OUTbio Board Members
RAMSEY JOHNSON (he, him)
Ramsey Johnson is the founder and President of OUTbio. In his “day job”, Ramsey is a clinical and regulatory operation professional with over 24 years of experience with special expertise in rare genetic disorders. He is currently the VP, Operations for Phoenix Tissue Repair and was previously the Sr. Director of Clinical Operations for X4 Pharmaceuticals. Prior to X4, Ramsey was the Sr. Director of Clinical and Regulatory Operations for Edimer Pharmaceuticals. In 2015, Ramsey founded OUTbio with a desire to create a community where LGBTQ professionals in drug development could network and feel supported in their industry.
TOM DONOVAN (he, him)
Tom is a senior biotech communications consultant, with both in-house and agency experience assisting a wide variety of global clients. Tom was formerly a Vice President at premier biotech consultancy Ten Bridge Communications, based in Boston, Massachusetts. Prior to that, he served as Director of Communications at NASDAQ-listed drug developer Nexvet Biopharma. Originally hailing from Hong Kong and New Zealand, Tom holds a master's degree in biotech business (first class honours), and a bachelor's degree in biomedical science. Tom is the Secretary of OUTbio.
BRYAN HOFFMAN (he, him)
Bryan Hoffman is the Treasurer and Board member for OUTbio. Bryan is married to his husband, Josh, and has a 4 year old son, 3 dogs, and a turtle. He is also the founder and CEO of Boston Microscopes, a company specializing in the sales and service of microscopes, cameras and imagers. Bryan enjoys skiing, swimming, tennis, and outdoor activities. Being an advocate for the LGBT+ community is an important part of his life. Bryan holds a bachelor's degree in animal sciences from Cornell University.
PATRICK LEROY (he, him)
Patrick is a high-performing scientist, independent thinker, recognized innovator, effective communicator, and respected colleague with over 20 years of experience in oncology research. He currently works as a researcher at Takeda Oncology. Outside of oncology drug discovery research, Patrick is passionate about giving back to the LGBTQ community. Patrick is a veteran rider/swimmer of the Harbor 2 the Bay (H2B) and the Provincetown Swim for Life, charters that both raise money for LGBTQ causes. He holds a bachelor's degree in biology from Bates College.
PATRICK MCNAMARA (he, him)
Patrick McNamara is Vice President and Head of Clinical Operations at Mersana Therapeutics, where he leads the clinical trial operations for their development programs focused on antibody drug conjugates for oncology indications. Prior to Mersana, Patrick was the Head of Clinical Operations at Blueprint Medicines where he built a team of trial management professionals overseeing their portfolio of investigational precision oncology medicines. Patrick has also held industry roles as a Director of Clinical Operations at Takeda/Millennium Pharmaceuticals and as a Clinical Scientist at Wyeth (formerly Genetics Institute).
Prior to his roles in drug development, Patrick was a genetic counselor at Massachusetts General Hospital. He has a master’s degree in genetic counseling from the University of Pittsburgh and a bachelor’s degree in biology from Pennsylvania State University. Patrick is a founding member of OUTbio and leads its scholarship program efforts.
JENNIFER PETTER (she, her)
Jennifer Petter, Ph.D., is a Founder & Chief Innovation Officer of Arrakis Therapeutics. An experienced drug hunter, scientist, and life science executive, Dr. Petter’s research has spanned different fields over the years, with a current focus on RNA at Arrakis. She is the author or co-author of over 50 papers and over 50 patents and/or patent applications. Prior to creating Arrakis, Dr. Petter was Vice President of Chemistry at Celgene. She joined Celgene after the acquisition of Avila Therapeutics, a startup, in 2012. She has also held roles at Mersana Therapeutics, Biogen, and the Sandoz Research Institute (now a part of Novartis). Dr. Petter received her bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College and her Ph.D. from Duke University. She completed her post-doctorate research at Columbia University.
ABBY POLKINGHORN (she, her)
Abby Polkinghorn is a biotechnical recruiter and currently works at bluebird bio, a gene therapy company focusing on oncology and severe genetic diseases. Abby has a diverse medical and biotechnical recruiting background, with a primary concentration on Quality and Manufacturing businesses. Since 2019 Abby has independently led bluebird bio’s LGBTQ+ employee resource group, which currently has over 200 members. She takes great pride in helping those she works with feel accepted, understood, and safe. Abby holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Simmons College.
JOE VOGEL (he, him)
Joe is a Director of Clinical Operations at Intellia Therapeutics. In his 15 years in the biotech industry he has held a variety of roles spanning clinical operations and program management across all phases of drug development. Joe is a lifelong DE&I practitioner, from leading his high school's Gay Straight Alliance to developing grass-roots DE&I organizations and starting Employee Resource Groups. He is energized by helping teams form and evolve. Joe holds a bachelor's degree in psychology from Syracuse University and an MBA from UMass, Amherst.
SUSU WONG (she, her)
Susu is the CEO and Founder of Tomo360, an online marketing agency since 2012. She leads an experienced business and marketing team that works on a variety of companies from high-tech industry, healthcare, biotech, higher education to startup companies. Susu is an advocate in helping women advancing their careers. She is the Co-Founder of Women Accelerators, a grassroots organization that provides networking, education, and mentoring to help women in advancing their career goals. She holds an MBA from Lesley University.