​This event has been postponed due to weather conditions. We appreciate your patience and will share a new date soon.

​Join us for a special evening edition of Community Connect: After Hours, Montgomery College’s signature biotech networking event hosted by the Pinkney Innovation Complex for Science + Technology (PIC MC).

​Overview

​As global tensions, tariffs, and foreign ownership controls reshape the biotech landscape, one question demands action: How will we secure America’s bioeconomy?

​Join Maryland’s leading voices in government, biomanufacturing, and economic development for a dynamic forum exploring how workforce, policy, and innovation can strengthen the nation’s biomanufacturing future.

​Together, we’ll break down how onshoring, federal investments, and strategic partnerships are reshaping U.S. competitiveness—and why Maryland is uniquely positioned to lead. Be part of the conversation shaping the next era of American biotechnology, policy, and national security.

​Agenda

​5:30pm | Fireside Chat
Topic: Building the U.S. Strategic API Reserve

​A provocative discussion on how supply chain resilience and national readiness depend on domestic innovation, investment, and a secure, skilled workforce.

• ​Vic Suarez, BioScience & Supply Chain Executive, Global Board Director at ATCC

• ​Pending

​6:00pm | Panel Discussion
Topic: Reshoring & Building Maryland’s Biotech Manufacturing Advantage

​An expert conversation examining how domestic production, policy shifts, and new trade alliances are transforming the biomanufacturing landscape—and what Maryland must do to compete and thrive.

• ​Prashant Panchal, MS, MBA, Director, Business Planning & Operations, AstraZeneca

• ​Dr. Timothy Fouts, Chief Scientific Officer, ABL, Inc.

• ​Thomas Luginbill, Executive Director, PIC MC (moderator)

​Speakers

​Vic Suarez, BioScience & Supply Chain Executive, Global Board Director at ATCC

​Vic is the Founder of Blu Zone Bioscience & Supply Chain Solutions and a retired U.S. Army officer with over 27 years of service in biotechnology and healthcare logistics. He previously served as Chief of Staff at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Vaccine Program Manager at Operation Warp Speed, and Commander of the U.S. Army Medical Logistics Management Center at Fort Detrick. Vic played key roles in accelerating the development and delivery of Ebola and Mpox vaccines and led initiatives in supply chain modernization and biosecurity. He holds a B.S. from UCLA and an M.S. from Central Michigan University and is certified as both a Project Management Professional (PMP) and a Certified Materials & Resource Professional (CMRP). Vic also serves as a Senior Fellow at the Council on Strategic Risks, an Adjunct Assistant Professor at USUHS, and serves on ATCC’s Global Board of Directors.

​Dr. Gail Wasserman, Senior Vice President, Biopharmaceutical Development, R&D, AstraZeneca (retired), Chair of the Board at PIC MC

​Dr. Gail Wasserman is retired from AstraZeneca/MedImmune, where she was Senior Vice President of Biopharmaceutical Development leading the global organization responsible for biologics product development. Prior to joining AstraZeneca/MedImmune, Gail was engaged in natural products isolation and biopharmaceutical process development at GlaxoSmithKline. Gail holds a bachelor’s degree in biology and chemistry from Montclair State University and received a MS in biochemistry and a PhD in chemistry from The Pennsylvania State University.

​Gail is the foundation board vice chair for the Pickney Innovation Complex for Science and Technology at Montgomery College and a consultant in the biotechnology industry. She also serves on the board of directors of Leadership Montgomery and on the advisory committee of the Greater Washington Community Foundation in Montgomery County. Gail previously served as a member of the Visiting Committee for Advanced Technology for the National Institute for Standards and Technology, and the Biopharmaceutical Innovation Board of the University of Delaware.

​Gail was recognized with the 2025 J. Jeffrey and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School Lifetime Achievement Award from the Pennsylvania State University. She previously received the Outstanding Science Alumni Award and the Alumni Fellow Award from The Pennsylvania State University and was named as a PharmaVOICE 100 most inspiring leader in the life-sciences industry.

​Prashant Panchal, MS, MBA, Director, Business Planning & Operations, AstraZeneca

​Prashant Panchal boasts over 15 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, seamlessly blending his extensive knowledge in both science and business. His unique ability to bridge these two worlds allows him to offer invaluable insights that drive business success. Prashant’s journey in the biopharmaceutical sector began in the realm of science, where he worked as a scientist. His thirst for broader impact and a holistic understanding of the industry led him to transition into project management. His capabilities and vision evolved into a strategic role in Business Planning and Operations, showcasing his adaptability and forward-thinking mindset.

​Today, as the Director of Business Planning and Operations at AstraZeneca, Prashant oversees capacity planning, capital expenditure, contracts, portfolio, and governance for a department comprising more than 1,100 employees supporting over 100 drug projects. Before joining AstraZeneca, Prashant accumulated a wealth of experience at organizations such as Eisai Pharmaceuticals, Teva Biopharmaceuticals USA, and AGC Biologics, one of the largest Contract Manufacturing Organizations (CMO) for biopharmaceuticals. His diverse professional journey has equipped him with a profound understanding of the industry and its complexities. In addition to his professional endeavors, Prashant is dedicated to fostering industry academic collaboration and next-generation workforce development.

​Dr. Timothy Fouts, Chief Scientific Officer, ABL, Inc

​Dr. Fouts is an inventor and biotech entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience leading discovery and pre-clinical development (up to Phase I/II) of vaccines and therapeutics against infectious diseases. Core scientific expertise includes discovery and development of vaccine products targeting sexually transmitted viruses and enteric pathogens with a particular interest in mucosal vaccines as well as vaginally and rectally applied microbicides and other anti-infective molecules. Prior to joining ABL, Dr. Fouts was one of the founding scientists at Profectus BioSciences. There, he served as Senior Director of Virology and led a team of scientists in the discovery and preclinical development a products including vaccines, small molecule and Ab based antiviral therapies and microbicides. One of the products, a vaccine for HIV, completed Phase I clinical trials. He also developed a therapeutic vaccine for HPV, and preventative vaccines for HSV, Influenza, and Henipavirus. He also served as the Vice President of Development at Rel-MD, Inc. in Baltimore, Maryland, where he directed the discovery and preclinical development of the small molecule Rel inhibitors as anti-cancer agents. Prior to Profectus BioSciences, Dr. Fouts was an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland. Dr. Fouts received his Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of Maryland at Baltimore, and completed his post-doctoral fellowship at the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center at Rockefeller University.

​Chris Frew, CEO, BioBuzz

​Chris is the Founder of BioBuzz Networks, Inc, a life science talent community and hiring platform, and CEO of Workforce Genetics, LLC (WGx), a prominent life science recruitment firm. He has been supporting companies in the regional life sciences industry with recruiting and marketing solutions for 20+ years.

​​Previously serving as the Vice President of Sales at Breezio, a leading innovator in cloud-based online communities, and the Vice President of Tech USA’s Scientific Division, which he founded and grew into a national practice. Chris has almost two decades of experience successfully leading teams, projects and fostering engaged communities within the Life Science industry.

​​He is a Maryland native and a graduate of Towson University.

​

​Irene Rombel, CEO and Co-founder, BioCurie

​Dr. Irene Rombel is the CEO, President and Co-Founder of BioCurie, a TechBio company located in the greater Philadelphia region. BioCurie is pioneering mechanistic artificial intelligence (mAI) to revolutionize the development and manufacturing of cell, gene and nucleic acid therapies (CGT).

​Irene is an industry veteran with 25+ years of leadership experience in science and business, spanning biotechnology, big pharma, consulting, investing, and academia. Prior to founding BioCurie, Irene was Chief of Staff, Research, at Spark Therapeutics; Senior Director of Strategy and External Innovation at Johnson & Johnson; Founder and President of Biomedical Intelligence LLC, a life science consulting company; and a biotechnology hedge fund analyst. Dr. Rombel started her career in academia as an Assistant Professor at UT Southwestern Medical Center in the Center for Biomedical Inventions, leading research on DNA vaccines, synthetic biology, and cell-specific targeting. Her postdoctoral research on transcriptional regulation at UC Berkeley and UC Davis made fundamental scientific contributions to the understanding of promoter-enhancer control of gene expression. Dr. Rombel is on Columbia University’s Translational Therapeutics Accelerator Steering Committee and the Columbia University Irving Cancer Drug Discovery Advisory Board. Irene received her Ph.D. in Biochemistry and B.Sc.(Hon.) in Biochemistry and Microbiology from the University of Otago, New Zealand, and her MBA from Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas. Irene is also a registered U.S. Patent Agent.

​Thomas Luginbill, Executive Director, PIC MC

​As the executive director at Pinkney Innovation Complex for Science and Technology at Montgomery College (PIC MC), Thomas leads efforts to expand PIC MC as a hub for education, business, and innovation, fostering collaboration among academic, corporate, and government partners. Luginbill has extensive experience in innovation and community development, including leading the Entrepreneur & Innovation Institute at the College of Southern Maryland, where he revitalized the town of Indian Head and launched the Velocity Center. He also managed the Techport Incubator at the University of Maryland College Park, supporting start-ups and workforce development. Luginbill has a master’s from the University of Maryland and received his bachelor’s from the University of Delaware.

​About PIC MC

​The Pinkney Innovation Complex for Science and Technology at Montgomery College (PIC MC) is an integrated academic, business, and research hub uniquely designed to connect education, industry, and innovation within Maryland’s I-270 technology corridor.

​Located in Germantown and part of the nationally recognized Montgomery College which serves nearly 50,000 students across 140+ programs, PIC MC provides unmatched access to hands-on learning and workforce pathways in fields such as biotechnology, cybersecurity, engineering, and health sciences.

​The campus is home to Holy Cross Germantown Hospital, the only full-service hospital based on a community college campus, as well as Hughes Network Systems’ state-of-the-art satellite manufacturing facility.

​PIC MC anchors a larger innovation ecosystem that includes the Germantown Innovation Center, the county’s premier incubator for early-stage tech and life science companies; BioTrain, a leading regional biotech workforce training program; Bio-Trac, a nationally recognized provider of advanced laboratory training; and Flexnode, an innovative data center technology company helping shape the digital infrastructure of the future.

​Surrounded by more than 350 bioscience companies and key federal institutions, PIC MC fosters collaboration, fuels regional talent pipelines, and drives economic growth—creating a dynamic ecosystem where education, industry partnerships, and innovation thrive.

​Bioscience Education Center

​In a region ranked among the top five nationally for biotechnology, the Bioscience Education Center provides the College and business communities a fully integrated research environment that includes laboratories, classrooms, meeting space, and a conference center. The center offers dedicated space and equipment for teaching cell culture, bio-manufacturing (cell propagation), and genetic diagnostics.

​Tours will be available following the program for those interested.