The School of Science is pleased to launch the TCNJ–Novo Nordisk Lecture Series during the 2015-2016 academic year. The series will include four lectures throughout the year, two during the Fall 2015 semester and two during the Spring 2016 semester.
About the TCNJ–Novo Nordisk Lecture Series
Headquartered in Denmark, Novo Nordisk is a global healthcare company with more than 90 years of innovation and leadership in diabetes care. The company also has leading positions within haemophilia care, growth hormone therapy, and hormone replacement therapy.
With the company’s U.S. headquarters located in Plainsboro, NJ, Novo Nordisk has long been committed to establishing programs throughout the Garden State that strive to make an impact in our local communities. The Novo Nordisk Lecture Series is an exciting new collaboration with The College of New Jersey that provides TCNJ faculty and students with the unique opportunity to learn and engage in a dialog with company leaders representing a variety of disciplines. Presenters will explore topics that represent the state-of-the-art in their respective fields, including drug discovery and development, clinical trials, and the changing delivery of healthcare in the U.S.
Fall 2015 Lectures
October Lecture – “How a Drug is Born”
- Speakers:
- Todd Hobbs, MD; Vice President and Chief Medical Officer for Novo Nordisk in North America
- Henriette Mersebach, MD, PhD; Executive Director of Clinical Development & Research – Diabetes & Obesity for Novo Nordisk in North America
- Tuesday, October 20, 2015
- 4:00-5:00 pm, Lecture followed by reception
- Science Complex, South (Physics Wing), SCP-101
Presentation Overview
The first in a series of lectures to highlight the recent partnership between Novo Nordisk and TCNJ, this lecture will take the audience through the many steps required in the process of drug discovery through approval. Scientific leaders from Novo Nordisk, Inc. in Plainsboro, NJ will share their insights gathered from many years of experience in product approvals to explain how a chemical entity moves from the lab to animal and human studies, full-scale clinical testing, and finally to regulatory approval from the FDA to be marketed as a new pharmaceutical product. The speakers will also highlight the many synergies between areas of scientific study available at TCNJ and the relevance of these areas to the drug development process.
About the Speakers
Todd M. Hobbs, MD
Todd Hobbs, MD, is Vice President and Chief Medical Officer for Novo Nordisk in North America, where he leads the organization’s focus on the implications of diabetes for the patient, healthcare system and healthcare professionals.
Dr. Hobbs provides overall medical guidance to Novo Nordisk’s diabetes- and obesity-related projects. He provides input into the clinical development and life-cycle management strategies for diabetes and obesity, as well as medical input into the R&D pipeline. He is involved with the optimization of relationships with top key opinion leaders and medical societies, and provides guidance to and participates in consultant advisory boards and key patient and professional associations and top thought leaders in diabetes.
Dr. Hobbs began his career at Novo Nordisk in 2004 as a field medical scientific director, then moving to the position of senior medical director, diabetes, in 2010. He led the Medical Affairs activities for all of Novo Nordisk’s current insulin products and devices, as well as supporting future insulin products through strategic and tactical activities.
Prior to working at Novo Nordisk, Dr. Hobbs had established a clinical practice based in Louisville, Kentucky, focusing on the intensive management of patients with diabetes of all ages, and served as chairman of the Medicine Department for a large Regional Medical Center in Kentucky. During this 10-year clinical career, he cared for more than 2,500 adults and children with diabetes, including outpatient and inpatient care, as well as intensive care.
Dr. Hobbs’ has a unique perspective on and personal dedication to the treatment of diabetes: his own experience with the disease began more than 25 years ago when he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. His passion for defeating the disease intensified even more with the diagnosis of one of his sons with the same condition at the age of five.
Henriette Mersebach, MD, PhD
Henriette Mersebach, MD, PhD, is Executive Director of Clinical Development & Research – Diabetes & Obesity for Novo Nordisk in North America. Dr. Mersebach holds the leadership responsibilities for the medical/clinical development team and represents the North American Clinical, Medical and Regulatory aspects in the planning and execution of Novo Nordisk’s global drug development programs. She engages in medical dialogue with regulators, investigators and thought leaders within diabetes and obesity.
Dr. Mersebach was trained at the University Hospital of Copenhagen, Denmark, Department of Endocrinology, and obtained her PhD in Endocrinology in 2004. She has a degree in Pharmaceutical Medicine from the University of Basel, Switzerland and an executive leadership education from the Scandinavian International Management Institute in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Dr. Mersebach has performed research in the areas of diabetes, obesity, growth hormone disorders, and general endocrinology. She joined Novo Nordisk A/S in 2005 and has been involved in all phases of clinical development within diabetes & obesity.
November Lecture – “An Overview of Hemophilia (and rare bleeding disorders)”
- Friday, November 13, 2015
- 12:30-1:30 pm, Lecture followed by reception
- Science Complex, South (Physics Wing), SCP-101
TCNJ–Novo Nordisk Student Prizes
In addition to sponsoring the Lecture Series, Novo Nordisk will be a sponsor of TCNJ’s 2016 Celebration of Student Achievement in a way that directly links student participation in the TCNJ–Novo Nordisk Lecture Series with presentation of the students’ undergraduate research at the campus-wide Celebration.
Three Novo Nordisk Student Prizes, in the form of tuition scholarship support for $2,500 each for the 2016-2017 academic year, will be competitively awarded to student researchers who have attended at least two of the TCNJ–Novo Nordisk lectures during the 2015-2016 academic year and who will be presenting their undergraduate research at the spring 2016 Celebration of Student Achievement.
Student Eligibility and Application
Eligible students will include those in their Sophomore or Junior years. These students should have attended at least two of the Novo Nordisk lectures during the 2015-2016 academic year and will be presenting their undergraduate research at the 2016 Celebration of Student Achievement.
Eligible students will complete an application, which will include (a) demographic and academic information (e.g., academic major, year in the college, grade point average, etc.), (b) an essay on what they learned from participation in the TCNJ–Novo Nordisk lectures and how this connects with their coursework and/or research, (c) an essay on what they have learned from their undergraduate research experience, and (d) an essay describing their aspirations and plans for pursuing a research-based career in the sciences. The three awardees will be competitively selected by a group of TCNJ science faculty members.