The Beacon Scientific team under a cast-iron skybridge on a cobblestone street in Lower Manhattan

Complex Science,
Told Brilliantly.

We partner with life sciences teams to turn complex science into meaningful experiences that advance healthcare.

Different perspectives. A shared purpose.
Discover Beacon

The people behind the thinking.

A boutique medical education agency. Senior scientists and storytellers who make complex science land.

Meet the team Work with us
Who we are

A boutique medical education agency with senior people, start to finish.

2019
Independent by design
100%
PhDs on the science team
14.1
Yrs avg. industry experience
16+
Yrs deep in complex science
Read our story
Our founders

Built on partnership.

Carolyn Oddo and Ben Houghtaling, co-founders of Beacon Scientific
Carolyn Oddo
Co-founder & Chief Client Officer
25
Yrs med ed
15
Yrs oncology
17
Launches

Carolyn is the senior hand on every account, leading client partnerships, KOL engagement, and advisory programs that turn expert insight into strategy. Before Beacon she was EVP and Managing Director at a leading New York agency, and she still brings a clinician's eye to the work, having started her career as a nurse.

RN · Florida StateMPH · USF
Benjamin Houghtaling, PhD
Co-founder & Chief Scientific Officer
16
Yrs med ed
16
Yrs oncology
10
Launches

Ben is a cancer scientist turned storyteller who sets the scientific bar on every program. He started at the lab bench, earning his PhD and completing a postdoc in cancer biology, and now turns dense clinical data into education that is accurate, current, and genuinely compelling.

PhD · NYUPostdoc · Rockefeller
The full Beacon Scientific team against a brick wall in New York City
Our team

One team, many perspectives.

Scientists, educators, strategists, and creatives with one purpose: clearer science, richer engagement, real impact.

Why Beacon

Knowing the science is just the starting point.

Independent by design

Every decision made in your interest, never a parent-company agenda.

Senior & hands-on

Real seniority, low turnover. The team that starts with you stays with you.

Boutique feel, enterprise muscle

Personal attention with the depth to scale.

Science built in

Strategic scientific thinking from day one, never a final check.

Storytellers, not just scientists

Deep expertise plus the craft to make it land.

A partner, not a vendor

We act as an extension of your team, and we challenge the brief.

How we think

From scientific insight to human impact.

Medical education and engagement that inform, inspire, and move science forward.

Start a conversation
Our approach

Scientific expertise is the baseline.
How we deliver is the difference.

See our approach
Core capabilities

Built for strong launches and long-term wins.

KOL & Congress

  • KOL identification & profiling
  • Strategic engagement planning
  • National & regional congress support

Strategic Meetings

  • Advisory boards & steering committees
  • Executive committees & roundtables
  • Broadcasts & expert panels

Content Development

  • Promo & MSL decks
  • MOA videos & infographics
  • Data coverage & dissemination

Speaker Bureau

  • Program management
  • Speaker training
  • Live, virtual & concierge service
The science we love

Built for complex, fast-moving science.

Oncology and hematology are the majority of our work, some of the most rapidly evolving science there is. But complex is complex: new modalities, new paradigms, new data. We're built to master any of it.

Deepest roots in oncology & hematology
Breast Lung Non-Hodgkin lymphoma GI · PDAC · CRC · Gastric/GEJ Multiple myeloma MDS HNSCC AML · CML · CLL & more
Connect

Let's create brighter conversations.

Tell us your science, your audience, and what you need to move. We'll bring the right people.

Say hello

We'd love to hear from you.

Whether you have a defined brief or just an early idea, a short conversation is the best place to start.

For more information
beacon@beaconscigroup.com
Based in
New York, working with partners everywhere.
Careers
We're always glad to meet kindred scientists and storytellers. Introduce yourself anytime.
Carolyn Oddo and Ben Houghtaling toasting at a New York bar

This opens a pre-filled email in your mail app.

← Discover Our story

Curiosity in action.

Why we built Beacon, and what keeps us curious.

The short version

Senior thinking that actually reaches the work.

We spent our careers inside big agencies and watched the senior expertise that won the pitch quietly disappear from the day-to-day. In 2019 we started Beacon to close that gap: the people who win the work are the people who do the work.

The journey

From big-agency leaders to independent partners.

Before Beacon

Big-agency leadership

Carolyn as EVP & Managing Director; Ben in senior scientific leadership, both in New York.

The proving ground

A landmark oncology launch

Together they co-led the winning pitch and built the team behind one of oncology's leading products: 40+ approved indications across 18 cancer types.

2019

Beacon is born

Founded independent by design: senior-led, science-first, no parent-company agenda.

Today

Boutique & deep

A 100% PhD science team with deep oncology roots, still senior on every account.

40+
Approved indications launched
18
Cancer types
Carolyn Oddo and Ben Houghtaling, co-founders of Beacon Scientific
The partnership

One client mind. One scientific mind.

Carolyn brings the client instinct and account leadership. Ben brings the scientific depth and rigor. Two complementary halves of one standard: different perspectives, a shared purpose.

← Think Our approach

How we deliver is the difference.

Knowing the science is the starting point. Here's what sets the work apart.

What sets us apart

Four things you feel on every project.

Exceptional science

  • Scientists who tell the story
  • Strategy from the start, not a final check
  • PhD-led rigor

Dedicated professionals

  • Direct access to senior leaders
  • Low turnover, so your team stays
  • Boutique attention, enterprise capability

Elevated service

  • Responsive & organized
  • Proactive, we anticipate needs
  • Process-driven, start to finish

Trusted partners

  • An extension of your team
  • Independent, your interest first
  • Long-term relationships
Client & HCP service

White-glove service, for everyone.

The same concierge-level care for everyone we work with: your team and the HCPs you rely on.

Team continuity

One consistent point of contact for every client and HCP.

Proactive & organized

We anticipate needs and keep every detail on track.

Flexibility

Communication tailored to each person's style and pace.

Respect for time

Precise, professional touchpoints that value everyone's schedule.

How we work

Same senior team, start to finish.

Plenty of agencies can list a process. The difference is who runs it, and how.

01

Immerse

Senior leaders dig in from day one, not a junior team getting up to speed.

02

Frame

PhD-level scientific thinking shapes strategy from the start, never a final check.

03

Create

The people who pitched the work build the work. No hand-offs, no dilution.

04

Sustain

We've kept turnover low since inception, so the team that starts with you tends to stay.