Roland is an accomplished investigator and science leader in the field of immunology and inflammation, with a passion to discover molecular mechanisms underlying the pathology of chronic respiratory and autoimmune diseases. As the Vice President of the RIA research therapeutic area, he leads a team of scientists responsible for the discovery of new targets and protein-based therapies for treatment of these disorders. Roland is also Associate Professor (part-time) at McMaster University, Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine. Roland’s pursuit of science began nearly 30 years ago at the Max-Planck Institute for Neurobiology in Munich, Germany, where he received his PhD, completed a postdoctoral fellowship, and investigated the role of neurotrophic factors during nervous system development. Soon after, he joined Cambridge, MA-based Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc., where he spent 7 years in roles with increasing responsibilities. During his tenure at Millennium, Roland was responsible for research collaborations, and the management and identification of novel targets for small molecule drug discovery to treat chronic inflammatory diseases. He then joined Peptimmune Inc—also Cambridge, MA-based—as the Director of Autoimmune Therapies. Here, Roland provided scientific and strategic leadership for the advancement of the co-polymer programme for the treatment of RR-MS, and the design and implementation of toxicology studies, as well regulatory and business development leadership activities. In 2007, Roland joined MedImmune as Director, RIA Research. In his current role as VP, RIA, R&D, he oversees multiple projects, each with a strong emphasis on the importance of clinical biomarkers to inform drug activity, identification of appropriate patient segments, and target discovery in key RIA disease areas. During his tenure, Roland has provided scientific oversight and leadership for the advancement of over 30 drug discovery programmes – from target discovery through early stages of clinical development.

Inflammation and Autoimmunity