Susan Tam

Ms. Susan Tam is Vice President of Discovery Research at Tavotek Biotherapeutics. She has extensive pharmaceutical industrial experience (over 30 years) mainly focused on in vitro diagnostics, and antibody- protein therapeutics. Her diverse research and therapeutic background include oncology, immunology, neuroscience, infectious diseases, cardiovascular and metabolic disease.

Ms. Tam has strong expertise in developing research strategies to test novel protein molecules for receptor binding, modulating immune functionality and pharmacokinetics, and demonstrating efficacy in various animal models. Achievements include the development of some of the first cancer diagnostics (CA19-9, CA15-3, CA125) at the former Centocor, Inc, and several marketed monoclonal antibody therapies (ReoPro, Remicade, Simponi, Sylvant) at Johnson & Johnson (J&J). She has published research in over 35 peer-reviewed papers, 3 issued patents, and in several patent applications, including proprietary Tavotek platform technologies.

Ms. Tam obtained a Bachelor of Science degree at University of California, Berkeley; a Master of Science degree in Cell and Molecular Biology at University of California, Riverside; and additional post-graduate training in molecular biology at UCLA and UC Berkeley. She worked as a Research Scientist at University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Genetics Department; a Senior Scientist at Centocor in the In Vitro Diagnostics & Assay Group; and then as a Principal Scientist at J&J in the Discovery Research Department. While at J&J, she was a dedicated hands-on scientist who developed and implemented many of the in vitro and ex vivo assays for several lead biologics drugs, and actively participated in all aspects of development up to IND filing. In addition, she was a major product support technical expert for marketed products such as ReoPro and Remicade. She gained increasing recognition in cross-company teams in preclinical research and product support and has received multiple J&J Standard of Leadership Awards for innovation. In addition, she has received numerous J&J Credo Awards for community service. She is a member of the New York Academy of Sciences, and American Association of the Advancement of Science.