A story of passion, innovation, and determination

Dr. Shailja Dixit

Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Shailja Dixit is a Physician Executive with more than 20 years of experience in the healthcare and life sciences industry. She has been in executive leadership positions at Sanofi, Allergan, and GE, and has been responsible for launching several innovative medicines.

Shailja was voted innovator of the year at GE in 2008, nominated as a Top 50 Thought Leader in ‘Big Data’ in Life Sciences in 2016, and featured in the Pharma Executive Magazine cover-page article “Real-World Evidence: From Volume to Value” (Oct 13, 2016). She built and had successful exits with many projects.

Erin Russell

Chief Operating Officer

Erin Russell is a Healthcare Executive with extensive experience in product, marketing, and commercial operations. She founded Health Grizzly, a digital health platform that helps seniors access care. She also founded Spotlyte, a care navigation digital health venture focused on facilitating the consumer journey into treatment through education and engagement.

In addition to her entrepreneurial experience, Erin has 20+ years of commercial experience at pharmaceutical companies, including Merck, Schering-Plough, and Allergan. She has built and led commercial teams and business units, launched products, and reinvigorated sales of in-line products.

Erin holds a BS in Chemistry from the University of Arizona and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Amrik Shah

Chief Analytics Officer

Amrik Shah brings 20+ years of experience in strategic design and analysis of clinical trials and management/coordination with specialized CROs in areas of statistics and programming, including machine learning/AI. He possesses experience in drug development that spans discovery through phase 3 clinical trials, with time spent at various big and small pharma companies. His recent experiences include consultation for various biotechs in areas of liver disease, cell therapy, and rare diseases, such as ALS and PSC.

Amrik is passionate about leveraging the intersection of statistics, logic, and analytics as applied to real-world data to develop robust and refined algorithmic tools for identifying, managing, and treating patients. Beyond that, his areas of interest include sequential designs, hypothesis testing with multiplicity control, longitudinal/mixed models including PK/PD, and small sample inference. He holds a B.E. from Punjab Engineering College, India, and a doctorate (ScD) in Biostatistics from Harvard University.

Indira Malladi

Manager of Research and Development

Indira Malladi is a graduate of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, with a double major in Public Health (BS) and Economics (BA). Her drive as a public health advocate is fueled by a desire to rise beyond professional silos and cultivate interdisciplinary partnerships. She believes equitable community partnerships are a cornerstone of eliminating health disparities. Malladi also manages clinical trials for Stella.

Bobby Keough

Product Design & Marketing Manager

Bobby is a graduate of Hofstra University and a multi-media digital artist. From creating graphics to designing user experience, he helps to shape the creative direction of Curio^TM’s products and marketing. He believes in combining science and art through technology to empower a better tomorrow.

Fabiana Monteiro

Clinical Content and Research Specialist

Fabiana is a mental health researcher and clinical psychologist who is passionate about evidence-based digital health solutions and the role of technology in the future of healthcare. She is particularly interested in an approach that promotes positive mental health at the population level rather than focusing solely on treating and preventing disorders.

Her work has focused on targeting the development and strengthening of psychological resources, such as acceptance-, mindfulness-, and compassion-based skills. Her Ph.D. project focused on a randomized controlled trial of a web-based intervention to promote maternal mental health. She has also conducted research on psychotherapeutic processes such as acceptance, mindfulness, and self-compassion.

Fabiana has been involved in different research projects at the Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive Behavioral Intervention (University of Coimbra), including the development of a mobile-based intervention for perinatal mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic and the design of a clinical trial of a mindfulness web-based intervention for promoting mindful parenting. She is experienced in planning and executing research projects, as well as in the dissemination of results.

She has authored and co-authored over 10 articles in peer-reviewed journals and presented several works at scientific events. A big passion for travel, food, and music helps her remain sane and fuels my working hours.

Mayuresh Dalal

Director – Technology Implementation

A proven team leader and manager known for successfully assisting the launch of high-quality software releases on schedule and on budget through the utilization of agile methodologies. Enabling technology solutions to be informed by the needs of the business by being a true partner to all parts of the organization. Mayuresh leads Curio’s digital products engineering team, which is responsible for developing the company’s direct-to-consumer and enterprise technology platforms. He is responsible for defining the long-term technology strategy and vision for Curio’s innovative digital products. Mayuresh holds a MS degree in Computer Science & Information Systems from Pace University, New York, as well as a Software Engineering degree from Mumbai University, India.

Christine Chen

Chief Financial Officer

Christine has 15 years of prior experience on Wall Street and Bay Street focusing on fintech wealth management product development, program management, and financial controls/accounting. She is also the owner of a boutique consulting firm providing digital strategy and transformation services to media conglomerate, financial data services, health care, non-profit and professional services. She was the Chair of a national mental health non-profit organization in Canada and is a CFA Charter Holder. In her spare time, Christine enjoys mixed martial arts, swimming, eco-travelling, reading, culinary arts and independent films.

Gray Somers

Senior Vice President, Plans and Health Systems

An innovative and results-oriented executive, Gray is the former General Manager and Vice President of Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Hampshire and led the newly-acquired plan to breakthrough EBITDA and operational results within two years of his appointment. Gray has a profound passion for meaningful change in both the delivery and financing of health care and has organized and led healthcare consortiums with internationally recognized thought leaders including Tom Peters, Ph.D., Uwe Reinhardt, Ph.D., Regina Herzlinger, Ph.D., Malcolm Gladwell, Ken Blanchard, Ph.D., and others to generate solution-driven discussions among all healthcare stakeholders.

Gray previously served as Vice President and General Manager of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Connecticut’s Public Sector Business Unit and was responsible for all federal, state, and local government business, generating $550M in annual revenue. He reimagined the company’s purpose and employee engagement and drove cultural change leading to the highest Great Place To Work GPTW® scores in the Anthem organization.

After leaving Anthem, Gray co-founded a venture-funded, rapid growth addiction recovery business. As the co-founder and President/CEO of Aware Recovery Care, Inc., he achieved a 25.5x multiple of capital (MOC) return over five years with >15.5% IRR. Gray was able to leverage his prior experience as President of Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Hampshire to negotiate bundled-payment contracts with leading health insurers that generated over 65% gross margin. 

Most importantly, Gray has overcome significant life challenges including successful treatment for late-stage lymphoma. This has served to ignite an extraordinary passion to ensure that those suffering from life-threatening illnesses have access to evidence-based, compassionate, and accessible healthcare. Gray continues to support entrepreneurs and senior executives of emerging healthcare businesses through coaching, thought leadership and consulting to understand best practices regarding operational and cultural alignment as well as access to capital markets.

Sidhartha Shankar

Director

Sidhartha Shankar has more than 20 years of Technology Management experience. He was CTO of Ediom, LLC, an AI/ Big Data startup focused on building data products for the provider market in a JV with Vizient, the largest GPO in the USA. Prior to that, he served as Managing Partner of iMedInvestments LLP, a cross-border advisory investment banking firm. Sidhartha was also the VP of IT for Walkingspree Inc, a specialty wellness provider. He is a graduate of the Wharton Business School and the University of Pennsylvania, and also has a Software Engineering degree from NIT, India.

Anne Whitaker

Director

Anne Whitaker is a seasoned Healthcare Executive with 28+ years of experience across multiple companies and geographies. She has a proven track record of building and leading high-performance teams to successfully commercialize pharmaceuticals, consumer products, and medical devices. 

Anne has been recognized in the pharmaceutical industry by FiercePharma as one of the top ‘25 Most Influential People in BioPharma’ in 2012 and 2013, and in 2014 as one of the top ‘25 Most Influential Women in BioPharma’. She was recently recognized by PharmaVoice as one of the ‘Top 100 most Inspiring Leaders in Healthcare’ and by Women, Inc as one of the most ‘Influential Corporate Directors’ in 2019. She is a member of the Women Corporate Directors, the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association, the International Women’s Forum, and OnBoardNC. 

Also, Anne is the current Chairman of Aerami Therapeutics, She acts as an independent director on the board of Cree, Mallinckrodt, and UDG Healthcare, and serves on the Board of Trustees for the University of North Alabama, her alma mater. She is an active industry advisor to private equity and venture capital funds in the US and Europe. 

Anne served as the President of the North America Region Head, where she led the team to deliver ~$10B in net sales equaling > 30% of the net sales. She served as the CEO and President of Synta Pharmaceuticals, in 2014 and 2015 and joined Bausch Health as an Ex. VP and Company Group Chairman for the Branded Pharmaceuticals segment in mid-2015. Later, she served as the CEO and President of Novoclem Therapeutics, Inc. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from the University of North Alabama.

Dr. Jean-Pierre Lehner

Director

Jean-Pierre Lehner MD, cardiologist and internal medicine graduate served the pharmaceutical industry for 30 years. Before joining the pharmaceutical industry, Jean-Pierre was a practitioner at Hospital Bichat, Paris (France), where he was heading the Intensive Care Unit of Cardiology for the last four years.

Dr. Lehner assumed various roles in medical affairs. In 1981, he joined Roussel-Uclaf Company first as medical director in France, then in charge of international clinical development until 1992. He served successively at Sanofi as Head of Clinical Development for four years before taking the scientific director position in France until 2002. He also developed the European medical team before becoming Global Medical Director in 2005.

In 2009, Jean-Pierre was appointed as Senior Vice President & Chief Medical Officer reporting to the Head of R&D and then to Sanofi’s CEO. In this position, Jean-Pierre had responsibility for worldwide medical affairs, regulatory affairs, safety, and HEOR research including comparative effectiveness. During these years, Jean-Pierre acquired à very large expertise in the benefit-risk assessment of marketed and non-marketed products and defended many regulatory files in front of global agencies.

Well-respected in the medical community and pharmaceutical industry, Jean-Pierre led the development of new concepts within medical affairs to fit the external evolution. This includes innovative methodologies for real-world research and the development of relative medical value to enhance the patient-centric value of drug development. He also played a key role in the enhancement of coverage and reimbursement dossier development.

Jean-Pierre is now the Executive Director of his own company — JPLPharma Consulting.

Catherine Monk

Scientific Advisor

Catherine Monk, Ph.D., is a Professor in the Departments of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Psychiatry at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and Research Scientist VI at the New York State Psychiatric Institute. Catherine oversees the integrated women’s mental health program in Obstetrics & Gynecology. Her research brings together the fields of psychopathology, developmental psychobiology, developmental neuroscience, and perinatal psychiatry to focus on the earliest influences on children’s developmental trajectories — those that happen in utero — and how to intervene early to prevent mental health problems

Dr. Jian Jenny Tang

Scientific Advisor

Dr. Jian Jenny Tang has 20+ years of experience in general obstetrics and gynecology. She is an advocate for her patients by balancing modern western medicine and holistic eastern medicine. Dr. Jian Jenny also has a strong interest in reproductive health and women’s wellness. Lastly, she is involved in the North American Asian American fitness community, providing health and exercise guidelines to women before, during, and after pregnancy.

Dr. Komal Dutt, Ph.D.

Scientific Advisor

Dr. Komal Dutt received her Ph.D. from the State University of New York at Albany. She has completed an American Psychological Association-approved internship at the University of Pittsburgh Counseling Center and has completed her post-doctoral training at Drew University Counseling Center. She has also worked at a community mental health center in upstate New York.

Komal received a Masters in Organizational Behavior from the University of Delhi, India. She is skilled in the treatment of depression, anxiety, stress, relationship issues, self-esteem, body image, women’s, and career-related issues.

Dr. Ana Fonseca, Ph.D.

Clinical Content Expert And Research

Dr. Fonseca is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Coimbra, Portugal. She has conducted multiple years of research and published several studies in the area of postpartum depression. Her research led to the development of the ‘Be a Mom’ program. It is a self-guided, web-based intervention to prevent persistent postpartum depression symptoms [PPD], targeting both at-risk postpartum women and/or women presenting early-onset postpartum depressive symptoms.

The program is grounded on the principles of Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, and Curio^TM has the exclusive right to the content. Moreover, its principles have been incorporated into the Stella program.

Maria Cristina Canavarro

Scientific Advisor

Maria Cristina Canavarro is a Full-time Professor at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of the University of Coimbra (FPCE-UC); researcher, and coordinator of the Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive and Behavioral Intervention and the Research Group Relationships, Development & Health of CINEICC. She is the Director of the Cognitive Behavioral Unit of the University of Coimbra and a member of the National Ethical Committee for Clinical Research (CEIC). Also, a member of the Order of Portuguese Psychologists (OPP), recognized as an expert psychologist in Clinical and Health Psychology, with advanced expertise in Psychotherapy and Early Intervention.

Maria Cristina was, for twenty-one years, responsible for the Unit of Psychological Intervention (UnIP) of the Daniel de Matos Maternity, Integrated Management Area in Maternal-Fetal Health, of the Coimbra Hospital and University Center (CHUC, EPE). She has participated, as a principal researcher, member, and consultant, in different R&D research projects and other scientific projects.

She is the Co-Principal Investigator of the project ‘BeAMom Trial’, a web-based psychological intervention to promote maternal mental health” (CENTRO-01-0145-FEDER-028699). Maria Cristina has published more than 240 articles in international peer review scientific journals and more than 90 articles in national peer review scientific journals as well as several book chapters and books.