Planning Committees

NORD gratefully acknowledges the generous contributions of time and expertise from the members of our two planning NORD Breakthrough Summit planning committees.

2025 NORD Breakthrough Summit FDA Planning Committee

    CDER

  • Cindy Welsh, MD (admin co-lead)

    Medical Officer

    RDT, DRDMG, ORPURM, OND, CDER

  • Cynthia Rothblum-Oviatt, PhD (admin co-lead)

    Science Policy Analyst

    RDT, DRDMG, ORPURM, OND, CDER

  • Drea Bell-Vlasov, PhD (admin backup)

    Science Policy Analyst

    RDT, DRDMG, ORPURM, OND, CDER

    • CBER

  • Julienne Vaillancourt, RPh, MPH

    Senior Regulatory Health Pr

    Office of the Center Director, CBER

  • Anne Rowzee, PhD

    ADP – Stakeholder Engagement

    Office of Therapeutic Products, CBER

    • CDRH

  • Cynthia Grossman, PhD

    Director, Division of Patient-Centered Development, CDRH

    • OOPD

  • Erika Torjusen, MD, MHS

    Director of HUD, PDC and RPD Programs

    Office of Orphan Products Development, OCPP, OC

2025 NORD Breakthrough Summit Planning Committee

  • Kay Holcombe, MS, Chair, NORD Board of Directors

  • Sheldon Schuster, PhD, Vice Chair, NORD Board of Directors

  • Terry Thompson, President - Kennedy's Disease Association

  • Gerald Cox, MD, PhD, Boston Children’s Hospital

  • Amanda Seeff Charny, Executive Director of Patient Advocacy, Regeneron

  • Paul Howard, Senior Director, Amicus Therapeutics

  • Sruthi Subramanian, President, Students for Rare at Stanford University

  • Joe Sapiente, Chief Science and Innovation Officer at Medical Device Innovation Consortium (MDIC)

  • Matt Wetzel, Partner, Life Sciences Regulatory & Compliance, Goodwin

  • Philip J. Brooks, PhD, Acting Director of NCATS Division of Rare Diseases Research Innovation, NIH