Scientific Steering Committee
Mark T. Esser, Ph.D.
Vice President, Microbial Sciences
Accountable for Microbial Sciences' overall drug discovery, translational research and clinical development of innovative medicines targeting the microbiome and in vivo expressed biologics.
Serves on AstraZeneca's Biopharmaceuticals R&D senior leadership team shaping R&D strategy in respiratory, immunology, neuroscience, cardiovascular, renal and metabolic diseases.
Biomarker, diagnostic and precision medicine strategy from preclinical candidate through proof of concept.
Experienced in drug discovery through registrational and post-marketing effectiveness studies.
Formally director of the Vaccine and Biologics Center of Excellence at Pharmaceutical Product Development (PPD) and prior to that he was at Merck.
At Merck he held positions of increasing responsibility and was instrumental in the approval of GARDASIL®.
Widely recognized for his contributions to vaccine research and global health with over 80 peer-reviewed publications.
Dr. Esser received his B.S. in biochemistry from Case Western Reserve University, his doctorate in microbiology and immunology from the University of Virginia and did his postdoctoral fellowship at the AIDS vaccine program at the NIH.