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 firm Coalition for Aligning Science (CAS) in 2020 to centralize efforts to design and implement research programs across multiple disease areas and CAS serves as 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. 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.