Oversight Committee

Dr. David Anderson, PhD, is currently the Chief Scientific Officer of Ivogen (subsidiary of Nanova Biomaterials), a biotech company focused on the discovery and development of novel antibiotics/antivirulence agents to treat antibiotic resistant bacteria. He has deep expertise in target-based drug discovery/development & personalized molecular diagnostics in autoimmunity/inflammation and oncology. He built and managed innovative drug discovery and development companies, including Signal Pharmaceuticals from start-up (focused on kinases and other gene-regulating targets) to acquisition by Celgene Corporation and Proprius Pharmaceuticals from start-up (focused on Personalized Medicine and Molecular Diagnostics) to acquisition by Cypress Bioscience. David has held senior positions at Ignyta (CSO/ VP Cancer Biology acquired by Roche), Eclipse Therapeutics (VP R&D acquired by Bionomics), Proprius Pharmaceuticals, (CSO) Celgene Corporation (CSO/Senior VP R&D), Johnson & Johnson (Senior Director Immunotherapy/Inflammation Drug Discovery), and Monsanto/ Searle (Senior Group Leader in Immunology). He was leader or member of teams responsible for development of six FDA approved drugs (Procrit®, Leustatin®, Revlimid® and Rozlytrek® for hematology/oncology indications, Zubrin® for veterinary arthritis, and Surfaxin® for respiratory distress syndrome), two NDAs, and ten INDs, two Personalized Diagnostic products (AVISE-PG® & AVISE-MCV®) for rheumatoid arthritis. David managed human, technical, and financial resources, represented start-up companies to venture capital and banking firms to raise over $200M, partnered with world-class biopharmaceutical companies for $150M in milestone/equity payments, received over $4M in SBIR grants, and conducted research leading to the first $1B biotechnology product, Procrit® (Johnson & Johnson). He has established translational research with world-class academic investigators to enhance and compliment expertise for successful research and product development. He has served as a consultant for numerous companies (Johnson & Johnson, Celgene, Santarus/Salix, AdventRx, aTyr Pharma), VC and investment firms (Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Venrock Ventures, CID Equity Partners and Clarian Health, City Hill Ventures) and is currently a scientific advisor for several biotechnology companies (Visionary Pharmaceuticals, Capella Therapeutics, Immunophotonics, and CryoCrate).

David has held academic positions at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and The Scripps Research Institution. He has organized, chaired, and spoken at international conferences focused on discovery and development of novel anti-inflammatory/immunomodulatory and cancer drugs, and has refereed articles for peer-reviewed journals such as Science, Journal of Rheumatology, and Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. David also has an outstanding record of scientific publications and presentations (35 peer reviewed publications and over 50 presentations/abstracts) and has received a number of research awards and 10 patents for his innovative research.

Bob has over 25 years of diverse healthcare experience in both large and small companies. He has previously held positions of VP R&D, VP Strategy and Portfolio Management, VP International Marketing, VP Strategic Alliances as well as multiple VP Sales and Marketing positions. He has developed and successfully executed strategic, commercial and healthcare economic plans for both established and aspiring pharmaceutical and diagnostics businesses.

Dr. Caldwell earned his undergraduate degree in medical technology from Arkansas State University and his PhD in Microbiology and Immunology as well as Medical Degree from the University of Missouri. He has over 100 research publications and 2 patents for his work. He also has a long history of biomedical translational research and the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation.

Until recently, he was the endowed CRC Missouri Chair in Cancer Research and Director of the Ellis Fischel Cancer Center. He currently holds a position as Professor Emeritus of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences, and is Senior Medical Fellow with Eli Lilly and Company involved in diagnostic and experimental medicine in the oncology area.

Elias is VP of Technology Development in charge of the grant programs in biomedical research at the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation where he joined in 2006. From 1998 to 2006 in Beckman Coulter, he occupied positions of increasing responsibility as Vice President of Diagnostic R&D, President of the Biomedical Research Division and Executive Vice President in charge of International Diagnostics Commercial Operations and Worldwide Life Sciences. From 1985 to 1998 for Coulter Corporation, he managed several international operations in Latin America, France, Belgium and Japan. Elias holds a Bachelor degree in Industrial Engineering, Masters in Business and Polymer Science and is an AIMBE fellow.

Dr. Della Rocca earned his bachelor's degree from Cornell University in 1992. He completed a doctoral degree from Duke University in 1998 and earned his medical degree the following year. He completed his residency training at Washington University/Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri, in 2004, and a fellowship in Orthopaedic Trauma at Seattle's Harborview Medical Center in 2005. He joined MU as co-director of Orthopaedic Trauma that year.

He is now the Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University Of Missouri School Of Medicine.

William Fay, MD, is Professor of Medicine and Medical Pharmacology, and Senior Associate Dean for Research in the MU School of Medicine, where he holds the J.W. and Lois Winifred Stafford Distinguished Chair in Diabetes and Cardiovascular Research. As Senior Associate Dean for Research, Dr. Fay leads physician-researchers and PhD investigators in the development of outstanding research and educational programs in biomedical, clinical and translational sciences.

In addition to Dr. Fay’s clinical duties with MU Health Care and the Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans’ Hospital, he served as Director of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine for 13 years, and is an investigator with the Dalton Cardiovascular Research Center. Dr. Fay's research interests focus on vascular biology, atherosclerosis, and thrombosis. His lab is currently carrying out studies of novel compounds for the prevention of restenosis and atherosclerosis that are funded by NIH and AHA. He has served on numerous STTR/SBIR study sections and has been a co-investigator on 3 NIH SBIR grants. Dr. Fay currently serves on the editorial board of Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, and he is a former member of the AHA National Research Committee and ATVB Council Leadership Committee.

Dr. Fay received his medical degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago. He completed an internal medicine residency at the University of Michigan and a clinical and research fellowship in cardiovascular medicine at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN.

Randel Frazier, a highly accomplished Global R&D leader, has directed and advised multibillion-dollar Fortune 500 operating units and smaller joint venture collaborations, startup incubator companies, and engineering universities in senior executive, board and advisory board roles. Leveraging 25+ years of experience driving the development and launch of 20 to 50 products annually, Randel has led international R&D, built new sites from the ground up and expanded partnering and joint venture opportunities. Continuously shaping collaborative development relationships in internal corporate business units, external companies, incubator groups, universities and government entities, Randel delivers new technologies and products that meet changing global customer and markets’ needs.

Randel holds a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University and a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). As Head of R&D and Chief Technology Officer at Medtronic’s Covidien Group, Randel directed new medical device product development in the US, Europe, Asia and Latin America. Randel held prior R&D and Medical Affairs leadership roles with Covidien, Tyco International, and Valleylab. He also held earlier R&D and Engineering roles with Colorado MedTech, Cobe Laboratories, Storagetek Corporation, 3M Corporation and United Technologies Corporation. He has been a Board Member with MindUP, a digital health incubator, Medtronic joint venture in Haifa, Israel, and an Advisory Board Member for a Covidien supported startup in women’s health. Randel has also served as an Industrial Advisory Board Member for the St. Louis Museum of Science, Southern Illinois University’s School of Engineering, and University of Colorado’s Mechanical Engineering school.

Sheila Grant, PhD, is the Associate Vice Chancellor for Research & Strategic Initiatives, MU, Associate Dean of Research, College of Engineering, and Professor in the Department of Biomedical, Biological and Chemical Engineering.

Dr. Grant graduated from Iowa State University with a MS in Biomedical Engineering and a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering. A former post-doctoral researcher and research engineer for Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, her research focuses on utilizing nanostructured materials to design biosensors and tissue engineered materials.

Dr. Grant holds eight U.S. patents, has published over 100 research articles in scientific journals, and founded three start-up companies. She is a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, a Fellow of the Biomedical Engineering Society, and a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering.

James Gilkerson is a Distinguished Corporate Fellow at Boston Scientific in St. Paul, Minnesota. Dr. Gilkerson has been employed in the Research and Development department of BSC CRM since June 1990, most recently as a Clinical Advisor for the Guidant Cardiac Rhythm Management Division. From 1987-1990 he was Manager of Preclinical Studies and Attending Veterinarian.

Dr. Gilkerson joined CPI in December of 1986 as Clinical Administrator in the Clinical Studies Department. He received his B.S. and D.V.M. degrees from the University of Missouri and is a regular member of the Heart Rhythm Society, Heart Failure Society of America, and the American Veterinary Medical Association.

Lisa Lorenzen leads university efforts to leverage the commercial potential of faculty research innovations. She oversees the assessment of MU inventions for marketability; the process for securing intellectual property protection, such as patents and copyrights; and the negotiation and execution of license agreements that allow companies to access university-owned innovations.

Lisa has more than 20 years of experience in many aspects of economic development, especially in academic commercialization and industry partnerships. Before joining Mizzou in 2019, she served as both executive director of the Iowa State University Research Foundation and director of the Office of Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer at Iowa State. Lisa managed industry relations and economic development programs for Iowa State and worked as a computational biologist for Pioneer Hi-Bred International before entering the tech transfer field.

Lisa earned a bachelor's degree and a doctorate in genetics from ISU. Her professional affiliations include the Association of University Technology Managers, Intellectual Property Owners Association and the Licensing Executives Society.

Karen Spilizewski joined RiverVest® in January 2008 as a vice president. She is also a vice president of BioEnterprise Corporation in Cleveland, where she directs business development for medical device and equipment companies. Karen divides her time between BioEnterprise and RiverVest and is located in RiverVest’s Cleveland office. Karen serves on the board of Securus Medical Group, Inc. and VentureMed Group, Inc., and is a former observer at Neuros Medical, Inc.

Since 2005, Karen has worked through BioEnterprise to identify, assess, and accelerate the growth of emerging medical device companies that originate from universities, clinical research, local entrepreneurs, or companies relocating to Ohio. Prior to joining BioEnterprise, Karen gained significant medical device industry experience at Avery Dennison Corporation, where she spent 19 years in research and business development.

Karen brings a broad knowledge of the seed and early-stage life science opportunity landscape in Ohio and Western Pennsylvania and the ability to source and evaluate the most promising deals. Through her product and business development expertise, Karen is able to help entrepreneurs accelerate their companies toward next development milestones.

Karen earned her M.B.A., M.S. in Macromolecular Science and B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Case Western Reserve University.

Jinglu Tan is James C. Dowell Professor and Chair of the Department of Biological Engineering at University of Missouri-Columbia; Director for the Division of Food Systems and Bioengineering in the College of Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources (CAFNR); Co-Director of the Bioprocessing and Biosensing Center of the MU Food for the 21st Century Program.

Tan is also former Interim Chair for the Department of Chemical Engineering in the College of Engineering; past Interim Chair, Department of Food Science; past Interim Chair, Hotel & Restaurant Management Program; and past Director of Graduate Studies, Department of Biological Engineering, at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Bill is President and CEO of the Missouri Innovation Center in Columbia, Missouri. Bill works with faculty and students from the University of Missouri and local entrepreneurs to start and grow technology-based companies. MIC also operates the MU Life Sciences Incubator with over 20 clients commercializing new technologies in areas such as medical devices, pharmaceuticals, animal health, agriculture, and alternative energy.

Bill has over 30 years of experience as an entrepreneur in the computer software industry. Over the course of Bill's career, he has identified and led the market in significant technology shifts, including Windows, the Internet, and 3D virtual worlds. One of his startups pioneered the use of dynamically created web pages and invented the JavaScript programming language. He has been the founding CEO of 4 startups and a senior executive at respected public companies including Netscape and Borland.

Over his career, Bill has financed, acquired, and sold a variety of high-tech companies. He has successfully secured investments from prominent venture capitals firms, including Kleiner Perkins, and was an Entrepreneur in Residence at Redpoint Ventures. He participated in the ground breaking Netscape IPO in 1995. And along the way, Bill has served as a mentor and angel investor to many Silicon Valley startups.

Bill has a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Missouri and an Executive MBA from the University of Texas.

As the Chief Medical Officer for Roche Diagnostics Corporation, Alan serves as our clinical spokesperson and lead counsel on everything from the policy to the practice of diagnostic medicine. With his extensive history in the managed care, pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, Alan is well-versed in the changing landscape of healthcare including emerging trends and technologies, regulatory and legislative hurdles, payer challenges and the growing relevance of diagnostics with the advent of outcome-based reimbursement.

Alan’s Medical and Scientific Affairs organization serves as the clinical partner to Roche customers by managing both Investigator Initiated and Roche Sponsored Studies, scientific consulting, advisory boards, PACE and CEU education, an on-site applications lab, Visiting Scientist Program and Fellows Program. By cultivating relationships with other industry thought leaders, Alan helps align our diagnostic development to Roche’s focus in infectious disease, cardiology, oncology, women’s health, inflammation and blood screening.

Alan brings with him medical and scientific leadership experience from his work at Miraca Life Sciences, Caris Life Sciences, Star Pharmaceuticals, Caremark, Inc. and AdvancePCS. He earned his medical degree from University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and a masters of public health degree from Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and Hygiene.