Meet the 2025 RAPS Fellows
RAPS has named four regulatory professionals to the distinguished ranks of the RAPS Fellows Program. RAPS welcomes a new class of Fellows each year, honoring them for their noteworthy and sustained leadership contributions to their organizations, RAPS and the regulatory profession.
Fellows receive a dignified status and hold the FRAPS designation. They serve as important advisors and mentors for strategic collaboration, implementation of special initiatives, and international development across the regulatory community. Each Fellow was selected based on our eligibility criteria after application and review by our Fellows Committee.
The 2025 RAPS Fellows are:
João Duarte, MSc, MPharm, FRAPS
Vice president and head of global regulatory affairs excellence at Ipsen
João is an accomplished regulatory professional with over 14 years of experience. João has led regulatory teams to better understand the shifting regulatory environment and to foster regulatory intelligence, policy, compliance, and strategic practices. João has been extensively involved in regulatory advocacy and volunteering. He championed critical topics in trade associations globally and actively contributed to RAPS’ and other organizations’ efforts to develop the regulatory profession and community. João is a pharmacist by training and holds a master's degree in pharmaceutical medicine.
Grace Gowda, MPharm, PhD, RAC-US, FRAPS
Director, International Biomedical Regulatory Sciences Program and Associate Professor, College of Pharmacy at University of Georgia
Grace has more than 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry and has held leadership positions in national and international trade associations. She is part of the Regulatory Knowledge and Support program within the Georgia Clinical and Translational Science Alliance (GA CTSA) and sits on the board of the Association for Graduate Regulatory Educators (AGRE). Grace has a PhD in pharmacology and toxicology from the University of Texas at Austin, a master's in pharmacy (pharmacology) from Nagpur University, and bachelor's in pharmacy from University of Madras, India. She holds a RAC-US credential from RAPS.
Jennifer Neff, DVM, PhD, MBA, RAC-Global, FRAPS
Principal Consultant and Head of Medical Devices at Entourage
Jennifer Neff has worked in the medical device, pharmaceutical and biotech industries for more than 18 years. Before moving into regulatory affairs, she was a veterinarian in small and large animal practice and worked for the primate genetics division of the German Primate Center. She has volunteered for RAPS as chair of the RAPS European Council, RAPS Euro Convergence Programme Committee co-chair, Regulatory Affairs Certification Board member, RCC-MDR Committee member, and as a leader of the RAPS Germany Chapter. Jennifer earned her PhD from the University of Veterinary Medicine of Hannover and her MBA from the University of Applied Science (FOM), Germany. She holds the RAC-Global and RCC-MDR credentials.
Lisa L. Pritchard, BSEEE, FRAPS
VP, Regulatory, Quality, Clinical & Engineering at DuVal & Associates
Lisa brings over 30 years of experience working with worldwide regulatory strategies, marketing submissions and applications, FDA submissions, quality system strategies, SOP development and review, and compliance topics. Lisa serves on the leadership team of the RAPS Twin Cities Chapter and is an active volunteer mentor and sought after international speaker on regulatory topics. Prior to joining DuVal & Associates, she executed successful regulatory, quality and compliance strategies at a variety of device companies including American Medical Systems, Medtronic, Uromedica, and EnteroMedics. Lisa earned her bachelor’s of science in electrical and electronics engineering from North Dakota State University.
“We are thrilled to honor these deserving professionals as our 2025 RAPS Fellows,” said RAPS Executive Director Bill McMoil. “We appreciate dedication and ongoing commitment to advancing the regulatory profession, and we look forward to their continued contributions of knowledge, experience and expertise.”
RAPS will celebrate our new Fellows during RAPS Convergence 2025, the largest annual affairs gathering. This year's event takes place from 7-9 October in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
More information about the Fellows program, including previous classes, application process and selection criteria information and more, can be found here.