Athanasia Anagnostou (’06)

Senior Director Corporate Development, Immunomic Therapeutics

Before enrolling in the M.S. in Biotechnology program at Georgetown, I completed an undergraduate degree in Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service with a focus on International Health. I had originally intended to go into the Global Health arena, most likely through working in a nonprofit. Through my coursework at Georgetown, I became enamored with biotechnology – specifically the intersection of business and science in that field. The master’s program was such a compelling opportunity such that I had the opportunity to enroll in courses during my undergraduate studies. I continued on and had the chance to be exposed to a wide breadth of topics, ranging from apoptosis and cancer genetics (still very current topics), to business related topics such as intellectual property and cGMP courses, all very related to the core biotech industry. I found the mix of business and science to be quite useful.

Even today, nearly 10 years later, I still encounter topics during my daily work that I have a certain level of familiarity with, thanks for being introduced to them early on. I even sometimes refer to my old class notes!

The faculty of the program, particularly Dr. Jack Chirikjian and Vasna Nontanovan, has always been welcoming, supportive and excellent mentors.

What’s more, through staying in the DC area, I have had the fortune and honor to host a variety of interns over the years, many of which have moved onto excellent employment opportunities elsewhere as well as in the company I am now. The experience of working with them and the value they provide has been immeasurable. I have even noticed some previous interns featured in this forum!

Since completing the Masters at Georgetown, I have mostly been focused on the entrepreneurial biotech arena. Immediately following graduation, I briefly worked in a consultancy focused on helping to organize and raise seed capital for start-ups, mostly working with health-care and biotech related clients. Following that, I was in corporate development at a molecular diagnostic company in the DC area. After a stint running my own business which was successfully exited, I joined the biotechnology company that I am currently at – a very exciting nucleic acid vaccine company called Immunomic Therapeutics. Here, I have held roles in clinical project management, corporate management, marketing, and strategy, and currently serve as Senior Director of Corporate Development.

Along the way, last year I earned a Global Executive MBA from Duke University, which also built upon some of the foundational coursework from Georgetown and allowed me to broaden my horizons on a more global level. Currently, I am completing a certificate in Health Sector Management from Duke, which should tie in a lot of elements on the other side of the spectrum of healthcare management, from healthcare delivery, payers, reimbursement and other relevant topics, even to those working in pharmaceutical development.

I remain in contact with the Georgetown University Biotech program and am pleased to see its’ success and growth. I highly recommend it for the aspiring biotechnology scientist and/or professional, as well as others going into scientific and medical fields who would undoubtedly benefit from its coursework and network!