MCLEAN, Va.– Zephyr AI, Inc. (“Zephyr AI”), a healthcare technology company committed to developing fast and explainable artificial intelligence (AI) solutions to democratize precision medicine, today announced the appointment of Rachael Brake, PhD, as its new Chief Scientific Officer.
“Having spent decades working in big pharma and biotech spanning roles in research, development and commercial, Rachael comes to Zephyr with a unique breadth of experience,” said Jeff Sherman, Zephyr AI Co-Founder, Interim CEO, and Chief Technology Officer. “She is a renowned scientist with an extensive background in oncology and precision medicine and a keen strategist skilled at developing and operationalizing cross-functional teams. Rachael’s mission-driven desire to simplify the complexities of personalized medicine is perfectly aligned with Zephyr’s commitment to address patients’ unmet needs and optimize outcomes.”
Brake, who will lead Zephyr AI’s scientific, strategic, and commercial efforts, is the former Chief Scientific Officer at Corbus Pharmaceuticals where she built and led a novel research and development team focused on precision medicine and immuno-oncology; delivered two clinical stage oncology programs; and reinvigorated Corbus’s investment thesis. Prior to her work at Corbus, Brake spent 11 years at Takeda Oncology, most recently as Head of U.S. Medical Affairs Oncology. Her former roles at Takeda include Global Program Vice President and Associate Director in Translational Research. Brake began her career as a research scientist at the Western Australian Institute for Medical Research before moving to Amgen in the US where she worked as a principal scientist, overseeing target identification and establishing multidisciplinary, cross-functional research teams that delivered various drug candidates. A native of Australia, Brake graduated with honors from The Australian National University, earning a Bachelor of Science in molecular biology and biochemistry. She holds a PhD from the University of Western Australia.
“As a scientist, I have always been fascinated by the communication networks that are co-opted by cancer and how quickly they can adapt to outsmart current therapeutic strategies,” Brake said. “As a strategist, I am equally intrigued by the potential of AI to quickly evolve our approaches to treatment so we can begin to turn the table on this life-threatening disease. AI holds great potential to not only inform our treatment strategies; I believe it will also mobilize our industry to unlock novel approaches to tackling cancer and cardiometabolic disease. I’m thrilled to be joining the incredibly talented Zephyr AI team at such a pivotal time in clinical research.”
