Tia Lyles-Williams, D.Sc. was born in Gary, Indiana; Raised in Houston, Texas; Attended high school in Marietta, Georgia; and, completed undergraduate school / started her career in Washington, D.C. She is the daughter of Christopher A. and Erma J. (Lyles) Williams of Gary, Indiana; sister of Gina G. Williams of Houston, Texas; and, the granddaughter of Christopher C. Williams, Sadie (Pye) Jackson, Clarence A. Lyles, Sr., and Alberta (Lucas) Lyles...all originally from Mississippi by way of Chicago, IL & Gary, IN – respectively.
She is the 1st African American Queer Woman to own and lead a biopharmaceutical manufacturing company – 68 years after the 1st African American Man, Dr. Percy Lavon Julian with his company, Julian Laboratories, Inc. in Chicago, IL. She received her Bachelor of Science in Biology from Howard University, Master of Science in Entertainment Business from Full Sail University, and a Master of Science in Regulatory Science from University Southern California.
She has dedicated her career to the biotech/biopharma industries – including bioprocessing development, building large-scale bioprocessing facilities, developing/training/leading teams and commercializing proprietary biological assets via global regulatory affairs. She has been working in the biotechnology / biopharmaceutical industry for 22+ years – including formerly interning at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as well as a former contractor at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR in Silver Spring, MD). Her former employers include Human Genome Sciences, Inc. (now GSK) – Rockville, MD; Amgen, Inc. – Thousand Oaks, CA; Baxter BioScience (now Takeda) – Thousand Oaks, CA; Avid Bioservices – Tustin, CA; Lonza Pharma & Biotech – Portsmouth, NH; and Jazz Pharmaceuticals, PLC – Philadelphia, PA.
Dr. Lyles-Williams is a Two-Time Life Science Start-Up Founder – Founder & CEO of LucasPye BIO, a Contract Development Manufacturing Organization (CDMO); and Founder & CEO of HelaPlex, the 1st Commercial Life Science Accelerator for Life Science Start-Ups and Virtual Biotechnology Companies.
As a Champion of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion within the Workplace, STEM Education and Healthcare – Dr. Lyles-Williams has made it her mission to lead by example via the following initiatives:
• 2019 BioDiversity Graduate at the Partnership, Inc.
• LucasPye BIO’s C-Suite is made up of 50% Women & 85% People of Color
• HelaPlex, LucasPye BIO & Jackson Taylor Therapeutics has partnered to remove Health Inequities by mapping the Human Genome for the BIPOC Community – including researching & developing drugs to improve healthcare outcomes / treatment options for People of Color
• Black Latin-X Indigenous Institutes of Health (BLIIH), along with its strategic partners – including HelaPlex; Philadelphia OIC; Jefferson Institute for Bioprocessing (JIB); University City Science Center; and The Business Center for Entrepreneurship & Social Enterprise will be piloting the HelaPlex Biotechnology Workforce Development Training Program for Philadelphians in Fall 2024
o The program is an alternative career path for members of Marginalized Communities to enter the biotech / biopharma workforce as a Bioprocess Operator or Quality Control Technician – including training & certification opportunities for individuals to continue their education and attain higher-levels employment, i.e., from Specialist & Entry-Level Management up to Executive Management, C-Suite & Entrepreneurship
o Committed employers (to date) that will hire HelaPlex Graduates (aka Fellows) include: LucasPye BIO, HelaPlex, Delaware State University, EMSCO & Spark Therapeutics
She is also a board member at Philadelphia OIC, LaunchBio and, Independent Business Alliance: Greater Philadelphia’s LGTBQ+ Chamber of Commerce. She’s also a Business Mentor for Princeton University’s Entrepreneurship Council & Charles Drew University of Medicine & Science. As a Biopharma Executive and Pillar of the Life Science Industry – Tia was named “Unicorn” by Philadelphia Magazine (2020); recognized as a 2021 Forbes NEXT 1000 Honoree, listed as 1 of Inc. Magazine’s 2021 Female Founders 100; a recipient of the PHL Inno 2022 Fire Award on behalf of LucasPye BIO from The Philadelphia Business Journal; and featured in Philadelphia Tribune’s People on the Move” for 2022. On May 12, 2022, Dr. Lyles-Williams was conferred as an Honorary Doctorate in The Sciences from the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, PA. Most recently, Dr. Lyles-Williams participated as a panelist at The White House Summit for Biotechnology and the Bioeconomy in the U.S.
She is the 1st African American Queer Woman to own and lead a biopharmaceutical manufacturing company – 68 years after the 1st African American Man, Dr. Percy Lavon Julian with his company, Julian Laboratories, Inc. in Chicago, IL. She received her Bachelor of Science in Biology from Howard University, Master of Science in Entertainment Business from Full Sail University, and a Master of Science in Regulatory Science from University Southern California.
She has dedicated her career to the biotech/biopharma industries – including bioprocessing development, building large-scale bioprocessing facilities, developing/training/leading teams and commercializing proprietary biological assets via global regulatory affairs. She has been working in the biotechnology / biopharmaceutical industry for 22+ years – including formerly interning at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as well as a former contractor at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR in Silver Spring, MD). Her former employers include Human Genome Sciences, Inc. (now GSK) – Rockville, MD; Amgen, Inc. – Thousand Oaks, CA; Baxter BioScience (now Takeda) – Thousand Oaks, CA; Avid Bioservices – Tustin, CA; Lonza Pharma & Biotech – Portsmouth, NH; and Jazz Pharmaceuticals, PLC – Philadelphia, PA.
Dr. Lyles-Williams is a Two-Time Life Science Start-Up Founder – Founder & CEO of LucasPye BIO, a Contract Development Manufacturing Organization (CDMO); and Founder & CEO of HelaPlex, the 1st Commercial Life Science Accelerator for Life Science Start-Ups and Virtual Biotechnology Companies.
As a Champion of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion within the Workplace, STEM Education and Healthcare – Dr. Lyles-Williams has made it her mission to lead by example via the following initiatives:
• 2019 BioDiversity Graduate at the Partnership, Inc.
• LucasPye BIO’s C-Suite is made up of 50% Women & 85% People of Color
• HelaPlex, LucasPye BIO & Jackson Taylor Therapeutics has partnered to remove Health Inequities by mapping the Human Genome for the BIPOC Community – including researching & developing drugs to improve healthcare outcomes / treatment options for People of Color
• Black Latin-X Indigenous Institutes of Health (BLIIH), along with its strategic partners – including HelaPlex; Philadelphia OIC; Jefferson Institute for Bioprocessing (JIB); University City Science Center; and The Business Center for Entrepreneurship & Social Enterprise will be piloting the HelaPlex Biotechnology Workforce Development Training Program for Philadelphians in Fall 2024
o The program is an alternative career path for members of Marginalized Communities to enter the biotech / biopharma workforce as a Bioprocess Operator or Quality Control Technician – including training & certification opportunities for individuals to continue their education and attain higher-levels employment, i.e., from Specialist & Entry-Level Management up to Executive Management, C-Suite & Entrepreneurship
o Committed employers (to date) that will hire HelaPlex Graduates (aka Fellows) include: LucasPye BIO, HelaPlex, Delaware State University, EMSCO & Spark Therapeutics
She is also a board member at Philadelphia OIC, LaunchBio and, Independent Business Alliance: Greater Philadelphia’s LGTBQ+ Chamber of Commerce. She’s also a Business Mentor for Princeton University’s Entrepreneurship Council & Charles Drew University of Medicine & Science. As a Biopharma Executive and Pillar of the Life Science Industry – Tia was named “Unicorn” by Philadelphia Magazine (2020); recognized as a 2021 Forbes NEXT 1000 Honoree, listed as 1 of Inc. Magazine’s 2021 Female Founders 100; a recipient of the PHL Inno 2022 Fire Award on behalf of LucasPye BIO from The Philadelphia Business Journal; and featured in Philadelphia Tribune’s People on the Move” for 2022. On May 12, 2022, Dr. Lyles-Williams was conferred as an Honorary Doctorate in The Sciences from the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, PA. Most recently, Dr. Lyles-Williams participated as a panelist at The White House Summit for Biotechnology and the Bioeconomy in the U.S.
Speaking In
4:15 PM - 5:15 PM
Tuesday, June 6
