Paul Yaworsky
Chief Scientific Officer Mediar Therapeutics
Paul Yaworsky is the founding Chief Scientific Officer of Mediar Therapeutics. He joined Mediar from Pfizer, where he spent more than 20 years focused on drug discovery and development. At Pfizer, Paul created the initial scientific and business plan for fibrosis research. Most recently, he served as COO, Inflammation & Immunology Research, where he led strategy and operations for the research unit from early discovery into the clinic including first-in-human through Phase 2 proof-of-concept for both biologic and small molecule approaches for Inflammation and Immunology assets.
A native of Canada, Paul holds a PhD in Molecular Neuroscience from the Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedicine and a BSc in Molecular Genetics from the University of Toronto.
Seminars
For decades, the bleomycin model has served as the primary tool for evaluating antifibrotic candidates in pulmonary fibrosis research. Yet as the field has matured, it has become increasingly clear that reliance on a single preclinical model is insufficient to capture the biological complexity, chronic progression, and therapeutic responses observed in human disease.
Key Discussion Points:
- The strengths and limitations of traditional models, including bleomycin, and how they fit within a broader preclinical evaluation strategy
- How emerging platforms such as human lung tissue models, organoids, and PCLS are being used to complement in vivo studies and improve translational relevance
- Detecting safety signals and drug–drug interactions early in development to better inform clinical trial design and regulatory discussions
