2020 National Celiac Disease Patient Advocacy Summit Speakers

Edwin Liu, MD, serves as the Taplin Endowed Chair for Celiac Disease and Director of the Colorado Center for Celiac Disease at Children’s Hospital Colorado. Dr. Liu is also a Professor of Pediatrics, specializing in Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition at the University of Colorado Hospital.

Daniel Leffler, MD, MS, currently serves as the Medical Director at Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Director of Clinical Research at the Celiac Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and as an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Leffler lectures nationally and internationally on patient care, quality improvement initiatives, and research in celiac disease and other digestive disorders.

Francisco Leon, MD, PhD, is the Co-Founder of Provention Bio, Glutenostics and Celimmune, companies dedicated to developing and commercializing medicines, diagnostics and preventative approaches for people with celiac disease and other immunological disorders. Dr. Leon is also Adjunct Professor at Jefferson Medical College (Philadelphia) and has co-authored more than 85 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters and patents. Prior to entering the biopharma industry, Dr. Leon served as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the National Institutes for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Jack A Syage, PhD, is the Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of ImmunogenX, a clinical stage biotherapeutics company. He sits on the Board of Directors of Flamentera AG, Advanced Telesensors, Analytical Detection, and Appellation Ventures. Dr. Syage has published over 130 papers, delivered about 100 invited talks, has over 30 U.S. patents issued or pending, and appears on the list of the Most Highly Cited Chemists.

Susan Chittooran currently serves as a Patient Engagement Project Manager on the Patient Affairs Staff at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Ms. Chittooran serves as the point of contact in Patient Affairs for patients, caregivers, and patient advocates who wish to engage with the Agency and manages FDA’s Listening Session initiative. Prior to joining Patient Affairs, she spent three years at FDA’s Office of Health & Constituent Affairs & six years at the U.S. Department of Labor. Ms. Chittooran has a M.S. in Social Work Policy from Columbia University, and a B.A in Psychology from Auburn University.

Carol D’Lima, PhD, currently serves as a Food Technologist in the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition’s (CFSAN) Office of Nutrition and Food Labeling at FDA. Dr. D’Lima is the subject matter expert and point of contact in the areas of food allergen and gluten-free labeling where she develops regulations, guidances and manages other regulatory actions.

Baker Donelson Advocacy Team

Sheila Burke is a Strategic Advisor in Baker Donelson’s Washington, DC, office and Chair of the Firm’s Government Relations and Public Policy Group. Ms. Burke brings a deep knowledge of federal policy and programs drawn from her distinguished career in the private and public sectors. In addition to her role at the Firm, Ms. Burke continues as a faculty member at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, where she served as Executive Dean from 1996 to 2000. She also serves as Distinguished Visitor at the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University.

Mark Van de Water is a Senior Advisor in Baker Donelson’s Washington, DC, office. Mr. Van de Water served as a senior staff member for the Appropriations Committees in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. As a political and policy expert, Mr. Van de Water has been quoted and interviewed by Congressional Quarterly, The Wall Street Journal, Marketplace, National Public Radio, The Washington Post, National Journal, The Hill, Newsweek, The Oregonian and Roll Call and The Hill newspaper has named him as one of the top lobbyists in Washington and one of the top “Hired Guns” in the nation’s capital.