Thierry Desjardins, the CEO and Co-founder of Surgisafe Ltd, has been a qualified Neurosurgeon since 1995. Throughout his years of surgical experience, he has focused primarily on minimally invasive techniques whilst also taking an active role in international conferences (Europe, Middle East, China, etc..). This combination has put him in a unique position to be able to detect new surgical needs and his contacts in the medical profession have allowed him to discuss the product with qualified individuals in the best position to advise and judge it’s efficiency.
Thierry, along with his Co-founder Nicolas Veau (an engineer specialising in medical technology) originally identified the « smart Cannula » concept for CSF leakage detection then adapted the same technology for use in detecting abnormal tissues with many possible applications (cancer, endometriosis, etc…).
Dr. Apfel is the Founder, CEO, and Chairman of the Board. Prior to starting SageMedic, he was a Professor in the Department of Anesthesia at UCSF, where he worked as a clinician and led the Clinical Research Core. He is a nationally and internationally known authority on designing, conducting, and publishing highest quality clinical trials with thousands of patients that have changed medical practice with over 100 peer-reviewed publications. Most notable, he developed the “Apfel Score,” a standard tool that is now used in clinical practice world-wide. He also teaches clinical trial design as an Adjunct Associate Professor at UCSF and is the Chair of the Life Science Committee at the Keiretsu Angel Investment Forum and a member of Life Science Angels in the Bay Area. Dr. Apfel is a California licensed physician with 20+ years of clinical experience in anesthesiology, critical care medicine, and emergency medicine. He received his medical degree (MD) and his doctoral degree (PhD equivalent) from Justus-Liebig-Universität Giessen, Germany, and his master of business administration (MBA) from The Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania, PA.
Till Erdmann is co-founder of Berlin-based pharma start-up Myelo Therapeutics. It develops Myelo001, the first oral treatment for Chemotherapy-induced Neutropenia. Myelo001 is currently in clinical trials with breast cancer patients. It would be the first therapy innovation in over two decades to protect patients from one of the most frequent and most severe side effects of anticancer therapy.
Over the last two decades, Till got to know many facets confronting serious illnesses, as pharma industry management consultant, manager of a patient relationship program, founder of three life sciences start-ups, and family member of loved ones struggling with cancer. Till invented and launched the first virtual nurse visit program for Multiple Sclerosis patients via online video conferencing over 10 years ago and published research that showed it improved treatment adherence.
Till holds a degree in Industrial Engineering from Technical University of Berlin and a MBA from San Francisco State University. He loves to spend time with his Brazilian-German family, kitesurf, and play soccer.
Jen Horonjeff, PhD is a patient advocate and founder & CEO of Savvy Cooperative. Savvy is a patient co-op that provides an online marketplace for savvy patients to share their insights with healthcare innovators in order to co-create better patient-centered solutions. Savvy grew out of a need that Jen saw as both a patient with multiple chronic illnesses and as an researcher and industry consultant. She noticed that professionals talk about patients–not with actual patients. Patient insights are invaluable, because many patients, like herself, have multiple conditions and co-morbidities they are trying to manage, and their priorities may be different than their care teams’. Jen got her PhD in Environmental Medicine at NYU, is a patient-centered outcomes researcher at Columbia University Medical Center, a Consumer Representative for the FDA, a speaker on the importance of patient engagement, and a longtime non-profit volunteer. In 2015, Jen and her husband rode a tandem bicycle from NYC to Florida to raise awareness and funds for one of the patient charities she supports.
Samuel Wagner is a founder of Batu Biologics and has served as its President and Chief Executive Officer since January of 2014. Mr. Wagner studied engineering at an honors level at the University of California at San Diego, but pursued an entrepreneurial path. Following a successful series of investments in various ventures, Mr. Wagner took a strong interest in biotechnology, where he is self-taught. He has since connected with leading biotechnology minds in San Diego and spearheaded their collaboration while garnering significant private investment. Mr. Wagner hopes to improve the lives of patients with devastating diseases by organizing and leading teams of highly qualified individuals to develop innovative therapeutics. He further seeks to utilize the success of Batu Biologics and future endeavors to drive his thirst for scientific entrepreneurship, and to give back to the communities that inspire him.
Massimo is CEO and Co-founder at Cellply. After 10 years of research experience on microelectronics and microsystems for life science applications, in 2013 he co-founded Cellply with the aim to improve cancer patient survival by developing innovative in-vitro diagnostics solutions. Massimo is a Fulbright scholar. In 2009, he obtained a grant from the Fulbright Commission for a period of study and work in Silicon Valley, where he worked at Nodality Inc., one of the most promising startup companies in the field of personalized medicine. Previously, he served as the CTO at Mindseeds Laboratories, a startup accelerator, and as a consultant at STMicroelectronics. In 2011, he co- founded the Italian Institute for Entrepreneurship, a non-profit organization promoting initiatives for the growth of an entrepreneurship-based ecosystem in Italy. Massimo holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Bologna and a Technology Entrepreneurship Certificate from the Leavey School of Business, Santa Clara University, CA. He is inventor of 6 patents and patent families and author of 30 publications appeared on international scientific journals and conference proceedings.
Walid Al-Akkad is an entrepreneur scientist with a background in genetics and tissue engineering and a co-founder of two biotechnology companies. He is the CEO of Orgadel Ltd, whose innovations include topically applied insulin and vaccines. He is also the head of bioengineering and program lead for 3D platforms for oncology and immunotherapy at Engitix Ltd, a company specializing in tissue engineering for disease modelling and regenerative medicine.
Walid kick-started his career at Manchester University, where he obtained his Bachelor’s degree with honours in Genetics. He came into his own as an innovator when he moved to London, where during his Master’s degree in nanotechnology and regenerative medicine at University College London (UCL), he pioneered a now patented technique for rapid and effective decellularisation of human tissue. Having developed a taste for translational medicine, he decided to continue further in his academic career and is currently finalizing his Ph.D. in Regenerative Medicine at UCL.
Gitte is a scientist/CEO with a mission to cure cancer. Gitte started Genomic Expression together with her brother, Morten, after her parents were diagnosed with cancer. The company got off the ground as the diagnostic partner of a $32M “Genome Denmark” project, and she then raised money to establish an independent lab in Boston. Gitte’s dream team to cure cancer has tons of start-up experience ranging from genomics to commercial launch of drugs. The unpleasant truth is that only one out of four cancer treatments prolong life. To help rectify this, Genomic Expression finds the best drug for the patient and the best patient for the drug by sequencing RNA, which is like the software of the cell, instead of focusing on DNA, which is like the hard disk. RNA analysis can show if a tumor will respond to new immune therapies, which are the only kind of therapies that offer a potential cure. Genomic Expression reinvented the business model to generate revenue while clinically validating its OneRNA™ platform, and has established four funded clinical programs aiming to introduce OneRNA™ into the standard of care. The concept is“test before you treat,” which will disrupt the current standard of care paradigm that treats 75% of patients without providing them with any benefits. Gitte has a degree in chemical engineering and previously worked for Novo Nordisk, which she left to start her own consulting company which advised the Danish government and a number of biotech companies. In this position, she has structured several deals with an aggregate value of +$1B. Gitte has raised +$6.5M in grants for Genomic Expression, closed +$1M in collaboration deals, and put the company into the top 10 of the XTC competition in 2016, at which Gitte was invited to pitch Richard Branson at Necker Island. She has also risen to the top of a number of other pitch competitions, including MedTech Top 50 Innovator 2017, #2in the Women’s Founders Pitch 2016, Top 5 diagnostic companies at the Molecular Tri-Conference 2016, and the Red Herring Top 100 2016.
Lorenzo is the Co-Founder & CEO of GreenBone Ortho srl, a startup founded in 2014 to develop a highly innovative wood-derived, biomimetic and re-absorbable bone implants to repair critical defects in load load bearing and non-loaded bones. Lorenzo has a background in Pharmacology and Business in Innovation, with more than 25 years experiences in R&D, Business Development and Venture Capital. He held various senior positions in multinational companies such as Zambon Group SpA and Cardinal Health Inc. General Manager of Zcube srl (Research Venture of Zambon Group) from 2008, Lorenzo established collaborations and investments with major universities hubs in Europe, United States and Israel, as well as with Mission Bay Capital and the California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3), headquartered on the UCSF Mission Bay campus. Board member of biotech start-ups, including SuppreMol GmbH acquired by Baxter International Inc. in 2015. President of Italy HealthCare Licensing Group (Italy HLG) 2010-2014.
Brianna Wolin is a passionate entrepreneur, biomedical engineer and food blogger. Find Your Ditto, FYD, began as a student project during her time at the University of Michigan, has earned Brianna several awards at the University as well as recognition by SPARK Ann Arbor, including a fully-funded entrepreneurial bootcamp experience and a commitment to continued guidance. Brianna has lived with Type 1 Diabetes and Celiac Disease the majority of her life. Her food blog, A Different Survival Guide, grew out of her need to cook all of her own low carb, gluten free meals unavailable in campus dining halls. Brianna is the Chief Executive officer of Find Your Ditto, responsible for engagement with universities and healthcare systems, marketing, legal matters, and company finances. Find Your Ditto is the only mobile platform that connects individuals living with the same chronic illness locally for on-demand, in-person peer support to mitigate feelings of loneliness and depression. Users can find their “dittos” and begin to feel like “it’s not just me.”