Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology
Married couple Stephanie Adams, PhD, and Brian Adams, PhD, MBA, are graduates of the Graduate Division of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Molecular and Systems Pharmacology program, Laney Graduate School, Emory University, where they studied in the Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology in the Emory School of Medicine. Stephanie graduated in 2002, and Brian in 2003.
Stephanie’s expertise includes molecular biology, neuroscience, immunology, and vaccines. She is the Managing Director of the Office of Health Equity and Crisis Coordination at the Center for Global Health and Innovation (CGHI), which strives to bring together diverse global health, health technology, and life sciences entities to collaborate, innovate, and activate solutions to enhance health outcomes around the world. Prior to CGHI, she was a senior patent agent with King and Spalding’s intellectual property counseling practice, working with inventors, universities, and biomedical companies to evaluate potential inventions for patentability and commercial value while developing and implementing appropriate strategies.
“The breadth of exposure at Emory was a huge asset, from the School of Public Health to the Medical School, Law School, CDC, and Yerkes,” she says. “Becoming familiar with so many aspects of healthcare and public health allowed me to pursue a varied career path and deploy my individual strengths and interests.”
Brian is an experienced pharmaceutical executive with knowledge of all aspects of business development, mergers and acquisition, licensing, market research and competitive intelligence. He is also a patent agent with proficiency in patent and trademark prosecution and intellectual property-related due diligence investigations. As the Rare Disease Global Insights Lead at UCB, a global biopharma company that strives to create valuable solutions and improvements to the treatment of neurological and autoimmune conditions, he conducts market research and competitive intelligence in support of the company’s rare disease portfolio. In addition, Brian assists in the search and evaluation of organic and inorganic growth opportunities. He joined UCB after serving as Vice President of Business Development at Arbor Pharmaceuticals (now Azurity Pharmaceuticals) for nine years.
“I received invaluable multidisciplinary science training at Emory,” says Brian. “The skills I developed there and continue to leverage in my professional life are critical thinking, project management, and the execution and oversight of collaborative efforts.”
For Brian and Stephanie, the academic and scientific insights they gleaned at Emory were enhanced by developing an understanding of the components of sustaining successful careers.
“I learned to take the time to understand and leverage my unique strengths so I could pursue a path that I was truly passionate about,” Stephanie says.
For Brian, an essential principle of career growth is networking. “I cannot stress enough the importance of building relationships whenever the opportunity arises. These connections can lead to new responsibilities, collaborations, and referrals.”
Those interested in learning more about Brian and Stephanie Adams' work are welcome to contact them.