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Iya Khalil, Ph.D., Co-founder
and Executive Vice President
Dr. Iya KhalilA thirst for knowledge and a hunger for culture: These are the forces that drive Dr. Iya Khalil towards excellence. This young, gifted, and dedicated head of the well known bio-tech research company Gene Network Sciences, Inc. will not give up her search for truth during her life. As the co-founder and executive vice president, Khalil leads a group of scientists in the search for a cure for cancer. But her success doesn't stop there. Deeply in touch with her Libyan roots, Khalil is devoted to the promotion of peace and justice in the Arab world. This week, The MidEastConnect enthusiastically brings you a phenomenal young woman who has gone above and beyond and doesn't stop looking for more places to go in the Young and Professional Profile of Dr. Iya Khalil.
Website
www.gnsbiotech.com
Name
Iya Khalil, Ph.D., Co-founder and Executive Vice President of Gene Network Sciences , 33
Hometown
Seattle, Washington
Current residence
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Education
B.S. in physics from the University of Washington (1994) and a Ph.D. in physics from Cornell University (2000)
Past companies
Researcher at Cornell University and Abbott laboratories
Ethnicity
Libyan
About the company
Gene Network Sciences is a biosimulation company that creates computer models able to simulate the clinical performance of drugs and drug candidates. At present, creating a new drug takes an average of $800 million and 12 years. There's a pressing need to reduce the expense and time of this process, and to better understand the efficacy and toxicity of drugs. By predicting how and why specific drugs impact human biology, my company's technology increases clinical trial success rates and helps bring better drugs to market faster.
What are your responsibilities?
I oversee the application of our models in alliances with pharmaceutical and biotech companies. Our collaborators and customers include Novartis, Johnson & Johnson and the Mary Crowley Medical Research Center.
Most notable milestones
I'm really excited about a new relationship we've started with a leading cancer patient clinic -- the Mary Crowley Medical Research Center. Our collaboration marks the first time biosimulation is being used to test treatments for actual cancer patients based on their individual gene expression data. So, the models we are creating and the predictions we make are improving actual patient care.
What's the niche?
We provide knowledge on how compounds work which has great value to our customers. What we provide is fundamentally different than what pharmaceutical companies can do with the current data analysis tools they have. Our technology enables the discovery of unknown biological mechanisms and the impact that these mechanisms have on drug efficacy and safety.
Unexpected learnings along the way
The difference between creating a great technology and transforming that into a viable business.
What's in store for the future?
Every cancer manifests itself differently in individuals. Cancer has been described as many diseases, which in a way makes a lot of sense. Some day we will be able to determine the exact treatment protocol for an individual using biosimulations and a patient's genetic and molecular cancer signature.
Who would you like to be contacted by?
Leading researchers in pharmaceutical companies looking to advance their compounds through the drug development pipeline.
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Best way to keep a competitive edge
Identify the one or two things you need to do to maximally impact your business and focus on those. Everything else is irrelevant and will only cause you to waste resources.
Guiding principle in life
Success is important, but it should not come at the cost of being a decent, moral human being. If you sacrifice that, then the success really does not mean anything.
Yardstick of success
The yardstick for success for any business has to be the bottom line. Having a great technology is important, but at the end of the day you have to generate revenue and achieve profitability.
Goal yet to be achieved
There have been some early adopters of our technology. We would like our technology to be used by every researcher looking to advance their compound in the drug development pipeline. We are aiming to become an integral layer in the drug development process and will continue to improve and market our technology until we achieve that goal.
Most memorable business experience
Going in front of pharmaceutical executives for the first time to pitch the new idea of using physics and computer science to model biology and how compounds work.
Best practical advice
Don't let your failures knock you down and keep you down. Quickly bounce back and use what you have learned to ensure future success.
Supportive words from a family member or friend on your venture
My father told me that nothing worthwhile was ever easy. If what you are doing is hard and requires all of your concerted efforts, then it is worth doing.
Mentor
Dr. Gamal Khalil (my father)
What motivates you for success
Knowing that I am working on something worthwhile. Something that has the potential to benefit humanity both scientifically and economically.
Like best about what you do
Interacting with very talented people in the business and scientific world. I thrive on that energy and love learning from others.
Like least about what you do
When work (as it often does) overflows into the weekend (a time for rest and rejuvenation).
At age 10, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A scientist with funky mad scientist hair exactly the way my dad had it when he was working in a chemistry lab as a researcher. I did become a scientist, but my hair is not very funky.
Biggest pastime outside of work
Being physically active, reading, and dabbling in the kitchen.
Person most interested in meeting
If he were still alive it would be Ghandi. We all have a lot to learn from him on how to be better human beings.
Leader in business most interested in meeting
Steve Jobs. He did it once and he's doing it again. Of course, we all want to know how he does it.
Three interesting facts about yourself
- I am most at home in water rather than on land (especially in the Mediterranean sea along the shores of North Africa)
- I have ideas for three screenplays centered around North African and Arab American culture that I hope to commit to paper someday
- My sisters and cousins are my best friends
Three characteristics that describe you
Driven. A risk taker. Excellent laugher (really, I have a very good laugh).
Three greatest passions
- Great conversation, banter, and laughter
- . Learning about other cultures -- variations in food, dance, music, and cultural habits throughout the world
- Creating something out of nothing (e.g. starting from a set of raw ingredients in the kitchen to create a wonderful dish, starting a business from scratch and building it up, propagating ideas that can transform people and how they do things).
Favorite book
The Journey of Ibn Fattouma by Naguib Mahfouz
Favorite cause
The environment. This is by far the single most important issue facing humanity today. We rely on our planet for life itself and the damage we are doing may not be reversible.
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