Sandra Heibel, PhDCOO[email protected]Like so many of our scientist colleagues in the biotech/biopharma industry, Sandi has superior curiosity and innate empathy bubbling in her core. Just imagine how powerful combining these two drives was when she found herself solving the puzzle of a very rare genetic disease as a graduate student and then found a drug that could save those child patients. Twenty years later, those children are now young adults. That’s addictively fulfilling.

Sandi fiercely believes in the need to bring about fiscally and globally responsible development of therapeutics to benefit the public good. As our Chief Operating Officer Sandi brings her experience of making the unlikely, actually likely to come to fruition. Unlike most of the team, she has had a view on regulatory strategies both as a protégé to the former Director of Office of Orphan Products Development, and as consultant on hundreds of applications for orphan drugs. This means our novel strategies for reducing regulatory hurdles come as naturally to her as optimizing her latest cake, tarte or muffin artistry. She co-leads the Commission on Financing a Public Benefit Biotechnology Industry like a master baker; gather the best ingredients, measure carefully, mix well and build the basis for both function and amazement by those who will consume the results!

Sandra received her B.S. from Penn State University and her M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Maryland.