Debra joined Domain in 2007 to create new portfolio companies and evaluate the technical and business merits of investment opportunities. Improving healthcare through the development of drugs has been a focus of her 35+ year career which included operating roles in several Domain-funded companies. She became a principal at Domain in 2009 and managing director in 2014.

Investing in life sciences means deciding what is medically and commercially relevant then executing efficient and financially responsible programs that deliver healthcare products the market needs and wants.

Debra is a director on the board of Milestone Pharmaceuticals and previously served as an observer on the boards of Atara Biotherapeutics, Sonexa Therapeutics and Tobira Therapeutics.  She contributed to the creation of Calixa Therapeutics, Sonexa Therapeutics and multiple seed companies.

Prior to Domain, Debra provided development and business consulting services to the biotech and pharmaceutical industries. She was executive director of New Product Management for CancerVax where she designed and implemented development plans for pipeline product candidates.

Prior to CancerVax, Debra held the position of vice president, corporate development at Atairgin Technologies, where she led product and business development, and at Trega Biosciences, where she led corporate development transactions including merger of the company. Debra also directed clinical research programs for Gensia, the Institute for Biological Research and Development, and Merck & Co. She received her B.S. in chemistry from Clarion University, her M.S. in pharmacology/toxicology from Duquesne University, and her MBA from University of California, Los Angeles.