Senior Manager/Associate Director Medical Affairs & Scientific Engagement

Position Summary:

In collaboration with the VP, Medical Affairs, the Sr. Manager/Associate Director Medical Affairs & Scientific Engagement will play a key role in the development and execution of Avalo Therapeutics’ Medical Affairs strategy, with a particular focus on scientific communications, publication planning, congress strategy, medical education, external scientific engagement, and support of Avalo’s clinical development program in Hidradenitis Suppurativa (HS).

This individual will partner closely with Medical Affairs, Clinical Development, and Clinical Operations to translate emerging clinical and scientific data into meaningful scientific communications and educational initiatives for healthcare professionals, investigators, clinical study sites, and other external stakeholders.

A core component of the position will involve traditional Medical Affairs activities, including publication strategy, congress planning and execution, scientific communications, medical education, KOL engagement, advisory boards, and development of disease-state and scientific materials. The individual will help ensure that Avalo’s scientific evidence and emerging clinical data are communicated accurately, consistently, and effectively across appropriate external scientific channels.

The role will also provide scientific support to Avalo’s clinical development program by educating investigators and clinical study sites on HS disease state, the scientific rationale for the program, the target patient profile, and factors affecting patient identification, recruitment, enrollment, and retention. The individual will serve as a scientific bridge between Medical Affairs, Clinical Development, Clinical Operations, investigators, and study sites, helping translate field and site insights into actionable recommendations that support both Medical Affairs strategy and successful clinical study execution.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Medical Affairs Strategy, Scientific Communications & Education

• Support the development and execution of the Medical Affairs strategy and annual medical plan aligned with Avalo’s clinical development and organizational objectives.
• Support and develop and execute scientific communication strategies that communicate emerging clinical data, disease-state information, mechanism of action, treatment landscape, and unmet medical need.
• Develop and maintain strong peer-to-peer scientific relationships with KOLs, investigators, healthcare professionals, academic institutions, and other external experts in HS, dermatology, and immune-mediated inflammatory diseases.
• Conduct high-quality, non-promotional scientific exchange regarding HS disease biology, treatment landscape, mechanism of action, emerging scientific evidence, and Avalo-sponsored clinical programs.
• Develop and support medical education initiatives designed to improve understanding of HS, the patient journey, treatment patterns, unmet medical needs, and emerging scientific evidence.
• Develop scientific slide decks, disease-state materials, FAQs, field medical resources, investigator materials, training programs, and other scientific communication tools.
• Capture insights from KOLs, investigators, healthcare professionals, and clinical study sites and translate those insights into recommendations for Medical Affairs and Clinical Development.

Publication Strategy & Scientific Evidence Dissemination

• Support the development and execution of an integrated publication strategy and publication plan aligned with clinical development milestones and Medical Affairs objectives.
• Partner with Clinical Development, Biostatistics, Medical Writing, and external authors to identify publication opportunities arising from clinical trials, scientific analyses, and evidence-generation activities.
• Coordinate the development of abstracts, posters, oral presentations, manuscripts, encore presentations, and other scientific communications.
• Manage publication timelines, authorship coordination, internal review, external vendors, and congress submission deadlines.
• Identify opportunities to communicate emerging scientific and clinical evidence through appropriate peer-reviewed publications and scientific forums.
• Ensure publication activities are scientifically rigorous, appropriately reviewed, and consistent with applicable publication standards and company policies.

Congress & Conference Strategy

• Support development and execution of Avalo’s medical congress strategy for major dermatology, immunology, and relevant scientific meetings.
• Identify priority congresses based on scientific relevance, clinical development milestones, data-readout opportunities, KOL participation, and Medical Affairs objectives.
• Develop congress scientific objectives, coverage plans, KOL engagement strategies, scientific communication plans, and internal briefing materials.
• Coordinate abstracts, posters, presentations, scientific sessions, advisory boards, investigator meetings, and other Medical Affairs activities surrounding major congresses.
• Provide scientific support at congresses and conferences, including KOL meetings, scientific exchange, poster and presentation support, competitive intelligence, and internal education.
• Monitor relevant scientific presentations and competitive clinical data and provide post-congress summaries highlighting implications for Avalo’s clinical development and Medical Affairs strategy.
• Facilitate post-congress education and dissemination of key scientific learnings to appropriate internal stakeholders.

Medical Education & External Scientific Engagement

• Develop disease-state and scientific education programs for healthcare professionals, investigators, study-site personnel, and other appropriate external stakeholders.
• Educate external stakeholders on HS biology, disease burden, patient journey, current treatment approaches, unmet medical needs, emerging science, and relevant clinical research.
• Support advisory boards and other external expert engagements, including development of scientific objectives, identification of participants, preparation of materials, meeting facilitation, and synthesis of insights.
• Partner with internal and external experts to develop scientifically accurate educational resources that support consistent understanding of the disease state and evolving clinical evidence.
• Respond appropriately to unsolicited medical and scientific inquiries through established Medical Affairs processes.

Clinical Study & Investigator/Site Scientific Support

• Serve as a scientific liaison between Avalo, clinical investigators, study coordinators, research staff, Clinical Development, Clinical Operations, and Medical Affairs.
• Provide disease-state and scientific education to investigators and clinical study sites to strengthen understanding of HS, the patient journey, disease severity, treatment patterns, and the scientific rationale for Avalo’s clinical development program.
• Educate study sites on the intended clinical trial patient profile, including relevant disease characteristics, disease severity, previous treatments, patient journey, inclusion/exclusion criteria, and other protocol-defined characteristics that may assist sites in identifying potentially appropriate patients.
• Help investigators and study personnel understand where potentially eligible patients may exist within their clinical practices, referral networks, and broader dermatology community.
• Provide scientific education and resources that support patient identification, screening, recruitment, enrollment, and retention while maintaining appropriate separation between Medical Affairs activities and site-management responsibilities.
• Partner with Clinical Development and Clinical Operations to understand barriers affecting study recruitment and enrollment, including patient availability, referral patterns, competing trials, screen failures, protocol complexity, disease recognition, and patient burden.
• Gather feedback from investigators and clinical study sites regarding patient profiles, eligibility criteria, screening challenges, recruitment barriers, treatment patterns, and protocol feasibility.
• Translate site and investigator insights into actionable recommendations for Clinical Development, Clinical Operations, and Medical Affairs.
• Support investigator meetings, site-engagement meetings, scientific training, site initiation activities, and other study-related educational programs as appropriate.
• Help develop investigator-facing disease-state education, patient-profile materials, scientific FAQs, study-awareness materials, and recruitment-support resources through established review and approval processes.
• Support development of relationships between clinical study sites and appropriate referring healthcare professionals by providing scientifically appropriate disease and study education.
• Review enrollment and screening trends with Clinical Development and Clinical Operations to identify sites or geographic areas where additional scientific education or patient-profile awareness may help support enrollment.
• Maintain awareness of the competitive clinical trial landscape and communicate potential implications for investigator engagement, patient availability, recruitment, and enrollment.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Collaborate closely with Medical Affairs, Clinical Development, Clinical Operations, Regulatory Affairs, Pharmacovigilance, Biometrics, Translational Medicine, HEOR/Market Access, and Commercial colleagues as appropriate.
• Translate emerging clinical data into scientific communication, publication, congress, and medical education strategies.
• Ensuring insights from KOLs, investigators, study sites, congresses, and scientific literature are systematically captured and communicated to appropriate internal stakeholders.
• Maintain current knowledge of HS biology, treatment guidelines, patient journeys, referral pathways, clinical literature, competitive development programs, and emerging scientific developments.
• Represent Avalo with scientific credibility and professionalism at medical congresses, scientific meetings, investigator meetings, advisory boards, and other external forums.
• Ensure all activities are conducted in accordance with applicable legal, regulatory, compliance, GCP, patient privacy, and company requirements.

Required Education and Experience:

•    An advanced scientific or clinical degree in a relevant discipline, such as an MD, DO, DNP, NP or PA in Dermatology or Rheumatology.
•    5+ years of relevant experience in clinical dermatology practice, or rheumatology, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, Medical Affairs, Clinical Development, or related scientific roles.
•    Experience in Medical Affairs, field medical/MSL, clinical trial liaison, or a clinician in dermatology or rheumatology.
•    Preferred Demonstrated experience supporting publication planning, scientific communications, medical congresses, medical education, advisory boards, or related Medical Affairs activities.
•    Demonstrated ability to interpret and communicate complex scientific and clinical data to internal and external audiences.
•    Experience building relationships with KOLs, investigators, healthcare professionals, or academic researchers.
•    Strong organizational and project-management skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and work independently across functional boundaries.
•    Excellent written, verbal, presentation, and interpersonal communication skills.
•    Ability to travel approximately 30–50% based on field, study, and congress needs.

Preferred Qualifications

• Members of a dermatology organization, e.g., AAD, AOCD, DEF, SDPA ,DNPA, preferred.