Executive Director
Moderna Therapeutics, United States
Wei Gao, PhD is the Head of Clinical and Quantitative Pharmacology at Moderna, where she leads clinical and quantitative pharmacology strategies across multiple therapeutic areas to advance the mRNA platform, supporting both the therapeutic and vaccine pipelines.
Prior to joining Moderna, Dr. Gao served as the Global Head of Pharmacometrics and Oncology Portfolio Section Head in Quantitative Pharmacology at EMD Serono. In this role, she shaped pharmacometric strategies across the portfolio and drove clinical pharmacology initiatives in immuno-oncology and targeted therapeutics, including antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and bispecifics. Earlier in her career, Dr. Gao held several key leadership positions at Merck Research Laboratories, including serving as the Neuroscience Therapeutic Area Head and Pharmacometrics Group Head.
Dr. Gao is widely recognized as a leader in quantitative clinical pharmacology. Her impact is reflected in over 40 peer-reviewed publications and more than 80 conference presentations. She has made significant contributions through leadership in scientific societies, including serving as Chair of the ACoP 2024 conference, co-chairing an FDA-led workshop on oncology dose optimization, and representing the international pharmacometrics community in discussions with both the FDA and PMDA. She currently serves as Treasurer for the International Society of Pharmacometrics (ISoP).
Dr. Gao earned her PhD from the State University of New York at Buffalo, where she conducted research on disease progression modeling and mechanistic PK/PD modeling of Type 2 Diabetes under the mentorship of Dr. William Jusko, a pioneer in the field.
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Monday, October 20, 2025
2:00 PM - 3:30 PM MDT