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Evelyn DeSantis
Evelyn R. Hermes-DeSantis, PharmD, BCPS, is the Director for Research and Publications for phactMI and Professor Emerita at the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. She is dedicated to advancing and elevating the practice of medical information.
phactMI is a non-profit association representing medical information leadership of 30+ pharma companies. phactMI is an industry-wide consortium that focuses on increasing the awareness, credibility, and access to medical information. At phactMI, Evelyn has overseen and conducted numerous projects that have resulted in presentations and publications; precepted and mentored fellows; and has provided continuing education programs focused in medical information.
Prior to joining phactMI, Evelyn was a Clinical Professor at the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey and Director of Drug Information Services at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. In her role she was dedicated to training student pharmacists, residents, and fellows in medical information skills including medical literature evaluation and application. Her research focused in the area of provision of drug information services within in institutions, the relationship between hospital and industrial pharmacy practice, and education of pharmacists. She also has expertise in research study procedure design. She worked with the Rutgers Industry Pharmacy Fellowship program and mentored numerous fellows on their research project over the years.
Evelyn received both a bachelor’s degree (BS) in Pharmacy and a doctorate in pharmacy (PharmD) from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. She then completed a Drug Information specialty residency at the Medical College of Virginia Hospital in Richmond, Virginia prior to working at the University of Utah Hospital Drug Information Service for a few years.–
Fatima Ahmad
Fatima Ahmad, PharmD is Vice President of Medical Affairs at Castle Creek Biosciences, a clinical-stage cell and gene therapy company focused on developing and commercializing disease-modifying therapies for patients suffering from rare diseases for which there is a lack of available treatment options. Previously, she held positions at Spark Therapeutics, a member of the Roche group, including heading the Medical Communications team responsible for leading integrated Medical Communications Strategies across therapeutic areas in Spark’s portfolio of AAV-based investigational gene therapies, as well as serving as Therapeutic Area Leader for hematology. Previously, Fatima spent time at Advaxis Immunotherapies as Senior Director Medical Affairs and at Otsuka Pharmaceuticals, where she held roles of increasing seniority in US and Global Medical Affairs.
Fatima began her industry career at AstraZeneca where she was a Pharmacy intern and subsequently held roles in Medical Information and Medical Communication Science, working across several therapeutic areas including respiratory and oncology. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Temple University with a PharmD degree, and practiced community pharmacy briefly before transitioning to the pharmaceutical industry. Fatima is passionate about incorporating a patient-centric approach to all aspects of Medical Affairs and is committed to the evolution of Medical Affairs in best serving patients in the era of personalized medicine and novel therapeutic modalities.
John Pracyk
John Pracyk is an executive medical leader with deep expertise in the safe and effective design, development, and commercialization of medical devices. Clinically trained as a Neurological Surgeon he possesses an uncommon blend of business and medical expertise and is a passionate proponent of value-based care and outcomes-driven, evidence-based practices. Dr. Pracyk is a recognized thought leader and program architect in the development of collaborative healthcare delivery platforms with a proven track record of multidisciplinary program buildouts and care redesign successes. A servant leader who motivates high-performing teams to outpace innovation timelines, exceed expectations, and fuel organizational transformation.
Prior to joining Olympus, Dr. Pracyk held multiple leadership roles of increasing responsibility with DePuy Synthes-Spine, Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices. He began his MedTech career in 2016 as Franchise Medical Director where he fostered meaningful innovation to drive safety and value for patients worldwide. There he delivered deep medical and scientific insights to the R&D and commercial teams for product ideation and development, including conceptual, hands-on evaluation, and clinical research perspectives.
In 2017, Dr. Pracyk was tapped to be medically responsible for J&J’s Global Spine Platform as the Franchise Medical Leader leveraging integrated procedural solutions to drive innovation and answer unmet clinical needs. He forged relationships with internal and external stakeholders, including Key Opinion Leaders, practicing surgeons, global regulatory agencies, professional societies, and executive leadership teams from hospitals, health systems, and integrated delivery networks.
In 2018, Dr. Pracyk was appointed Integrated Leader of Preclinical Research, Clinical Research, and Medical Affairs (PCM), a newly integrated scientific platform for Spine. The PCM concept incorporates product development with preclinical and clinical research outcomes and unifies them within the context of Medical Affairs to substantiate safety, performance, and value. Their objective is to ensure that all platform decisions are medically informed, surgically literate, clinically relevant, and financially sustainable. His PCM team’s accomplishments were spotlighted in J&J’s Meet the Innovator series as they got out in front of all goals, condensed timetables to move ahead, and completed the clinical post market clinical follow up plans for the new European Medical Device Regulation a full year ahead of schedule.
Outside of Olympus, Dr. Pracyk is becoming a leading voice in the Medical Affairs Professional Society (MAPS) where he was elected President of the Americas Region, Treasurer of the Executive Committee, and Board Director. MAPS amplifies the individual voices of over 6100 medical professionals that serve patients from within 200+ medical device and pharmaceutical manufacturers. By contextualizing the real-world clinical needs of patients, providers, and policy makers MAPS succinctly translates science into value to deliver a strategically critical scientific perspective in today’s ever-changing global healthcare landscape.
Dr. Pracyk obtained his BS, MD and PhD degrees through the Early Identification and the Medical Scientist Training Programs at Duke University. He was competitively awarded research fellowships at Cambridge University and the National Institutes of Health. He received his Neurological Surgery training at Duke University & The George Washington University and then completed a clinical spine fellowship at the University of Iowa. In 2015, he obtained a healthcare focused MBA at the Haslam College of Business of The University of Tennessee. Dr. Pracyk is a Fellow of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and the American College of Surgeons, as well as a Diplomate of the American Board of Neurological Surgery. He maintains active memberships in the Medical Affairs Professional Society, American Association of Neurological Surgeons, Congress of Neurological Surgeons, North American Spine Society, AO Spine, Phi Kappa Phi, and the American College of Healthcare Executives.