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Zack Lynch, Founder, Executive Director
Zack founded NIO to give the neurotechnology industry a collective voice. He is the managing director of NeuroInsights,
a market research firm covering the neurotechnology industry, and a
social forecaster advising global organizations on the impact of
neurotechnology on business, government and society. Mr. Lynch serves on the advisory boards of the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT, Center for Neuroeconomic Studies, Center for Cognitive Liberty & Ethics, the Institute for Global Futures and Socialtext, a software company.
He is the publisher of the investment newsletter, Neurotech Insights, editor of Brain Waves,
an industry weblog providing commentary on the intersection of
neuroscience and society, and co-author of NeuroInsights’ annual report
on The Neurotechnology Industry Report.
Previously, he was an executive and founder of several enterprise
software companies in profit optimization and collaborative
forecasting. Zack received an MA in Economic Geography and double BS in
Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Science, all from UCLA.
NIO Advisory Boards
Dan O'Connell, Partner, NeuroVentures Capital
Dan is a founding member and partner of NeuroVentures Capital LLC, a specialty venture capital firm, established in 2000 to invest in emerging biopharmaceutical and medical technology companies dedicated to developing better treatments for Central Nervous System diseases. Currently, he represents NeuroVentures on the board of Setagon and is an observer with Acumen Pharmaceuticals, Concentric Medical and Rivanna Pharmaceuticals. He was previously a board observer to Cyberkinetics Neurotechnology Systems (CYKN.OB). Dan’s experience with neuroscience-related medical technology companies includes co-founding MedSpecialists, Inc., a venture-backed clinical applications service provider, and Surgical Solutions, LLC, a company which developed neurosurgical products licensed from leading research institutions. Prior to attending business school, Dan worked as an Associate in the investment banking group at Advest, Inc. He holds a B.A. from Brown University and M.B.A. from the University of Virginia.
David Summa, President and CEO, Acumen Pharmaceuticals
David Summa is currently the President and CEO of Acumen Pharmaceuticals, a pre-clinical drug development company that is developing the first effective therapeutics and diagnostics that prevent Alzheimer's disease. Prior to joining Acumen, Dave was the President and CEO of Mendel Biotechnology, a successful genomics company that was the first to functionally characterize all the transcription factors in arabidopsis thaliana. Mendel's traits now form the core of the Monsanto product pipeline. Before joining the ranks of Bay Area biotech entrepreneurs, Dave was a Vice President at Monsanto where he created Renessen, the joint venture between Cargill and Monsanto.Prior to joining Monsanto, Dave was a partner at McKinsey & Company, Inc. where he was the global leader of the Innovation Practice. Dave received his BS and MS from MIT in the department of Chemical Engineering.
Mark Cochran, Executive Director & CEO, Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute
Mark is the CEO and Executive Director of the Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute. Dr. Cochran joined the Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute (BRNI) as the CEO and executive director in April 2006. He has an extensive background in life sciences that includes roles in research, drug development, business development and venture capital. Before coming to BRNI, Dr. Cochran was the managing director of NeuroVentures Fund based in Charlottesville, Va. Over the past six years, the group invested in companies developing drugs, devices, and other medical technologies for clinical neuroscience.
Dr. Cochran holds a doctorate in microbiology and immunology from Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario; a master's in microbiology from the University of Guelph, Ontario, and a bachelor's degree from the University of Toronto. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Cochran sits as director on the boards of Kadmus Pharmaceuticals (Irvine, CA), NeurAxon Pharmaceuticals, Microbix Biosystems (Toronto, Canada), Acumen Pharmaceuticals, Rivanna Pharmaceuticals, and is an observer on the boards of BrainCells Inc., and Saegis Pharmaceuticals.
Prior to NeuroVentures, Dr. Cochran worked with MDS Capital Corporation, a Toronto-based healthcare venture capital group where he was responsible for MDS' San Francisco venture business and several MDS invested companies. His previous experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry includes Bayer Pharmaceuticals, most recently as vice president of business development, biotechnology, in Berkeley, California. Other positions held during his tenure at Bayer included project director of Recombinant Factor VIII, and head of molecular biology and biochemistry in Wuppertal, Germany. Before joining Bayer, Dr. Cochran co-founded MicroGeneSys, Inc., a Connecticut-based vaccine company. He is listed as the author on 22 scientific papers, 66 abstracts and six patents.
Roger Quy, General Partner, Technology Partners
Roger has been responsible for the life science practice of Technology Partners
since 1989. Before joining the firm, Roger was a member of the founding
management team of Hewlett Packard Laboratories in Europe. Previously
he led the development of ambulatory neurological monitoring devices
for the Oxford Instruments Group in England. Roger began his career at
the Institute of Neurology in London, where he was a post-doctoral
Research Fellow of the British Medical Research Council. During his
research, he developed new techniques and devices for the diagnosis and
treatment of neurological, cardiac and sleep disorders. He has
published a number of scientific papers and contributed to a textbook
on epilepsy. He holds five issued patents.
Roger earned a
BA with honors in psychology and law and a PhD in neuroscience from the
University of Keele, England. He received an MBA from the Haas School
of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. He gained a
commercial helicopter pilot’s license for fun. Roger is a Director of
the Western Association of Venture Capitalists. He is a member of the
Advisory Council of the School of Medicine at the University of Hawaii
and a former member of the Advisory Council of the Entrepreneurial
Center at the University of California, Berkeley. Previously he served
on the Steering Committee for the Hiller Aviation Educational Institute.
Christine de los Reyes, Founder and Managing Director, BiotechPartnering Solutions, LLC
Christine de los Reyes is founder and Managing Director of BiotechPartnering Solutions, a consulting firm that helps biotech and pharma companies search, evaluate and negotiate licensing transactions of pre-clinical through marketed compounds.
Christine has over twenty years of experience in academic, medical and Fortune 10 pharmaceutical industries. Most recently she was Executive Director of Licensing & Development at Pfizer, where she spent twelve years in their licensing group with a focus on in-licensing in several therapeutic areas including the neurosciences, infectious diseases, dermatology, and ophthalmology areas. She also was responsible for external search activities for new opportunities and led multidisciplinary teams conducting technical evaluation, due diligence, and financial valuation for licensing and co-promotion deals with biotech and big pharma firms. While at Pfizer, she also held senior positions in their US and international marketing and medical groups.
Christine began her career as Assistant Professor of Pharmacology teaching undergraduate and graduate level courses in clinical pharmacy at the University of Texas. From there she became Director of Clinical Research at Mt. Sinai Medical Center in New York, before joining Pfizer in 1989. Christine earned her Doctorate in Clinical Pharmacy from the University of Texas, a Masters in Business Administration from St. Joseph’s University, and a Bachelor of Science degree from Wayne State University.
Daniel Ritter, Partner, Preston Gates Ellis & Rouvelas Meeds LLP
Daniel Ritter is a partner in the firm of Preston Gates Ellis & Rouvelas Meeds LLP.
His government relations practice involves advocacy of policy positions
with federal legislators and administrative agencies for a variety of
technology, media, telecommunications and non-profit interests. Between
1993 and 1996, Mr. Ritter served as Counsel to the U.S. Senate
Subcommittee on Education, Arts & Humanities, advising Committee
Members on education and cultural policy issues. Prior to joining
Preston Gates, Mr. Ritter served as Executive Director of the Center
for Arts and Culture, a nonprofit grant-making organization concerned
with public policy and culture. He is a graduate of the Yale Law School.
Preston Gates Ellis & Rouvelas Meeds LLP was founded in 1973, as
the Washington, DC office of Preston Gates & Ellis LLP, an
international law firm that has served clients for more than 118 years.
The firm has 400 lawyers practicing in ten cities including Seattle,
Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Anchorage and Hong Kong.
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