Indiana Biosciences Research Institute Names Michele Sawyer as its Chief Financial Officer

Indianapolis, Ind. – The Indiana Biosciences Research Institute (IBRI), a leading translational science institute, is pleased to welcome Michele Sawyer as its new Chief Financial Officer.

“Michele is joining the IBRI at a pivotal moment in our organization’s history,” said Alan Palkowitz, PhD, president and CEO of the IBRI. “As we build and integrate new capabilities to enable our ambitious plans, Michele will help us optimize our financial and business strategies to achieve long term objectives that serve patients and grow the regional biomedical community.”

Sawyer brings more than 25 years of financial experience in the life sciences industry to the IBRI. Prior to joining the IBRI, Sawyer served as the executive director/general auditor of corporate audit services at Elanco Animal Health, where she led a team of internal auditors to successfully transform the animal health division of Eli Lilly & Company into an independent start-up entity, guiding teams toward compliance during and after the initial public offering (IPO).

Leading up to the IPO in 2018, Sawyer was the chief operating officer of the nutritional health business unit with the animal health division of Eli Lilly & Company. In this role, she leveraged her leadership experience to create strategy workshops for start-up business units, teaching them how to build the business from the ground up, manage operational issues and collaborate between science and business.

During her 18 years at Eli Lilly & Company, Sawyer served in many leadership roles, one of which was as controller of Lilly Research Lab’s Development Center of Excellence, where she collaborated with leadership to marry cross-functional teams and align solutions to gain a better understanding of each teams’ needs resulting in improved forecasting.

“The IBRI team has built a strong financial foundation for the organization,” noted Sawyer. “I am eager to help the IBRI continue to diversify funding sources, expand economic development and accelerate patient-centered science.”

Sawyer earned her bachelor’s degree in accounting and international business from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business. She is a Certified Public Accountant, and she serves as a member of the Supervisory Committee of the Board of Directors for Elements Credit Union.

About the Indiana Biosciences Research Institute

The Indiana Biosciences Research Institute (IBRI) is an independent, nonprofit discovery science and applied research institute currently targeting diabetes, metabolic disease, poor nutrition and related health data science. Inspired by Indiana’s leading life sciences companies, research universities and philanthropic community, the IBRI is building a world-class organization of researchers, innovators and entrepreneurs to catalyze scientific discovery and its applications, resulting in improved health outcomes for Indiana patients and beyond. For more information about the IBRI, visit https://www.indianabiosciences.org/.