James (jay) E. Bradner MD

Jay Bradner is President of the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR), the company’s innovation engine. He leads thousands of scientists at six research sites around the world in an effort to discover life-changing medicines for patients. Jay’s bold ambition is for NIBR to go after the highest hanging fruit in drug discovery, including targets previously deemed impossible to reach, or “undruggable.” To support this research, NIBR has invested in powerful approaches and technologies such as targeted protein degradation, molecular glues, and CRISPR.

Jay brought this same open approach when he joined Novartis in 2016. NIBR collaborates with an external network of academic and industry partners to facilitate cutting-edge science in areas of mutual interest. NIBR’s open science programs include the Global Scholars Program, which supports innovation through academic partnerships, and the annual Hackathon, which brings data scientists and NIBR researchers together to work on complex problems in the life sciences.