SVP, Therapeutic Area Head, Virology
Gilead Sciences Inc.
Disclosure: Gilead Sciences (Employee)
Diana Brainard, M.D., is senior vice president and head of the Virology therapeutic area at Gilead Sciences, Inc where she oversees the clinical development of novel therapeutic, preventative and curative approaches for HIV, hepatitis B and C, and emerging and respiratory viruses including SARS-CoV-2. Dr. Brainard began her industry career at Merck in 2007, working first in clinical pharmacology, then as infectious disease lead in experimental medicine. She joined Gilead in 2010 and led the clinical development of four therapies for hepatitis C, approved over four years; in 2020, she has led the company-wide initiative to rapidly develop and scale remdesivir to enable global access and approvals. She has over 15 years of experience in immunology, infectious diseases, and all stages of drug development, and is the author of over 200 scientific publications. She has a passion for advancing therapies for life threatening diseases and is an experienced manager and recognized leader. Diana serves as an Independent Director on the board of Allovir as well as the Gilead Foundation and is a member of the TriNetX strategic advisory board.
Dr. Brainard has been Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases. She performed her internal medicine and fellowship training at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. Following completion of her medical training, she was on faculty at Harvard Medical School where she conducted NIH-funded research on HIV immunology and T-cell trafficking. Dr. Brainard received a BA in comparative literature at Brown University and an MD at Tulane University School of Medicine.
