Editor Biographies Free

Dr Ved Srivastava has over 30 years of scientific experience, displaying an entrepreneurial spirit in peptide science across the big pharma and biotech industries. Ved is an internationally recognized industry expert in peptide therapeutics. Currently, Ved is the Chief Technology Officer at Perpetual Medicines. Prior to that, he was vice president of chemistry at Aktis Oncology Inc. Ved served as head of peptide chemistry at both GlaxoSmithKline and Amylin Pharmaceuticals (Astra Zeneca). He was co-founder and vice president of Phoundry Pharmaceuticals and served as vice president of chemistry at Intarcia Therapeutics. He was also a co-founder and President of the Global Peptide Science Institute (GPSi); and former President of the American Peptide Society.

Ved has expertise in peptide medicinal chemistry, peptide drug delivery, and chemistry manufacturing and control (CMC) with a major emphasis on drug discovery and development in oncology, metabolic diseases, central nervous system, and inflammation therapeutic areas. Ved has significantly contributed to the development of several peptide-based drugs at the preclinical and clinical stages, including the commercialization of three peptide-based drugs Byetta™ (glucagon-like peptide 1), Bydeureon™ (glucagon-like peptide 1) and Symlin™ (Amylin) for the treatment of type 2 and type 1 diabetes.

Ved has co-authored and published more than 100 peer-reviewed manuscripts, patents, abstracts, and book chapters, and five recent books focused on peptide-based drug discovery and development: (1) Implantable Technologies: Peptides and Small Molecules Drug Delivery, (2) Peptide Therapeutics CMC – Strategy for Chemistry Manufacturing and Control, (3) Peptide-based Drug Discovery: Challenges and New Therapeutics, (4) Comprehensive Medicinal Chemistry III – Biologics Medicine – Volume 6 and (5) Peptide 2015.

Ved is also the Editor-in-Chief of the Drug Development and Pharmaceutical Science book series published by the Royal Society of Chemistry. He has been an Editorial Board member of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) Journal and a board member of several committees at FASEB.

Ved served as Vice Chair and is a member of the Peptides Expert Committee of the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) and served in the governance of the American Chemical Society (ACS) and the American Peptide Society (APS). Ved earned a PhD in organic chemistry from the University of Lucknow, India.

Dr Rakhee Vatsa has over 15 years of experience in the field of radiopharmaceuticals and imaging. She currently serves as Technical Head, contract development and manufacturing organization at ABX-Contract Research Organization (ABX-CRO) Advanced Pharmaceutical Services, New Delhi, India.

Earlier she served as Scientific Officer D (Radiopharmacist) at the Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer (ACTREC), Tata Memorial Centre, Navi Mumbai, India, establishing Asia’s largest stand-alone nuclear medicine department with state-of-the-art facilities including 41 isolation beds for radioiodine therapy, single-photon emission computed tomography, positron emission tomography–computed tomography, radiopharmacy, and small-animal imaging research facilities.

After completing her postgraduate studies in nuclear medicine at Panjab University and Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, India, Dr Vatsa began her career as a demonstrator at the Department of Nuclear Medicine, PGIMER, Chandigarh, India. Her fascination with the clinical applications of radiotracers fueled her doctoral research, where she developed arginylglycylaspartic acid (RGD) peptides as theranostic agents. Among her notable achievements, she pioneered the use of PET imaging with gallium-68-labeled RGD peptides for improved management of rheumatoid arthritis. Additionally, she was the first to employ lutetium-177 RGD for treating patients with radioiodine-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer, providing a therapeutic option for those who had exhausted all other treatments.

Dr Vatsa held various senior academic and research positions at PGIMER, gaining extensive experience in handling a broad range of radioisotopes, including ^99mTc, ¹³N, ¹⁸F, ⁶⁸Ga, ¹⁷⁷Lu, ¹⁸⁸Re, ²²⁵Ac, and ⁹⁰Y. Her expertise spans radiolabeling, quality control procedures, and the safe handling of these isotopes. She was also actively involved in teaching, delivering lectures, and conducting practical sessions for postgraduate students (MSc and MD).

Dr Vatsa has published more than 50 articles in peer-reviewed journals and has presented her research at numerous national and international conferences. At present she is editor of the Nuclear Medicine Physicist Association of India Newsletter.