SLAS2020 Short Courses

Susan Crimmin, Ph.D.
Glaxo SmithKline

Sue Crimmin, Ph.D., is the VP of Discovery Supply at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). This worldwide organization is accountable for the acquisition, development and management of GSK biological and small molecule collections and the maintenance and distribution of preclinical and clinical samples, including compliance and QA. She is a recognized industry expert in sample management and automation and has worked in areas of automation, sample management, HTS and IT. She has held several global roles and recently led efforts to redesign sample logistics across GSK platforms. Crimmin holds a Ph.D. in microbial biochemistry and is a trained Lean Sigma facilitator.

Katheryn Shea
Brooks Life Sciences

Kathi Shea, Ph.D., is the Biobank Business Lead at Brooks Life Science. She is a former President of the International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories (ISBER) and an active member of several ISBER committees and working groups. Shea served on the Advisory Working Group that developed the College of American Pathologists Biorepository Accreditation Program and is an active member of the CAP BAP Committee. She has over 20 years of experience leading biorepository programs and advising on the design of biorepositories, quality systems, and optimal methods for collection, preservation and annotation of biospecimen collections.

Rob Perkinson
Glaxo SmithKline

Rob Perkinson leads GSK’s Global Discovery Bioassets team located at their US and UK R&D hubs. His team runs a centralized biorepository responsible for the creation, QC, tracking, storage, and global distribution of a wide variety of biologicals used throughout GSK and affiliate sites.  These assets include cell lines, stem cells, plasmids, nucleic acids, proteins, peptides, viruses and strains.  

Prior to GSK, Rob led core scientific service groups at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Centocor and Johnson & Johnson for over twenty years.  He was drawn to GSK’s reputation for innovation & their unique focus on cryogenic automation & centralized asset management. 

Rob holds a BS in Biochemistry and a MS in Cellular and Molecular Biology.  He has authored 14 peer-reviewed publications while at Thomas Jefferson University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Johnson and Johnson.  Additionally, Rob holds 2 US patents, is invited to speak at a variety of biologic and sample-management focused industry forums and is passionate to share his experience to STEM-related outreach programs for persons interested in pursuing careers in science.