2024 Amyloidosis Forum Annual Meeting

Adam Castaño, MD MS is Vice President in Global Clinical Development at BridgeBio Pharma. He is a board-certified cardiologist, amyloid pecialist, and biopharmaceutical professional dedicated to the singular unifying purpose of bringing about innovative therapies and breakthroughs that improve patients’ lives.

Previously he led cardiovascular and rare disease R&D and medical programs in cardiac amyloidosis at Pfizer Inc. and in atherosclerosis and pulmonary hypertension at Merck & Co. His leadership has led to the successful development and delivery of small molecule, biologic, and novel macrocyclic peptide platforms spanning multiple stages of R&D, including first-in-human, phase 2, 3, and 4. He also served as Assistant Professor and Co-Director of the Center for Cardiac Amyloidosis at Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons and has authored over 30 original manuscripts and the first-ever textbook chapter on cardiac amyloidosis in Braunwald’s Heart Failure.

Personally, Adam enjoys living in New York City’s Upper East Side with his wife Maria, son Marty, and Norwich Terrier, Buzz Aldrin. He enjoys nature, tennis, backgammon, science fiction novels, traveling the world, and the cultivation of great conversations with friends over wine and good food.

Angela Dispenzieri, M.D., is a consultant in the Division of Hematology, Department of Internal Medicine at Mayo Clinic. She has joint appointments in the Division of Clinical Biochemistry and Immunology, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, and the Department of Molecular Medicine. Dr. Dispenzieri holds the academic rank of Professor of Medicine and of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, and she is recognized with the distinction of a named professorship, the Serene M. and Frances C. Durling Professorship. She joined the staff of Mayo Clinic in 1998 and served as Chair of Hematology Research from 2014 to 2022. She served as the President of the International Society of Amyloidosis from 2016 to 2018, and currently chairs the Mayo Clinic Amyloid Interest Group.

Christie Nie is a physician-scientist and Vice President of Clinical Development at Prothena Biosciences with nearly 20 years of experience in clinical trial design, execution, authorship, and mentorship. A strong advocate for women in the workplace, Christie has specialized in clinical strategy and drug development across various therapeutic areas. Known for her innovative thinking, she has successfully led BLA/MAA filings and product launches in multiple countries. Outside of work, Christie enjoys spending time with her family, competitive running, and personal growth. She is dedicated to continuing her impact on healthcare and improving patients’ lives.

Frederick L. Ruberg, MD is an Associate Professor of Medicine and Radiology at Boston University (BU) School of Medicine and clinical cardiologist at Boston Medical Center (BMC), specializing in cardiac imaging and infiltrative heart disease. He attended the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, completed internal medicine training at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, cardiovascular disease fellowship at Boston Medical Center/Boston University School of Medicine, and a fellowship in cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Dr. Ruberg has an active clinical practice as the senior cardiologist in the BU/BMC Amyloidosis Center. He is Associate Chief of Cardiovascular Medicine for Academic Affairs, Associate Director of the Cardiovascular Medicine Fellowship program, director of the cardiac MRI program at BMC. Dr. Ruberg also directs the Pilot Grants Program of the Boston University Clinical and Translational Science Institute. He is also Senior Associate Editor of Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging and a Fellow of the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology. His NIH and industry funded research program applies non-invasive cardiac imaging for amyloidosis identification and clinical care optimization.

Dr. Ruberg is committed to raising awareness of cardiac amyloidosis among clinicians and the general population so as to afford early diagnosis and enhanced access to disease modifying therapies.

Isabelle Lousada has been the driving force behind ARC, building successful collaborations and programs across the sectors to advance the science and understanding of the amyloidosis diseases.

Isabelle was diagnosed with AL amyloidosis and was one of the first patients to successfully undergo a stem cell transplant. For the past twenty years she has been committed to empowering other patients while serving on several boards and committees, speaking at leadership meetings and key events to encourage research, increase access, and support the critical and unmet needs of amyloidosis patients.

Dr. Jan Griffin specializes in advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology. She is an associate professor of medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina where she acts as director of the MUSC Cardiac Amyloidosis Center of Excellence. Her research focuses on infiltrative cardiomyopathies, particularly cardiac amyloidosis and cardiac sarcoidosis.

Jersey Chen is a cardiologist with a masters in public health. He is currently the Global Clinical Head for Wainua (eplontersen). He has worked at AstraZeneca over the past decade in clinical development in cardiovascular programs such as Brilinta and Forxiga.

Dr. John Vest joined Alnylam in 2015 and is currently Vice President of Clinical Research. He serves as the Global Clinical Lead for the ATTR Amyloidosis Franchise. In this role Dr. Vest oversees both the clinical development strategy and clinical trial execution for Alnylam’s innovative RNAi therapeutics targeting transthyretin. He has played an instrumental role in multiple pivotal Phase 3 studies of ONPATTRO and vutrisiran. Before joining Alnylam, he worked in the Cardiovascular Translational Medicine group at Novartis where he played a key clinical role in developing the company’s early stage pipeline of compounds in the cardiovascular space. Prior to his career in industry, Dr. Vest spent over 16 years in the study and practice of medicine. Dr. Vest received his MD from Columbia University where he went on to complete a residency in Internal Medicine and fellowship in Cardiovascular Disease. He subsequently completed sub-specialty training in Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital before returning to Columbia where he joined the faculty of the Cardiology Division.

Professor Julian Gillmore undertook MD and PhD degrees in the field of amyloidosis.  His research interests include pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of amyloidosis.  He was appointed Centre Head at UCL’s Centre for Amyloidosis in 2019 and is research lead at the UK National Amyloidosis Centre.  He has published more than 300 peer-reviewed articles, has supervised a number of students through post-doctoral research degrees, is CI/PI on a range of amyloid-related clinical trials, and has received extensive grant funding.

Dr. Kevin Alexander is an advanced heart failure and transplant cardiologist and a member of the Stanford Amyloid Center. His clinical and research interests include cardiac amyloidosis, heart failure, and heart transplantation. His primary interests lie in unraveling the molecular determinants of transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy, improving health disparities in cardiac amyloidosis, and conducting clinical trials for novel cardiac amyloidosis therapies. He has authored many publications on cardiac amyloidosis and has received research grants from the National Institutes of Health, American Heart Association, and industry partners.

Dr. Maurer is a general internist and geriatric cardiologist with advanced training in heart failure and cardiac transplantation. He is the Arnold and Arlene Goldstein Professor of Cardiology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons, where directs the Clinical Cardiovascular Research Laboratory for the Elderly (CCRLE). Dr. Maurer is a member of the Advanced Cardiac Care Center at NewYork Presbyterian Hospital – Columbia Campus.

He has published over 350 articles including peer reviewed manuscripts, reviews and book chapters. He was Chair of the American College of Cardiology’s Geriatric Cardiology Member Section, which is the largest organization dedicated to advancing the care of older adults with cardiovascular disease. He was co-chair of the Steering Committee of the ATTR-ACT trial showing tafamidis was a safe and effective therapy for transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy. Throughout his career, he has promulgated an approach to older adults with cardiovascular disease that offers the best of both geriatric and cardiovascular medicine in which a comprehensive holistic approach to enhance functional capacity and quality of life is at the forefront of emerging techniques to address cardiovascular physiologic derangement that disproportionately afflict older adults.

Michelle is a senior researcher and leader with more than 20 years of experience in patient-centered research and outcome measurement, including the development, modification, and evaluation of patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures and other clinical outcome assessments (COA). She has led or advised on 80+ studies that have included qualitative, quantitative, and mixed method research methodologies, including measurement strategy for regulatory engagement, dossier development, landscape and gap analysis, patient preference, observational studies, meta-analyses, in-trial interviews, and others across a broad range of rare and prevalent conditions; and research on the of technology and eCOA, including novel approaches to make it easier for patients and their families to participate in research studies. Her expertise includes strategic consultation and preparation for regulatory meetings and submissions to support product labeling based on COA endpoints. Prior to joining QM in 2008, Michelle conducted addiction treatment outcome studies and supported a comprehensive assessment system for addiction and mental health treatment. She has also held adjunct positions at Illinois State University and the University of Illinois, where she earned her master’s degree and PhD in sociology, respectively. 

Dr. Preston Dunnmon received his medical degree from the Duke University School of Medicine, following which he completed his Internal Medicine residency and Cardiology fellowship at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. He was the recipient of an American Heart Association / Bugher Foundation Molecular Cardiology Fellowship, during which his research focus was G-protein mediated transmembrane signal transduction in the heart, and he reviewed manuscripts regarding G-proteins for Circulation. He is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology. After serving in the US Air Force as Division Chief of Cardiology at Andrews Air Force Base Medical Center and cardiac catheterization laboratory staff at both Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Bethesda National Naval Medical Center, Preston transitioned to private industry where he was Section Head of late phase clinical development for cardiovascular, GI, and GU development programs globally at Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals. In 2010, Preston returned to government service, most recently as clinical team leader and cross-disciplinary team leader for the Division of Cardiology and Nephrology at the US Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. After departing FDA in 2021, Preston transitioned to Janssen Research and Development where he is currently Vice President, Data Science, Cardiovascular/Metabolism & Pulmonary Hypertension. He holds current board certifications in both Internal Medicine and Cardiovascular Diseases.

Rajshekhar Chakraborty, MD is an assistant professor of medicine at Columbia University Irving Medical Center in the division of hematology/oncology. Dr. Chakraborty cares primarily for patients with plasma cells disorders, including multiple myeloma, AL amyloidosis, monoclonal gammopathy of clinical significance, and Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinemia. His research interests include clinical trials and outcomes research in plasma cell disorders.

Dr Comenzo is a Professor of Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine and the founding director of the Tufts Medicine Myeloma and Amyloid Program. Dr Comenzo is an internationally recognized expert in plasma cell disorders with a significant record of publications. Over the past 30 years he has been the principal investigator of many treatment trials in myeloma and AL, including 2 large trials funded by the FDA Orphan Products Division, a large on-going study funded by NIH, and the ANDROMEDA trial that led to the approval of Daratumumab with Velcade, Cytoxan and Decadron for newly diagnosed AL. Dr Comenzo has an active research program focused on clonal plasma cells in myeloma and AL with particular emphasis on novel therapies. Dr Comenzo is a member of the International Myeloma Foundation (IMF) Working Group, and also sits on the board of directors of the Amyloidosis Research Consortium (ARC).

Rosalyn Adigun, MD, PharmD, MSc received her MD and PharmD degrees from University of Texas Medical Branch and University of Houston College of Pharmacy respectively. She completed training in Adult Cardiology, Advanced Echocardiology, and Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology at Mayo Clinic Rochester. She also holds a M.Sc. in Clinical and Translational Sciences from Mayo Clinic School of Biomedical Sciences with an area of interest in Cardiac Amyloidosis. Dr. Adigun is a Medical Officer within the Division of Cardiovascular and Renal Products, Office of New Drugs in CDER/FDA.

Dr. Vaishali Sanchorawala is the Professor of Medicine and Director of the Amyloidosis Center of Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center. She has been one of the pioneers in the field of clinical research in AL amyloidosis.  Her work in the treatment of AL amyloidosis has been published in many peer-reviewed journals, which has resulted in the evolution of the standard of care for these patients. She is currently heading several clinical trials in the treatment of AL amyloidosis. She serves on the executive steering committee of the Amyloidosis Research Consortium, the board of the International Society of Amyloidosis as secretary, and as an associate editor of Amyloid, Journal of Protein Folding Disorders. She has helped to create and cultivate the next generation of physician-scientists in the area of clinical research in AL amyloidosis.

Dr. Xin Jiang is the co-founder and currently VP of Biology at Protego Biopharma. She is passionate about driving efforts that bring the right medicine to the right patients, leveraging her insights in target selection and protein structure-function correlation. Dr. Jiang has extensive industry experience in drug discovery and translational research, following her earlier academic work on elucidating amyloidosis disease mechanisms.