Dr. Ekemini A. U. Riley is the Managing Director of Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s (ASAP), a research funding initiative designed to accelerate the pace of discovery for Parkinson’s disease. Dr. Riley is a molecular biologist by training who is energized by devising creative ways to tackle scientific challenges and facilitating productive collaboration. She has designed and facilitated several multi-sector think tank sessions to inform the strategic deployment of philanthropic capital, crafted research programs, and seeded multi-funder collaboration. She founded the Coalition for Aligning Science (CAS) in 2020 to centralize efforts to design and implement research programs across multiple disease areas. CAS is the managing entity for ASAP.
Previously, Dr. Riley was a Director at the Milken Institute Center for Strategic Philanthropy, where she helped shape and co-direct the center’s medical research practice. There, she led due diligence efforts to map the state of research and identify innovative opportunities for impact in various areas across oncology, circulatory, and neurodegenerative conditions. Prior to its spin-out as a standalone initiative, she led the development and launch of ASAP from 2017-2019 in addition to the Gilbert Family Foundation’s Gene Therapy and Vision Restoration Initiatives.
Dr. Riley earned her BA in Natural Sciences from Johns Hopkins University and PhD in Molecular Medicine from the University of Maryland School of Medicine.
