Meet the AMR Action Fund Team

Henry Skinner, PhD, MJur, is an experienced executive who is deeply versed in the economic and scientific challenges of antimicrobial drug development.

Prior to joining the Fund, he held leadership positions across the pharmaceutical and venture capital sectors, including serving as Senior Vice President, Venture at Tekla Capital Management and as Deputy Head and Managing Director of the Novartis Venture Fund. In addition, Henry was the CEO of SelectX Pharmaceuticals, which focused on developing small-molecule antimicrobials, and NeoGenesis Pharmaceuticals, which developed a platform for identifying and optimizing drug candidates.

Over the years, he has held Business Development positions at the Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research, Pfizer, Pharmacia, Pharmacia & Upjohn, and Lexicon Genetics. Henry was a postdoctoral fellow at Baylor College of Medicine in the department of Human and Molecular Genetics. He earned a PhD in Microbiology and an MS in Biochemistry from the University of Illinois; an MJur in Health Law, Policy, and Management from Texas A&M; and an MS and a BS in Biology/Biotechnology from Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

Martin Heidecker, PhD, MBA, joined the AMR Action Fund in August 2021, bringing with him extensive international experience in venture capital, drug development, and pharmaceutical marketing. Most recently, he was Managing Director USA of Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund in Boston, where he built a portfolio spanning multiple therapeutic areas, including oncology, central nervous system disorders, and anti-infectives, and led numerous companies to successful exits through M&As, IPOs, and product launches. Martin’s investing career began in Germany with Bayern Kapital, where he focused on seed investments in German biotechnology companies. Over the years, he has served on the board of directors at numerous biotech companies, including Tilos Therapeutics Inc. (acquired by Merck) and Armagen Technologies (acquired by JCR Pharmaceuticals). His deep understanding of the global biopharmaceutical industry is informed by his work at Solvay Pharmaceuticals and Boehringer Ingelheim, where he held a position in business development and marketing and helped launch several successful CNS drugs. He holds a PhD in biology from University of Würzburg and an MBA from FernUniversität Hagen.

Bill Burns has held numerous leadership positions in the pharmaceutical industry throughout his career, including serving as CEO of the global Pharmaceutical Division of Roche. He has also served on the main boards of Roche, Genentech, and Chugai and as lead non-executive director of Shire Pharmaceuticals and the smaller biotechnology companies Crucell, Biotie, and Okairos. He is currently Chair of Molecular Partners of Vestergaard and Vice Chair of Mesoblast. Additionally, Bill is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Center for Integrated Oncology of the University of Cologne/Bonn and on the Board of Trustees to the Institute of Cancer Research in London. He previously served on the Wellcome Trust Board of Governors.

Sergei Petukhov, DVM, joined the Fund in 2021, bringing with him a breadth of international investing experience and deep scientific expertise in bacteriophages and other innovative antimicrobial technologies. Immediately prior to joining the Fund, he was a partner at Enso Ventures, where he built a successful biotech investment pipeline valued at over $3 billion. He has held board and board observer positions at Seres Therapeutics, Axcella Health, Cavion, Galera Therapeutics, Cellectar Biosciences, Monet Pharmaceuticals, and NeuroVia. Before establishing Enso Ventures, Sergei worked at Rusnano, a nanotechnology investment fund, and served as an advisor at Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP, where he specialized in pharmaceutical IP litigation. He holds a DVM and MS in biophysics from Moscow Academy of Veterinary Medicine and Biotechnology and has studied at The Rockefeller University, The University of Edinburgh, The University of Cambridge, and First Moscow Medical Academy.

Carly Levine, PhD, joined the Fund as an analyst in November 2021, bringing with her a deep understanding of the biology of drug resistance and the science that underpins novel antibiotic development. She holds a PhD in microbiology and an MS in cell biology from Rutgers University, where she worked in the lab of Dr. David Alland. During her doctoral and post-doctoral studies, Carly developed and evaluated a novel anti-tubercular drug candidate and used a multi-omics approach to characterize the physiology of drug-tolerant Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates. Carly’s scientific work has led to several publications and recognition through various awards.

John Alter joined the Fund as Head of External Affairs after spending more than 20 years at Pfizer, where he was involved in multiple facets of antibiotic drug development and sales. He contributed to shaping the world’s first subscription model for antibiotics and worked on several other innovative contracts during his tenure with Pfizer. Immediately prior to joining the Fund, he was the Vice President of Patient and Health Impact for Pfizer’s hospital business unit, which covered a portfolio of over 170 molecules, including 50 medicines on the World Health Organization’s Essential Medicines List and dozens of anti-infective and anti-fungal drugs, as well as ten drug-delivery systems. The work of John’s team encompassed pricing, access, reimbursement, health economics, outcomes research, and real-world data collection. He holds an MBA from George Mason University and a BS from Villanova University.

Deepali Patel joined the Fund with more than 15 years of experience in global health policy in the U.S., Europe, Central America, and Asia. Most recently, she spent seven years serving as a Senior Policy Officer at Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, where she led the development of policies and strategies to accelerate the development, distribution, and uptake of high-impact vaccines in low- and middle-income countries. During that time, Deepali oversaw the successful approval of Gavi’s $2 billion malaria vaccine investment. She previously spent nine years at the National Academy of Medicine in the U.S., developing health policy and research recommendations for national and global stakeholders. She is a 2009 Fulbright Scholar and a graduate of the 2017 Advanced Course in Vaccinology. Deepali received an MPH from Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and a BS in Foreign Service from Georgetown University.

As Director of U.S. Policy, Jaclyn Levy works closely with the Fund’s leadership team and various external stakeholders to support policy solutions and market reforms related to R&D incentives, antimicrobial stewardship, and access. She joined the Fund from the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), where she served as Director of Public Policy and advanced a broad portfolio of science and public health policy issues. Prior to IDSA, Jaclyn worked as a biosecurity analyst for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, scientific editor, and consultant. She has extensive experience in federal and global policy and advocacy work and has authored numerous publications on pandemic preparedness, antimicrobial resistance, molecular diagnostics, and biomedical R&D. Jaclyn was a 2020 Atlantic Council Millennium Fellow and holds an MS in Biohazardous Threat Agents & Emerging Infectious Diseases from Georgetown University and a BA from The George Washington University.

As Communications Director, Chris Sweeney works closely with the investment team and the policy team on a wide range of initiatives and regularly collaborates with portfolio companies and limited partners. He has extensive experience in health communications, media management, and journalism. He joined the Fund from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, where he was the senior media relations manager and senior science writer. Prior to that, Chris worked for Partners In Health, where he focused on infectious disease programs in Lesotho, Malawi, Rwanda, and Russia. He has taught courses on health communications and nonfiction writing at Tufts University, Regis College, and Western Connecticut State University and has reported hundreds of articles for national and international publications. Chris was a United Nations Foundation World Health Organization Press Fellow and, in 2016, was named Magazine Writer of the Year. He holds an MSJ from Northwestern University’s Medill School and a BA from UMass Amherst.