Dr. Frank Depierro

 

March 3, 2017
12:30 – 1:30pm
Forcina 408

“Addressing the Tech Needs for the Future of Pharmaceutical Clinical Science and Improving Information System Capabilities within Vaccine R&D”

 

Abstract:

As clinical testing and drug discovery generate greater amounts of data and depend more heavily on high throughput of experiments, the need to automate processes, integrate laboratory systems, and provide a platform for smarter analytics has become increasingly more central to laboratory processes. The pharmaceutical industry, where compliance practices often trump quick and efficient information system development, can be slow to adopt new technology. Pfizer Vaccine R&D, a typical regulated pharmaceutical organization, found itself at a pivotal juncture several years ago. The overall clinical testing system architecture was a series of highly customized, home-grown solutions that were patched together over time. Each attempt to meet the demands of the ever changing science led the architecture further away from a robust and scalable product. The result was a non- sustainable platform that was slowly hindering the advancement of science. This presentation provides a short into the struggles that exist in collecting/maintaining data for clinical trials and delves deeper into the long-term vision/path Pfizer Vaccine R&D has taken to proactively develop an advanced information system and automation backbone. Furthermore, it discusses the merging of various non- sustainable, non-scalable technologies into one LIMS (Laboratory Information Management System) and the revamping of processes that provide a compliant SDLC (Software Development LifeCycle) framework.

Biography:

Mr. DePierro is Director of Informatics at Pfizer Vaccine R&D based out of Pearl River, NY. In 2014, he was given the opportunity to join the Pfizer Worldwide Innovation team on a six month fellowship in NYC where he was able to foster relationships with entrepreneurs and technology incubators. Before joining the Vaccine R&D organization, Mr. DePierro was Manager of Quality Systems within Consumer Healthcare for Wyeth Pharmaceuticals. His primary contributions to both Pfizer Inc. and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals have been in the LIMS space where he has a passion for improving laboratory processes. Mr. DePierro is a leader and member of many technical teams and communities within Pfizer that focus on technology, robotics/automation, laboratory hardware, and LIMS. He has been nominated for and/or won numerous Pfizer awards including the Worldwide Innovation Award, T echnology and Innovation A ward, and Great Manager A ward. In addition, he was the recipient of the NJ Commission on Cancer Research Fellowship early in his career while working in the bioinformatics space. Mr. DePierro is a member of several technical societies and has experience in Lean Six Sigma and Project Management. His academic background includes both computational neuroscience and pharmaceutical management, but his foundation comprises a BS in computer science from The College of New Jersey and an MS in computational biology from New Jersey Institute of Technology.