Jared Kelly

CEO, Oncolytics Biotech

Jared Kelly is an accomplished lawyer and executive with a distinguished career in corporate law, particularly within the biotechnology sector. Mr. Kelly recently served as head of legal and corporate strategy at Ambrx and played a central role in its $2 billion sale to Johnson & Johnson. He has managed numerous transactions in the biotech space for companies at various stages of development. After leaving Ambrx, he has served as an advisor to multiple public and private drug development and pharmaceutical companies. Prior to becoming a biotech executive, Mr. Kelly was a sought-after public company lawyer who began his career with Kirkland & Ellis LLP, where he represented various public companies in securities offerings, IPOs and merger transactions. He also served as a partner at Lowenstein Sandler LLP, where his practice focused on representing biotechnology companies in financing transactions, mergers and acquisitions, and other complex transactions. Mr. Kelly received his J.D. and an LL.M. in Securities and Financial Regulation from Georgetown University Law Center, where he was the recipient of multiple honors and fellowships, including the Lane Evans Fellowship and Decrane Scholarship.

Richard Trauger

Executive Director of Translational Science, Oncolytics Biotech

Richard Trauger, Ph.D., is Executive Director of Translational Science at Oncolytics Biotech, where he leads translational research efforts supporting the clinical development of pelareorep, the company’s investigational oncolytic virus immunotherapy. He brings more than 30 years of experience in biotechnology and drug development, with deep expertise spanning virology, immunology, and translational medicine. Prior to joining Oncolytics, Dr. Trauger held senior leadership roles at Viracta Therapeutics, Ansun Biopharma, and CytoDyn, where he led preclinical and translational programs across oncology and infectious diseases, including work on novel antiviral and immunotherapeutic agents. Earlier in his career, he served as Chief Scientific Officer at CytoDyn and held multiple R&D leadership positions focused on advancing first‑in‑class therapies from discovery through clinical evaluation. Dr. Trauger earned his PhD in Biomedical Science from the University of South Carolina School of Medicine, with doctoral and postdoctoral research focused on virology and immunology.

Richard Vile

Professor of Immunology, Mayo Clinic

Richard Vile, Ph.D., is a world-renowned scientist and long-time collaborator of Oncolytics with extensive experience studying pelareorep. As a recognized KOL, his research focuses on several areas of immuno-oncology, including oncolytic viruses, adoptive cell therapies (ACTs) such as chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells, and potential synergistic interactions between oncolytic viruses and ACTs. In addition to his role as a professor at the Mayo Clinic ("Mayo"), Dr. Vile is the Director of Mayo's Immuno-oncology program and co-director of the Gene and Virus Therapy program. He also serves on the editorial board of several prestigious scientific journals, including Molecular Therapy, Gene Therapy, The Journal of Gene Medicine, and OncoImmunology. Dr. Vile received his B.A. in Biochemistry from the University of Oxford and his Ph.D. in Viral Vectors from the University of London.

Van Morris

Associate Professor of GI Onolocy, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

Dr. Van Morris, M.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX, where he also serves as the Section Chief for Colorectal Cancer. In addition to his clinical work, Dr. Morris is a nationally recognized investigator whose research centers on the development and leadership of innovative clinical trials in gastrointestinal malignancies. His work has been published in leading peer reviewed journals, including Cancer Cell, Journal of Clinical Oncology, Lancet Oncology, Cancer Discovery, JAMA Oncology, and the New England Journal of Medicine. Dr. Morris has received multiple prestigious research awards, including the ASCO Young Investigator Award and several NIH  and NCI supported grants recognizing his contributions to advancing colorectal and anal cancer research. He currently serves as Principal Investigator on major multicenter clinical trials evaluating biomarker driven and immunotherapy based treatment strategies in gastrointestinal cancers. Dr. Morris earned his medical degree from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine, his residency training at Duke University, and his fellowship training in hematology and oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Sanjay Goel

Director of Phase I Therapeutics, Rutgers Cancer Institute

Sanjay Goel, M.D., M.S., FASCO, is an attending physician and a Professor of Medicine at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. He serves as the Director of Phase I Therapeutics at Rutgers Cancer Institute. He has an interest in drug development of anti-cancer agents, and biomarkers of drug response, particularly in solid tumors and colorectal cancer. His work also includes the outcomes of health in minority patients and health disparities. Dr. Goel has been the author or co-author on over 150 research publications and owns a patent in EGFR-targeted therapy. He has been the recipient of the Advanced Clinical Research Award (ACRA) in colorectal cancer by the Conquer Cancer Foundation (CCF), of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), and has been funded by the National Institutes of Health. He is an active ASCO volunteer currently serving on the ASCO SEP Item Writing Task Force. He has also served as the track leader of the Scientific Program Committee in the “Developmental Therapeutics and Translational Research – Immunotherapy” track of ASCO. He has been a grant reviewer on several NIH study sections and on the ASCO CCF Grant Review Committee. He has been an invited speaker at several national and international conferences.

Moderator

Surani Fernando

Healthcare journalist, writer & podcaster

Surani Fernando is a seasoned healthcare journalist and editor with over 13 years experience covering the biopharma industry. A Sydney native, she started her investigative journalism career in London covering clinical trials, M&A and financing deals for BioPharm Insight, later moving to New York to continue her work as an enterprise journalist and editorial leader for GlobalData and Reorg. She is now based in Madrid working as a freelance journalist, consultant writer and podcast producer. In November 2023, she launched the Raising Biotech podcast.