Medical Affairs
Meet Our Medical Affairs Team
HollisterStier Allergy goes beyond the vial to elevate allergy. Our Medical Affairs Team is here to support you and your practice. Whether you have questions, want to learn more about the research and development behind our products, or are interested in training, this team is readily available to assist.
Ben VanGerpen
Chief Scientific Officer
Ben VanGerpen is the Chief Scientific Officer, leading the Medical Affairs, Regulatory Affairs, and Research & Development teams for HollisterStier Allergy. Within this role, he evaluates and drives strategic initiatives to advance the science of allergy. Ben started his career at HollisterStier Allergy on the operations team. Before joining HollisterStier, he led manufacturing, supply chain, and project management teams before taking on the challenge as General Manager of a 503(b) compounding pharmacy. In that role, he built a strong leadership team to develop and validate products to support hospitals and physicians.
Robert Erksine
Associate Director, Medical Affairs
Robert Erskine is the Associate Director of Medical Affairs at HollisterStier Allergy where he works directly with allergy specialists to provide scientific training and clinical guidance on the use of allergenic extracts. Prior to joining HollisterStier, Robert served as the Director of Allergy at Allergy Innovation Compounding, a 503(a) compounding pharmacy based in Georgia. He has held academic research positions at Harvard University and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School. Mr. Erskine received a Bachelor’s in Science in Microbiology from Texas A&M University and studied for 3 years as a PhD candidate in the Department of Immunology at Harvard Medical School, Division of Medical Sciences.
Shannon Brown
Senior Manager, Research & Development
Shannon leads a team of scientists at HollisterStier Allergy who are responsible for the technical aspects of allergenic products throughout their lifecycle. This team works with a cross-functional team to support continuous process or product improvement initiatives – from execution of initial research and development, through process validation and troubleshooting support. Shannon and her team strive to improve our scientific understanding of allergenic extracts through programs that focus on product characterization. As a leader in the Scientific Affairs team, Shannon also gets involved in the evaluation of business opportunities and strategy development. Shannon has a BS in Biochemistry and an MSc in Chemistry from Washington State University.
Arlon Bennett
Medical Science Liaison
Arlon Bennett joined our team aas a Medical Science Liaison in 2022. Arlon has cared for patients in allergy, immunotherapy, and asthma for over 10 years as an allergist and practitioner with two locations in Western Montana. She is an active member of multiple reputable organizations including the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology and the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. Before specializing in allergy, she worked in emergency medicine. She also has enjoyed many years of teaching physicians, nurses, medical assistants, paramedics, and firefighters.
Marc Thomas
Medical Science Liaison
Marc Thomas has been a registered nurse for forty-eight years. After his graduation from nursing school, he worked in an emergency room in Zanesville, OH, and then in the offices of Southeastern Ohio Otolaryngology, where he developed their allergy department, all the while mentoring with many of the pioneers in the field of ENT allergy. After overseeing the allergy department for S.E.O.O. Inc. for twenty-three years, he went on to work with Antigen Laboratories, an FDA licensed allergy extract manufacturer. After an initial time in sales, as the Midwest Regional Manager, he became Antigen’s Clinical Science Liaison and continued in that capacity until their merger with Greer in 2013. The merger of Antigen Labs with Greer was orchestrated by Aeres Life Sciences. He has helped set up and train many offices around the country since 1980 and he continues to work as an Independent Allergy Nurse Consultant with forty-five years dedicated to allergy. Most of his time is currently spent assisting the customers of HollisterStier Allergy.