Karen Smith

Dr Karen Smith is an experienced pharmaceutical expert who has overseen more than 100 clinical trials and 20 regulatory approvals in major global markets. She holds multiple directorships with innovative pharmaceutical companies.

US-based Dr Smith was the chief medical officer and global head of research & development at Jazz Pharmaceuticals, a multinational speciality biopharmaceutical company developing & manufacturing therapeutics and devices for public health threats, including COVID-19. Prior to that, she was the founding chief executive of Minderoo Foundation’s “Eliminate Cancer Initiative” and remains an advisor of the program. Dr Smith had also held senior leadership positions at Allergan, AstraZeneca and Bristol-Myers Squibb.

Dr Smith earned an MD from the University of Warwick (UK), PhD in Molecular Oncology from UCLA (USA) and University of Western Australia (Australia), an MBA from the University of New England in Australia, and LLM (Masters in Law) from the University of Salford (UK).