Associate Director, Director of the Laboratory of Protein Expression, and Faculty Chairperson for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Duke Human Vaccine Institute

Dr. Kevin O. Saunders graduated from Davidson College in 2005 with a Bachelor of Science in Biology. At Davidson College, he performed research identifying the genetic basis of infertility. Dr. Saunders completed his doctoral research on CDS+ T cell immunity against HIV-1 infection with Dr. Georgia Tomaras at Duke University in 2010. He subsequently trained as a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratories of Ors; Gary Nabel and John Mascola at the National Institutes of Health NIAID Vaccine Research Center.

In 2014, Dr. Saunders joined the faculty at the Duke Human Vaccine Institute as a medical instructor. In this role, he analyzed antibody responses in vaccinated macaques, which led to the identification of glycan-dependent HIV antibodies induced by vaccination. Dr. Saunders was appointed as a non-tenure track Assistant Professor of Surgery and the Director of the Laboratory of Protein Expression in the Duke Human Vaccine Institute in 2015. He successfully transitioned to a tenure-track appointment in 2018, and was later promoted to the rank of Associate Professor with tenure in Surgery in 2022.

In 2024, Dr. Saunders became the Norman L Letvin Professor in Immunology and Infectious Diseases Research in Surgery and the Duke Human Vaccine Institute. Dr. Saunders serves within the Duke Human Vaccine Institute as the institute’s Associate Director, Director of the Laboratory of Protein Expression, and Faculty Chairperson for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. His current research interests include vaccine and antibody development to combat viral infections. Dr. Saunders has given invited lectures on his research at international conferences including International Society for Vaccines Congress, International AIDS Society, HIVR4P, and IDWeek meetings. Dr. Saunders has appeared on local, national, and international television and radio programs to discuss vaccines. He has authored book chapters and numerous journal articles; holds patents on vaccine design concepts and antiviral antibodies; and has garnered awards such as the 2022 International Society for Vaccines Paper of the Year.

Co-founder

Betacare

Runo Obafemi, a Duke MBA student ‘25 (HSM), blends her expertise in technology and passion for healthcare to tackle social challenges.

With a background in Computer Science and prior experience in risk consulting at KPMG, she co-founded Betacare, a Nigerian-based telemedicine company. Committed to democratizing healthcare access in sub-Saharan Africa, Runo will return to consulting and will join BCG this summer to deepen her business expertise. Ultimately, she aspires to become a socialentrepreneur, scaling Betacare’s impact globally and revolutionizing health care in developing countries.

Director, Innovation & Entrepreneurship (I&E)

Duke University

Jamie serves as Director for Duke Innovation & Entrepreneurship (I&E) and is an Associate Professor of the Practice of Management at the Fuqua School of Business.

Jamie previously served as Executive Director of the Fuqua Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CEI) where she launched initiatives addressing barriers to entrepreneurial action for historically marginalized communities, specifically FoundHER and pitch: A competition for Black founders. She teaches courses on new venture formation and execution: New Venture Discovery, New Venture Development, and Entrepreneurial Execution, and was honored with the Excellence in Teaching Award (elective course) by the Fuqua class of 2021.

Prior to joining Duke, Jamie served as the Executive Director of the Liu Idea Lab for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (Lilie) at Rice University where she focused on developing curricular and co-curricular programs for students and faculty across the university. She taught courses on Financing the Startup Venture and Design Thinking, as well as managed the student-led Rice Venture Fund.

Prior to joining Rice, Jamie was an Innovation Advisor at RTI International, a leading nonprofit research institute based in North Carolina, where she supported companies, governments, and non-governmental organizations in their quest to commercialize technology-driven new products.

Jamie has experience combining design thinking and Lean Startup practices to optimize business models. She has worked in India, East and West Africa, and Latin America on health, agriculture, education, and water-focused ventures. Her contributions have been recognized by the Triangle Business Journal 40 Under 40.

CEO

Aledade Plus

Aaron McKethan is the CEO of Aledade Plus, the company’s health services unit. His prior roles in state and federal government, academia, and industry have
centered on population health. Prior to joining Aledade, Aaron co-founded and led two health care data science and technology companies (NoviSci and RxAnte).

Aaron holds a PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he also received his undergraduate degree. He is an adjunct professor in population health at the Duke School of Medicine and Senior Policy Fellow at the Duke Margolis Center for Health Policy. He also serves on several non-profit boards, including the Samaritan Health Center in Durham, NC.

Faculty Director

Duke Health Sector Management

David Ridley, PhD is the Dr. and Mrs. Frank A. Riddick Fellow. He is also the Faculty Director of Duke’s Center for Health Sector Management. Ridley teaches in the daytime MBA, executive MBA, and Health Analytics programs. He received a PhD in economics from Duke University in 2001.

In his research, Ridley examines innovation and pricing in health care. To encourage development of new treatments for neglected diseases, Ridley (with Jeff Moe and Henry Grabowski) proposed the priority review voucher program which became law in the United States in 2007. Total voucher sales have exceeded one billion dollars. Ridley’s research appears in economics journals (Journal of Public Economics), medical journals (Journal of the American Medical Association), and scientific journals (Nature Reviews Drug Discovery).