory agencies. She also holds a certificate in molecular medicine, focusing on the translation of drug products form the laboratory bench to the patient bedside.
Subject Matter Expertise: Laura’s areas of expertise include oncology, developmental biology, neurology, cell signaling, and pediatric diseases.
Professional Background: Prior to joining Anchor Point, Laura was a Ph.D. candidate at Vanderbilt University where she completed her doctoral thesis on cell signaling in pediatric brain tumors. She also consulted for a non-profit specializing in expanding gene therapy treatment options for neurodevelopmental disorders.
Ph.D., Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University
B.S., Biochemistry, Georgia Tech