Nov. 13, 2025
9 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Nicholas Siciliano, PhD is the CEO and Co-Founder of Vittoria Biotherapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage cell therapy company developing next-generation treatments for difficult-to-treat diseases. He brings over twenty years of C-suite leadership experience in biotechnology.
Previously, he was CEO and Co-Founder of Invisible Sentinel, a global molecular diagnostics company, where he oversaw the development, manufacturing, and commercial expansion of its proprietary diagnostics, culminating in the company’s acquisition by bioMérieux, Inc. in 2019. Following the acquisition, he served as Vice President at bioMérieux, leading U.S. Sales and Marketing while continuing as CEO of Invisible Sentinel.
Dr. Siciliano has also played a pivotal role in launching and funding multiple biotechnology ventures in the Greater Philadelphia region. He currently serves as an Entrepreneur in Residence at Agent Capital and as an investment advisor to Tellus BioVentures and Valley Forge Investment Corporation.
He earned a B.S. in Chemistry from Villanova University and began his scientific career in the Department of Microbiology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He went on to receive a Ph.D. in Immunology and Microbial Pathogenesis from Thomas Jefferson University, where his research focused on antigen presentation.
Dr. Siciliano currently serves on the Boards of Vittoria Biotherapeutics and NexEOS Bio, and as a Scientific Advisor to Tolerance Bio. He is the Past President of the College of Sciences Alumni Board at Thomas Jefferson University. He holds multiple utility and design patents and has published peer-reviewed work in bacteriology, virology, immunology, molecular biology, and cancer immunotherapy.
Chari A. Cohen, DrPH, is president of the Hepatitis B Foundation. Dr. Cohen is also co-founder and chair of Hep B United Philadelphia, a coalition and campaign to increase testing, vaccination and linkage to care in high-risk communities. Nationally, she is chair of CHIPO: Coalition Against Hepatitis for People of African Origin. She is also co-chair of Hep B United, a national coalition in 21 states to address and eliminate hepatitis B. Dr. Cohen is the Inaugural Community Chair of Jefferson Health’s Kimmel Cancer Center Community Advisory Board; a member, Governing Board, International Coalition to Eliminate HBV (ICE-HBV); and Co-Chair, Hep Free PA. She is a member, Patient Advisory Group, AASLD; an Advisory Committee member, HepVu, a member of HBV Forum and serves on the Editorial Review Board of the journal, Viruses.
Academically, Dr. Cohen is Associate Professor at the Baruch S. Blumberg Institute and serves as adjunct faculty for Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine. Dr. Cohen received her MPH from Temple University and her DrPH in Community Health and Prevention from Drexel University School of Public Health.
Rosemary (Rosie) Frasso, PhD, is a health equity researcher and public health educator. Dr. Frasso earned a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Policy & Practice, as well as two master’s degrees from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Her current research focuses on the integration of qualitative and quantitative methods in projects designed to improve population health, healthcare quality, and access to health services for vulnerable populations. Her expertise in qualitative methods focuses on traditional and alternative data sources and data collection approaches that are crucial to studies designed to inform, assess, and promote health equity interventions. Additionally, she has worked on several cross-disciplinary projects with educators, artists and economists who are committed to using qualitative methods to support and enhance community collaborations and to amplify the voices of vulnerable populations.
Ayesha Sitlani, PhD is currently Associate Vice President of the Product Development Center (PDC) at the non-profit organization IAVI. The PDC is an end-to-end bench to clinic accelerator for the development of candidates targeting infectious and neglected diseases. Ayesha is leading efforts to bring in new partners and streamline operations for the PDC to support an expanded network of funders and partnerships. Prior to this role, at IAVI Ayesha has launched a set of initiatives, through public-private partnerships, to make monoclonal antibody (mAb) treatments and vaccines affordable and globally accessible. She is the principal investigator and lead author on several internationally cited IAVI publications which present recommendations to address the widening gap in global access to existing and future monoclonal antibodies for the treatment and prevention of diseases. In addition, she has led efforts to integrate new technologies including alternate delivery devices and thermostable formulations to enable more convenient and broader access to vaccines and biologics worldwide.
Prior to joining IAVI, Ayesha spent almost 20 years at Merck & Co. Inc, where she gained broad leadership experience in antibody, small molecule, and vaccine research & product development. She was responsible for initiating and leading the first mAb discovery and development efforts for Merck in the areas of cholesterol lowering and inflammation. She led an integrated Biologics and Vaccines organization to support development of the Biologics and Vaccines pipeline through internal innovation, and key strategic external partnerships.
Ayesha received her BA from Smith College, MA from Columbia University and her PhD in Biochemistry from the California Institute of Technology. She did a postdoctoral fellowship in Biophysical chemistry at Yale University prior to joining Merck in 1998. Ayesha is passionate about supporting education; she guest lectures at Columbia University and is the Board President at the Wardlaw Hartridge School, an independent pre-K-12 school in New Jersey.
Grant holds more than a decade of strategy, finance and commercial operations experience in the biopharma and medical device industries. Prior to joining Sentynl as a founding member in 2015, Mr. Castor led marketing operations for Amedra Pharmaceuticals LLC and Lineage Therapeutics, which was successfully sold to Impax Laboratories, LLC, now Amneal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Before his focus in biopharma, Mr. Castor held numerous commercial roles in the medical device sector, most notably as the head of U.S. operations and global marketing for an Israel-based organization, where he successfully commercialized a novel orthopedic device in more than 30 countries. Mr. Castor earned his Bachelor of Science in international business from Johnson & Wales University.