About
About me
Ph.D. scientist and PMP-certified program management professional with extensive experience across regulated and research-use-only life sciences, diagnostics, and medical device organizations.
Profile
Summary
I am a Ph.D. scientist and PMP-certified program leader with two decades of experience building and leading program management functions across regulated and research-use-only (RUO) life sciences, diagnostics, and medical device organizations. Through Katzen Consulting, I help organizations strengthen execution and develop sustainable management capabilities.
My career spans bench science and senior program leadership: I have led major product development programs within broader portfolios representing hundreds of millions of dollars in investment from early feasibility through clinical studies and commercial launch, across both domestically and internationally regulated environments, and research-use-only (RUO) products outside that framework.
My combined scientific and program management background shapes how I work. I understand the technical substance of an initiative well enough to lead it substantively, not simply track its status.
Background
Where I’ve worked
Prior organizations
- Cepheid, a Danaher Company
- Thermo Fisher Scientific
- Illumina
- Invitrogen / Life Technologies
Expertise
Areas of expertise
My expertise spans the following disciplines, developed across regulated and non-regulated product environments.
Strategy, governance & portfolio design
- Strategic portfolio & program management
- PMO design, governance & process optimization
- Portfolio prioritization & resource allocation
- Enterprise planning & roadmapping
Program execution and delivery
- Integrated program planning & dependency management
- Agile and phase-gate execution models
- Risk, issue, change & decision management
- Budgeting, resourcing & capacity planning
- Program recovery & corrective action leadership
Diagnostics and life sciences product development
- New product development & lifecycle management
- Integrated hardware–software–assay development
- IVD, companion diagnostics & laboratory-developed tests
- Design controls, manufacturing scale-up & commercial readiness
Performance, analytics & digital enablement
- Program metrics, AI-enabled dashboards & performance reporting
- Operational performance improvement & root-cause analysis
- Program management coaching & capability development
- Digital workflow & tool enablement
Education
Degrees & professional development
- Postdoctoral Research, Harvard Medical School
- Ph.D. in Biochemistry, University of Buenos Aires
- B.S. in Molecular Biology, University of Buenos Aires
- Postgraduate Research, University of Bielefeld, Germany
- PMP Certification, Project Management Institute (Cert. #2098601)
- In Vitro Diagnostics Product Development, University of California, San Diego
Next step
Let’s discuss your needs
Have a program management challenge, a critical initiative, or an opportunity to improve execution? Get in touch to explore how I can help.