James Sullivan, PhD
James Sullivan, PhD is Vice President, Discovery. In this role, he is responsible for AbbVie’s research efforts in a variety of diseases including cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, hepatitis C, and a number of autoimmune disorders. He oversees a global network of scientists that includes AbbVie researchers at sites in the United States and Europe, and external research partners around the world. Dr. Sullivan is a member of the R&D Leadership Team that has responsibility for the advancement of compounds in all stages of development, the Executive Licensing Steering Committee and the Scientific Governing Board for Abbvie. He is also an executive sponsor for the AbbVie Women in Science organization. Jim joined Abbott in 1991 and has held various positions in the R&D organization.
Jim has advanced more than 100 compounds into clinical development across a number of disease states and technology platforms. These include AbbVie’s recently launched combination product for HCV, the-first-in- class Bcl2 selective inhibitor, Venclexta and multiple compounds currently in Phase II or III trials. He has authored/co-authored more than 130 scientific publications and is an inventor on 11 patents. Jim is an adjunct faculty member at Northwestern University and serves on the board of a number of companies and foundations including Alector, Regis Technologies, Accelerator, BIO, MATTER, and C2ST. He earned his bachelor’s degree and Ph.D. in biochemistry from Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, and conducted post-doctoral research in neurobiology at Northwestern University.
Paulina Rychenkova, PhD
Paulina Rychenkova, PhD, is an experienced venture investor and a passionate rare disease advocate. For most of her professional career Paulina invested in early and growth stage technology, software, and healthcare companies while working at Charles River Ventures, The Carlyle Group and, most recently, Sandbox Industries. Paulina has been an active patient advocate for her daughter who was born with a rare chromosomal disorder called Phelan-McDermid Syndrome. While supporting her daughter’s developmental and clinical needs, she also worked with the research community to raise awareness of the syndrome and to forge a path towards therapeutic drug development for this rare neuro-developmental condition. Paulina grew up in Russia and received her PhD in Theoretical Physics from the University of Cambridge (U.K.).