Lata is Frontier’s Senior Vice President of Oncology and Inflammatory Disease Research. In her role at Frontier, Lata is a key member of the scientific leadership team and is responsible for building and leading teams of scientists that collaborate from the earliest phases of discovery to the successful transition of development candidate molecules to the clinical teams that perform proof-of-concept studies in patients. 

Lata brings a wealth of drug discovery experience from her successful career in the biopharmaceutical industry. She has held leadership positions at both large pharma (BMS, Merck) and small biotech (Cerulean Pharma, Seres Therapeutics, LifeMine Therapeutics) to progress candidate molecules to the clinic. Her strengths are strategic decision making, pipeline prioritization and operational execution. As a seasoned leader, she is passionate about bringing together diverse teams of high performing scientists to drive innovation for the development of novel medicines that lead to improved patient care. An over-arching theme in the roles she has held is the focus on data-driven decisions made in a timely fashion to deliver a robust portfolio of drug molecules for clinical development. Throughout her industry career, Lata has championed a culture of transparency and inclusion, and is deeply committed to mentoring the next generation of leaders in R & D.

Lata earned her PhD at Columbia University and completed her post-doctoral fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in NYC.