Neuropsychiatric Drug Development Summit 2026

Paul Matteis joined Stifel in 2018. Based out of the firm’s Boston office, he serves as a Managing Director and Head of Biotech Research. Previously, Paul was a Senior Biotechnology Analyst covering small-cap and mid-cap companies at Leerink, with a focus on neuroscience, central nervous system and rare disease. Before this, he was a Research Assistant at the Harvard Division of Sleep Medicine at Brigham & Women’s Hospital. Paul was named a “Runner Up” in Small/Mid Cap Biotechnology in 2019-2024, as well as a “Rising Star” by Institutional Investor in both 2015 and 2016, as part of the publication’s All-America Research Team rankings. He attended Skidmore College in New York, where he studied Psychology and Pre-Medical Sciences and graduated Phi Beta Kappa

Marco Pignatelli, M.D., is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Washington University in St. Louis and a rising leader in synaptic physiology and neuropsychiatry. His work integrates electrophysiology, pharmacology, and behavior to uncover how experience shapes synaptic plasticity and contributes to disorders such as depression, PTSD and schizophrenia. Marco earned his M.D. and completed a Residency in Clinical Pharmacology at Sapienza University of Rome. Then, Marco moved to the United States where he continued his scientific trajectory at the National Institutes of Health. Marco has made influential discoveries on stress-induced dopamine plasticity, circuit mechanisms of emotional behavior, and synaptic deficits linked to psychiatric disease. Marco has been awarded a NARSAD Young Investigator Grant by the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation. He is currently funded by the NIH and he has recently received a Mental Health Award by the Wellcome Trust Fundation. Recently he has been selected as the recipient of the 2026 A.E. Bennett Basic Research Award by the Society of Biological Psychiatry.

Dr. Natalie Sacks joined Venture Investments in 2022 as a Venture Partner based in the San Francisco office. Dr. Sacks is an oncologist and drug developer with over 20 years of experience in the biotechnology industry. Prior to joining Venture Investments, she served as the Chief Medical Officer at Harpoon Therapeutics. Prior to that, she held various development and executive leadership roles at multiple companies including at Onyx Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Amgen), Aduro, Exelixis, and Cell Genesys. She has been responsible for all aspects of development ranging from initial IND to the late-stage development of commercially available oncology therapeutics. Dr. Sacks held a faculty appointment at the University of California, San Francisco for more than ten years, where she was a volunteer assistant clinical professor of medicine in the Division of Hematology/Oncology. She received her B.A. in Mathematics from Bryn Mawr College, her M.S. in Biostatistics from the Harvard University School of Public Health, and her M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

Jason Pitts is a Principal at General Atlantic and focuses on investments in the Life Sciences sector. Before joining General Atlantic in 2021, Jason was a Principal at Sofinnova Investments focused on therapeutics investments. Prior to that, he was an Associate at McKinsey and Company.

Dr. Haas is a physician-scientist and biotech executive with 25+ years of global leadership across nonprofit, academic, and industry sectors advancing brain health. She currently serves as Chief Medical Officer and Board Director at Psilera Inc., where she advances the development of next-generation neuroplastogens to treat multiple brain disorders. Dr. Haas is the Founder and Board Chair of Cohen Veterans Bioscience, a pioneering 501(c)(3) nonprofit biomedical and technology research organization she led as CEO for over a decade. Under her leadership, the organization raised and deployed over $200 million to advance brain health, leveraging high-performance computing and data analytics to develop predictive disease models integrating biomarker, biosensor, and phenotypic data, with a focus on PTSD and traumatic brain injury. Earlier in her career, Dr. Haas held senior bench-to-bedside leadership roles at Johnson & Johnson, spanning early- and late-stage neuroscience R&D, translational medicine, and diagnostics and spearheaded integrative solutions approaches. She serves on national and international advisory boards, including the National Research Advisory Council to the U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Dr. Haas earned her MD and PhD in neuroscience from Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Zoë Hughes, PhD has a wealth of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. Zoë began their career as a Research Assistant at the University of Oxford in 1997. Zoë then moved to GlaxoSmithKline in 1998, where they held positions as a Senior Scientist and Principal Research Scientist. In 2004, they joined Pfizer as an Associate Research Fellow, and held a variety of leadership roles, including Group Leader, Psychiatry & Behavioral Disorders, Microdialysis Group Leader, and Principal Research Scientist. Zoë was responsible for moving the lead asset into Ph2 studies in PTSD and has written contributions to multiple IND and Investigator Brochure regulatory submissions. In 2018, they became Senior Director at Praxis Precision Medicines, Inc., and most recently, in 2021, they were appointed VP, Head of Biology at Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals. Zoë Hughes, PhD, began their educational journey at the University of Bristol, where they earned a BSc in Pharmacology between 1991 and 1994. Zoë then continued their studies at UCL, where they obtained a PhD in Psychopharmacology between 1994 and 1997.

Dr. John Salamone received his Ph.D. from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, USA in 1982. For postdoctoral training, Dr. Salamone received a National Science Foundation grant and studied at Cambridge University in England, working with Susan Iversen and Trevor Robbins. Dr. Salamone stayed in England for several more years, working at Merck, Sharpe and Dohme pharmaceutical laboratories. After returning to the US, Dr. Salamone joined the Psychological Sciences department of the University of Connecticut in 1988, where he is currently the head of Behavioral Neuroscience and co-Director of the Institute for the Brain and Cognitive Sciences. Dr. Salamone has published multiple articles and book chapters focused on research in the fields of behavioral neuroscience and neuropsychopharmacology, focusing on the neural circuitry regulating motivation, with a particular emphasis on studies related to animal models of effort-related decision making, fatigue, apathy, avolition, depression and Parkinsonism. Dr. Salamone frequently collaborates on translational and industrial projects, having received grants from Chronos, Blackthorn, Shire, Acadia, Noema, Lundbeck, and Otsuka.

I have been at AbbVie since 2013 having spent the majority of my time in Clinical Development across various therapeutic areas including Solid Tumor Oncology, Immunology, General Medicine/Virology and Neuroscience. Since joining the Neuroscience group in 2023 I have worked on assets in neurodegeneration and psychiatry and became Head of Psychiatry Clinical Development in 2025.

Ritu Baral joined TD Cowen in August 2014 as a senior biotechnology analyst and managing director. Ms. Baral has more than nineteen years of experience in biotechnology finance, including over sixteen years in biotechnology equity research. Her coverage has focused on rare diseases and neurology. From August 2006 until June 2014, she held a series of positions in biotechnology equity research at Canaccord Genuity, including senior analyst and managing director. Before that, Ms. Baral was an equity research associate at JMP Securities and a senior associate at the Trout Group. Previously, she was a research associate at Columbia University’s Department of Medicine, where she participated in neuroendocrine research focused on appetite and metabolism regulation, and completed graduate coursework in immunology. Ms. Baral graduated with a BA in biological sciences from Barnard College. She is involved in a number of rare disease patient advocacy organizations, including as a board member of the Everylife Foundation for Rare Disease and the Industry Advisory Board of the National Tay-Sachs and Allied Diseases Foundation. She was previously on the board of directors of the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation.

Dr. Jordan Smoller is a psychiatrist, epidemiologist, and geneticist whose research focus has been understanding the genetic and environmental determinants of psychiatric disorders across the lifespan and using big data to advance precision mental health including improved methods to reduce risk and enhance resilience.

Dr. Jens R. Wendland is the chief medical officer at Kynexis and is based in Boston, MA. He was trained as a physician in Germany. Following an internship in adult psychiatry, he worked as a post-doctoral fellow with Drs. Dennis Murphy and Francis McMahon at the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, MD, on the genetics of psychiatric disorders. Before Kynexis, Jens held various pharmaceutical industry positions of increasing responsibility at Roche, Pfizer, Nestlé Health Science, and Takeda. His focus is on neuroscience, rare diseases, drug development, and translational medicine, with particular emphasis on using human genetics to identify compelling drug targets and responder sub-populations.

Ken Kramer, PhD, is a senior pharmaceutical executive with more than 25 years of experience across academic psychiatry, neuroscience research, and industry medical affairs leadership. He has led the medical strategy and launch of multiple innovative and first in class psychiatry therapies, including treatments for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder. Dr. Kramer has held senior leadership roles at Allergan, Bristol Myers Squibb, Karuna Therapeutics, AbbVie, and currently, with Helus Pharma, building global medical affairs organizations and supporting assets from early development through commercialization.

Seoeun Lee has been a member of Eli Lilly’s Neuroscience Search & Evaluation team since January 2025, focusing on Psychiatry and Sleep disease areas. Most recently, she served as the S&E lead on Lilly’s acquisition of Centessa Pharmaceuticals. Prior to this role, Seoeun was a consultant at Boston Consulting Group, where she partnered with biopharma and biotech companies on building growth strategies. Seoeun holds a PhD in Biomedical Sciences from Columbia University, where her doctoral research focused on the basic science of neurodevelopment, and a B.S. in Biological Sciences from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.