Amy Kao

SVP, Head of Research Unit - Neuroscience & Immunology EMD Serono

Amy Kao is Senior Vice President, Head of the Research Unit Neuroscience & Immunology and Billerica R&D Campus Head at EMD Serono, the Healthcare business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. She leads efforts to discover and develop novel targets into medicines for immune-mediated and neurological disorders. Since joining EMD Serono in 2016 and transitioning from Clinical Development to Research in 2021, Amy has driven cross-functional collaboration across R&D and other business sectors to advance N&I research. With more than 25 years in clinical and translational research, Amy is a rheumatologist and previously worked in early immunology development at Biogen. She is active in lupus scientific community, previously co-chaired the Lupus Research Alliance Industry Council and serves on its executive committee. She is a working group member in the World Economic Forum Global Alliance for Women's Health – Science and Innovation. She is an associate editor and a topic editor for Frontiers in Immunology. Amy holds a BS in Biochemistry, MPH in Epidemiology, MS in Biomedical Informatics, and MD.