Management & Advisors
Founders
Phil Campbell, Ph.D. is a Research Professor in the Institute for Complex Engineered Systems within CMU’s Carnegie Institute of Technology with joint appointments in Biomedical Engineering, Material Science and Engineering, the Molecular Biosensor and Imaging Center, and the Biological Sciences Departments. Dr. Campbell’s specialty is endocrinology with his primary focus area in understanding hormone pericellular bioavailability as a basis for developing more effective hormone delivery therapies. He is considered a pioneer in identifying pericellular protolytic mechanisms regulating growth factor bioavailability. His current research areas include applying these concepts to biological patterning using bio-printing techniques to better understand the underlying biological concepts of adult stem cell fate (cell migration, proliferation, differentiation, and cell lineage). Dr. Campbell is also developing various in vitro and in vivo imaging strategies based on fluorescence to non-invasively follow cell fate, tissue engineered scaffold degradation and tissue in-growth. He is also involved in developing new native based bio-polymers for tissue engineering applications. He has extensive experience in cell culture and in various animal models for musculoskeletal repair.
Lee Weiss, Ph.D. is a Research Professor in the Robotics Institute of the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University. He also holds appointments in the Biomedical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering Departments in the College of Engineering. Dr. Weiss currently conducts interdisciplinary research in bioprinting and printable electronics. Over the last 30 years he also has sought to apply his diverse background to create technology-based solutions to challenging problems in health care delivery, including fetal heart monitoring, cardiac pacing, angioplasty, MEMS-based drug delivery, bone regeneration, and computer-aided surgery. He holds 25 U.S. patents.
James Burgess, M.D. has an academic appointment at Drexel University and adjunct appointments at George Mason University’s Krasnow Institute and Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute. Dr. Burgess is a staff neurosurgeon at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, PA. His areas of surgical expertise include degenerative spinal disease, minimally invasive surgical procedures. His areas of research interest include spinal instrumentation, human factors in surgery, brain trauma, brain blood flow analysis, bone tissue engineering and robotic image guided surgical applications.
Company
Alan West, President and CEO has had over 20 years of experience in managing medical device start-up companies with a track record that includes both large and small companies, including Johnson & Johnson, Advanced Mechanical Technologies, Boston Scientific Corporation, Vision Sciences, Inc. and Assurance Medical, Inc. Mr. West was V.P. of R&D at Boston Scientific prior to their successful IPO, has a broad technical and business background, and has developed and marketed products in the radiology, cardiology, vascular surgery, dermatology, neurosurgery, gastroenterology, oncology, general surgery, sports medicine and orthopaedic markets. In his career, he has raised more than $45M through private and public offerings and holds numerous patents. Mr. West received a Bachelor's degree in Engineering from Brown University and a Masters in Design from Tufts University.
Phil Campbell, Founder and Chief Scientific Officer (bio under Founders)
Board of Directors
Paul Kornblith, M.D., Chairman An entrepreneur, neurosurgeon, academic, and inventor, he founded Precision Therapeutics Inc. of Pittsburgh, which has raised $120 million in venture capital, and also serves as Western Pennsylvania representative of the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Association, as a consultant to the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse, and as a member or chairman of the boards of several companies.
Richard Upton, General Partner, Harbor Light Capital Partners was most recently the founder and President of Upton Advisors, LLC, a boutique investment bank serving middle market and emerging healthcare companies throughout the United States. Mr. Upton has been advising early stage and growth stage companies since 1992 both as a senior healthcare investment banker for Salomon Brothers and later as an independent adviser. Rich has completed engagements representing aggregate transaction values in excess of $5 billion. He currently serves on the Boards of Avantra Biosciences, Castlewood Surgical, and Carmell Therapeutics, and previously served on the Board of Home Diagnostics, Inc. (NASDAQ: HDIX – acquired by Nipro Corporation). Mr. Upton is a member of the Investment Committee of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, and is former Chairman of The Pine Hill Waldorf School. Mr. Upton is also a founding member of Northeast Angels, an early stage angel investing group based in southern New Hampshire. Mr. Upton received his MBA degree from The Darden School at the University of Virginia and a dual BA degree in Economics and English from Amherst College.
William Newlin, Chairman, Newlin Investment Company. Bill was previously Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer of Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Buchanan Ingersoll, and a co-founder of the CEO Venture Funds. He sits on a number of corporate boards, including Chairman of Plextronics, Inc., Chairman from 1996 to 2002, lead director from 2002 to 2006 and currently a director of Kennametal Inc., Chief Strategic Advisor and a Director of Etcetera Edutainment Inc., Calgon Carbon Corporation, Plano Molding Company, and the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse. Bill was also a founding director of the Pittsburgh Technology Council. In 2001, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette named Bill Newlin one of the 50 top business leaders in the city. Pittsburgh Magazine named him in 1999 among the "Most Influential Pittsburghers of the Century." From 1994 to 1996, Bill was chief advisor for Mayor Tom Murphy during drawn-out, difficult negotiations to keep the Pittsburgh Pirates in the city. In 1999, he helped broker a deal to sell and reorganize the bankrupt Pittsburgh Penguins to NHL superstar Mario Lemieux. Bill graduated from Princeton University, has received the University of Pittsburgh Law School's distinguished alumni award and was awarded an honorary doctorate of business administration degree from Robert Morris College.
James Jordan, Vice President and Chief Investment Officer of the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse. Jim is an accomplished Fortune 20-level executive with strong experience in industry, consulting and academia. A recognized expert in market development and guiding the successful formation of entrepreneurial startup businesses in the life sciences industry, Mr. Jordan became Vice President and Chief Investment Officer of the Greenhouse in 2007. Prior to joining the PLSG, Mr. Jordan served as Senior Vice President of a $3.0 billion division of McKesson Corporation, a leading distributor of healthcare systems, medical supplies and pharmaceutical products, and as a Vice President for Marketing at Johnson & Johnson, one of the world's largest consumer products and healthcare companies. He has held a range of management positions in sales and marketing, operations, supply chain management, information technology, finance and quality assurance with several Fortune 500 medical device companies including C.R. Bard, Inc. and Boston Scientific, Inc. Mr. Jordan has leveraged this experience in several startup ventures and is active on several Boards of Directors. Jim previously served as an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Richmond and he is currently a Distinguished Service Professor of Biotechnology Management and the Director of the Master of Science in Biotechnology Management at Carnegie Mellon University. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from Merrimack College and a Masters in Business Administration from Boston University.
Alan West, CEO (see bio under Company)
Scientific Advisors
Stephen Badylak, D.V.M., Ph.D., M.D. is a Research Professor in the Department of Surgery and Director of Tissue Engineering at the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Badylak is a pioneer in tissue engineering and holds over 40 US patents, has authored more than 130 scientific publications and 6 book chapters, and has been a member of several scientific committees. He has either chaired or been a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of several major medical device companies including DePuy Inc. of Warsaw, IN, Cook Biotech of West Lafayette, IN, Genesis Orthopaedics of Cambridge, MA , Sentron Medical Ventures of Cincinnati, OH and ACell, Inc. of Jessup, MD. He is a charter member and one of three United States member governors of the Tissue Engineering Society International. He is also a member of the Society for Biomaterials and the Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Biology Society. For his contributions to his field, he has been featured in several publications and has been the recipient of multiple awards, including most recently the Sigma Xi Scientific Society 2002 Research Award.
William G. Rodkey, D.V.M. is Chief Scientific Officer and Director of Basic Science Research at the Steadman-Philippon Research Institute in Vail. Involved with the Institute since its beginning, he also serves as Vice President of Scientific Affairs for ReGen Biologics, a biomedical technology company involved with collagen matrix technology for tissue engineering in musculoskeletal tissue regeneration. Prior to joining Dr. Steadman in 1990, Dr. (Colonel, U.S. Army, retired) Rodkey was Chairman of the Military Trauma Research Division for the Letterman Army Institute of Research (LAIR) in San Francisco. Dr. Rodkey has conducted extensive orthopaedic sports medicine research at the Institute, as well as other research aimed at improving early surgical care of trauma victims. Dr. Rodkey's accomplishments while in the service of our country earned him numerous awards and military decorations including the United States Legion of Merit Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Humanitarian Services Medal, Order of Military Medical Merit, and the U.S. Secretary of the Army Research and Development Achievement Award. He has authored more than 150 published articles and abstracts on research and clinical topics. Dr. Rodkey is a member of numerous professional orthopaedic organizations including American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons; American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine; International Society of Arthroscopy, Knee Surgery, and Orthopaedic Sports Medicine; European Society of Sports Traumatology, Knee Surgery and Arthroscopy; International Cartilage Repair Society; Osteoarthritis Research Society International; ACL Study Group; and the Knee Purists.
Darrell J. Triulzi, M.D. is the Director, Division of Transfusion Medicine, Department of Pathology at the University of Pittsburgh; and Medical Director of the Institute for Transfusion Medicine (ITXM). Dr. Triulzi's interest is in transfusion support of stem cell and solid organ transplant recipients and the immunomodulatory effects of transfusion. He is site PI for the NIH Transfusion Medicine/Hemostasis Clinical Trials Network.
Savio L-Y. Woo, Ph.D., D.Sc., D.Eng., is the Distinguished University Professor of Bioengineering and the Founder and Director of the Musculoskeletal Research Center (MSRC), a diverse multidisciplinary research and educational center in the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Pittsburgh. He joined the faculty at the University of Pittsburgh in 1990 following 20 years of service at the University of California in San Diego as a Professor of Surgery and Bioengineering. Dr. Woo is a pioneer in bioengineering and is renowned for his 40 years of translational research in healing and repair of tissues. Together with his team, they have authored 310 original research papers in refereed journals, 141 book chapters and review papers and over 817 abstracts. Their work has significantly impacted the management of ligament and tendon injuries including clinical paradigm shifts that have led to improved patient outcome. More recently, Dr. Woo has focused on using novel functional tissue engineering to heal and to regenerate ligament and tendon at the molecular, cellular, tissue and organ levels. Also, he has pioneered the use of robotic technology to study the function of ACL and to improve ACL reconstruction procedures. Dr. Woo has edited 12 books and 18 conference proceedings, in addition to delivering more than 880 lectures. For his work, Dr. Woo has been recognized by many professional societies. Most notably, he has been inducted by the Institute of Medicine (USA), The National Academy of Engineering (USA), and Academia Sinica (Republic of China), only one of four persons who have gained all three of these honors. In 1998, Dr. Woo received the Olympic Prize for Sports Science from the International Olympic Committee and the first Olympic gold medal at the Nagano Games in Japan.
Medical Advisors
Patrick J. DeMeo, M.D. Dr. DeMeo is Chairman of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Director of the Division of Sports Medicine at Allegheny General Hospital, Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Drexel University College of Medicine and Medical Director of the Pittsburgh Pirates Baseball Club.
Edward D. Snell, M.D. President, Major League Baseball Team Physician Association, Head Team Physician, Pittsburgh Pirates Baseball Club, and Assistant Professor Orthopaedic Surgery at Drexel University College of Medicine.
John Richmond, M.D. Chairman of Orthopaedics at New England Baptist and Vice President of the Eastern Orthopaedic Association. He has been an advisor to a number of start-up companies, including Innovasive Devices and Mitek, and his research interests include tendon and ligament (ACL) and meniscus repairs.
Russell Warren, M.D. Dr. Warren is Surgeon-in-Chief Emeritus of Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) and former President of the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports medicine and the American Shoulder and Elbow Society. His research interests include the function, repair and replacement of ligaments, and tendons, and is currently involved in clinical studies of the use of platelet-rich plasma in rotator cuff repair.
Lawrence Lemak, M.D. Dr. Lemak is the founder of Lemak Sports Medicine in Birmingham and previously was a founding partner of Alabama Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Center, an Assistant Professor at the University of Alabama and University of Virginia, and serves as Medical Director for Major League Soccer, NFL Europe, Professional Golf Association (PGA), and the Ladies PGA. His research interests include rotator cuff and cartilage repair.
Bert Mandelbaum, M.D. Dr. Mandelbaum is recognized as one of the top knee injury specialists in the U.S. working at the Santa Monica Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Group. Since 2000 he has chaired the annual National Articular Cartilage Repair Symposium for Sports Medicine Fellows, and he is Medical Director for the U.S. World Cup Soccer Team, the U.S. Gymnastics Federation and the U.S. Soccer Federation. His research interests include ACL and cartilage repair.
George Paletta, M.D. Dr. Paletta is Associate Professor of Orthopedic Surgery and Chief of Sports Medicine at Washington University in St. Louis, currently serves as Medical Director for the St. Louis Cardinal Baseball team, and was previously Medical Director of the St. Louis Rams Football Team. His research interests include ACL repair and rotator cuff injuries.
Ralph Gambardella, M.D. Dr. Ralph A. Gambardella is a clinical associate professor of orthopaedics at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine in Los Angeles and is President and Chairman of the Board, Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic, Los Angeles. Dr. Gambardella’s main interest is sports medicine, and he is an orthopaedist for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Loyola Marymount University and is past president of the Association of Major League Baseball Team Physicians.