Cara Altimus, PhD is a Senior Director at the Milken Institute. She leads MI Philanthropy’s Science and Health practice and is the managing director for Breakthrough Discoveries for thriving with Bipolar Disorder (BD2). Altimus has worked with a wide range of funders focused on developing scientific strategy for new initiatives leading to nearly $3 billion in deployed funding and led the development of several multi-funder research collaboratives, including BD2. Altimus brings a strong passion for promoting scientific rigor and facilitating science that will positively impact patient communities. Prior to joining Milken, Altimus led the Neural Interfaces research program at the FDA and contributed to funding strategy with the Department of Justice and DARPA. Cara received her Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University.