Industry Q&A: Katherine Beaverson, Dyne Therapeutics, Eric Horne, Avidity & Wes Miller, Epic Bio

Katherine Beaverson, MS, is Vice President of Global Patient Advocacy at Dyne Therapeutics, guiding the strategic planning and implementation of collaborations with patient advocacy groups and patient communities to integrate patient experience and expertise into the medicines development and delivery continuum. She held similar roles in industry with Pfizer, Inc., Boehringer Ingelheim and Amicus Therapeutics. A professionally trained genetic counselor, she spent 10 years at both New York Hospital-Weill Cornell Medical Center and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. She received her BA from Swarthmore College and her MS in human genetics from Sarah Lawrence College.  She is the Former Chair of the IRDiRC Companies Constituent Committee and a member of the NYU Pediatric Gene Therapy and Medical Ethics Working Group.

Eric Horne, PhD, is a pharmacologist by training with a passion for communicating how the knowledge of biologic mechanisms leads to drug discovery and development.  He has been working in Medical Affairs for the past 12 years supporting multiple drug development programs and post-approval educational initiatives.  Eric obtained his PhD in Pharmacology from the University of Colorado School of Medicine and received additional training as a Post-doctoral Fellow at the University of Washington.  He is currently a Senior Director of Medical Affairs at Avidity supporting the neuromuscular clinical development programs.

Wes Miller, MD, is chief medical officer at Epic Bio (EpiCRISPR Biotechnologies). A Stanford University graduate, he received his MD at Louisiana State University School of Medicine and was an associate professor at the University of Minnesota specializing in pediatric hematology and oncology and blood stem cell transplantation. In 2018 he joined industry, working at Sangamo Therapeutics, Astellas Gene Therapies and Graphite Bio before coming to Epic Bio. He has drug development experience in gene modified hematopoietic stem cell therapies and in vivo gene editing and gene addition therapies for various rare diseases, including muscle disorders.

Co-hosted by the UMass Wellstone Center for FSHD and the FSHD Society

FSHD research and drug development is in a new era. Do you know what’s happening and how this might impact your life? Here’s your chance to hear from the research and advocacy leaders in New England, as well as from biopharmaceutical companies that are working on FSHD therapies. Get answers to your questions about your health, maintaining optimal function through physical therapy, exercise, assistive devices, and more. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to meet patients and families and network with FSHD Society leaders and activists in our community!