Stephanie Hsieh
Panelist
CEO, Bioscience Los Angeles County, Inc.
Stephanie Hsieh is the CEO of Bioscience Los Angeles County, Inc., a public-private partnership dedicated to advancing the life science industry for regional economic growth. She also serves as an independent director on biotech, fintech, and banking boards.
Previously, Stephanie led Biocom California’s Los Angeles office, spearheading efforts to establish LA as a premier life science hub, co-founding the GrowLABio coalition. With over 30 years in biotech and biopharma, she brings expertise in drug development, patent law, investment, and economic advocacy.
A graduate of Wellesley College, she holds a JD from Columbia Law School and an MBA from Stanford. She has been recognized as one of LA’s most influential leaders by the LA Business Journal from 2021 to 2023.
Dr. Jorge Reyno
Panelist
Senior Vice President Population Health, MLK Hospital
Dr. Jorge Reyno is the Senior Vice President of Population Health at Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital, overseeing value-based partnerships, evidence-based care models, and clinical improvement initiatives. He collaborates with physician leaders to develop programs, optimize costs, and align services with evolving payment models.
With extensive experience in clinical management, quality excellence, and utilization management, Dr. Reyno has implemented protocols to improve care and efficiency. He earned his MD from the University of Missouri, trained in internal medicine and infectious disease, and holds an MHA from Montana State University. Board-certified in both specialties, he has received multiple teaching and clinical excellence awards.
Gladys Arias
Panelist
Health Equity Policy Analysis & Legislative Report, ACS CAN
Gladys Arias, MPA is a Principal for Health Equity Policy Analysis and Legislative Support at the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), the American Cancer Society’s nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate. In this role she works to advance public policy that will advance health equity across the cancer care continuum. Gladys received a Master of Public Administration from New York University as well as a Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts from the University of Pittsburgh.
Maryum H. Merchant, MD
Panelist
Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Specialist, UCLA Health
Timshel Tarbet
Panelist
Chief Healthcare Experience & Equity Officer, Providence Health Plan
Timshel Tarbet is a seasoned C-suite executive and transformation specialist with a proven track record of driving strategic initiatives to enhance organizational effectiveness and market positioning. Her expertise spans healthcare, membership growth, risk management, ethics, compliance, and HR.
Timshel has built award-winning programs, including a nationally recognized Ethics & Compliance program at Cambia Health Solutions, which earned the “World’s Most Ethical” award. At Scan Health Plan, she contributed to a 17.2% membership increase, and at Providence Health Plan, she set strategies to improve healthcare experience for 660,000 members.
She actively serves on community boards and is a sought-after speaker on business excellence, DEI, and culture. Timshel holds an MBA, BS in Business Administration, and several certifications, residing in California.
Zul Surani
Moderator
Director, Community Outreach, Engagement and CRCHE Operations, Cedars Sinai
Antoni Ribas, MD, PhD, is professor of medicine, surgery, and molecular and medical pharmacology at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), director of the Tumor Immunology Program at the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center (JCCC) and director of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy (PICI) Center at UCLA. He earned his medical degree from the University of Barcelona. He conducted his internship and residency in medical oncology at Hospital Vall d’Hebron, then held a fellowship in Hematology/Oncology at UCLA School of Medicine. He earned his PhD from the Autonomous University of Barcelona.
Recent work includes laboratory and clinical translational research in adoptive cell transfer therapy with T-cell receptor engineered lymphocytes; examining the antitumor activity of PD-1-blocking antibodies; testing novel targeted therapies blocking oncogenic events in melanoma; and studying primary and acquired resistance to melanoma therapies. He has been instrumental in the clinical development of several agents approved by the FDA, including the first anti-PD-1 pembrolizumab (Keytruda), the anti-CTLA-4 tremelimumab (Imjudo), two combinations of BRAF and MEK inhibitors vemurafenib (Zelboraf) and cobimetinib (Cotellic), dabrafenib (Tafinlar) and trametinib (Mekinist).
He is the recipient of the AACR Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Award, the William B. Coley Award from Cancer Research Institute (CRI), the AACR-CRI Lloyd J. Old Award in Cancer Immunology, two NCI Outstanding Investigator Awards and several other awards, and is a Doctor Honoris Causa from the University of Buenos Aires and the Free University of Brussels. In 2017, Ribas was ranked #12 of the Highly Cited Researchers of any field by Clarivate Web of Science, was named one of the five Visionaries in Medicine by the New York Times (May 27, 2018) and a 2018 Great Immigrant by the Carnegie Foundation. He is a past president of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), an elected Fellow of the AACR Academy, the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the Association of American Physicians and the US National Academy of Medicine.
