Uwe Schoenbeck leads Pfizer’s Emerging Science & Innovation (ES&I) team. Part of Worldwide Research, Development & Medical, ES&I is charged with enhancing Pfizer’s pipeline through translation of external emerging science into breakthrough therapies for patients. Through the dedicated outreach to academia, consortia and biotech via its Emerging Science Liaisons located around the globe, ES&I works across Pfizer’s Therapeutic Areas to harness external cutting edge preclinical assets and breakthrough technologies applying a broad range of partnering vehicles, including research collaborations, consortia, licensing, acquisitions. With its Pfizer Innovation team ES&I also engages in equity investments as well as seed investments and formation of new companies. Its Target Sciences team is focused on novel target and biology discovery research to introduce differentiated First-in-Class programs with enhanced confidence in rationale into the WRDM portfolio. And through its Centers for Therapeutic Innovation (CTI) ES&I prosecutes cutting edge science sourced from leading academic and medical centers globally, working in close partnership with external PIs and building an exciting pipeline across the range of Pfizer’s core areas. This end-to-end innovation capability aims to strengthen Pfizer’s research engine and provide key drivers for a pipeline of truly differentiated first-in-class assets as well as breakthrough technologies by effectively combining external innovation with internal drug development capabilities.

Uwe brings fifteen years of pharmaceutical drug development experience to Pfizer’s R&D executive leadership team. Prior to joining the company, he served as Vice President, Emerging R&D Innovation for Wyeth and Vice President, Cardiovascular Research for Boehringer Ingelheim. Before joining industry, he held an Assistant Professor of Medicine position at Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School. He has served as a reviewer for multiple peer-reviewed journals and has published more than 100 peer-reviewed articles, review articles, book chapters and abstracts with particular contributions in molecular and cell biology, cardiovascular research, immunology and metabolism.

Sam O’Connor joined CTI in 2014 to lead the strategic and operational functions for CTI at the time it was emerging from start-up phase into its growth trajectory for long term sustainability. In her role she has responsibility for the operational, portfolio and alliance management activities across the CTI network.

Sam trained as a molecular microbiologist prior to commencing her industrial career at Medicines Australia, the non-profit professional and trade association representing Australia's prescription pharmaceutical industry. She initially joined Pfizer to lead its first R&D investment program with the Australian medical research sector, a highly successful collaborative venture between Pfizer, the academic and biotech research community and the Australian Government. During her time in Australia, she also served as a Non-Executive Director on the National Board of Directors of AusBiotech, the non-profit association representing the Australian biotechnology industry.

Sam subsequently held a number of externally-facing roles within Pfizer’s UK and US operations, responsible for partnering efforts across Europe, Australasia and the USA. She has extensive experience in planning, negotiating and implementing license, collaboration and other agreements to acquire, divest or co-develop new therapies and technologies with a diverse range of parties including academia, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, patient-focused foundations, investors and governmental policy makers.

Having worked and studied in the public hospital sector, academia, biotech advocacy and pharma industry, Sam has a passionate belief in the essential and ever-growing role cross-sector and cross-functional partnerships play in driving innovation and the evolution of organizations for the benefit of humankind.

David Shields is the East Coast Site Head for the CTI labs in Manhattan (NY), Kendall Square (MA) and leads CTI activities for the East Coast of the USA and Canada as well as Europe. Prior to joining CTI in 2017, David was Research Lead for the Pfizer Pediatric Oncology Team and the Director of Oncology Therapeutics Discovery in focus areas such as immuno-oncology, epigenetics and cell cycle biology. David has held Group Leader positions across portfolio stages at Pfizer from Target Discovery to Translational Research, led Combination and Resistance Strategy for Pfizer Oncology Research and directed pre-clinical translational support for assets such as Sutent (sunitinb), Inlyta (axitinib) and Ibrance (palbociclib).

David holds a BSc (Hons) in Biomedical Sciences from University College Cork, Ireland and a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Alberta, Canada. Subsequent to his graduate studies, David conducted post-doctoral training at The Scripps Research Institute and Moores UCSD Comprehensive Cancer Center. He has authored scientific publications in some of the highest impact journals and is the Pfizer Lead for the public/private ITCC-P4 Pediatric Oncology consortium project.

Joe Dal Porto is the West Coast Site Head for the CTI labs in San Francisco and San Diego, and leads CTI activities for the West Coast of the USA and Canada as well as, Australasia. Joe was one of CTI’s first hires in 2011 and helped launch the inaugural programs for CTI with UC San Francisco. Prior to CTI, Joe was Co-Founder and Director of Modus Biomedicine which was a spin-out from his work at Roche Biosciences, Palo Alto. At Roche, he served as a project and group leader in the Immunology and Inflammation Discovery Division. Joe is an expert in cellular and molecular immunology and worked in the fields of inflammation, autoimmunity, tolerance and immuno-oncology for over 20 years. He has been involved in small and large molecule drug discovery and has overseen the development of several clinical-stage programs and approved drugs.

Joe received his B.S. in Biochemistry from The Johns Hopkins University and remained in Maryland to obtain his Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. His graduate studies were focused in the field of cellular immunology in the laboratory of Dr. Garnett Kelso, where he examined the mechanisms underlying affinity maturation of the humoral immune response. Moving from the outside to the inside of the cell, Joe received an Ares-Serono Young Investigator award to study lymphocyte signaling as a post-doc in the laboratory of Dr. John Cambier at the National Jewish Medical Research Center and University of Colorado Health Science Center (Denver, CO). He remained in Denver to pursue a junior faculty position at NJMRC/UCHSC before taking a position with Roche, Palo Alto. In 2006, he was the recipient of an NIH RO1 grant for work in the field of molecular signaling in autoimmunity and has numerous publications in top-tier peer-reviewed journals, has authored several book chapters, as well as having presented his work at the international level.