Rebecca R. Miles, PhD
President Elect
Biography
Dr. Miles earned her master’s degree in biology from the College of William and Mary and her Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, specializing in translational control and the integrated stress response, from the Indiana University School of Medicine.
Dr. Miles is a highly experienced and passionate drug discovery scientist with over 25 years of industry experience. Her career is marked by scientific excellence, innovation, and leadership in the development of small molecules, peptides, antibodies, and oligonucleotides for various therapeutic areas including metabolic diseases, oncology, and neurodegeneration. She has built and led high-performing teams, created healthy team cultures, and mentored numerous scientists.
In recent years, Dr. Miles played a pivotal role at Lilly Genetic Medicines, where she helped to drive the development of oligonucleotide capabilities. She assembled a dynamic team of in vitro and in vivo biologists to support target identification and validation, oligonucleotide sequence selection, off-target profiling, chemistry optimization, and both hepatic and extrahepatic delivery platforms. Dr. Miles provided scientific leadership for cross-functional projects working with multiple therapeutic areas, ADME, and chemistry to successfully deliver preclinical assets for the portfolio. She also coordinated and managed several CRO relationships to accelerate internal research programs. Additionally, she supported the search and evaluation of emerging external technologies, serving as a subject matter expert in RNA therapeutics for senior leadership.
Upon her retirement from Eli Lilly in 2024, Dr. Miles became the CEO of ReiNA Consulting LLC.