Szczepan Baran

Szczepan Baran, is a scientist and comparative medicine veterinarian turned “technology geek.” He is passionate about transforming the delivery of innovative  medicines to patients through digital technologies and data enablement to be more efficient, cost-effective, and environmentally conscious while pushing the scientific envelope and reimagining patient engagement. Szczepan currently heads the Global Emerging Technologies (GET) within Comparative Medicine at Novartis. In this position, he leads  an integrated digital enterprise strategy to modernize and increase the agility of current processes, with a current focus on the development and incorporation of patient-relevant AI technologies and digital endpoints. In parallel, Szczepan focuses on stakeholder engagement to identify adaptation hurdles and develop regulatory qualification pathways for Microphysiological Systems  (MPS) technologies. Szczepan has played instrumental roles in establishing and leading the Global Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR) Preclinical Digital Biomarkers and MPS Groups with a vision for strategic alignment and data agility. Szczepan is a graduate of the University of Delaware and the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. He  completed his residency in Laboratory Animal Medicine and received a Master of Science degree in Comparative Medicine from the University of Washington School of Medicine. Szczepan began his career at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, where he was recruited to develop the first canine embryonic stem cell lines and collaborate on developing novel canine transplantation protocols to eliminate graft-versus-host disease. Before joining Novartis, Szczepan held multiple start-up and faculty positions and served on numerous boards. Currently, he serves as a chair of the Translational Biomarker Initiative of the North American 3Rs Collaborative. He is a vice-chair of the IQ Microphysiological Systems (MPS) Affiliate and leads the IQ MPS Affiliate Regulatory Outreach Group. He is a Medical & Scientific Advisory Board member at the Canines-N-Kids Foundation. He serves as a Scientific Advisory Committee on Alternative Toxicological Methods (SACATM) ad hoc member, AAALAC ad hoc specialist, and the Boston Innovation Advisory Council member.