Meet the Speakers

Dr. Karissa Cottier

Karissa Cottier, PhD, Manager of R&D, BioIVT

Dr. Cottier earned her PhD in medical pharmacology at University of Arizona where she focused on drug delivery in migraine headache model. In her post-doctoral fellowship at Johns Hopkins University Karissa utilized molecular and histology-based assays in an in vitro model to study cerebral malaria. We at BioIVT were pleased that Karissa decided to join our team in our lab in Baltimore Maryland following her post-doc. She has contributed to numerous projects, and importantly led our program to develop high-purity Kupffer cells as well as investigate new applications for our HEPATOPAC and HEPATOMUNE cultures.

Dr. Rhiannon Hardwick

Rhiannon Hardwick, PhD, Scientific Director, BMS

Rhiannon is a Scientific Director in Discovery Toxicology at Bristol Myers Squibb, San Diego, where she oversees an in vitro toxicology laboratory and serves as a project toxicologist for discovery phase programs across therapeutic modalities. Her laboratory interests include the use of complex in vitro models and microphysiological systems in the identification and characterization of tox liabilities and mechanistic investigations. Rhiannon is a Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology, an active member of the Society of Toxicology and serves as an Associate Editor for Toxicological Sciences. Rhiannon also is a member of the European Organ on a Chip Society Industrial Advisory Board and a BMS representative to the IQ Consortium Microphysiological Systems Affiliate where she has served on the executive committee, participated in the organization of several MPS-related workshops, and contributed to several manuscripts regarding qualification, standardization, and regulatory perspectives in the MPS field.

Dr. Shiny Rajan

Shiny Rajan, PhD, Senior Director, Javelin Biotech

Shiny Rajan serves as Senior Director of Platform Development at Javelin Biotech, where she leads the development of human-relevant tissue models that are reshaping how drugs are evaluated before reaching the clinic. With a background in biomedical engineering and dual training in science and business (Ph.D./MBA, Virginia Tech–Wake Forest University), she brings both technical expertise and strategic vision to her role. Her early work in engineering, a six-organ integrated human tissue platform set the stage for her current leadership in advancing multi-tissue chips for drug metabolism, pharmacokinetics, and disease applications. At Javelin, she combines innovation in tissue engineering with collaborative partnerships across academia and industry to deliver predictive models that bridge preclinical research and human health outcomes. 

Dr. Cari Rosette

Cari Rosette, PhD, Senior Director, VivoSim Labs

Cari Rosette, PhD is a senior biomedical scientist with more than 22 years of experience in drug discovery and translational research, with expertise spanning inflammatory diseases and oncology immunotherapy. She currently serves as Senior Director of Drug Discovery at VivoSim Labs, Inc., where she pioneers the development of new approach methodologies (NAMs) in toxicology. Her work leverages advanced 3D human liver and intestinal tissue models—both healthy and diseased—to improve prediction of toxicological responses and accelerate safer drug development.

Dr. Rosette has held senior leadership positions across the biotechnology sector. As Director of R&D at Cosmo Pharmaceuticals, she managed IND submissions for small-molecule oncology therapies and guided preclinical programs in dermatology and gastrointestinal disease. Previously, as Associate Director of R&D at Cosmo Bioscience, she oversaw Phase II melanoma immunotherapy trials and biomarker discovery. Earlier in her career, she served as Principal Investigator at the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Foundation, directing high-throughput screening programs in metabolic and muscle disease.

She earned her PhD in Biomedical Sciences from the University of California, San Diego, where she identified novel stress-induced mechanisms of receptor activation, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Minnesota’s Center for Immunology, investigating T cell receptor signaling. Her academic foundation includes a BS in Biophysics from UC Berkeley.

Dr. Rosette has published extensively in leading journals such as Science, Immunity, Carcinogenesis, and Gastroenterology, with influential contributions to NF-κB signaling, T-cell activation, and translational immunology. She is an inventor on patents in drug delivery, an active member of the American Association of Immunologists, and a recipient of research awards including NIH Research Grants and the Damon Runyon-Walter Winchell Cancer Research Fellowship.