Azurii Collier, PhD
Director, Enterprise Innovation – AbbVie
Dr. Azurii Collier is a vision maker with over 15 years of research, consulting, and business strategy experience exclusively in the life sciences industry. She has deep expertise across the value chain including, discovery, technology transfer, R&D, supply chain and patient services. An expert in neuroimaging, she published several peer reviewed articles utilizing functional neuroimaging methods to describe multi-modal sensory processing and memory deficits in individuals with schizophrenia. To advance research commercialization, she evaluated early-stage technologies from leading research university IP portfolios.
She has a strong track record of adding value and driving innovation with startups to Fortune 500 companies. She bolstered start up growth in numerous major U.S. cities while delivering market assessments, competitive analyses, and proof-of-concept plans. As a consultant, she helped clients and led large scale transformation programs aimed at getting medicines to patients faster. She is experienced at managing complex cross-functional teams including leaders from regulatory, clinical, medical affairs and operations. She currently designs innovative business strategies to launch the most critical therapeutic and aesthetics assets within a robust pipeline and to expand R&D capabilities.
She received a B.S. in Neuroscience & Behavioral Biology from Emory University and Ph.D. in Cognitive Neuroscience from Northwestern University. She completed a postdoctoral research fellowship in Neuropsychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. She is a sought-after advisor and board member for leading organizations in the biotechnology industry. She advises senior executives in recruiting global life sciences companies and accelerating the careers of top scientific talent via her work with World Business Chicago and the Chicago Biomedical Consortium, respectively. Lastly, she is the President-Elect for Women In Bio (WIB), an affiliate of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), advancing the careers of over 3,000 women worldwide.
