Ruxandra Draghia-Akli, MD, PhD, is the Executive Vice President and Head of Research & Development (R&D) in Novavax, ensuring the company is maximizing the tremendous potential of Novavax’s proven technology, including the Matrix-M™ adjuvant. She is the chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of INTREPID Alliance, an organization focused on accelerating small molecule antiviral R&D. Dr. Draghia-Akli previously served at Johnson & Johnson, as Global Head of Global Public Health R&D, and Merck, Inc. delivering groundbreaking innovations in drugs and vaccines to address climate-related, emerging and entrenched health threats. She also worked with the European Commission, supporting programmatic, legislative, regulatory and policy issues in medical research and innovation. Over her career, Dr. Draghia has authored many scientific publications and served on numerous boards and committees to help shape thinking on vaccine and public health issues. Dr. Draghia-Akli received an MD from the University of Medicine Carol Davilla, Romania and a PhD in human genetics from the University of Medicine Carol Davilla and undertook additional doctoral and post-doctoral training at University Rene Descartes, France and Baylor College of Medicine, USA respectively.