MCLEAN, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 21, 2026--
Zephyr AI, Inc. (“Zephyr AI”), a leader in precision medicine harnessing artificial intelligence to accelerate drug development, today announced that it has appointed Lisa Eli, PhD, as its Chief Scientific Officer. Eli brings over 20 years of experience in translational medicine and precision oncology, with deep expertise in advancing biomarker-driven clinical development. She has led integrated biomarker and diagnostic strategies across Phase 1-3 clinical trials, enabling patient selection, informing combination approaches, and supporting regulatory approvals and guideline inclusions in solid tumors. At Zephyr AI, Dr. Eli will leverage this experience to accelerate AI-powered, biomarker-driven diagnostic and clinical development of targeted therapies.
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“I am thrilled to join Zephyr AI and support the company's groundbreaking work in oncology discovery and drug development,” said Eli. “The power of AI combined with deeply profiled real-world data offers an immense opportunity to accelerate clinical development and bring biomarker-informed, precise therapies to point of care. I am eager to work with our industry partners to help optimize treatment and elevate the quality of care for people with cancer.”
“Lisa is a key addition to Zephyr AI’s leadership team,” said Zephyr AI CEO Allen Chao, PhD. “She brings a wealth of experience advancing oncology programs from scientific discovery through clinical development and commercialization, and her leadership will energize Zephyr’s ability to apply proprietary data, AI, and machine learning to accelerate smarter drug development.”
As a thought leader in precision oncology, Dr. Eli has led translational medicine teams and supported important developments in cancer treatment. Most recently, Eli founded and led Eli Precision Oncology, LLC, a consultancy where she supported clients in biomarker-driven patient stratification and clinical development strategies. Prior to that, Eli was Vice President of Translational Medicine and Diagnostics at Puma Biotechnology, where she was a key driver of the SUMMIT basket trial of neratinib (Nerlynx®) for patients with solid tumors harboring HER2 mutations. She also held senior roles at N-of-One and Monogram Biosciences, where she supported diagnostic development of HERmark®, a tissue-based assay for HER2 quantitation. In addition, Eli was an appointed member of the California Breast Cancer Research Council and currently serves as an Advisor for the SPARK Program in Translational Research at Stanford.
Eli received a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Stanford University, and completed her postdoctoral fellowship at UCSF.
About Zephyr AI
Zephyr AI is redefining precision medicine with AI-enabled software and enterprise-scale real-world data. By transforming fragmented clinical and biological information into actionable insights, Zephyr AI advances therapeutic development, patient stratification, and diagnostic innovation—bringing clarity to complexity and impact to patients. Zephyr AI’s solutions integrate seamlessly into existing workflows for rapid validation and clinical translation. Alongside its software models, Zephyr AI provides access to one of the world’s largest proprietary multimodal clinicogenomic datasets—enabling partners to explore populations, accelerate discovery, and improve trial success. For more information, visit zephyrai.bio.
Lisa Eli, PhD
MALABO, Equatorial Guinea (AP) — Pope Leo XIV arrived Tuesday in Equatorial Guinea for the final leg of his four-nation African journey, a country that presents perhaps the most diplomatically delicate challenge of this trip and his young papacy.
The papal plane landed in the city of Malabo at around 11:35 a.m., with a crowd of officials and citizens at the local airport and along the major roads to welcome him.
“There is a lot of joy today because we waited 44 years for the pope to come, after the visit of John Paul II,” said Diosdao Marques, a senior Catholic official in the country. “It’s a blessing for the country, we hope many things will change and we will deepen our faith.”
The former Spanish colony on Africa’s western coast is run by Africa’s longest-serving president, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, 83. He has been in power since 1979 and is accused of widespread corruption and authoritarianism.
The discovery of offshore oil in the mid-1990s transformed Equatorial Guinea’s economy virtually overnight, with oil now accounting for almost half of its GDP and more than 90% of exports, according to the African Development Bank.
Yet more than half of the country’s nearly 2 million people live in poverty. And rights groups including Human Rights Watch — as well as court cases in France and Spain — have documented how revenues have enriched the ruling Obiang family rather than the broader population.
Leo has shown he won't mince words on this maiden African journey as pope, and the church’s teaching on the scourge of social inequity and corruption is clear. If Leo’s stop in Cameroon was any indication, the pope's messaging in Equatorial Guinea might be just as sharp.
Upon arriving in Yaounde, Cameroon, last week, Leo met with President Paul Biya, at 93 the world’s oldest leader. Like Obiang, Biya has also been in power for decades — since 1982 — and like Obiang, he’s accused of presiding over an authoritarian government.
Leo didn’t hold back as he stood next to Biya and delivered his arrival speech in the presidential palace.
“In order for peace and justice to prevail, the chains of corruption — which disfigure authority and strip it of its credibility — must be broken,” Leo said. “Hearts must be set free from an idolatrous thirst for profit.”
Equatorial Guinea is officially a secular country, but the Catholic Church is at the center of its political and social systems.
Church leaders “are very much interconnected intrinsically with the government,” said Tutu Alicante, a U.S.-based activist who runs the EG Justice rights group. “Part of it is the fear the government has instilled in everyone, including the church, and part of it is the monetary gains that the church derives from this government.”
The Rev. Fortunatus Nwachukwu, No. 2 in the Vatican’s missionary evangelization office, said the Catholic Church is present in difficult civil spaces and knows how to operate in them to carry out its mission.
“Should the church go to war against the government? Surely no,” Nwatchukwu said. “Should the church swallow everything as if it were normal? No. The church has to continue preaching justice, always in defense of life, human dignity and the common good.”
That is particularly challenging in Equatorial Guinea, which with about 75% of its population Catholic is one of the most Catholic countries in Africa.
But it’s also one of the most oppressed. In addition to official corruption, the country’s government also faces rampant accusations of harassment, arrest and intimidation of political opponents, critics and journalists.
It has consistently ranked among the bottom 10 countries in Transparency International’s annual corruption perception index, though the government has in recent years taken some steps to improve the situation, said Transparency International’s regional advisor for Africa, Samuel Kaninda.
The government passed an anti-corruption law and is working to fund an anti-corruption commission. But the only way such measures will be effective is if the commission is truly independent to investigate and the judiciary is independent as well, he said.
Kaninda said he hoped the pope’s visit would draw attention to such shortcomings, and give the people of Equatorial Guinea hope. Even if the government exploits the visit to signal a papal endorsement of its rule, historically pope trips to even authoritarian regimes have ended up as a net positive experience for the people, he said.
“The risk is there, but at the same time, we see more of the opportunity to shed more light on a lot more that is happening there,” he said.
Juliana Bopabote Lopete, a mother of 11 visiting Malabo from a village two hours away to see the pope, was wearing a new dress she said she bought for the occasion, with the pope’s face printed on the traditional fabric.
“Today is a big celebration,” she said, as her friends and her husband sang, played tambourines and swayed next to her. “You need a special outfit.”
At the very least, the first papal visit since St. John Paul II came in 1982 is giving seamstress Tumi Carine lots of business, as she makes dresses with fabric stamped with Leo’s image.
“The coming of the pope brought us many customers,” Carine said. “ We are really grateful for the coming of the pope, so, we are really happy.”
Leo has a packed schedule in Equatorial Guinea. He will meet with Obiang and then delivers two sets of remarks: A speech to government authorities and diplomats, and then another speech at the national university.
In addition to celebrating Masses, he’ll visit a psychiatric hospital and a prison and will meet with young people and their families. Before leaving Thursday, he’ll pray at a memorial to victims of a 2021 blast at a military barracks in Bata that killed more than 100 people. The explosions were blamed on the negligent handling of dynamite in a barracks close to residential areas.
Associated Press writer Monika Pronczuk in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea and Ope Adetayo in Lagos, Nigeria, contributed to the reporting.
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
A billboard featuring Pope Leo XIV is seen ahead of his visit in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, Friday, April 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)
Soldiers march carrying the Vatican flag, right, and Angolan flag prior to Pope Leo XIV's departure for Equatorial Guinea, at the airport in Luanda, Angola, Tuesday, April 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Faithful wait for the arrival of Pope Leo XIV at the airport in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, Tuesday, April 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)
Faithful wait for the arrival of Pope Leo XIV at the airport in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, Tuesday, April 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)
Pope Leo XIV arrives at the Parish of Our Lady of Fatima in Luanda, Angola, for a meeting with bishops, priests, consecrated men and women, and pastoral workers Monday, April 20, 2026, on the eighth day of an 11-day apostolic journey to Africa (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Pope Leo XIV arrives at the Parish of Our Lady of Fatima in Luanda, Angola, for a meeting with bishops, priests, consecrated men and women, and pastoral workers Monday, April 20, 2026, on the eighth day of an 11-day apostolic journey to Africa (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
People touch a banner bearing an image of Pope Leo XIV in Luanda, Angola, Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Pope Leo XIV listens to a girl as he arrives at the Parish of Our Lady of Fatima in Luanda, Angola, for a meeting with bishops, priests, consecrated men and women, and pastoral workers Monday, April 20, 2026, on the eighth day of an 11-day apostolic journey to Africa (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
