Karen Heidelberger is a Partner and Chief Partnership and Communications Officer at Deerfield and joined the Firm in 2002. She is responsible for relationships with investors, partner companies, academic institutions and other interested parties. Prior to this role, Ms. Heidelberger was a Trader at Deerfield for over a decade. Before Deerfield, Ms. Heidelberger was a Vice President in the Sales and Trading division of Merrill Lynch, and served as a Conflicts Coordinator in the Mergers and Acquisitions department. As Conflicts Coordinator, she was responsible for ensuring that Merrill Lynch was clear of legal and business conflicts of interest before the firm was able to accept an assignment. Ms. Heidelberger has approximately 17 years of experience in healthcare and 24 years of experience in finance. She is involved in Deerfield’s Break into the Boardroom and Women in Science programs, and currently serves on the Board of NewYorkBIO and the Cornell Institute for Healthy Futures. Ms. Heidelberger graduated from the Cornell University, School of Hotel Administration and earned her M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Steve Brooks, President of UMC, brings his expertise as a mechanical engineer with over 24 years of experience to the forefront of the life sciences industry. Fueled by his unwavering passion, creativity, and curiosity related to design, building, and project efficiency, Steve constantly seeks innovative approaches to drive progress. Throughout his notable career, he has honed his skills primarily in the biotech design realm, spearheading more than 10,000 biotech renovation and retrofit projects. From the very start of his professional journey, Steve has been an integral part of the Fred Hutch Cancer Center, serving as a steadfast partner in designing and constructing their high-performance, cutting-edge life sciences facilities. His extensive involvement with Fred Hutch and other life sciences and biotech research centers has granted him a profound understanding of the industry's demands and complexities. Steve's expertise spans across various divisions of the UMC business, including engineering, special projects, major projects, industrial, and virtual construction/BIM. This comprehensive grasp of the design-build construction industry empowers him to navigate its intricacies and adapt to diverse challenges with ease. Driven by a strong belief in giving back, Steve is committed to sharing his vast knowledge with aspiring professionals. As a regular speaker at industry events and a guest instructor for both Washington State University's construction management program and Seattle University's mechanical engineering program, he imparts invaluable insights gained throughout his career. Steve holds a mechanical engineering degree from Seattle University and proudly hails from Spokane. Beyond his professional pursuits, he finds joy in his role as a devoted husband and father to two adorable daughters.

Barry DiRaimondo oversees strategic decisions on all real estate and company-related matters, including the ownership and disposition strategies on SteelWave-owned assets and the development and acquisition strategies for all SteelWave markets. Barry is widely recognized as a leading expert on office and industrial real estate and is frequently invited to speak at conferences and to participate on industry panels. He has been with SteelWave for 32 years and is a key partner in all of its real estate ventures. He began his career as a General Contractor for Custom Designs Construction, and has over 37 years of real estate experience.

Martin L. Togni is a partner in the San Diego office of Allen Matkins with a practice focusing primarily on Life Sciences, representing a variety of landlords and tenants in the development and leasing of Life Science and Biotech projects. He has successfully completed major leasing transactions totaling more than 40 million square feet in California, the Midwest, and East Coast over the past 25 years, representing some of the nation's leading real estate and end-user companies. Martin also represents a wide variety of clients in the acquisition, disposition, development, financing and ground leasing of shopping centers, industrial projects, office buildings and other commercial and mixed-use projects throughout the country

Peter Schubert, FAIA is a Design Partner at Ennead Architects. Peter has spent over thirty-years designing award-winning office, commercial life science, vertical laboratories, R&D and innovation centers, academic science, mixed-use residential, hospital and hotel projects in the US and around the world. Fusing a passion for urbanism with iconic architecture that integrates local culture, history and context, he creates purposeful buildings and civic spaces. His work includes: Center East: The New York Blood Center, on the Upper East Side; The Cove Jersey City, a 3,000,000 SF commercial science-led mixed-use development; DIVCO West’s Parcel U project at Cambridge Crossing in MA; and the Alexandria Center for Life Science at East River Science Plaza, the first ground-up commercial lab project in New York City. Ennead has close to 5,000,000 sf of ground-up commercial lab projects across the Northeast. The firm is responsible for projects in the New York area as diverse as The Standard Hotel Highline, the new Koch Research Center at MSK and The Rose Planetarium.

As area manager for PCL Construction in San Diego, Lucas is focused on deepening

client, community, and staff relationships to support the overall success of the region.

He oversees an office committed to serving the vital sectors which fuel San Diego’s

economy such as life sciences, education, tourism and public works.

Over more than 16 years with PCL, Lucas’ most fulfilling efforts are those that serve a

greater need. This includes implementing diverse business programs, constructing

advances in research and technology aimed at improving our future, and building places

which connect local communities. Projects with purpose not only closely align with

Lucas’ values but also amplify PCL’s mission of building a better future, together.

Lucas resides in Leucadia, CA with his wife Johanna and their five children between

ages nine and 17 years old.