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The Health & Life Sciences (HLS) team operates four practice areas – a. advisory role and learning agenda b. US Healthcare, c. Exemplars in GH, and d. Alzheimer’s disease-focused investments. Within the scope of Alzheimer’s disease-focused investments, Gates Ventures has focused on five pillars: 1. Upstream research, 2. Biomarkers/diagnostics, 3. Therapeutics pipeline, 4. Clinical trial bottlenecks and 5. Enabling data sharing and use.
Within this context, the Alzheimer’s Disease Data Initiative (AD Data Initiative) aims to fundamentally transform Alzheimer’s disease research, accelerating progress toward new treatments and cures for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. We enable the widest possible access to the greatest possible amount of data to accelerate the discovery of biomarkers, diagnostics, treatments, and cures for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.
Gates Ventures provides human resources to the AD Data Initiative through a donated services agreement, including this Executive Director role. The Executive Director should expect to function primarily in support of the AD Data Initiative’s strategic objectives and as the leader of other Gates Ventures employees who support this charitable organization.
To learn more click here: https://www.alzheimersdata.org/about
OPPORTUNITY
Over the past two decades, the pace of drug discovery and development for Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia has increased dramatically. Although effective new treatments are not yet available to ease the suffering of people with dementia and the people who care for them, the tremendous amount of information that has been collected on their behalf could accelerate the pace of discovery and progress toward treatment or cure.
Our goal is to bring together the major existing platforms in such a way that they each retain their unique properties while simultaneously stitching them together to allow access to critical data needed for clinical trials of innovative interventions. We employ mechanisms to ensure transparency, avoid redundancy, and allow replication and advancement of the work.
This interoperability layer (the AD Workbench) will facilitate discovery in multiple areas, but most importantly will improve our understanding of how to characterize dementia more precisely. This will include the identification of biomarkers that enable rapid, inexpensive, and accessible ways to measure the stage and severity of dementia, from its earliest origin to its more severe forms. It will also include more precise methods for measuring individual symptoms of dementia. It will support the characterization and stratification of people with dementia into the subgroups most likely to respond to precision therapies.
Overall, the goals of the AD Data Initiative are to encourage and enable interoperability across existing platforms; expand and enhance the community of data contributors and users; evaluate and ensure the quality of data; and protect the privacy of participants from studies and trials. This effort will facilitate an inclusive community of researchers working to solve the problems of dementia.
ROLE SUMMARY
The Executive Director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Data Initiative will lead the organization’s efforts in moving Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) innovation further and faster by leading a strategy and developing a platform to connect researchers with the data they need to develop new and better treatments and diagnostic tools for AD and related dementias. This role will also oversee a small 5 to 6-person team as well as a limited set of vendors & contractors.
The Executive Director will ensure that the team aligns with the organization’s mission and works tirelessly and effectively to achieve its vision. To see the vision through, the role will partner closely with a range of external innovators and health experts, working in partnership with colleagues at partner organizations, including Advisory Board organizations and funding agencies. Role
The role will report to the Managing Director of Health & Life Sciences. It will also be responsible to the Board and its members as well as the Advisory Board and its members who represent key stakeholders in the Alzheimer’s disease community and the people whose vision created the Alzheimer’s Disease Data Initiative. The Executive Director will establish relationships with key stakeholders/leaders and will encourage their organizations to contribute data and use the platform to implement novel solutions. The role will also engage the academic community who act as critical contributors and thought leaders to this effort.
ROLE & RESPONSIBILITIES
Leadership Responsibilities:
The Executive Director of the AD Data Initiative sets clear expectations aligned with organizational objectives, manages performance, supports development, and creates an environment for success. The role will provide guidance and feedback to team members to enable the highest organizational impact. It will establish the team’s vision, oversee strategy development, and ensure key performance indicators are met. The Executive Director will also inspire the AD Data Initiative team to work collaboratively and effectively toward clear goals and set clear expectations aligned with the organization's objectives.
Overall Responsibilities:
REQUIRED SKILLS & EXPERIENCE
REQUIRED COMPETENCIES