Dr. Draghia-Akli’s is the Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board at Every Cure. Her career began in human genetics, rare diseases, gene therapies and nucleic acid vaccines in the early stages of that research. Throughout her career, she contributed to the discovery, development, and commercialization of novel products, for both public health and business success.
She leverages her abilities to strategize and innovate, to integrate science and business impact, while delivering the next generation of medicines and vaccines. Most recently, at Johnson & Johnson, she had the privilege of building a world class, diverse Global Public Health R&D organization, delivering groundbreaking innovation to address climate-related, emerging, and entrenched health threats, such as Dengue, coronaviruses, antimicrobial resistance, tuberculosis, and leprosy. She is known for building exceptional partnerships and collaborations that further medicine, led the European Commission Health Programs of Research and Innovation, including the creation and implementation of successful public-private partnerships, such as the Innovative Medicines Initiative and the International Rare Diseases Research Consortium.
She served as Co-Chair of the Therapeutics Clinical Working Group for ACTIV, Accelerating COVID-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines, a public-private partnership spearheaded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, and is currently the Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of INTREPID Alliance, a consortium of innovative pharmaceutical companies dedicated to accelerating the pipeline of antiviral treatments to help protect the world ahead of future pandemics. Dr. Draghia-Akli will join Novavax in November 2024 as Executive Vice President and Head of Research & Development (R&D). Dr. Draghia received an M.D. from Carol Davilla Medical School and a Ph.D. in human genetics from the Romanian Academy of Medical Sciences.