Three Long-Time Emmes Employees Are Named VPs

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Apr 06, 2020, 08:30 ET

ROCKVILLE, Md., April 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Emmes today announced that Heather Hill, Dr. Adam Mendizabal and Dr. Nilay Shah have been promoted to vice president. According to Dr. Anne Lindblad, president and chief executive officer, "These promotions reflect their talent and value to the organization. Heather, Adam and Nilay demonstrate our commitment to developing staff and promoting from within. They will strengthen and add great value to our leadership team and will support our plans to grow both internally and externally."

Heather Hill leads the company's Vaccine and Infectious Disease research group. With more than 25 years of clinical research experience, Hill has led a number of government, commercial and non-profit infectious disease projects for the company. She is now the co-principal investigator for the Clinical Research in Infectious Diseases (CRID) project sponsored by NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Here, Emmes is responsible for the statistical and data coordination of more than 100 vaccine and infectious disease protocols. Hill joined Emmes in 2002 as a project director, following five years of active duty in the U.S. Army and a four-year stint as a laboratory manager for an Army contractor. Since then, she has participated in or led the implementation of a range of clinical trials for biodefense agents and pandemic preparedness, including vaccines against influenza, smallpox and anthrax.

Hill noted, "It's an honor to contribute to the fight against infectious diseases, particularly the emerging threats that require us to have clinical trials up and running in days."

During her tenure at Emmes, Hill has co-authored more than 50 papers that have been published in a number of scientific journals. She holds an M.S. in environmental biology from Hood College, and a B.S. in biological sciences from Colorado State University.

Dr. Lindblad said, "Our leadership, employees and clients from both NIH and industry turn to Heather when leadership is needed to respond to pandemics including H1N1, Avian flu, Ebola and now COVID-19. Her teams are consistently recognized for both speed and quality of execution."

Dr. Adam Mendizabal co-leads Emmes' Transplant, Allergy and Autoimmune research group. During his 17-year tenure, Adam has held positions of increasing responsibility focusing on clinical trials in stem cell transplantation and cellular therapy for both biotechnology and government clients. A highlight of Adam's career has been to serve as the co-principal investigator of the Data and Coordinating Center of the Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network, which supports research on behalf of the National Institutes of Health; the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute; and the National Cancer Institute.

According to Dr. Mendizabal, "Emmes has given me a great opportunity to expand the body of knowledge about transplant and cellular therapies, and the results of our clinical trials are having a profound impact on the way patients are being treated."

He has collaborated on more than 50 scientific publications on topics ranging from blood and marrow transplantation to childhood leukemia. Mendizabal earned a Ph.D. in epidemiology from The George Washington University; M.S. in statistics from Rutgers University; and B.A. biology from Rutgers College.

Dr. Lindblad said, "Dr. Mendizabal and his team are regarded as respected experts by their partners in transplant and cellular therapy research. His contributions to scientific publications have produced numerous high-impact, practice-changing results."

Dr. Nilay Shah is vice president of strategic partnerships and medical officer. He started his career practicing medicine overseas and then worked as a clinical researcher at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Shah started at Emmes in 2005 as a safety/medical monitor before assuming leadership roles in ophthalmology, autoimmune and inflammation projects. He has more than 15 years of experience in leading various commercial studies, many of which have received regulatory approval. More recently, he led a privately funded device study using Artificial Intelligence (AI), which resulted in its being the first and only FDA-cleared diagnostic AI system to detect diabetic retinopathy in the ophthalmic space. Dr. Shah also has been actively involved in business development.

According to Dr. Shah, "Our long and productive partnerships with our clients – and the scientific value we bring – are part of our legacy. I'm excited to expand this into building new relationships with business partners, both domestically and internationally, that offer skill sets and values that complement ours."

Dr. Shah has written numerous ophthalmic-related papers in a wide range of scientific journals, and he is a grant reviewer at The Maryland Technology Development Corporation, known as TEDCO, for the Maryland Innovation Initiative. He attended Rutgers University before obtaining his MBBS degree in medicine and surgery from the Somaiya Medical College and Research Center at the University of Mumbai in India (MD equivalent in the U.S.).

"Dr. Shah is a passionate advocate for finding truth in research, reflecting our vision of being the trusted partner to researchers seeking to improve human health," said Dr. Lindblad. "He is an innovative thinker and problem solver, and he uses those skills to understand client needs and deliver solutions."

About Emmes
We collaborate with our clients to produce valued, trusted scientific research. Our team members at Emmes are passionate about making a difference in the quality of human health, and we have supported more than a thousand studies across a diverse range of diseases since our formation in 1977. Our research is contributing to a healthier world. For more information, visit the Emmes website at www.emmes.com.

SOURCE Emmes