J&J Chief Data Science Officer Najat Khan Joins Recursion as Chief R&D Officer

(US and Canada) Clinical stage TechBio company Recursion announced Najat Khan, PhD, as its Chief R&D Officer and Chief Commercial Officer. Khan will lead Recursion’s research and development, and build its emerging commercial capabilities. She has also been appointed to Recursion’s Board of Directors.

Khan has deep expertise in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry, spanning biological, chemical, and medical science, computational and data science, and general business leadership, with a focus on driving substantial patient and business value. She was formerly with Johnson & Johnson.

As Chief Data Science Officer and Global Head of Strategy and Portfolio Organization, for Innovative Medicine R&D at Johnson & Johnson, Khan played an integral role with the senior leadership team in building an industry-leading pipeline that delivered multiple transformational medicines. She has been a pioneer in driving the impact of data science/AI at scale while establishing a top-tier diverse data science team, underpinning her commitment to innovation and excellence at the intersection of healthcare and technology.

“My mission and focus has been to harness the power of science, data, and AI to revolutionize the way we discover, develop, and deliver transformative medicines for patients,” says Khan, “This seamlessly aligns with Recursion’s goal to pioneer the burgeoning TechBio sector and decode biology and chemistry to radically improve lives. I believe their approach represents the future of our industry, and sets Recursion to be at the forefront to deliver on this vision. I’m thrilled to be part of Recursion’s board and leadership team, embarking on this vital mission together.”

Khan serves as a board member for Alliance for Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare and is a Steering Committee member of the White House’s Moonshot CancerX program to enhance outcomes for cancer patients. She is the founder and co-chair of the Data Science in Industry Roundtable (DISRUPT) – a cross-industry forum dedicated to driving impact through Data Science. 

An alumna of the University of Pennsylvania, Khan has a doctorate in Organic Chemistry leveraging experimental and computational approaches, has an undergraduate degree in Computational Chemistry and a minor in Business/Economics from Colgate University, and is published in various high-impact journals.

Khan holds a position on the CDO Magazine Global Editorial Board, showcasing her contributions to the field of data.