Our People

» Managing Director
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» Editorial and Scientific Services
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» Human Resources

Managing Director

Albert Kovera, EdD
Managing Director

Albert earned a Doctor of Education degree in the field of Applied Physiology from Columbia University. The focus of his doctoral research was within the fields of metabolism and obesity, and he completed this research at the Obesity Research Center, St. Luke's/Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York. Albert earned a BS from Purdue University. Following his career in academia, Albert held various roles within the Medical Affairs and Commercial departments at Amylin Pharmaceuticals from 2002 to 2007. Most notably, he was part of the promotional launch teams for two first-in-class medicines for the management of diabetes. Albert has extensive experience in all aspects of medical education, from introducing first-in-class products to the primary care marketplace through maintaining the momentum and growth of currently marketed brands.

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Client Services

Ellen Sarewitz
Director of Client Services

Ellen brings more than 20 years’ experience in pharmaceutical marketing, healthcare communications and advocacy relations. Her wide-ranging experience informs her strategic insights and programmes of acknowledged integrity which range from portfolio strategy management, medical education, publication planning and opinion leader development to stakeholder engagement, issues management, reimbursement and access, and from early clinical development through to product launch and patent extension. She has directed campaigns for the launch of blockbuster drugs and therapeutic innovations, across key therapeutic areas such as diabetes, CVD (including lipidology), oncology and haematology, with healthcare professionals, scientific organisations, patient and policy groups in the UK, Europe and worldwide.

Daniel Clarke, PhD
Client Service Team Director

Dan earned his BSc in Biochemistry from Imperial College and his PhD in Biochemistry, investigating the molecular endocrinology of diabetes and obesity, from University College London. Prior to his PhD, Dan was involved in clinical and basic research in diabetes and obesity. After leaving the laboratory, Dan moved into publishing as a journal editor and features writer, before entering medical education. Dan worked in agencies in both London and New Jersey, and has extensive global and regional communications experience, including strategic brand planning, publications planning and management, external expert engagement, promotional and training materials, symposia/meeting organization, and digital/multimedia project development and delivery.

Leyna Prince, BSc (Hons), MSc
Client Service Team Director

Leyna holds a BSc in Biological Sciences (Microbiology) and an MSc in Toxicology from The University of Birmingham. Leyna joined Medicus International in 2005, initially as a Publications Editor, progressing to Editorial Director before taking up her current position. Leyna has significant medical education experience, including communications and publications planning, and has worked across a wide range of therapy areas, including infectious diseases (HIV, HCV), allergy, respiratory (asthma and COPD), diabetes and metabolism, schizophrenia and diagnostic imaging. Leyna’s background is in medical publishing, and she is an active member of the European Medical Writers Association (EMWA), as well as a Certified Medical Publication Professional (CMPP, as awarded by ISMPP).

Tina Phelan, MA.RGN
Client Service Team Director

Tina joined Medicus International in May 2011 as Client Service Team Director. She trained as a nurse in London, specialising in operating theatre nursing and practiced for nearly 20 years before undertaking a degree in history at Queen Mary and Westfield College, London. This led to the completion of a period of postgraduate study and an MA in medieval studies at University College, London. Tina has 18 years experience in the pharmaceutical industry in top tier companies, and she has worked in medical, marketing and communication roles across a variety of therapy areas, including metabolic bone disease, urology, gastroenterology, immunology, oncology and consumer health. Tina has a broad experience of strategic and integrated communications planning, including message development, scientific communications platform design and execution, key opinion leader development and supporting public relations programmes.

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Editorial and Scientific Services

Helen Clarke, BSc (Hons), MSc
Associate Scientific Director

Helen gained a BSc (Hons) in Biology from Leeds University, before studying for an MSc in Immunology at Imperial College London, which she obtained with distinction. Helen remained in the Immunology department at Imperial to continue her research in the field of vascular transplant rejection. During this time, she presented her work at a number of national and international meetings, and published in peer review journals. Helen joined Medicus International as a writer in 2006, and now holds the position of Associate Scientific Director. Specialising in autoimmune disorders and cardiovascular diseases, Helen has experience across a broad range of medical education activities including strategic positioning, communications/publications planning, congress activities, advisory boards and launch meetings. During her time at Medicus International, Helen has been involved in content development and execution of a wide variety of publications activities including primary and review manuscripts, abstracts, posters, slide presentations, meeting reports and websites.

As Associate Scientific Director, Helen is responsible for the agency’s Editorial team, which is involved in providing strategic publications planning support to clients, including all aspects of publication plan execution, from the provision of strategic congress and journal recommendations, to the quality control and submission of publications, including liaison with external editorial personnel and authors.

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Digital and Design Services

Paul Jacobs, BSc (Hons), MSc
Director, Digital Strategy

Paul obtained a BSc (Hons) in Biological Science from the University of Salford before studying at King’s College, University of London where he gained an MSc in Biomedical Sciences. Paul has 11 years’ experience in medical communications and offers clients a rational, canny and strategic approach to medical communications. Paul works alongside internal client service teams and directly with clients to integrate appropriate digital tactics and channels into strategic communications plans in a range of therapeutic areas across all phases of product lifecycle and marketplace position.

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Finance

Rebecca Thomas, BA Economics (Hons), ACMA
Finance Director

Rebecca has a BA in Economics, and qualified as an Accountant with CIMA in 1998. She worked in publishing (Elsevier Group) and retail (Gap) before joining the advertising sector of the Publicis Groupe with Leo Burnett in 2002 as Finance Manager for the largest client account, Proctor & Gamble. In 2005 she moved within the group to join Medicus International. Rebecca is now Finance Director for the agency, overseeing the in-house finance department and working closely with the Client Service Teams.

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Human Resources

Juliet Harris, BA (Hons) Business Studies, CIPD
Human Resources Manager

Juliet is the Human Resources Manager for Medicus International. She has a range of experience in all aspects of people management, including recruitment, performance and talent management, job evaluation, compensation, training, mergers and acquisitions, as well as restructuring and change management. Prior to joining Publicis Groupe in 2009, she held the role of Human Resources Manager at the Royal Bank of Scotland Group and also undertook a number of personal development, coaching and training projects. Juliet has a BA (Hons) degree in Business Studies and a CIPD post-graduate diploma in Personnel Management.

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