Laura Gunn, PhD, is the Managing Director of PharmStars. Laura is a seasoned pharmaceutical executive with over 15 years of experience across the pharmaceutical and diagnostic industries. She brings a unique combination of scientific and business acumen, along with a collaborative approach to developing novel approaches to complex problems. Laura has a passion for building and optimizing high performing teams through transformational leadership and coaching.
Prior to joining PharmStars, Laura spent 9 years at Biogen. Most recently, she worked as the Global Head of Scientific Partnership, leading a team responsible for a multichannel medical communication and scientific exchange strategy across the firm’s portfolio and pipeline. Prior to that role, Laura served as Biogen’s Chief Learning Officer, where she built and cultivated a modern, learner-centric culture of continuous learning across the enterprise. Laura also built and led the Global Scientific Meetings and Congress team, bringing a more strategic approach to scientific exchange and medical education at scientific conferences. Her outstanding contributions in both business and culture at Biogen were recognized repeatedly during her tenure, including her receiving the “CEO Top Talent” award twice and the “Biogen Elements” award for work on Biogen’s Covid task force.
Prior to Biogen, Laura held several field-based medical roles at EMD Serono and Quest Diagnostics, where she was responsible for building relationships with medical and scientific leaders to advance corporate objectives and clinical partnerships. Before transitioning to pharma, she worked and published in both industry and academic positions in the areas of diagnostics, biomarker technologies, and emerging biomarker discovery.
Laura received her BS from Simmons College. She earned an MS in Environmental Health Sciences and a PhD in Toxicology and Molecular Epidemiology from the University of California, Berkeley. In her free time, Laura enjoys spending time in the garden or on the water, sailing and kayaking with family. She is also on a quest to perfect her sourdough recipe.