NIO's Board Members
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. Dans 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, Executive Biotech Consultant
David Summa was 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.
Casey Crawford Lynch, Managing Director, NeuroInsights
Casey Lynch is the managing director of NeuroInsights. She is co-author of The Neurotechnology Industry Report, a comprehensive market analysis and strategic investment report on the brain industry and is the Managing Editor of Neurotech Insights, the neurotechnology investment newsletter. Previously, Casey was the co-founder and CEO of Aspira Biosystems, a venture backed drug discovery platform-company, which was acquired by Nanomune Inc. in 2004. Prior to the four years building Aspira, Casey oversaw toxicology screening and evaluated new product opportunities at Centaur Pharmaceuticals. There, she established disease model testing paradigms for multiple sclerosis, uveitis, and other neurological disorders. Casey conducted primate preclinical trials for Alzheimers disease treatment at the Wadsworth Medical Center in Los Angeles and researched the neurological basis of schizophrenia and epilepsy at UCLA. Her graduate work on neurotrophic factor cell biology and neurodegenerative diseases was carried out in the Mobley lab at UCSF/ Stanford University and was funded by the NSF and an Alzheimer's Association Zenith Award. In addition to a BS in neuroscience from UCLA, she has an MS in neuroscience from UCSF and has completed the Management Development for Entrepreneurs (MDE) program of the Anderson School of Business.
NIO's Advisory Board Members
Frank Eeckman, Director of Regulatory Policy
Dr.
Frank Eeckman is the acting Director of Regulatory Policy at The Neurotechnology Industry
Organization and co-founder and Chief Science Officer of Centient
Biotech. He is also an analyst and consultant at NeuroInsights helping
companies and investors identify and vet opportunities in
neurotechnology. He writes indication and company features for Neurotech Insights
the neurotechnology industry newsletter published by NeuroInsights. Dr. Eeckman was an early innovator in the genomics revolution,
leading Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories bioinformatics team on
the Human Genome Project. He has helped launch three biotech startups
and headed discovery groups at Parke-Davis and Pfizer. He serves on the
Scientific Advisory Board of several biotech companies, and provides
investment analysis to venture capitalists and fund managers as well as
consulting to both large and small companies. Dr.
Eeckman holds an MD cum laude from the University of Ghent Medical
School, Belgium, where he was trained as a neurologist. He also earned
a PhD in Neurophysiology at the University of California Berkeley, where he was a Fulbright Scholar.
Lawrence S. Hoffheimer, Founding Chair of the Parkinson Research Foundation
Lawrence S. Hoffheimer is an attorney in Washington, D.C., specializing in health issues relating to neurological and behavioral research and clinical applications affecting patients, providers, researchers and pharmaceutical companies. He has represented numerous Voluntary Health Agencies throughout his career including the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, National Heal Injury Foundation, National Parkinson Foundation, and the National Headache Foundation. Beginning in 1977 he formed the National Coalition for Research in Neurological Disorders that consisted of more than sixty voluntary, professional and scientific societies. His efforts focused on obtaining more research funding from the Congress for the National Institutes of Health. In 1989, Mr. Hoffheimer sought and obtained passage of a congressional resolution and Presidential Proclamation the declared the 1990s as the Decade of the Brain. In 1990 he founded the National Foundation for Brain Research, a not-for-profit educational foundation dedicated to informing the public and scientific communities about the rapid advances in research and therapeutics in the brain disorders. Mr. Hoffheimer currently serves as the Founding Chair of the Parkinson Research Foundation which supports innovative medical research into the causes and cure for Parkinsons disease. The PRF is also one of the nations leading information sources for patients, caregivers and physicians about Parkinsons disease. Throughout his career, Mr. Hoffheimer has worked with many of the Nations leading pharmaceutical companies who have collaborated to raise awareness of brain disorders that their therapeutics improve. He is a graduate of Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, and the University of Cincinnati College of Law. Prior to entering private law practice in 1972, Mr. Hoffheimer was a federal prosecutor with the United States Department of Justice.
Ravi Kiron, PhD, MBA, Managing Director, Adjuvant Global Advisors
Dr. Kiron has over 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and
healthcare industry and is well versed in all aspects of drug
discovery, delivery, pre-clinical and early clinical drug development,
bioinformatics and database management investment due-diligence, and
alliance management. Prior to joining Adjuvant Global Advisors, Dr. Kiron was the Chief
Operating Officer at LifeTech Innovations, LLC, a Business Development
and Strategic Advisory consulting firm. Before LTI, he was the
Executive Director for New Technology Assessment and Planning at
Johnson & Johnson / ALZA Corporation. Responsibilities included:
drug delivery technology & research strategy and planning, in- and
out- licensing, M&A and intellectual property management. Prior to
Johnson & Johnson, he spent 13 years with Pfizer Global R&D,
culminating with the position of Global Head, Strategic Analysis &
Knowledge Management, in the Strategic Alliances Department. While at
Pfizer, he was a primary architect or key team member on many US and
non-US based partnerships and deal transactions, and a member of the
acquisition/integration team for Pfizer's purchase of Warner-Lambert
and Pharmacia Corporation, and performed due diligence on a number of
biotech M&A opportunities. Dr. Kiron obtained experience in
exploratory drug development as the project champion at Pfizer that led
to the IND filing of Tarceva®, now in widespread use for the treatment
of multiple malignancies. He also led drug discovery research teams in
cardiovascular and metabolic disorders, working on hypertension,
congestive heart failure and ischemia-reperfusion injuries.
Prior
to his tenure at Pfizer, Dr. Kiron was a biochemistry and medicine
faculty member at Cornell University Medical Center in New York. He
holds a BSc in Chemistry and an MSc in Microbiology from Bombay
University, India. He also earned a PhD in Biochemistry from the Indian
Institute of Science in Bangalore, India and an MBA from Rensselaer in
Hartford, Connecticut.
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 pilots 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
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. Josephs University, and a Bachelor of Science degree from Wayne State University.
Daniel Ritter, Partner, K&L Gates
Daniel Ritter is a partner in the firm of K&L Gates.
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 K&L 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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