Composed of experienced leaders from across the health care system, the Scientific Advisory Panel helps set IVI research priorities, steers the research agenda in collaboration with scientific leadership, and provides guidance on ongoing research efforts. Panel members represent diverse perspectives from across the health care community, including academia, patient advocates, payers, providers, and the life sciences industry. Their role is to provide advice and ensure the credibility and rigor in the research and policy products, and to ensure all parties have a voice in IVI activities.
Advisors
Alan Balch
Patient Advocate Foundation
Alan Balch, PhD
Dr. Balch has nearly fifteen years of executive leadership in the non-profit section with an emphasis on consensus building and collaboration. He has led numerous federal advocacy efforts on a range of issues both at the legislative and regulatory level. He became the CEO of both the Patient Advocate Foundation (PAF) and National Patient Advocate Foundation (NPAF) in 2013. From 2006-2013, he served as the Vice President of the Preventive Health Partnership – a national health promotion collaboration between the American Cancer Society, American Diabetes Association, and American Heart Association. Prior to 2006, Dr. Balch was the Executive Director of Friends of Cancer Research.
Dr. Balch has served on the Executive Board of PAF and NPAF since 2007. He also serves on numerous advisory boards and committees.
He earned his PhD in environmental studies with a concentration in political economy from the University of California, Santa Cruz; master’s degree in environmental sciences in 1997 from the University of Texas in San Antonio; and bachelor’s degree (cum laude) in biology in 1994 from Trinity University in San Antonio.
Anthony Barisano
Bristol-Myers Squibb
Anthony Barisano, PharmD
Dr. Anthony Barisano is currently the Vice President for US Health Economics and Outcomes Research (HEOR) at Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS).
Prior to BMS, Dr. Barisano has been in the pharmaceutical industry for the last 20 years, leading field medical and field HEOR teams for both Sanofi and Genzyme in the fields of multiple sclerosis (MS), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), oncology, diabetes, and internal medicine.
Dr. Barisano served as the Pharmacy Director for Vytra Health Plans on Long Island, now Emblem, leading PBM coordination, formulary and quality development. Additionally, prior to Vytra, Dr. Barisano led the clinical programs at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in NYC as Clinical Director for the Department of Pharmacy. Areas of service included initiating and building the oncology/transplant pharmacy program, infectious diseases, pediatrics, drug information services, investigational research, and Associate Professor for the Hospital Pharmacy Residency program with LIU Post in NY.
His doctorate was obtained from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh and undergraduate degree from St. John’s University in NY, as well as two ASHP accredited residencies at Lenox Hill Hospital in NYC and Allegheny Hospital in Pittsburgh, PA.
Randy Burkholder
PhRMA
Randy Burkholder
Randy Burkholder is the Vice President of Policy and Research at the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA). Mr. Burkholder leads PhRMA work on policy solutions for supporting continued biopharmaceutical innovation and high-quality, patient-centered health care, including pavement and delivery reform, quality measurement, appropriate use and patient adherence, evidence-based medicine and health technology assessment, value of innovation and personalized medicine. Mr. Burkholder represents PhRMA at federal agencies and advisory bodies including the Medicare Evidence Development and Coverage Advisory Committee, CMS’ Technical Expert Panel on oncology, and the Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research. He is also a former member of the Board of Directors of the Personalized Medicine Coalition and serves on the Steering Committee of the Partnership to Improve Patient Care and the advisory committee for the Turning the Tide Against Cancer Initiative.
Mr. Burkholder has over 20 years of experience in health care policy, advocacy and communications in the medical technology and pharmaceutical industries. Prior to joining PhRMA, Mr. Burkholder was Associate Vice President for Public Affairs at AdvaMed, the leading association of the medical device and diagnostic industries.
Will Cromarty
Biotechnology Innovation Organization
Will Cromarty
Manager of Health Policy, Biotechnology Innovation Organization
Will Cromarty is the Manager of Health Policy at the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), focusing on issues related to value assessment frameworks and implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act’s health policy provisions. He is also responsible for helping the Health Policy team navigate various federal and state health policy matters. Will holds a BA from Georgetown University.
Mark Cziraky
HealthCore
Mark Cziraky, PharmD
President and Co-Founder, HealthCore
As HealthCore’s co-founder and President, Mark Cziraky, PharmD, has been extensively involved with clinical, health economic and outcomes research for more than 25 years. Prior to becoming President, Mark was most recently responsible for leading Scientific Affairs and global scientific and business development at HealthCore. He has held additional leadership roles at HealthCore including running individual research units and leading business development teams. Mark remains dedicated to HealthCore’s mission to provide information to enable healthcare decision makers to assess the real-world value of pharmaceutical products and medical devices. He serves as a key architect in creating open-source research collaborations within the healthcare industry that allow health plans to be involved in research design and execution with various collaborating organizations.
Patrick Holmes
Pfizer
Patrick Holmes, MS
Mr. Holmes, Senior Director, Science and Innovation Policy Lead, heads a team with responsibility for developing global health policy initiatives and evidence across a series of policy issues in support of Pfizer’s R&D-driven organization. These global initiatives are designed to drive positive impact with a focus on market-based R&D incentives, ensuring strong R&D ecosystems, value and innovation frameworks, sustainable patient-centric health systems, and antimicrobial resistance.
Mr. Holmes brings a range of experiences to his current role having worked across multiple areas of the biopharmaceutical business during his 30-year career at Pfizer. Mr. Holmes joined Pfizer as a marketing associate in 1990 and held multiple positions of increasing responsibility in both U.S. and global marketing spanning a range of therapeutic areas including hypertension, lipid lowering, arrhythmia, diabetes, erectile dysfunction, and allergies. Mr. Holmes then switched to a strategic planning role where he was responsible for evaluating new product opportunities and providing strategic input on behalf of the U.S. commercial organization. He then led the Portfolio and Decision Analysis group, supporting strategic decision and investment tradeoffs across Pfizer’s development portfolio. His last assignment prior to joining the policy team was Vice President, Strategy and Portfolio Support, providing comprehensive insights and identifying key emerging trends for Pfizer leaders.
Mr. Holmes has a BA in biology from Middlebury College and an MS in management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management.
Laura McClung
UCB, Inc.
Laura McClung, PhD
As the National Medical Lead for Health Outcomes, Value and Access, Dr. McClung oversees the real-world evidence data generation and payer engagement strategies for UCB’s neurology and immunology portfolio. Dr. McClung has over 16 years of experience in both academic an industry settings, with leadership roles spanning research, medical affairs, and sales and marketing.
Prior to joining UCB, Dr. McClung worked at Eli Lilly and Company for 11 years, holding both medical and commercial roles, supporting the launch of 8 molecules across different therapeutic areas including, diabetes, neuroscience, and immunology.
Dr. McClung’s academic experience includes serving as a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Florida, where her research focused on reflex cardiovascular control of the central nervous system. She studied gender differences in nociceptor reflex responses in immune-mediated disease. She also served as Director of the Anatomy and Physiology Pre-Medical Program.
Dr. McClung completed her post-doctoral training at the University of South Carolina, School of Medicine and obtained a Ph.D. in Physiology from the University of South Carolina.
Russ Montgomery
GSK
Russ Montgomery, PhD
Russ Montgomery, PhD is the Senior Director of US Value Assessment Strategy at GSK. In this role, he is responsible for value evidence planning and response to assessments conducted by government agencies and HTA organizations and external engagement on value-related policies and methods best practices.
Prior to joining GSK, Russ worked on global value policy and US value assessment planning at Gilead Sciences. Additionally, he previously worked as a Vice President at Discern Health (now part of Real Chemistry), leading consulting work on quality and value issues, and held policy roles at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and health agencies in Maryland and Arkansas. Early in his career he led projects on value assessment methods at the Center for Medical Technology Policy. He holds a PhD in health services research from Johns Hopkins University, where he previously served as affiliate faculty.
Phil Naughten
Takeda Pharmaceuticals USA
Phil Naughten, PharmD
Phil Naughten, PharmD is the Vice President of the Value and Evidence Generation Function in the medical affairs department of Takeda Pharmaceuticals USA. Currently, his responsibilities include the oversight of US-focused HEOR activities, Clinical Collaborative and ISR research, as well as the field medical team that works with payer organizations. His team concentrates it efforts on developing and communicating evidence that characterizes the value and appropriate use of products. The team conducts research independently and in collaboration with key academic, payer, and patient group stakeholders that is intended to advance access, improve treatment, and ultimately lead to better patient outcomes. This group’s research works to advance Takeda’s movement towards performance-based contracting, focusing efforts on unique constructs to alleviate uncertainty and uncover value.
Prior to these roles he was responsible for oversight of the US medical field teams, as well as operations and strategy, which included management of alliance relationships and initiating Takeda medical affairs operations in Canada, Mexico, and Brazil. Over his twenty years at Takeda, he has also spent time within the commercial brand and new product teams.
Cheryl Neslusan
Janssen Scientific Affairs
Cheryl Neslusan, PhD
Bob Nordyke
National Pharmaceutical Council
Bob Nordyke, PhD
Dr. Nordyke has also served in senior advisory roles nationally, most recently on the steering committee for two projects under the ASN/FDA Kidney Health Initiative. He has been a lecturer at the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy and an adjunct professor at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. Bob received his BS in engineering from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, an MS in engineering from the University of Texas-Austin, and a PhD in Public Policy Analysis from the Pardee RAND Graduate School.
Lisa Prosser
University of Michigan, CHEAR Center
Lisa A. Prosser, PhD, MS
Dr. Prosser is the Marilyn Fisher Blanch Research Professor of Pediatrics and Director of the Susan B. Meister Child Health Evaluation and Research Center. Her research focuses on measuring the value of childhood health interventions using methods of decision sciences and economics. Current research topics include newborn screening programs, vaccination programs, and methods for valuing family spillover effects of illness. She also uses quantitative survey methods (health utility assessment, conjoint analysis) to measure health-related quality of life and preferences for health interventions.
Dr. Prosser’s research evaluating the cost-effectiveness of vaccination programs has been used in setting national vaccine policy for children and adults. Her work with the Evidence Review Group for the Advisory Committee on Heritable Disorders in Newborns and Children using decision science modeling to project long-term health outcomes for proposed newborn screening programs has been used to inform national newborn screening policy decisions. She is currently a member of the evidence review group for the Advisory Committee on Heritable Disorders in Newborns and Children and the ACIP Zoster Working Group.
Dr. Prosser has contributed to faculty development programs at the department, school, and institutional level. She currently serves as the Associate Vice President for Research-Health Sciences. Dr. Prosser also holds an adjunct faculty appointment at the Harvards School of Public Health.
Education
Ph.D., Health Policy (Concentration: Decision Sciences), Harvard University, 2000
M.S., Technology & Policy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1992
M.S., Management, MIT Sloan School of Management, 1992
B.A., Mathematics (Concentration: Operations Research), Cornell University, 1988
Simu Thomas
Alexion
Simu Thomas, PhD
Simu Thomas is the Vice President and Global Head of Health Economics & Outcomes Research and Global Medical Communications at Alexion, AstraZeneca Rare Diseases. Simu brings over 20 years of leadership experience in the areas of Value, HEOR, RWE and Access, building and leading capabilities across the world.
Prior to Alexion, Simu served as the Global Head of Value & Access for Rare Diseases at Novartis, Global Head for the Cell & Gene Therapy Unit, where he developed the Value Access strategy for rare diseases and the first CART therapy approved in the world. He was also the founding architect of the IMI HARMONY data initiative with public and EFPIA private partners in Europe, as the leading industry partner in the consortium. Simu ran the Economic Modeling organization at Novartis, was the Global Head of HEOR for Neuroscience and Ophthalmic franchises in US Oncology.
He has authored more than 35 manuscripts and 80 congress presentations and co-authored book chapters in the field of Health Economics. Simu holds a PhD in Pharmaceutical Economics from the University of Maryland and MS in Pharmacy Administration from the University of Toledo and Pharmacy degrees from Birla Institute of Technology and Sciences. Simu also serves as Adjunct Assistant Professor at University of Maryland and Rutgers University of New Jersey.
