John received a BS in biochemistry from Albright College and his Ph.D. in synthetic organic chemistry from Brown University. After completing a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Sloan-Kettering Cancer Institute in NYC in the departments of Positron Emission Tomography and Neurology, he joined the Medicinal Chemistry Discovery group at Johnson Matthey Biomedical. There he made several significant contributions to early research projects on new Pt- antitumor drugs and peptide-based diagnostic radio-imaging agents. After nearly a decade as a discovery med chemist, he moved on to drug development in positions of increasing responsibility at J&J and Sanofi-Aventis. He and his teams specialized in the areas of drug delivery, solid state chemistry and biomaterials in relation to improving the bioperformance of therapeutic agents. Towards this end, he has led the successful implementation of a wide range of methodologies into drug discovery space including prodrug design for enhanced solubility/permeability, miniaturized polymeric amorphous dispersions and nanoparticle technologies. Along with his technical leadership, John has been highly engaged in building innovative and prolific corporate cultures as well as recruiting top talent. John retired from pharma holding the title of Distinguished Principal Scientist, leading the Discovery Pharmaceutical Sciences department at Merck’s South San Francisco Discovery Center. In this multidisciplinary role, he was responsible for oversight of the biopharmaceutical and drug delivery aspects of Merck’s discovery programs (all molecule modalities) as well as the identification of new enabling technologies. Most recently, his emphasis has been on antibody-drug-conjugates and oral delivery of peptides. Over his 36 year pharma career, he is co-inventor on 13 US Patents and author of numerous and diverse publications and book chapters in the fields of organic, solid state & medicinal chemistry and drug delivery. John currently is highly engaged in the academic community, serving as a full-time Adjunct Professor at the University of Pennsylvania where he teaches a popular class on drug discovery and development. He also lectures regularly on this topic at various universities throughout the United States.