Leadership & Scientific Advisors
One team, passionate about faster trials
Chris O’Brien
CEO
About Chris
Chris O’Brien brings over 20 years of experience in building operational excellence across regulated industries. In his role as CEO, his responsibilities include setting the business strategy for Biorasi, as well as recruiting and coaching extraordinary people and developing a culture of high performance. Previously, Chris served as President and COO at Decision Resources Group and was responsible for operating a 1000+ person healthcare data and insights business. Chris holds an MBA from the Amos Tuck School at Dartmouth College and received his BA in English Studies from Middlebury College in Vermont.
Nilu Celenk
VP Operations, Commercial and Financial Affairs
About Nilu
Nilufer (“Nilu”) Celenk has over 18 years of operational expertise in the clinical research and healthcare industries, across client services and project management. Nilu’s current responsibilities include partnering with Project Operations, Program Development, and Finance teams at Biorasi to maximize efficiencies and enable successful collaboration across the organization by leveraging her subject matter expertise in project operations. This includes bridging the gaps between different groups to provide visibility, alignment, and growth in operational success rates and ensuring successful financial planning, monitoring, and control of efficiency margins across projects. Previously, Nilu served as VP of Operations at Care Systems, Inc., building the company into a competitive organization and achieving significant revenue growth. She received her MBA/MIS from Loyola University and holds a BS in Environmental Engineering from Istanbul Technical University.
Brian Chaiken
General Counsel
About Brian
Brian Chaiken has over 25 years of legal and management experience across multiple industries, focusing on law, governance, strategy, and business planning. In his current role, Brian provides legal counsel to the Biorasi board of directors and senior leadership team on a broad range of legal matters affecting the company. Previously, he served as the Senior Executive Officer for Z Trim Holdings, a public biotechnology company, supporting equity and debt funding and establishing integral corporate policies. Brian received his JD from DePaul University and his BA in Accountancy from the University of Illinois, Champaign.
Becky Knockemus
Senior VP of Program Development
About Becky
Becky Knockemus has more than 30 years of sales, operations, and executive management experience in the healthcare industry. Becky’s current responsibilities involve pipeline development and sales management, including leadership of the program development team and building short-term and long-term sales strategies for Biorasi’s continued growth. Previously, Becky served as Senior Vice President of Data and Analytics Sales for Decision Resources Group, a global company focused on data-based solutions for pharmaceutical and biotech companies. She received her BA in Political Science from the University of Alabama.
Janice James-Mitchell
Manager, Human Resources
About Janice James
Janice James-Mitchell has over 10 years of experience in Human Resources in the healthcare industry. In her current role, she initiates HR policies and programs that enable an efficient and conflict-free workplace. These include managing the onboarding process and career pathway, risk mitigation and compliance, and employee relations. Prior to joining Biorasi, Mrs. Mitchell worked for IMER, a Continuing Medical Education and Research company, serving as both as their Human Resource Associate and Bookkeeper.
Scott Nenninger
CFO
About Scott
Scott Nenninger brings more than 30 years of financial and executive leadership experience across large, publicly traded companies. In his current position, Scott is responsible for implementing comprehensive financial and decision-making processes that optimize resource allocation to accelerate revenue growth and margin expansion. Most recently, Scott was CFO for privately held Clarity Insights, where he partnered with the executive management team to facilitate the successful acquisition of the company. He received his BBA in Finance from Baruch College in New York.
Sagar Patil
Head of Operations in India
About Sagar
Please change: Dr. Sagar Patil has 20 years of experience in healthcare and pharmaceutical/biotechnology R&D, focusing on drug development and project management. In his current role as Head of the Biorasi office in India, Dr. Patil is responsible for strategic development, business operations, project oversight, resource management, and business growth. Prior to his current role, Dr. Patil was Interim Country Head of India Operations for Amgen, a pioneer in the biotechnology industry. Dr. Patil received his MBA from the United Business Institutes in Brussels, Belgium, and holds a Medical degree from Mumbai University.
EVGENY POLTANOV, MD, PHD
DIRECTOR, EASTERN EUROPEAN OPERATIONS
About Evgeny
Evgeny Poltanov, MD, PhD brings over eighteen years of intensive experience in the fields of pre-clinical and clinical research, with a deep understanding of clinical development processes in the Eastern European regulatory environment. In his current role, Dr. Poltanov’s responsibilities are focused on developing growth strategies for operations and clinical research in Eastern Europe. Prior to joining Biorasi, Dr. Poltanov worked as a clinical operations director for Synergy CRO, providing strategic direction, leadership, and management across multiple company divisions to ensure the achievement of project goals within cost, time, and quality requirements. Dr. Poltanov received his MD from the Russian State Medical University with a PhD in Biology, focusing on antioxidants and photochemistry.
Boris Reznik, PhD
Founder
About Boris
Boris Reznik, PhD, is a veteran of multiple startups and is backed by a track record of building companies across a diverse set of industries. Dr. Reznik leads Biorasi with a strong focus on processes and systems – a unique perspective in the CRO world.
Lindsey Rios
Senior VP, Project Operations
About Lindsey
Lindsey Rios has more than 15 years of experience in the biotech and pharma industry, focusing on global clinical trial operations, project management, and client relations. In her current role, Lindsey leads the global delivery arm of Biorasi, consisting of five service branches across North America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, and India. She began her career at Biorasi and has held numerous positions throughout the company. Lindsey holds a BS from the University of Miami and is a graduate of the Harvard Business School General Management Program. In 2017, she was named the “Most Influential Woman in Pharma, South East.”
Hartmut Schmied, MD
VP, Head of Regional Operations
About Hartmut
Dr. Hartmut Schmied has over 25 years of experience in clinical research, with in-depth knowledge of regulatory compliance, safety, medical monitoring, project management, and clinical operations. In his current role, Dr. Schmied manages Biorasi’s presence in Europe, Ukraine, Russia, and India, and is responsible for all clinical operations outside of the U.S. Previously, Dr. Schmied held the position of Executive Director of European Operations at Jubilant Clinsys and Medifacts. Dr. Schmied received his medical degree from the University of Cologne and holds a EUCOR/ECPM in Pharmaceutical Medicine.
Roberto Silberwasser
VP, Data Sciences & Biometrics
About Roberto
Roberto Silberwasser brings over 18 years of experience in the healthcare industry, focusing on program management, process improvement, and data analysis. His current role involves optimizing Biorasi’s unique approach to clinical data analysis, delivering data integrity and transparency through rigorous data management, biostatistics, and on-study analytics. Previously, Roberto held multiple leadership roles at Medtronic, a medical device manufacturer. He received his MBA from Harvard Business School and holds a BSc in Industrial Engineering and Management from the Technion (Cum Laude), Israel Institute of Technology.
THis COULD BE YOU!
Now’s your chance to be a part of our international team. Explore our current opportunities.
Scientific advisors
Biorasi’s Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) represents the best and brightest in clinical leadership – across key industry focus areas and around the world. Our SAB team brings new perspectives and fresh ideas to your clinical trial solutions.
Alex A. Adjei, MD, PhD, FACP
Oncology
About Dr. Adjei
Dr. Adjei is a consultant in Oncology, Professor of Oncology, and Professor of Pharmacology at the Mayo Clinic and Mayo College of Medicine in Rochester, MN. Dr. Adjei oversees oncology drug development as well as lung cancer research and treatment across all three Mayo Clinic sites, and is co-Leader of the Developmental Therapeutics program at Mayo Cancer Center. He has served as the PI on over 70 Phase I trials, as well as over 20 Phase II developmental trials for lung cancer therapy. Dr. Adjei received his MD from the University of Ghana and his PhD in Pharmacology from the University of Alberta, with an internal medicine residency at Howard University and a medical oncology fellowship at Johns Hopkins University.
JAMIE P. DWYER, MD
NEPHROLOGY
About Dr. Dwyer
Dr. Dwyer is a Professor of Medicine and Director of the Nephrology Clinical Trials Center at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He is the current Chair of the Board, President, and Principal Investigator of the Collaborative Study Group, an international academic research organization. Dr. Dwyer is a practicing clinical nephrologist and has served on multiple Executive and Steering committees. Dr. Dwyer holds an MD with Distinction from Brown University Medical School and trained in Internal Medicine at Mayo Clinic Florida, and Nephrology and Clinical Research at Vanderbilt.
Lawrence Green, MD, FAAD
Dermatology
About Dr. Green
Dr. Green is the founder of the Aesthetic and Dermatology Center in Rockville, Maryland, and Clinical Professor of Dermatology at George Washington University School of Medicine. He is a board-certified dermatologist, accomplished clinician-researcher, and an author or coauthor on over 50 medical publications. Dr Green was voted American Academy of Dermatology Advocate of the year in 2018 and the National Psoriasis Foundation Clinician of the year in 2019. Dr. Green received his MD from New York Medical College and completed his dermatology and dermatologic surgery residency – and research fellowship in new treatments for aging skin and therapies for psoriasis – at the University of California, Irvine.
Ole Isacson, MD, PhD
Neurology
About Dr. Isacson
Dr. Isacson is a Professor of Neurology and Neuroscience at Harvard Medical School and Founding Director of the Neuroregeneration Institute at McLean Hospital. In this role, he is at the forefront of research into neurodegenerative disease and regenerative medicine for brain disorders. He has served as Executive Scientific Advisory Board Member for the Michael J. Fox Foundation and held memberships in the International Parkinson and Movement Society and the FDA’s Cellular, Tissues, and Gene Therapies Advisory Committee. He received his MD and PhD in Medical Neurobiology from the University of Lund in Sweden, completed his research fellowship in Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge, and holds honorary degrees from both Harvard University and University of Lund.
Robert S. Negrin, MD,
Hematology
About Dr. Negrin
Dr. Negrin is a Professor of Medicine and former Chief of the Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation at Stanford University. Dr. Negrin’s current research focuses on the fundamental understanding of graft vs. host and graft vs. tumor reactions, with an emphasis on immune regulatory mechanisms. He has previously served as the President of the International Society of Cellular Therapy and the American Society of Blood and Marrow Transplantation. Dr. Negrin received his MD from Harvard Medical School and trained in Internal Medicine and Hematology at Stanford University.