(Link will go live on 05/13/2021)

Many roles exist at Cell and Gene Therapy companies on multiple education levels. What jobs, both scientific and non-scientific, are being created? What work is being done to ensure inclusion at all levels? How many jobs could be created in the next 3-5 years? Come hear from experts on why job creation and inclusion in this industry is critical for the region. Moderated by Lamont Robinson: Director of Supplier Diversity at AmerisourceBergen Lamont Robinson was born in a violent and drug-infected neighborhood on Chicago’s West Side. To seek opportunities, he attended Lower Merion High School in Ardmore, Pennsylvania through the A Better Chance college preparatory program. He then returned to Illinois for his undergrad and graduate degrees before eventually moving down to Texas. Lamont has been a leader in supplier diversity for the past 17 years after receiving a plethora of national awards and acknowledgements for every supplier diversity program he oversaw. His most treasured achievement is receiving the 2010 Corris Boyd Leadership and Diversity award from the Federation of American Hospitals, which recognizes an individual or company that has made an outstanding contribution in fostering leadership and workplace diversity in the health care industry. In 2014, Lamont authored his autobiography “TransformNational: Journey of a Bastard” which details his personal experiences in overcoming challenges while growing up in his Chicago neighborhood to achieve success. Lamont has led supplier diversity efforts for healthcare companies such as Abbott Laboratories, Hospira, Cardinal Health and Vizient before leading Nielsen’s supplier diversity program for 6 years. After leaving Nielsen in 2018, Lamont launched his own consulting firm that specializes in launching exemplary supplier diversity programs, connecting diverse suppliers to procurement opportunities while developing those organizations, assisting professional athletes and entertainers with transitioning into business ownership through the usage of diversity, and assisting clients with responding to community pressures pertaining to diversity. Lamont Robinson joined AmerisourceBergen in February as the Director of Supplier Diversity and is looking forward to building a global world class supplier diversity program. Panelists: Kristy Shuda-McGuire Associate Dean of Biomedical Studies and Associate Professor at the Wistar Institute Dr. Shuda McGuire was recruited to Wistar in 2019. She plays a vital role administering the educational programs at Wistar. Prior to joining Wistar, Dr. Shuda McGuire was assistant dean in the College of Science & Mathematics, School of Health Professions at Rowan University, where she handled all academic issues for approximately 6,000 undergraduate and graduate students (33% of total University enrollment, and coordinated enrollment for nine departments. Previously, Dr. Shuda McGuire was associate professor in the biology department at Community College of Philadelphiaa and from 2013-2018 served as the academic coordinator for the Biomedical Technician Training (BTT) Program, a partnership between The Wistar Institute and Community College of Philadelphia that prepares community college students for career opportunities as research technicians to reinforce the region's life sciences workforce. Dr. Shuda McGuire is also an adjunct professor at Thomas Jefferson University, where she developed and teaches courses for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows who are interested in pursuing careers that involve teaching. Dr. Shuda McGuire earned an M.S. in the science of instruction at Drexel University and a Ph.D. in genetics from Thomas Jefferson University. Lamont Terrell Inclusion & Diversity Lead, Pharma R&D at GSK Lamont Terrell graduated salutatorian from Texas Southern University as a Fredrick Douglas honor scholar earning a B.S degree in chemistry in 1995. While at TSU, his life as a research scientist began doing undergraduate research focusing on the synthesis of inorganic compounds with environmental applications. He earned his Ph.D. in 2001 in organic chemistry from Michigan State. His graduate studies consisted of the total synthesis of the antiluekemic natural product amphidinolide A and the development of catalytic tin hydride reactions. Upon completion of his graduate studies at MSU, he continued his synthetic training with a two-year postdoctoral stint at Stanford University. The focus of his postdoctoral studies was the development of a catalytic dinuclear zinc asymmetric Mannich reaction. He began his career in drug discovery as a medicinal chemist at GlaxoSmithKline in 2003 in their cardiovascular medicinal chemistry group. He spent 11 years doing small molecule lead optimization primarily focusing on cardiovascular disease targets. In 2014, Lamont joined the Flexible Discovery Unit Medicinal Chemistry Center of Excellence as a Team Leader to support late-stage high priority projects in reaching their drug discovery milestones. Throughout his career at GSK, he has been recognized for his scientific contribution and was awarded an Excellent Scientific Award on three occasions. Outside of leading science, Lamont is passionately involved with community and outreach efforts. He has been involved with the recruitment of scientists at all levels into the chemistry community. He led the GSK chemistry recruitment team for minority conferences and served as the lead for the African American Alliance employee resource group in the Delaware Valley. This passion lead to a career pivot and eventually to his role as the Inclusion and Diversity Lead for Pharma R&D. He is responsible for developing and implementing the Inclusion & Diversity strategy for the global business. Amber Wynne Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Spark Therapeutics, Inc.