Nancy A. Thornberry

Nancy A. Thornberry is CEO at Kallyope, a biotechnology company headquartered in NYC focused on the gut-brain axis. She was formerly Senior Vice President and Franchise Head, Diabetes and Endocrinology, for Merck & Co. Inc. In this role, she led discovery and clinical research in diabetes, osteoporosis, fertility and contraception. Prior to her role as Franchise Head, Nancy initiated and led Merck’s dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP-4) project, which resulted in the discovery of JANUVIA® for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes.

Nancy began her career with Merck Research Laboratories in 1979 as a biochemist and served in many roles of increasing responsibility, culminating in her role as Franchise Head. Beyond her contributions in the metabolic disease area, she has achieved several notable scientific accomplishments, including the identification of the first caspase, interleukin-1β converting enzyme (ICE/caspase-1). For her scientific contributions she has received numerous awards, including the Merck Presidential Fellowship, Merck Directors Award, Heroes of Chemistry Award by the American Chemical Society, and in 2011 received the Pharmaceuticals Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) Discoverers Award, which honors research scientists whose work has been of special benefit to humankind.

In addition to her role at Kallyope, Nancy is currently on the Board of Directors of Schrodinger. She is also a member of NYC’s Mayor’s Life Sciences (LifeSciNYC) Advisory Council.