R. Wayne Alexander received his Ph.D. in Physiology from Emory University and his M.D. from Duke University School of Medicine. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Washington in Seattle and did his Cardiology Fellowship at Duke University. Prior to his appointment at Emory as Division Chief of Cardiology, Dr. Alexander was Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. In 1999, Dean Lawley appointed Dr. Alexander Chair of the Department of Medicine. Dr. Alexander has published extensively in the cardiovascular literature. He is co-editor of Dr Hurst's The Heart (10th ed.) and Companion Handbook of The Heart (10th ed.). He is on the editorial boards of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Circulation Research, and Circulation. Dr Alexander is a member of the American Heart Association, American College of Cardiology, American Federation for Clinical Research, and Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology. His research interests include the biologic basis of the pathogenesis of coronary ischemic syndromes, the molecular mechanisms of hormonal control of vascular reactivity, and the cell biology of vascular smooth muscle and endothelium.

G. Russell “Russ” Bell, 64, retired from Beckman Coulter, having served as Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer. He joined the company as President and CEO of Hybritech Incorporated, the former subsidiary of Eli Lilly and Company, acquired by Beckman Instruments, Inc. in January 1996. Previously Dr. Bell held executive positions with du Pont and was President of Jacksonville Reference Laboratories. Throughout his career Dr. Bell spearheaded the development of many diagnostic products in cancer, men’s and women’s health and cardiovascular disease. He is active volunteering with Cancer Treatment Center at St. Peter’s Hospital, Helena, Montana.
 
Born in Atlanta, Ga., Dr. Bell received his Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Biology (1969) and his Master of Science (1970) from Georgia Tech and his doctorate in Biochemistry in 1973 from the University of Georgia where he was a National Science Foundation Fellow. Dr. Bell is a member of Phi Kappa Phi, scholastic honor society. He has served on the Advisory Boards of the Petit Institute of Bioscience and Bioengineering at Georgia Tech, the Wallace G. Coulter Foundation and the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis. He has been President of the Beckman Coulter Foundation since its formation in September 2007.
 
Dr. Bell and Sharon, his wife of 38 years, reside in Clancy, Montana.

Scott P. Bruder, MD, PhD, is the Senior Vice President and Chief Science and Technology Officer of BD, where he is responsible for providing technology, strategy and development leadership to the company as it focuses on innovation and impact in medical devices, diagnostics and biosciences. He leads the Research & Development function across the Corporation, and until 2011, also led corporate strategic planning and business development. Dr. Bruder joined BD in 2007, and has focused his efforts on identifying and developing promising technologies to address unmet health care needs and emerging life science research trends. Dr. Bruder also serves on the FDA Advisory Committee for Cellular, Tissue and Gene Therapies, is a member of the New York Stem Cell Foundation’s Advisory Board, and is a Trustee of the Liberty Science Center in New Jersey. He maintains an active academic presence as an Adjunct Professor at the CWRU School of Engineering, where he Chairs the External Advisory Board in Bioengineering. He Chairs a similar Advisory Board at the Brown University School of Engineering, and also serves on the Georgia Tech Advisory Board.Dr. Bruder is an accomplished researcher and innovator, with more than 20 issued and pending U.S. and international patents. He has published nearly 150 original articles, book chapters and abstracts in peer-reviewed journals, and he is a distinguished lecturer at societies, universities and industry events around the world. His pioneering work on the characterization and clinical application of human mesenchymal stem cells and recombinant growth factors earned him academic and industry acclaim, as well as numerous scientific honors. In 2011, he was elected as a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), and was nominated for the President’s National Medal of Technology and Innovation. Scott is a magna cum laude graduate from Brown University, and CWRU School of Medicine, where he simultaneously earned a PhD in stem cell biology. He then obtained further clinical training at Albert Einstein Medical Center and the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Thomas H. Callaway is Chief Executive Officer and serves on the board of AerovectRx, an aerosol vaccine delivery company which is commercializing technology developed at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Tom is the Founder and President of Life Science Partner, an executive search firm focused exclusively on recruiting scientific and managerial leaders for the life sciences industry including companies developing medical devices, diagnostics, biopharmaceuticals and convergent technologies. Tom is also a founding Partner of an early stage seed fund, Georgia Venture Partners. Georgia Venture Partners was established in 2004 to make seed and early-stage investments in life sciences enterprises related to Georgia. As an investor, he takes an active role in the management of the portfolio start-ups. He is a former Partner with Fuqua Ventures (a life science and technology venture capital fund) and two leading recruiting firms Russell Reynolds and Korn/Ferry International. Active in the investing community of the Southeast, Tom is the Vice Chairman, Georgia BIO, the regions largest life science organization, and serves on the boards of the Atlanta Venture Forum and Southeast BIO. Before moving to Atlanta, Tom held the position of Director, Commercial Development for SyStemix. There he was responsible for business development and marketing for the firm's proprietary stem cell technology for bone marrow rescue of patients following high dose chemotherapy. He began his biotechnology career at Roche Diagnostics and Roche Molecular Systems. During his tenure at Roche, he developed and executed a global marketing plan for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) diagnostics technology, a Noble-prize winning solution for sleuthing out specific sequences of DNA and commercializing the tools to map the human genome. Tom earned a medical degree from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. He holds an MBA and undergraduate degree from Duke University. He can be reached at tom@lifesciencepartner.com.

Paul Citron retired in 2003 after 32 years with Medtronic, Inc. His positions included vice president, Technology Policy and Academic Relations (2002-2003); vice president, Science and Technology (1988-2002); vice president, Ventures Technology (1985-1988); vice president, Applied Concepts Research (1982-1985); director, Applied Concepts Research (1979-1982); and several positions as design and staff engineer, project and program manager (1972-1979). In addition, he worked with leading biomedical engineering institutions including Johns Hopkins University, MIT, University of Minnesota, Georgia Tech, and Case Western Reserve.
In 1980 Citron was given Medtronic's "Invention of Distinction" award for his role as co-inventor of the tined pacing lead, a technology that markedly improved the reliability and effectiveness of cardiac pacing. In addition, he has several other medical device pacing-related patents.
Currently he is adjunct professor at the University of California, San Diego, Jacobs School of Engineering. He is also a consultant to biomedical start-up companies and venture capital firms.
Citron earned a B. S. in electrical engineering from Drexel University in 1969 and a M. S. in electrical engineering from the University of Minnesota in 1972, where he was a research fellow in Department of Neurology.
Citron’s professional honors include his election to the National Academy of Engineering in 2003, and he was elected a Founding Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering in 1993. He has twice won the American College of Cardiology Governor's Award for Excellence. In 1980 Citron was inducted as a Fellow of Medtronic’s Bakken Society, the company’s highest technical recognition. He was voted the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineering’s Young Electrical Engineer of the Year in 1979. Citron has published widely on biomedical engineering.
Citron has served and continues to serve on numerous professional advisory boards and committees including the Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Engineering, and National Research Council.
His community service included chair and board member of the Greater Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce; board trustee of the Minnesota Science Museum; secretary and board member of the Minnesota Medical Foundation; board trustee of the St. Paul Academy; and board trustee of the Washburn Child Guidance Center.
Citron, who was born in Stuttgart, Germany, resides in New Brighton, Minnesota and San Diego, California. He is married to Margaret Sughrue Carlson, emeritus CEO of the University of Minnesota Alumni Association.

Art Coury holds a B.S. degree in chemistry from the University of Delaware (1962), a Ph.D. in organic chemistry (1965) and an M.B.A. (1980) from the University of Minnesota. His industrial career includes positions as: Senior Research Chemist at General Mills, Inc. (1965-1976), Director, Polymer Technology and Research Fellow at Medtronic, Inc. (1976-1993), Vice President, Research and Chief Scientific Officer at Focal, Inc. (1993-2000), and Vice President, Biomaterials Research at Genzyme Corporation (2000-June, 2008). He currently is a consultant. His career focus has been polymeric biomaterials for medical products such as implantable electronic devices, hydrogel-based devices and drug delivery systems. He holds over fifty distinct patents and has published and presented widely in his field. His teaching positions have included adjunct or affiliate appointments at the University of Minnesota, the Harvard-MIT Graduate Program in Health Sciences and Technology and the University of Trento, Italy. His professional service has included: Chair, Minnesota Section, American Chemical Society (1989-1990); President, Society for Biomaterials, USA (1999-2000); President, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (2003-2004) and membership on several university, society and corporate advisory boards. His recent recognitions have included the delivery of distinguished lectureships, receipt of the 2007 Innovation and Technology Development Award of the Society for Biomaterials, being named as one of "100 Notable People in the Medical Device Industry" by MD&DI magazine, 2008, induction into the National Academy of Engineering, USA, 2009 and induction on the University of Delaware "Wall of Fame," 2010.

Prior to forming RiversEdge BioVentures LLC, Mr. Dodd achieved a highly distinguished career, serving in executive positions in several major pharmaceutical and life sciences companies.

Recently, Mr. Dodd served as President, CEO and Chairman of BioReliance Corporation, as an equity partner with Avista Capital Partners in establishing that organization as a stand-alone company following its purchase from Invitrogen Corporation (now, Life Technology, Inc.).

In addition, Mr. Dodd served as the non-executive Chairman of Stem Cell Sciences Plc. (LSE:AIM STEM; ASX: STC), leading a strategic transformation and eventual sale of that company to Stem Cells Inc. in April, 2009. Mr. Dodd also served on the Board of Stheno Corporation, a private life sciences technology company.

From June 2000 to July 2006, Mr. Dodd served as President, CEO and Director of Serologicals Corporation (NASDAQ: SERO), until the sale of Serologicals to Millipore Corporation (NYSE: MIL) in July, 2006.

From August 1995 until June 2000, he served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Solvay Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and as a member of the Management Board for the Pharmaceutical Sector for Solvay S.A. Mr. Dodd also served as Chairman of the Board of Unimed Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a subsidiary of Solvay Pharmaceuticals. Prior to joining Solvay, he served in a number of management and executive positions with major life science corporations, including Wyeth, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Abbott Laboratories.

Mr. Dodd holds a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science from Georgia State University and completed the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program.

Goodman B. "G.B." Espy received his bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Tech in 1957. He is the only known co-op student to have been elected to both ODK and the ANAK Society while at Georgia Tech. After graduation, he taught math as a graduate assistant and worked at the Georgia Tech Research Station on a number of medical projects before entering Tulane Medical School in 1958. In 1962 he received his M.D. degree, which was followed by four years of OB-GYN residency training at Tulane. Dr. Espy then entered the U.S. Army.

In 1967, he founded OB-GYN Associates in Marietta, Georgia. He has delivered more than 12,000 babies in his career, and is credited with having delivered more babies than any other physician in Georgia. In 1993, he co-authored a new surgical approach for laparoscopic hysterectomies, which was reported in several medical publications. Overall, Dr. Espy has performed more than 10,000 surgical procedures.

During the Kosovo War, in 1999, Dr. Espy went to refugee camps in Albania, and has since been very active in obtaining medical equipment for Albanians in an effort to upgrade what he calls "a deplorable example of the medical environment in which those less fortunate than we live." Under his leadership, his medical practice has funded more than thirty scholarships during the last twenty-five years, for students in need of an education in Europe and the United States.

Dr. Espy served on the Georgia Tech Advisory Board from 1978 to 1986, and from 1988 until 1998, he was a member of the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering's Advisory Board. Since 1995, he has served on the External Advisory Board for the Institute of Bioengineering and Biosciences at Georgia Tech. In 2001, Dr. Espy was the recipient of the Beta Theta Pi National Leadership and Service Award. In 2002, he was given a Community Service Award by Channel 11, and in 2003 he received the Dr. Jack A. Raines Humanitarian Award from the Medical Association of Georgia. That award was given for "outstanding humanitarian contributions to his fellow man, community, country, and world community beyond the practice of medicine." He is on the board of directors of several organizations.

Dr. Espy is married to Cheryl and they have two daughters. He has a special interest in running, having run more than sixty marathons, including the last twenty-five New York Marathons.

Chris is the Product Director for the Oral Regeneration business unit at Organogenesis Inc (Canton, MA), a leader in the field of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. He is responsible for cross-functional, strategic alignment for the launch of a new living cellular therapy for the dental surgery market, as well as building a product pipeline for this new business unit. This product has completed its clinical trial development and is under review as a combination biologic-device at the FDA. If approved, this will be just the third cell-based product approved by the FDA since 2001.

Prior to his current role, Chris held positions in R&D as a Biomedical Engineer and in BioSurgery as Sr. Manager of Early Commercial Development at Organogenesis. In those positions, Chris developed and managed progression of tissue engineered cellular and acellular devices from concept through large animal trials.

Concurrently, Chris is the Head of the Industry Committee for the journal Tissue Engineering. This newly formed committee is charged with increasing industrial relevance for the journal and is set to launch in 2012 with a series of unique reviews directly from industry executives and experts.

Chris holds a BS in Biomedical Engineering from The Johns Hopkins University and PhD in Biomedical Engineering jointly conferred by the Georgia Institute of Technology’s College of Engineering and Emory University’s School of Medicine. His thesis work centered on the development of tissue engineered articular cartilage using a novel bioreactor system, which was later patented. He sits on the External Advisory Board for the Institute of Bioengineering and Biosciences at Georgia Tech. A minor in Management and Certificate of Engineering Entrepreneurship was also granted by Georgia Tech’s College of Management.

JONATHAN P. GERTLER, M.D. has over 25 years of clinical and scientific experience coupled to extensive advisory work with biotechnology, diagnostic, medical device and health care IT companies in both the private and public sector. He has previously served as Senior Partner and Managing Director of Leerink Swann Strategic Advisors, Head of BioPharma Investment Banking at Leerink Swann & Company, as well as Head of Life Science Investment Banking at Adams Harkness/Canaccord Adams. Over the course of his advisory career, Dr. Gertler has counseled companies on growth and liquidity strategies and has been responsible for >$4B in aggregate consideration in M&A, private and public equity for biotech, medtech, and HCIT companies. Prior to his advisory and consulting career and during the latter phases of his academic career, he was a Venture Partner at SV Life Sciences from 1997-2001. During this time period , Dr Gertler also founded Cardiovascular Technologies , an endovascular device start up which became part of EPI which was subsequently acquired by BSX. From 1988-2001, Dr. Gertler was an academic vascular surgeon, primarily as Associate Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts General Hospital focused on vascular interventions and diagnostics, vascular biology including investigative work into various stress responses of vascular wall cells. Dr Gertler has a BA from Wesleyan University, an MD from Columbia University, and an MBA in Health Policy and Management from Boston University. He trained in general surgery at Yale New Haven Hospital and in Vascular Surgery at the MGH and retains an appointment at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the Health Science and Technology Program.

Mr. Glaze has spent over 30 years in the biotechnology industry founding and managing companies in pharmaceuticals and medical diagnostics. During 2009 and 2010 he has advised and provided seed financing for multiple biotech startup ventures. From 2006 until 2008 he was Chief Executive Officer of Receptor BioLogix, Inc, a developer of protein drugs for cancer which was acquired in late 2008. In 2005 he was co-founder and Chairman of Limerick Biopharma, Inc., focused on improving the side effect profile of marketed drugs. In 2004 he was co-founder and Chairman of Essentialis, Inc., a company developing drugs for obesity, lipid disorders and other metabolic diseases. In 2003 he spent a year as the interim CEO of Palingen, Inc., which is developing an antibody therapeutic for leukemia. Prior to that he was co-founder in 1992 and then CEO for 11 years of Metabolex, Inc., which is focused on therapeutics for diabetes. Before that, Mr. Glaze was a founder, in 1979, of Monoclonal Antibodies, Inc., which focused on medical diagnostics, and served as its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer until its 1991 merger with Quidel Corp. He is currently on the board of directors of Arondo Pharma, Receptor BioLogix, Palingen, and BayBio. In addition, he is on the advisory board for the Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience at Georgia Tech. He is also a consultant to several early stage biotechnology companies. Mr. Glaze holds an MBA and an MS in statistics from Stanford University and a BIE from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Dr. Goldstein completed his undergraduate education at Tufts University, receiving a B.S. Degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1976. He subsequently entered the University of Michigan and was awarded the M.S. degree in Bioengineering in 1977 and Ph.D. in Bioengineering in 1981. He joined the faculty at the University of Michigan as a Research Investigator in the Section of Orthopaedic Surgery, Department of Surgery in 1981 and became an Assistant Professor of Surgery in 1983. He has risen through the academic ranks and currently is the Henry Ruppenthal Family Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Bioengineering and Associate Chair for Research in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. He also holds joint appointment as a Professor of both Mechanical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering. Dr. Goldstein's research is in the area of musculoskeletal science and focuses on connective tissue diseases, their prevention or treatment. His large and diverse research program includes studies ranging from fracture repair and reconstructive surgery, to investigating the mechanisms associated with inherited or degenerative connective tissue fragility to the development of strategies for tissue regeneration. His primary interests relate to the investigation of the effects of metabolic or mechanical influences on bone adaptation and tissue regeneration. Some of the findings have led to the development of a variety of implants and instruments, gene-based therapeutics for wound repair and novel diagnostic technology for tissue degradation. Dr. Goldstein's research is primarily supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health as well as numerous foundations, other federal agencies and corporate sponsors. He has published over 180 peer reviewed papers and has been invited to present his work at numerous national and international symposia. Dr. Goldstein has received numerous awards for his research, including: the 1988 Nicholas Andre Award from the Association of Bone and Joint Surgeons, the 1989 Kappa Delta Award for Excellence in Orthopaedic Research, the 1987 YC Fung young investigator award and the 2005 Lissner Medal for career achievements from the American Society of Mechanical Engineering and the 2003 Marshall Urist Award for Excellence in Tissue Regeneration Research from the Orthopaedic Research Society. He currently serves on the editorial boards of five journals and is an Associate Editor of the journal Bone. He has served as the Chair of the Orthopaedics and Musculoskeletal Science Study Section of the National Institutes of Health and holds or has held numerous leadership positions in national societies, including President of the Orthopaedic Research Society, Chair of the United States National Committee on Biomechanics, Chair-elect of the College of Fellows of the Association Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering and a board member for the Biomedical Engineering Society and The Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Society International. In 2005, Dr. Goldstein was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering Dr. Goldstein has continuously been a very active participant in the Medical School and University community through many administrative positions and committee memberships. Perhaps most importantly, he served as the Assistant Dean (1993-1998) and then the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies (1999-2004) in the Medical School.

Dr. Leinwand is a Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology (MCDB) Professor and Chief Scientific Officer of the Colorado Initiative in Molecular Biotechnology at the University of Colorado, Boulder. She was recruited to be Chair of MCDB in 1995. She received her Bachelor's degree from Cornell University, her PhD from Yale University and did post-doctoral training at Rockefeller University. She joined the faculty at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York in 1981 and remained there until moving to Colorado. While at Albert Einstein she became a Full Professor and was Director of the Cardiovascular Research Center. Once moved to Colorado, along with Michael Bristow, she founded the intercampus University of Colorado Cardiovascular Institute which promotes research and training in cardiovascular disease. They, along with Eric Olson at the University of Texas, Southwestern Medical Center, founded Myogen, Inc. which was recently sold to Gilead Pharmaceuticals. More recently, she was a co-founder of Hiberna, Inc, a biotechnology company using pythons and hibernating ground squirrels to develop novel pharmaceuticals. Her work as a cardiac biologist is of importance to both basic scientists and clinicians. The interests of Dr. Leinwand's laboratory are the genetics and molecular physiology of inherited diseases of the heart and how gender and diet modify the heart. The study of these diseases has required multidisciplinary approaches, involving molecular biology, mouse genetics, mouse cardiac physiology, and the analysis of human tissues. To accomplish this, Dr. Leinwand has developed a highly collaborative group in Boulder, bringing together specialized basic scientists and clinical cardiologists. Her laboratory's efforts are well-funded by multiple grants from the National Institutes of Health and her teaching is recognized by funding from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Professor Program. She is also the Principle Investigator of the HHMI program called the Biological Sciences Initiative which supports undergraduate research, K-12 outreach and educational programs for high school teachers.

Bob McNally became President and CEO of GeoVax Labs, Inc., in April 2008, after serving on its Board of Directors since 2006. He was previously Co-Founder and CEO of Cell Dynamics LLC. Cell Dynamics specialized in the recovery and GMP processing of human organs and tissues used for biotech and cellular medical therapies. During the period 1984 to 1998, Dr. McNally was Co-Founder and Sr. Vice President of Clinical Research for CryoLife, Inc., the market leader in transplantable human tissues including cryopreserved heart valves, veins, ligaments and tendons of the knee as well as a manufacturer of protein-derived surgical adhesives. Dr. McNally led and helped launch the company from startup through going public on the NASDAQ and NYSE. Dr. McNally received a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering (B.E.E.) degree from Villanova University, and has a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. He has authored numerous patents and publications in the field of transplantable tissues and is a frequent speaker for business development in Georgia and student groups. Currently, Dr. McNally serves as a member of the advisory boards of the Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Dupree College of Management at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is an elected fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, is a past Chairman for the Georgia Biomedical Partnership, a trade association, and is recipient of the 2004 Biomedical Industry Growth Award for the State of Georgia.

Russell M. Medford, M.D., Ph.D. has served, since April 1, 2009, as Chairman and President of Salutria Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company. From 1995 to April 1, 2009 Dr. Medford served as President, Chief Executive Officer and Director of AtheroGenics, Inc., a publicly-held pharmaceutical company.

Dr. Medford serves on the Biotechnology Industry Organization Board of Directors and BIO Emerging Companies Section Governing Body, and he served as Chairman of the Georgia BioMedical Partnership from 2004 to 2007 and the Georgia Biotechnology Industry Organization Board of Directors. Dr. Medford was an Associate Professor of Medicine and Director of Molecular Cardiology at the Emory University School of Medicine, and currently holds the appointment of Adjunct Clinical Professor of Medicine. Dr. Medford received a B.A. from Cornell University, and a M.D. with Distinction and a Ph.D. in Molecular and Cell Biology from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Dr. Naughton founded Histogen, Inc. in 2007, and currently serves as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board for the Company. She has spent more than 15 years extensively researching the tissue engineering process, holds more than 90 U.S. and foreign patents and has been extensively published in the field. In 2000, Dr. Naughton received the 27th Annual National Inventor of the Year award by the Intellectual Property Owners Association in honor of her pioneering work in the field of tissue engineering. While at San Diego State University, Dr. Naughton spearheaded a number of unique MBA programs in partnership with industry, played an instrumental role in the industry, research, and global accreditation committees of AACSB, and is a member of the Board of Directors of AACSB International. Dr. Naughton earned her Ph.D. and MS in Basic Medical Sciences from the New York University Medical Center and an executive MBA from the Anderson School at UCLA.

Steve Padgette is currently the Vice President for Biotechnology in the Technology Sector of Monsanto Company, with responsibility for the worldwide discovery and development of plant biotechnology products. 
 
After obtaining his B.S. and Ph.D. in Chemistry from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Steve joined Monsanto in 1984, focusing on the development of enzymes and genes to confer glyphosate tolerance to crop plants. Steve is co-inventor of Roundup Ready® technology, the most widely-used crop biotechnology trait in history. He assumed technical project responsibility for glyphosate-tolerant soybean, canola, and cotton in 1989, and led the regulatory science safety studies for these products starting in 1991. Following several years of research in plant metabolic engineering and co-leadership of the Soybean Business Team, he assumed his current role in 1998.  During Steve’s tenure, Monsanto Biotechnology has strengthened its industry-leading position in the discovery and development of crop biotechnology traits. Steve also has responsibility for Monsanto’s external collaboration and alliance strategy for biotechnology and genomics. Steve received his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management of Northwestern University in 2007.
 
Steve is a member of the Board of Directors of Mendel Biotechnology. He serves as a member of the External Advisory Board, Georgia Institute of Technology, Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, is a member of the Technological Innovation: Generating Economic Results (TI:GER) Advisory Board, Georgia Institute of Technology College of Management, and is a member of The Department of Energy's Biological and Environmental Research Advisory Committee. He served on the St. Louis Science Center Board of Trustees and is currently serving as a member of its Science and Leadership Committee.  Steve is also a Monsanto Distinguished Science Fellow. Steve and his family reside in St. Louis, Missouri.

Pete Petit is a successful entrepreneurial executive who has also managed several public companies as Chairman and CEO. Therefore, his experience and perspectives are brought to the Petit Group’s investments.

Pete Petit joined the MiMedx Group, Inc. as Chairman of the Board of Directors, Chief Executive Officer and President in February 2009. From May 2008 until he joined the Company, Mr. Petit was the President of The Petit Group, LLC, a private investment company. Prior to that, Mr. Petit was the Chairman and CEO of Matria Healthcare, Inc.,

Matria Healthcare was a former subsidiary of Healthdyne, Inc., which Mr. Petit founded in 1971. Mr. Petit served as Chairman and CEO of Healthdyne and some of its publicly traded subsidiaries after Healthdyne became a publicly traded company in 1981. Mr. Petit received his bachelor?s degree in Mechanical Engineering and Master of Science degree in Engineering Mechanics from Georgia Tech and an MBA degree in Finance from Georgia State University. At Georgia Tech, Mr. Petit funded a professorial chair for ?Engineering in Medicine?, endowed the Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, and assisted with the funding of the Biotechnology Building which bears his name. At Georgia State University, he assisted with the funding of the Science Center building which also bears his name. In 1994, he was inducted into the Technology Hall of Fame of Georgia. In 2007, he was inducted into the Georgia State Business Hall of Fame. Mr. Petit has previously served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Georgia Research Alliance, which is chartered by the State of Georgia to promote high technology and scientific development in the State

Mr. Petit fully understands the entrepreneurial spirit and the associated trials and tribulations of growing businesses. The Petit Group seeks investment relationships in private corporations where its management and business expertise may be utilized in addition to its financial resources.

Sanfilippo received his BA and MSc in physics from the University of Pennsylvania, and his MD and PhD from Duke University, where he also did his residency training and joined the faculty from 1979-1992, rising to professor of Pathology, Immunology, and Experimental Surgery.

From 1993-2000, Dr. Sanfilippo was the Baxley Professor and Chair of the Department of Pathology at Johns Hopkins, and led the formation of the Johns Hopkins Comprehensive Transplant Center, for which he was the director of research. In 2000 he joined Ohio State University as CEO of the Medical Center, Senior VP for Health Sciences, and Dean of the College of Medicine and Public Health. With over 280 publications and $20 million in personal research grant support, he has received numerous awards and recognition for his research and leadership in transplantation, pathology, and academic medicine, has served on the editorial board of 13 professional journals, and been elected president of seven academic and professional organizations.

For 12 years at J&J, Steve’s job was to identify emerging technologies having the potential to disrupt health care categories. In that role, he directed corporate product development strategy, technology assessment, and intellectual property strategy.  Steve led major projects in Tissue Engineering, Home Monitoring, and Customizing Medicine. He provided industrial input on numerous academic boards.   He was a founding member of GTEC's Industrial Partners Program.   Earlier in his career, he managed R&D at Procter & Gamble. Steve has thirtyfive years of R&D management experience with technical expertise in interfacial science, regenerative medicine, and drug discovery and clinical assessment methods for dermatology. He has been involved in a number of NDA programs as well as successful product introductions. Steve’s education was at the Univ. of Wisconsin, PhD in Physical Chemistry, and Brooklyn College, BS.

Mr. Taylor has spent over 20 years in healthcare product design, development and manufacturing, and is currently the President and Chief Operating Officer of MiMedx Group, Inc., a small public company with three innovative biomaterial platform technologies focused on soft tissue repair. From 2001 through 2006, Mr. Taylor was President of Facet Technologies, LLC, a Matria Healthcare subsidiary and from 2006 to 2008, he led Facet as the CEO after it was sold to a private equity company. Facet is a medical device company focused on medical device design, development, and manufacturing for OEM clients such as Abbott, Bayer, BD, LifeScan (J&J), Roche, and Flextronics. Over his 14 year career at Facet and its predecessor company, he held various management positions, beginning with R&D, QA & Regulatory Affairs and progressing through General Management. Mr. Taylor was instrumental in growing the design and manufacturing business from $14 million in revenue up to over $40 million, when the company was sold to Matria Healthcare. As President, he led the company to the number one market position in Microsampling and grew it to over $85 million in revenue. A graduate of Purdue University, Mr. Taylor holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering and is co-inventor on eight patents.