Industrial Advisory Board
The Center for Biotechnology Education at Johns Hopkins University established an ongoing seven-member Industry Advisory Board in 2025.
Strategic Collaboration
The IAB leverages a group of industry professionals, faculty, student, and alumni perspectives to craft critical alignment between educational offerings and the knowledge demands of today’s workforce.
Comprised of three industry professionals, two members of the Center’s leadership, one seat for a JHU alumnus, and one seat open for a JHU student currently enrolled in one of the Center’s credit-bearing graduate degree programs. Each member is appointed for a limited term and participates in a few functions annually.
Members of the Board also provide feedback on strategic partnerships and industry connections that can enhance students’ networking opportunities and professional development opportunities for faculty.
Current Members
The following individuals join Dr. Coker, Center Director, and Dr. Toscano, Center Chair, on the current Board.
Dr. Peter Ho – IAB Chair and currently on the Board of Directors of Overland Pharmaceuticals. He has over 20 years of industry experience including: a founder and President of BeiGene, Chief Medical Officer at Boston Pharma, and held VP positions at J&J and GSK. He is an alumnus of the Hopkins undergrad Biology program.
Dr. Georgia Keresty – currently a member of the Board of Directors at Solid Biosciences and Intellia Therapeutics. Was the Chief Operating Officer at Volnay Therapeutics and Takeda and has held VP positions at J&J and BMS.
Dr. Martha Sklavos – currently the founder and CEO of Aloe Therapeutics. Was the head of pipeline operations at Arcellx, and senior manager at AZ. She is a Hopkins alumna.
Joe Barrows – currently the Senior Director of Software Engineering at Natera. Was a director of software engineering and bioinformatics at Biotia and Sema4. He is an alumnus of the Center’s MS in Bioinformatics program.
Vaishnavi Semwal – currently a student in the MS in Biotechnology program. She has worked for Grant Thornton Bharat and Netrika Consulting.