Download Speaker Bios - Alliance for Aging Research

SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES
Cynthia Bens
Vice President, Public Policy
Alliance for Aging Research
Cynthia Bens is the Vice President of Public Policy at the non-profit Alliance for Aging Research in
Washington, D.C. In this capacity, she is responsible for guiding the organization’s federal policy work,
representing the Alliance in multiple national coalitions, and directing all aspects of the Accelerate
Cure/Treatments for Alzheimer’s Disease (ACT-AD) and Aging in Motion (AIM) coalitions. For the past
12 years Cynthia has worked to inform federal policymakers and educate the public on a variety of issues.
For more than half of that time her efforts have centered on the formulation of policies to expedite the
development of interventions to treat and prevent many debilitating age-related disease; to remove access
barriers to needed treatments and therapies; and to improve the coordination and quality of care seniors
receive. Ms. Bens is a Founding Executive Committee Member of Friends of the National Institute on
Aging (FoNIA). She has served on the Steering Committee of the Partnership to Improve Patient Care
(PIPC) since 2008 and is the sole patient adviser to the FDA Subcommittee of BIOCOM, the largest
regional life science association in the world. Ms. Bens currently serves on the Alliance for a Stronger
FDA's Board of Directors. Prior to joining the Alliance in 2006, she was a senior manager of government
affairs with the Loeffler Group. Cynthia holds a B.A. degree from New York University with a
concentration in Political Science and Women’s Studies.
Amanda Jezek
Vice President, Public Policy & Government Relations
Infectious Diseases Society of America
Amanda Jezek is currently the Vice President for Public Policy and Government Relations at the
Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), which represents over 10,000 ID physicians and
scientists. Amanda oversees IDSA’s public policy and government relations department, with
responsibility for policy development and advocacy on IDSA priority issues, including antimicrobial
resistance, antimicrobial and diagnostics development, immunizations, preparedness, federal funding, and
other issues relating to public health and research. Amanda has been with IDSA since 2011, previously
serving as IDSA’s Government Relations Director. Prior to joining IDSA, Amanda was the Deputy
Director for Federal Affairs at the March of Dimes Foundation. In this capacity, Amanda led the March
of Dimes’ policy development and lobbying efforts on all issues related to access to healthcare for women
of childbearing age, infants, and children, including the Foundation’s work on the Affordable Care Act.
Amanda also lobbied for Mental Health America, and worked as a legislative assistant and press secretary
for U.S. Representative Grace Napolitano (D-CA). Amanda holds a B.A. in Political Science from
Dartmouth College.
Christian John Lillis
Co-founder & Executive Director
The Peggy Lillis Memorial Foundation
Peggy’s elder son, Christian has more than a decade of experience in nonprofit management. He has an
eclectic background as both “behind-the-scenes” strategist and frontline fundraiser. Christian is currently
managing director of research & prospect development at Teach For America, where he leads prospect
development and analysis efforts. He was previously director of development at In The Life Media, a
nonprofit that produces educational media for television and online audiences. Christian has also served
as director of major gifts for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and as associate director of
development research for NYU Langone Medical Center. He is a past board member of the Greater New
York Chapter of the Association of Professional Researchers for Advancement and the City University of
New York’s Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies. Christian holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science
from Brooklyn College.
Ramanan Laxminarayan
Director and Senior Fellow
Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy
Ramanan Laxminarayan directs the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy. He is also a
Research Scholar and Lecturer at Princeton University. His research deals with the integration
of epidemiological models of infectious diseases and drug resistance into the economic analysis of public
health problems. He has worked to improve understanding of drug resistance as a problem of managing a
shared global resource. Laxminarayan has worked with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the
World Bank on evaluating malaria treatment policy, vaccination strategies, the economic burden of
tuberculosis, and control of non-communicable diseases. He has served on a number of advisory
committees at WHO, Centers for Disease Control and, Prevention, and the Institute of Medicine. In 200304, he served on the National Academy of Science/Institute of Medicine Committee on the Economics of
Antimalarial Drugs and subsequently helped create the Affordable Medicines Facility for malaria, a novel
financing mechanism for antimalarials. His work has been covered in major media outlets including
Associated Press, BBC, CNN, the Economist, LA Times, NBC, NPR, Reuters, Science, Wall Street
Journal, and National Journal.
Susan Peschin, MHS
President & CEO
Alliance for Aging Research
Susan Peschin is President& CEO of the Alliance for Aging Research. As the leader of the Executive
Team, Ms. Peschin is responsible for successful execution of the current strategic plan, and for assuring
operational excellence, fiscal health and growth of the organization. Ms. Peschin has more than 20 years
of experience in managing policy and government relations. Prior to her current role, Ms. Peschin was
Vice President of Public Policy for the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America (AFA) where she successfully
advocated for passage of health reform provisions for individuals with dementia and family caregivers,
including the “detection of any cognitive impairment” provision in the new annual Medicare wellness
visit; nursing home transparency; and the Independence at Home Act demonstration program. While at
AFA, Ms. Peschin also achieved a doubling of appropriations for the Missing Alzheimer’s Disease
Patient Alert Program, co-facilitated the Leaders Engaged in Alzheimer’s Disease coalition, and served as
an advisor on the “Caregiver Initiative” included in the 2010 annual report for the Middle Class Task
Force, chaired by Vice President Joe Biden. Ms. Peschin has published studies on cognitive screening;
federal funding at the National Institute on Aging; and policy recommendations for implementation of the
National Alzheimer’s Project Act. Previous to her work at AFA, Ms. Peschin ran her own consulting
business, offering lobby day training and strategic planning services. She also worked for more than 10
years in firearms violence prevention, at the Violence Policy Center and Consumer Federation of
America, and she continues to serve as a Board member of CeaseFire Maryland. Ms. Peschin also
currently serves as a Board member for the American Aging Association; as a Steering Committee
member for the Coalition for Imaging & Bioengineering Research; and as a member of the Expert Panel
on Respite Research convened by the Lifespan Respite TA Center at the ARCH National Respite
Network and Resource Center in collaboration with the Administration for Community
Living/Administration on Aging.
Ashley Predith, PhD
Assistant Executive Director, President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology
White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
Ashley Predith is the Assistant Executive Director of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and
Technology (PCAST). The Council advises the President on topics across all fields of science and
technology and regularly issues reports on areas of critical national interest. Before joining the White
House Office of Science and Technology, Dr. Predith was the Associate Director for Programs at a DOE
Energy Frontier Research Center (EFRC). Led by the University of Maryland in collaboration with two
national labs and three universities, the EFRC investigates fundamental nanoscience to underpin next
generation energy storage technologies. Dr. Predith previously was a science policy consultant for the
Science & Engineering Workforce Project at the National Bureau of Economic Research and for the
American Chemical Society. Ashley Predith has a PhD in Materials Science from the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology and a BS in Materials Science & Engineering from the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign.
Arjun Srinivasan, MD (CAPT, USPHS)
Associate Director for Healthcare Associated Infection Prevention Programs
Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious
Diseases
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Arjun Srinivasan is the Associate Director for Healthcare Associated Infection Prevention Programs in the
Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr.
Srinivasan is also a captain in the US Public Health Service. An infectious disease doctor, Dr. Srinivasan
oversees several CDC programs aimed at eliminating healthcare-associated infections and improving
antibiotic use. For much of his CDC career, Dr. Srinivasan ran the healthcare outbreak investigation unit,
helping hospitals and other healthcare facilities track down bacteria and stop them from infecting other
patients. Today, Dr. Srinivasan leads CDC’s work to improve antibiotic prescribing and works with a
team of CDC experts researching new strategies to eliminate healthcare-associated infections. As an
assistant professor of medicine in the Infectious Diseases Division at the Johns Hopkins School of
Medicine and a staff physician, Dr. Srinivasan founded the Johns Hopkins Antibiotic Management
Program. He carried his passion for combatting antibiotic resistance to CDC where he leads the “Get
Smart” program that teaches patients and clinicians alike what they need to know to ensure antibiotics are
used appropriately. The program aims to forestall a future in which microbes resist antibiotic treatment.
A graduate of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Dr. Srinivasan is a member of Alpha Omega
Alpha medical honor society. He completed an internal medicine residency and infectious disease
fellowship at Johns Hopkins University Hospital. Dr. Srinivasan is an adjunct assistant professor of
medicine at Emory University Medical Center and sees patients at the Atlanta Veteran’s Affairs Medical
Center. Dr. Srinivasan has authored numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals on his research in
healthcare epidemiology, infection control, and antibiotic Use and resistance. He is a member of the
Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, the Infectious Diseases Society of
America, and the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. He has been named to the Johns
Hopkins Society of Scholars and his landmark work in infection control led the Society for Healthcare
Epidemiology of America to honor him with the 2008 Investigator Award.