Our leadership

Scientific Collaboration Director

Melissa Maderia, PhD

Melissa Maderia is the Scientific Director for West Loop Innovations, a partnership between UIC and Deerfield Management. As Scientific Director, Melissa manages all aspects of West Loop, including engagement with faculty, the solicitation of proposals, and overseeing the review process. She works closely with UIC faculty and the broader Deerfield drug discovery and development team to ensure a robust pipeline of projects. Once projects have been selected, Melissa works with the principal investigators to develop a research plan and allocate the resources needed to achieve Investigational New Drug (IND) readiness, the first step towards clinical testing.

Previously, Melissa was the Assistant Director and a Senior Technology Manager in the Office of Technology Management (OTM) at UIC, where she was responsible for managing a portfolio of medical-related technologies and led evaluation, patenting, marketing, and licensing activities. Prior to coming to UIC, Melissa served as a Technology Transfer Specialist at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). While at NCI, Melissa promoted technologies that were developed at the NIH to attract industry partners to further develop and commercialize the technologies to benefit public health. She also promoted NIH resources available to industry and academic institutions such as funding opportunities, technical expertise, novel technologies, pre-clinical testing and screening, as well as helping to provide access to clinical sites for projects that directly benefited public health.

Melissa earned a BA in Chemistry from Hamilton College and a PhD in Chemistry from Texas A&M University, as well as a Master’s in Management with a marketing specialization and an MBA from the University of Maryland University College.

Joint Steering Committee

  • Joanna Groden, PhD, MPP

    Vice Chancellor for Research, UIC

    Dr. Joanna Groden currently serves as the Vice Chancellor for Research at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She completed her BA degree in Biology at Middlebury College, a PhD in Cell Biology and Genetics at the Cornell University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, and a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Human Genetics/Howard Hughes Medical Institute at the University of Utah.

    Dr. Groden previously served as Professor and Vice Chair for Academic Affairs in the Department of Cancer Biology & Genetics at The Ohio State University (OSU) College of Medicine. She joined The Ohio State University faculty in 2005 and served in various administrative roles in the College of Medicine, such as Associate Dean for Basic Science Research from 2007 to 2011, Associate Dean for Graduate Education from 2011 to 2013; and finally as Vice Dean for Research from 2013 to 2017. Most recently, she served as the Co-Director of the Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program, Director of the Pelotonia Fellowship Program and the Education Program Leader for the OSU CTSA-supported Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences. Prior to her tenure at OSU, she served on the Molecular Genetics, Biochemistry and Microbiology faculty of the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine from 1993 to 2005 and, during her last two years there as the College of Medicine Vice Dean for Research. She was previously appointed as an Assistant Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (1997-2004).

    Dr. Groden is a human geneticist, who is internationally recognized for her research in identifying key genetic causes of colon cancer and other inherited cancers through the identification and characterization of two human disease genes. Her research has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health since 1994. Dr. Groden has served on several boards and advisory panels including the NCI Board of Scientific Counselors, and actively participates in the peer review process for AACR, NIH, DOD and many other national and international funding agencies and scientific journals. With numerous publications and patents, Dr. Groden has been elected as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and a Fellow of the American Gastroenterological Association.

  • Suseelan Pookote, PhD

    Director, Office of Technology Management, UIC

    Suseelan Pookote joined the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2014. Previously, he was the Director for Business Development for Durata Therapeutics. He joined Advanced Life Sciences in March 2001 as Executive Vice President of Corporate Development and continued in that position till 2011. Prior to joining Advanced Life Sciences, Dr. Pookote worked at Monsanto Company from 1980 to 2000, where he had responsibility for technology and business development in a variety of industry segments such as food, nutrition, biotechnology and specialty chemicals. At Monsanto, Dr. Pookote concentrated on technology evaluation, licensing and corporate transactions, including the negotiation of technology licensing deals with academic institutions.

    Dr. Pookote received his PhD in Chemical Engineering from Northwestern University.

  • William Slattery

    William Slattery is a Partner on the Therapeutics team and joined the Firm in 2000. Prior to Deerfield, Mr. Slattery was a senior healthcare analyst for 10 years at Amerindo Investment Advisors, where he oversaw biotechnology investments. He has held various positions in research including those at National Medical Enterprises, Johnson & Johnson, and HMSS. Mr. Slattery is the Chairman of Gilda’s Club New York City, a non-profit organization supporting cancer patients and their families. He holds an undergraduate degree in Biology and Chemistry from State University of New York at Albany and completed coursework in Immunology at the Graduate School-New Brunswick, Rutgers University.