Leighland Feinman

Leighland Feinman, PhD, has an extensive work experience in various roles and industries. Starting in 2006, Leighland worked as a Teaching Assistant at the California Institute of Technology. In 2007, they served as an Arnold Beckman Fellowship Intern at BIO Ventures for Global Health, where they contributed to writing and editing the 2008 Global Health Primer. Leighland also worked as the President and CEO of Techneome, LLC, a biotechnology research and analysis company they co-founded.

In 2008, Leighland began their PhD candidacy at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, focusing on interactions between the Nipah virus and human hosts. After receiving their PhD in 2015, Leighland joined AXON Communications as a Scientific Affairs Associate and Medical Writer, offering strategy and communications support for clients in various fields.

From 2017 to 2019, Leighland worked at International Meetings & Science as both a Senior Scientific Associate and an Associate Medical Director, contributing to content creation and strategy for leading oncology brands and vaccine manufacturers. They also served as a Medical Writer at Lucid in 2017 and as a Freelance Writer under a pen name since 2008, writing for popular publications such as The Huffington Post and Mashable.

Leighland's expertise led them to join Intercept Pharmaceuticals in 2020 as a Senior Manager of Scientific Communications, overseeing high-profile scientific publications and contributing to publication strategy. In 2021, they took on the role of Associate Medical Director, where they led the creation of the internal training plan, managed publications projects, and served as the company's in-house virologist for COVID-19 response and policy planning. Currently, Leighland holds the position of Medical Director at Intercept Pharmaceuticals.

Additionally, in 2022, Leighland joined the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service as an LTJG - Assistant Scientist Officer. Throughout their career, Leighland has demonstrated their expertise in scientific research, medical writing, and project management.

Leighland Feinman, PhD pursued a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Biomedical Sciences: Microbiology from 2008 to 2015 at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Prior to that, from 2004 to 2008, they completed their Bachelor of Science (BS) in Biology and History at Caltech. Their education journey began in high school, where they obtained their high school diploma from an unspecified high school between 2000 and 2004. Additionally, Leighland Feinman holds certifications in CPR/AED for Professional Rescuers and Basic Life Support (BLS) obtained from the American Red Cross in May 2023 and January 2023, respectively.