DeviceConnect, May 13: The Next Generation of Life Science Tools
Life Science Washington and Product Creation Studio present: DeviceConnect Series
The Next Generation of Life Science Tools
Over the past year, the entire world has been focused on medical technologies associated with COVID: diagnostics, vaccines, and drugs. The top medical minds from our state have been front-runners in these discoveries. With these rapid breakthroughs in the spotlight, it’s easy to overlook the tools used to create these types of technologies in the first place. Washington State has long been a leader in the development of life science tools that enable breakthrough discovery. We have a rich and deep history leading the way in oncology, genomics, proteomics, and synthetic biology. In this DeviceConnect, we’ll talk to active members and leaders in our region’s life science tools industry. Gain insight into the ground that’s been covered, and what breakthroughs are on the horizon.
Date: Thursday, May 13, 2021
Time: 4:00 - 5:00 p.m. (with virtual networking to follow)
Location: Virtual - link to be provided prior to the event
Registration: Tickets are free. Please register in advance!
SPEAKERS
MODERATOR:
SEAN MACLEOD, CEO, FENOLOGICA BIOSCIENCES
Sean MacLeod is the Founder and CEO of FenoLogica Biosciences, an early-stage synthetic biology tools company. FenoLogica’s technology accelerates the discovery and development of custom-engineered microbial platforms for biopharma and industrial bioscience applications. As an experienced executive and entrepreneur, Sean has led the commercialization efforts of numerous life science and biomedical technologies. He recently helped found Enzymetrics Biosciences, a microbiome discovery and diagnostic company with technology licensed from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Prior to FenoLogica, Sean was the President of Stratos Product Development, a life science and medical device consulting firm. He led the company for over a decade and grew it to be recognized worldwide as one of the top product development firms for regulated devices and leading-edge biomedical applications. He is an active mentor and board advisor in the life sciences community including Life Science Washington’s WIN program (Phase Genomics, Inmedix) and the Jones + Foster Accelerator at the University of Washington (A-Alpha, Silene now part of Curi Bio). He is an executive board member of the Technology Alliance. Sean holds an MBA from the University of Washington and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
MELISSA SHERMAN, PH.D., CEO, MOBILION SYSTEMS, INC.
Dr. Melissa Sherman is the CEO of MOBILion Systems Inc., a life science tools company accelerating biotherapeutic drug development and multiomic biomarker discovery with technology licensed from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Washington. She is a passionate business builder with public and private company leadership experience in a wide range of industries including fashion apparel, consumer products, and regenerative medicine. Dr. Sherman achieved successful exits of two companies prior to joining IP Group, an early-stage technology investment firm. At IP Group, Dr. Sherman wrote the initial investment thesis for MOBILion and believed in the opportunity so much she became the founding CEO and raised $54M to achieve commercial launch.
NICHOLAS GEISSE, PH.D., CSO, CURI BIO
Dr. Nicholas Geisse is the Chief Science Officer at Curi Bio and a co-founder of Kinea Bio, both spin-outs of the University of Washington. He has a B.A., Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Boston University, Ph.D. in Pharmacology from Cambridge University, and did his postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard. Previously, he was a research scientist, project manager, and product manager at Asylum Research (later acquired by Oxford Instruments) where he was responsible for sales and marketing, design, production, profitability, and new product introduction and development. At Curi, he is specifically tasked with guiding the overall scientific strategy of the company in addition to developing and bringing to market Curi’s next-generation of innovative products aimed at increasing the predictive power of in vitro cell based assays. Nick and his team have been honored by being awarded Xconomy’s 2020 ‘Big Idea’ award, the US Small Business Administration’s 2020 Tibbetts award, and a 2021 Edison Award.
BRAD GRAY, PRESIDENT & CEO, NANOSTRING TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
R. Bradley Gray has served as a member of the board of directors and as President and Chief Executive Officer since June 2010. Prior to joining our company, Mr. Gray held various positions at Genzyme, a biotechnology company acquired by Sanofi in 2011. He served as Vice President of Product & Business Development for Genzyme Genetics, the diagnostic services division of Genzyme, from June 2008 to May 2010, leading the development of molecular diagnostics and partnering activities. From September 2006 to June 2008, he served as Vice President of Business & Strategic Development for Genzyme Genetics, leading growth efforts through partnerships and licensing. Mr. Gray joined Genzyme in October 2004 as Director of Corporate Development, supporting business development and leading Genzyme Ventures, the corporate venture capital fund of Genzyme. Prior to joining Genzyme, Mr. Gray was a management consultant in the healthcare practice of McKinsey & Company, a global management consulting firm, from September 2000 to October 2004, where he worked with senior healthcare executives in the United States and Europe on a broad range of issues including pharmaceutical and diagnostic product strategy, post-merger integration, organization design, and operational turnarounds. Mr. Gray received a B.A. in Economics and Management from Oxford University, where he studied as a British Marshall Scholar, and an S.B. in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
JOE VICTOR, PRESIDENT & CEO, RARECYTE
Joe Victor currently serves as RareCyte President & CEO and has been a Venture Partner/Venture Advisor with 5AM Ventures since 2016. Prior to joining 5AM Ventures, Mr. Victor served as CEO of Startide Sciences, a 5AM Ventures portfolio company chartered to identify and develop innovative technologies in the Life Sciences research tools markets. Prior to Startide, Mr. Victor served as CEO of DVS Sciences (acquired by Fluidigm Inc.), and Applied Precision Inc (acquired by GE Healthcare). He currently serves as Executive Chairman on the board of Purigen Biosystems as well as on the Boards of RareCyte, Precision Nanosystems, Magnetic Insight, and Glencoe Software. Mr. Victor also serves as an advisory board member to the Harvard Program in Therapeutic Science and the UC Davis Ecosystem for Biophotonics Innovation. Mr. Victor has also held various executive management and technical positions in the high technology, aviation, and energy markets. Mr. Victor holds an MBA from UCLA and MS and BS degrees in engineering from the University of Washington.