2024 Bioelectronic Medicine Forum

New York Academy of Medicine, New York, NY (and Zoom), April 5, 2024

Keynote Speaker
Thomas Oxley, M.D., Ph.D., CEO, Synchron Dr. Oxley is the founder and CEO of Synchron, a neural interface technology company. The internationally acclaimed stentrode device can record brain activity from within a blood vessel. In the intended application of the technology, the user’s thoughts are captured, decoded and passed wirelessly through the skin to enable control of digital devices that enable movement and speech restoration to previously paralyzed patients. A human clinical trial is close to commencement. Oxley is an instructor and Director of Innovation Strategy for the Department of Neurosurgery at the Mount Sinai Health System. As part of the Cerebrovascular Center, he specializes in vascular neurosurgery and interventional neurology, including the treatments of stroke, brain aneurysms, and vascular malformations. In his strategic role in Mount Sinai BioDesign, he assists faculty members in the development of novel devices and technologies. Oxley completed his Ph.D. in neural engineering at the University of Melbourne, then completed both internal medicine and neurology residencies, as well as a stroke fellowship, in Australia. He performed his endovascular neurosurgery fellowship alongside Dr. Kellner at Mount Sinai under the direction of Drs. Mocco, Berenstein, Fifi, and De Leacy. Oxley was published as first author in Nature Biotechnology for his research on “Minimally Invasive Endovascular Stent-Electrode Array for High-Fidelity, Chronic Recordings of cortical neural activity.” He has also published 120 internationally peer-reviewed articles that have accumulated 2080 citations with an H Index of 29.
Conference Moderators
James Cavuoto, Editor and Publisher, Neurotech Reports James Cavuoto is editor and publisher of Neurotech Business Report and BioElectRx Business Report and the founder of Neurotech Reports. He is the lead author of "The Market for Neurotechnology," and "The Market for Bioelectronic Medicine," two market research reports published by Neurotech Reports. Cavuoto was the founder of Micro Publishing Press, Inc., a publishing company that helped pioneer the market for electronic publishing, digital imaging, and computer graphics. He holds a degree in biomedical engineering from Case Western Reserve University, where he studied under pioneers in the field of functional electrical stimulation. He has also studied human factors engineering at University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Cavuoto spent three years as a member of the technical staff at Hughes Aircraft Company in Los Angeles, where he worked on simulation, training, and publication products produced for the U.S. Department of Defense. Cavuoto was an adjunct professor at Rochester Institute of Technology and the author of eight books on computer graphics, electronic publishing, and digital imaging. He is a member of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. He has authored a chapter in the textbook Neuromodulation (Elsevier, 2009), as well as articles in Neuromodulation, Journal of Neural Engineering, Medical Device Daily, IEEE Spectrum, MX magazine, and the International Journal of Medical Marketing. He is coauthor, with Jennifer French, of Bionic Pioneers: Brave Neurotech Users Blaze the Trail to New Therapies (Neurotech Press, 2014).
Jeremy Koff, Senior Consulting Editor, Neurotech Reports Mr. Koff is senior consulting editor for Neurotech Reports and president of Colibri Partners Inc., a strategic and marketing consulting firm with a primary focus in the medical device sector. The company offers services related to market and risk analysis, clinical and technology assessments, business plan development, business/financial modeling, and market research. Mr. Koff has nearly 20 years of global experience in the medical device industry with companies including Advanced Bionics Corp., Boston Scientific, MiniMed Inc., Bioness Inc, and many others. His business plans have attracted tens of millions in start-up capital. Mr. Koff holds a Bachelor's degree in biology from Middlebury College, a Masters of Public Affairs from Indiana University, and an MBA from UCLA. He is an active classically-trained musician, supporter of the arts, and is a board member of the Fender Music Foundation.
Jo Jo Platt, Senior Contributing Editor, Neurotech Reports Jo Jo Platt brings more than 10 years experience as a neurotechnology consulant to Neurotech Reports. As the founder and president of Platt & Associates, she has helped leadership identify new opportunities, transform organizations, and build teams from the ground up. Most recently, she was a strategic development consultant for the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, where she helped identify and establish strategic partnerships in the emerging field of bioelectronic medicine and was instrumental in the launch of the Center for Bioelectronic Medicine. Previously, Jo Jo was communications director for eDigital, where she managed all internal and external communications and built braand recognition through tradeshows and consumer events. Platt holds a bachelor's degree in communication and media studies from National University. She is currently the finance chair for the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Neural Engineering 2019 meeting.
Victor Pikov, Ph.D., Contributing Editor, BioElectRx Business Report. Victor Pikov is a contributing editor to Neurotech Report's new publication, BioElectRx Business Report and also co-founder and CEO of Medipace Inc, a startup developing implantable neuromodulation therapies for auto-immune intestinal diseases. Victor previously worked at Galvani Bioelectronics and GlaxoSmithKline, where he oversaw development and testing of implantable pulse generators and stimulation leads for several clinical applications, including auto-immune and metabolic diseases. At the Huntington Medical Research Institutes, Victor developed neural interfaces for various chronic diseases, such as infertility, bladder paralysis, bladder spasticity/hyperreflexia, hearing and vision loss, tinnitus, obstructive sleep apnea, and obesity. At the California Institute of Technology, Victor developed optogenetic viral vectors for neuronal stimulation. Victor has several patent applications for implantable neural interfaces, closed-loop neuromodulation therapies, and noninvasive glucose measurement.

Panelists and Presenters
Martin Alexander Gershon, M.D., Managing Partner and CIO, Endeavor Venture Fund & Venture Studio Dr. Martin Alexander Gershon, MD, JD, MPH is the Managing Partner and CIO of Endeavor Life Sciences Venture Funds and Venture Studio, Senior Executive Investor-in-Residence for Healthcare at Techstars Powered by J.P. Morgan, Host of the BetterHealth Webinar Series, and contributing writer for Fast Company on healthcare venture capital and entrepreneurship. He has been honored by Standard and Poor’s as a designated Top 100 “Healthcare Industry Leader”, recognized by Linkedin as a “Top Voice” in Venture Capital and Entrepreneurship, is an award winning Google Scholar in Entrepreneurship, and has been featured on CNBC and in numerous conferences and publications as one of the leading healthcare investors, strategists, futurists and entrepreneurs in drug discovery, biotechnology and AI and digital healthcare. Over the past 23 years he founded 6 startups, lead Endeavor Venture Funds to over 100 investments, has served as Senior Strategic Advisor for Fortune 500 Companies including McKinsey, Goldman Sachs, Bain Capital, BlackRock, American Express, Tiger Global, GlaxoSmithKline, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Pfizer, and Novartis, and has developed Endeavor into a thriving ecosystem of investing, advising and partnerships with BioPharma, Digital Health, and Big Tech companies, world class CEO entrepreneurs, start-up accelerators, and prominent Ivy League universities, medical centers, and business schools like Harvard, Columbia, MIT, NYU, Oxford, McGill and Johns Hopkins. Dr. Gershon is the former Aspen Institute Business of Health Chair and Senior Fellow, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Mayday Fellow, Harvard, McGill and Columbia trained neuroscientist, oncologist and immunologist, Senior Lecturer of Healthcare Economics and Entrepreneurship at Johns Hopkins, Professor of Healthcare Policy and Finance at Columbia, Professor of Healthcare Innovation and Entrepreneurship at McGill, Guest Lecturer of Drug Development and Drug Discovery at Harvard and MIT, Guest Lecturer of Healthcare AI and Digital Innovation and Commercialization at NYU and Johns Hopkins, Executive-in-Residence at Matter Health, Chief Innovation and Investment Officer of Life Sciences at McGill CLIP, Special Advisor to the Dean of the McGill University School of Medicine for licensing and commercialization, and former FDA attorney specializing in clinical trials and drug and device approvals.
David Neustaedter, Ph.D., Venture Partner, Deefield Management David Neustaedter, Ph.D., is a Venture Partner on the Medical Technologies team and joined the Firm in 2022. Prior to Deerfield, Dr. Neustaedter spent seven years as a Vice President, at Medtronic Ventures and, before Medtronic’s merger with Covidien, spent a further 7 years with Covidien including five years as a Vice President of Venture Capital. He has also held positions at Stryker Development, Leerink Swann/MEDACorp Strategy Consulting, Fletcher Spaght, and Braun Consulting. Dr. Neustaedter holds a B.Sc. in Cellular, Molecular, and Microbial Biology from University of Calgary, an M.B.A from Yale University, and a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from University of British Columbia.
Greg Kubin, General Partner, PsyMed Ventures Greg is a community builder, investor, founder. He is a co-host of Business Trip, a podcast about psychedelic entrepreneurship. He has managemed more than 15 investments in psychedelic medicine  and mental health companies. Greg co-founded HelloSponsor, a SaaS sponsorship platform (AngelPad '15). Ex-Morgan Stanley, Viacom.
Benjamin Sahn, M.D., Assistant Professor, Hofstra/Northwell and Institute of Bioelectronic Medicine, Feinstein Institutes Benjamin Sahn is an attending pediatric gastroenterologist at Cohen Children’s Medical Center and assistant professor of pediatrics at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell. He received his M.S. from Georgetown University, followed by his M.D. from SUNY Downstate Medical Center, and completed both his pediatric residency and gastroenterology fellowship at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Dr. Sahn joined the Feinstein Institutes in 2020 with an interest in the field of bioelectronic medicine. Dr. Sahn is co-director of the Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center at Cohen Children’s Medical Center and is actively involved in clinical activities and several ongoing clinical research studies as a co-investigator.
Imanuel Lerman, M.D., Professor, UC San Diego Imanuel Lerman is a professor in both the Electrical and Computer Engineering and Anesthesiology Departments at the UC San Diego School of Medicine, Dr. Lerman carries out numerous clinical trials at UC San Diego Medical Center, the Altman Clinical Trial Research Institute, the VA San Diego Healthcare System, the Radiology Imaging Center and in the Jacobs Medical Center. His program is primarily funded by the VA Healthcare System, BARDA, DARPA, and generous foundation support. His work centers on neural sensing technology development (magnetometers, novel electrode arrays), and impact of neural stimulation technologies (e.g. spinal cord stimulation, vagal nerve stimulation, and other central and peripheral nerve stimulation) on inflammation, pain, learning, and mental health disorders. He uses techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging, magnetoencephalography, Magnetospinography, inflammatory profiling of cerebrospinal fluid and peripheral blood; and high resolution evaluation of peripheral autonomic nervous system to better understand the interplay between pain and inflammation in the central and peripheral nervous system, in both healthy and disease states. Dr. Lerman completed a research fellowship through the Center for Stress and Mental Health at the VA San Diego; his clinical fellowship in pain management at Massachusetts General Hospital and his neurology residency at Yale School of Medicine. He earned his medical degree from Georgetown University School of Medicine, where he also obtained a master's degree in physiology and biophysics. He is triple board certified in neurology, pain medicine and headache medicine (United Council for Neurologic Subspecialties). Dr. Lerman is a founding board member of the American Interventional Headache Society, faculty and founding member of the Regenerative Medicine special interest group within the American Society of Regional Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, and faculty member for the World Academy of Pain Medicine Ultrasonography.
Amy Baxter, M.D., Founder and CEO, Harmonic Pain Solutions Dr. Baxter pioneered the field of noninvasive neuromodulation using mechanical stimulation for pain relief. Her new company, Harmonic Pain Solutions, is a spin-out of Pain Care Labs, whose devices block pain in 28 countries for over 114 million procedures. After Yale, Emory Medical School, and two fellowships, Dr. Baxter founded Pain Care Labs while practicing emergency pediatrics and creating a research division. When her devices replaced opioid use for a TKA, with two additional Fast-Track SBIRs for low back pain opioid reduction she founded HPS. Accomplishments include pain and sedation textbook chapters, over 25 first-author papers, 12 issued patents, and successful 510(k) FDA clearances for postsurgical and procedural pain. Her academic service spans a decade of NIH Scientific Review Groups for multiple institutes, and the ACEP COVID-19 Field Guide Task Force. Recognition includes Forbes Ten Healthcare Disruptors, Inc. Top Women in Tech to Watch, a Wall Street Journal “Idea Person,” and the Most Innovative CEO from Georgia Bio. Speaking highlights include HHS testimony, Exponential Medicine “Future of Pain Management," TEDMED, and a recently released TED talk on pain neuroscience close to reaching one million views.
James Zanewicz, Chief Business Officer, Tulane University of Medicine James Zanewicz has more than 20 years of experience in the private and academic sectors. Before joining Tulane in 2015, he was head of technology transfer for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Janelia Research Campus in Ashburn, VA. At Tulane, Zanewicz leads the School of Medicine’s Office of Research Business Development, bridging the gap between private industry technology development needs and Tulane University’s network, research and commercialization expertise. The office functions as a single point of connectivity and identifies potential opportunities for engaging with the private sector by providing access to key opinion leaders and talent pipelines, initiating research contracts, and creating ventures and alliances that provide scientific expertise, research management and access to specialized equipment and facilities. Zanewicz was also recently appointed to serve on the Executive Committee for the Alliance for Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare (AAIH), a nonprofit advocacy and educational organization dedicated to promoting the development and implementation of AI in healthcare.
Marc Sedam, Vice President of Technology Opportunities & Ventures, NYU Langone Health Marc Sedam serves as Vice President, Technology Opportunities and Ventures for NYU Langone Health and New York University, joining in 2021. Marc has 30 years’ experience as an inventor, biotech COO, and university technology commercialization leader. Sedam is internationally recognized as an expert in the fields of innovation commercialization, early-stage startup support, regional ecosystem development, technology transfer, and innovation policy, and has testified before Congress on the importance of strong and reliable IP laws. As Vice President, Marc leads the innovation and commercialization enterprise for NYU’s $1.3 billion in annual research expenditures. He is also responsible for overseeing over $2 million in research translation programming, including Therapeutic Alliances which is dedicated towards accelerating early-stage science into therapeutic opportunities suitable for licensing or startup creation. Marc also operates a captive $25M venture fund on behalf of NYU Langone Health; the fund invests in startup opportunities that have the potential to positively impact human health. Prior to NYU, he was Vice Provost for Innovation and New Ventures and Managing Director of UNHInnovation. In addition to his position with NYU, Marc is a Past Chair of AUTM, a global nonprofit leader in efforts to educate, promote and inspire professionals to support the development of academic research; was the founding director of the Peter T. Paul Entrepreneurship Center at UNH; and was the Principal Investigator of UNH’s National Science Foundation I‐Corps Site. Sedam also served as Chief Operating Officer of Qualyst, Inc., the scientific leader in the study of pharmaceutically relevant drug transport interactions (acquired in 2017 by BioIVT). He previously served as Associate Director of UNC-Chapel Hill’s TTO and as a research scientist for National Starch and Chemical Company (now Ingredion). Sedam holds a B.S. in biochemistry from the University of New Hampshire and an MBA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School with a focus on entrepreneurship and new ventures.
Kip Ludwig, Ph.D., Co-Director, Wisconsin Institute for Translational Neuroengineering Dr. Ludwig is the Co-Director of the Wisconsin Institute for Translational Neuroengineering (WITNe) and leads the Ludwig Laboratory at the University of Wisconsin within the WITNe structure. The primary focus of his lab is developing next-generation neuromodulation therapies that use minimally invasive strategies to hack the nervous system to treat circuit dysfunction and deliver biomolecules to target areas with unprecedented precision. Prior to Wisconsin Dr. Ludwig served as the Program Director for Neural Engineering at the National Institutes of Health. He co-led the Translational Devices Program at NINDS, led the NIH BRAIN Initiative programs to catalyze implantable academic and clinical devices to stimulate and/or record from the central nervous system, and led a trans-NIH planning team in developing the ~250 million dollar S.P.A.R.C. Program to stimulate advances in neuromodulation therapies for organ systems. Dr. Ludwig also worked in Industry as a research scientist, where his team conceived, developed and demonstrated the chronic efficacy of a next-generation neural stimulation electrode for reducing blood pressure in both pre-clinical studies and clinical trials. Through his industry work he oversaw Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) and non-GLP studies enabling clinical trials in Europe and the United States, as well as participated in the protocol development and execution of those trials, leading to approval for sale in twenty countries including the United States. Dr. Ludwig connects his academic research to the neuromodulation industry and clinical translation through multiple consulting and advisory roles.  He serves as the Chair of the NeuroOne Scientific Advisory Board on Artificial Intelligence, and is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board for Abbott, Battelle, Blackfynn, Cala Health, the National Center for Adaptive Neurotechnologies and Presidio Medical. He is a co-founder of Neuronoff, Inc. and NeuraWorx. Dr. Ludwig is also a paid consultant for NeuroOne, ONWARD, Restora Medical, Presidio Medical, and the Alfred Mann Foundation.
Nandan Lad, M.D., Ph.D., Vice Chair of Innovation, Duke Neurosurgery Nandan Lad, MD, PhD is a neurosurgeon, scientist, and innovator, serving as a Professor of Neurosurgery and Vice Chair of Innovation at Duke Neurosurgery. Dr. Lad leads the Duke Neuromodulation Program with the belief that multidisciplinary approaches are key to enhancing patient outcomes. Working with teams at the forefront of medtech and digital health innovation, Dr. Lad is committed to developing and utilizing cutting-edge technologies to treat pain, movement disorders, and a variety of complex neurological conditions. He believes in a blend of personalized care and advanced technological solutions, aiming to not only alleviate symptoms but also significantly improve quality of life and restore function for his patients.
Corey Hunter, M.D., Assistant Clinical Professor, Mount Sinai Medical Center Corey W. Hunter, MD is a pain management specialist at the Ainsworth Institute of Pain Management and an assistant clinical professor of rehabilitation and human performance at Mount Sinai Medical Center. He completed his residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at NYU Langone Medical Center and a fellowship in Pain Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College. Dr. Hunter is actively engaged in clinical research focusing on Spinal Cord Stimulation, Radiofrequency Ablation and Stem Cell Therapy. He has numerous publications to his credit, including a number of contributions to textbooks on treating pain and several articles published in peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Hunter is an active member of professional organizations including the North American Neuromodulation Society, International Neuromodulation Society, American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians and American Society of Regional Anesthesia. Dr. Hunter is considered to be a rising star and key opinion leader in the field of pain management. He lectures all over the country on the latest breakthroughs and has numerous publications to his credit, including a number of contributions to textbooks on treating pain and several articles published in peer-reviewed journals. In addition, he is a consultant and instructor for several companies who research and develop treatments for chronic pain. Currently, Dr. Hunter maintains privileges at Lenox Hill Hospital and Beth Israel Medical Center. He is licensed in New York, New Jersey and Florida. In a short time, Dr. Hunter has gained national recognition for his many publications and contributions to the study and treatment of pain. His steadfast dedication to furthering the field, particularly pain syndromes that are the most difficult to manage, has resulted in his appointment to advisory committees and the like.
Marom Bikson, Ph.D., Professor of Biomedical Engineering, City College of New York Marom Bikson is a Cattell Professor of Biomedical Engineering at The City College of New York of the City University of New York and co-Director of the Neural Engineering Group at the New York Center for Biomedical Engineering. The translational R&D activity of his group spans pre-clinical studies, computational models, device design and fabrication, regulatory activities, and clinical trials. Technologies developed by his group are in clinical trials in over 100 medical centers and include neuromodulation interventions for neuropsychiatric disorders, intra- and post-operative sensors, patient compliance tools, and surgeon training simulators. Dr. Bikson has published over 200 papers and book chapters and is inventor on over 30 patent applications. He is known for his work on brain targeting with electrical stimulation, cellular physiology of electric effects, and electrical safety. Dr. Bikson co-invented High-Definition transcranial Direct Current Stimulation, the first noninvasive, targeted, and low-intensity neuromodulation technology. Dr. Bikson consults for medical technology companies and regulatory agencies on the design, validation, and certification of medical instrumentation. Prior to becoming faculty at CUNY, Dr. Bikson was a research fellow at the University of Birmingham Medical School, U.K. and a Research Associate at Sontra Medical LLC, in Cambridge, Massachuesetts. Dr. Bikson received his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Case Western Reserve University, in Cleveland, OH and a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD.
Entrepreneur Presenters
Dane Andreeff, President and CEO, Helius Medical Mr. Andreeff is the general partner and portfolio manager of Maple Leaf Partners, LP, and the president of Andreeff Equity Advisors, LLC. Mr. Andreeff has managed investment portfolios since 1996 for Andreeff Equity, LP, Andreeff Overseas Ltd, and Clover Partners, LP. Before to managing portfolios, Mr. Andreeff worked as an associate analyst at Furman Selz and Granite Capital International Group. Currently, Mr. Andreeff serves as a director of TraceSecurity Inc, HDL Therapeutics, Inc and Myocardial Solutions, Ltd. Mr. Andreeff received his Master's and Bachelor's degrees in Economics from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1991 and 1989, respectively.
Nader Yaghoubi, M.D., Ph.D., President and CEO, PathMaker Neurosystems Inc. Dr. Yaghoubi has over 20 years of experience in the creation, operations, and financing of life science companies. Before starting PathMaker Neurosystems, he established, as president and Founding CEO, Symbiotix Biotherapies, a pioneering microbiome company developing novel molecular therapeutics based on the human microbiome. Prior to that, he was the first employee at Selecta Biosciences and BIND Therapeutics, where he worked with the founders to launch the companies and establish operations and corporate development. Previously, he was at Zero Stage Capital, a venture capital firm where he was responsible for investing in the life sciences sector, and earlier completed an internship at Advent International. Prior to this, he was a Health Care Entrepreneurship Fellow at Boston University, where he worked with scientists and physicians to develop new businesses in the healthcare and life science sector. Before his fellowship, he was a surgical resident in the Department of Surgery at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York. Dr. Yaghoubi received an M.D. and Ph.D. in Molecular Pharmacology from the combined degree program at Boston University School of Medicine. His doctorate work on the development of high-throughput automated electrophysiological systems resulted in five issued U.S. patents, received one of the University’s highest awards for dissertational research, and was the basis of a venture-backed biotechnology company focused on neuroscience. He is extensively involved in mentoring young companies, and has served/serves as a mentor, advisor and reviewer with MBC’s MassCONNECT program, Mass Life Sciences Center programs, Springboard Venture Capital Forum, and numerous university business plan competitions.
Kial Gramley, Chief Product Officer, Backstop Neural Kial Gramley (MBA, University of Texas – Pan American) is a proud veteran, having honorably served our country overseas. He has a proven track record for developing new technologies including nanofibers and additive manufacturing as well as launching new products in markets ranging from automotive to consumer goods to healthcare. Gramley’s business acumen complements the BackStop Neural team’s core competencies in materials science and neuromodulation, and Gramley has extensive experience with shape memory polymers and modulus sensitive materials, such as those that power core innovations from BackStop Neural.
Chris Czura, Ph.D., Senior Director of Scientific Affairs, Five Liters Chirs Czura is senior director of scientific affairs at Five Liters, a unit of Spark Biomedical in Dallas, TX. He was previously Vice President of the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, executive publisher of the Feinstein Institute Press’ international, peer-reviewed journals Molecular Medicine and Bioelectronic Medicine, executive producer of the Merinoff Conference Series, and CFO for the Elmezzi Graduate School of Molecular Medicine. He received his B.S. in biotechnology from William Paterson University in 1996 and a doctoral degree in molecular microbiology from Stony Brook University in 2009. He is author or co-author of approximately 80 peer-reviewed publications, book chapters, and meeting abstracts, and co-inventor on a patent that describes vagus nerve stimulation to control hemorrhage. Dr. Czura began his research career in the laboratory of Dr. Kevin Tracey, studying the mechanisms of pathological inflammation. Dr. Czura has also studied the inflammatory reflex, a neural mechanism through which the central nervous system detects and regulates immune responses to infection and injury. More recently, Dr. Czura and his colleagues Dr. Tracey and Dr. Jared Huston have made discoveries in the field of bioelectronic medicine. His primary work in this field led to the discovery of the “neural tourniquet,” a field of technology that uses electrical nerve stimulation to control traumatic hemorrhage.
Colin Kealey, M.D., CEO, NeuroSigma, Inc. Dr. Kealey is CEO of NeuroSigma Inc. He was previously chief medical officer of NSVascular and also served as director of global medical affairs and corporate projects for NeuroSigma since March 2014. Dr. Kealey joined NeuroSigma in 2011, and previously served as manager of business development. In this role, Dr. Kealey spearheaded the introduction of eTNS to major epilepsy centers throughout the EU and Canada, and interfaced with key opinion leaders in the field to convey the science behind eTNS and how it may fit into their current clinical practice. Dr. Kealey also served as co-principal investigator on two National Institutes of Health grants. In addition, he assisted with the preparation of materials submitted to the FDA, which led to the approval of NeuroSigma's IDE application, and has been a major contributor to the design of a planned pivotal trial of eTNS for epilepsy. Prior to joining NeuroSigma, Dr. Kealey was a resident physician in the UCLA department of surgery from 2007 to 2011. During his time at UCLA, Dr. Kealey was responsible for all aspects of the care of surgical patients, ranging from outpatient procedures to critically ill patients in the intensive care unit. From 2009 to 2011, Dr. Kealey also served as a post-doctoral researcher at the UCLA Center for Advanced Surgical and Interventional Technology, where he performed pre-clinical research and development on novel medical devices. Dr. Kealey earned his B.S. in biochemistry and molecular biology from the University of Wisconsin – Madison and his M.D. from the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine.
Dan Rizzuto Ph.D., CEO and CTO, Nia Therapeutics Dan Rizzuto is the founder and CEO at Nia Therapeutics, where he is developing brain stimulation devices to treat memory disorders. Dan developed Nia’s core technology at the University of Pennsylvania with funding from DARPA as part of the Restoring Active Memory project. He completed his doctoral training at Brandeis University in the neuroscience of human memory, his postdoctoral training at Caltech in brain-machine interfaces, and he previously developed neurostimulation therapies for major depression at Northstar Neuroscience. Dan received the 2015 Researcher of the Year and 2019 Most Promising Startup awards from Neurotech Reports.
Ken Mariash, CEO, Synaptica As CEO of Sinaptica, Ken is leading the team to advance the company’s personalized precision neuromodulation therapy for Alzheimer’s. Prior to Sinaptica, Ken has 20+ years leading and growing new business ventures on both the ‘Buy Side’ and the ‘Build Side.’ He started his career in management consulting at Charles River Associates, then jumped to industry at CSL, then Baxter BioScience (now Takeda), and Boston Scientific, with leadership roles in marketing, strategy, and corporate development. At Boston Scientific’s nearly $1B Neuromodulation division, he was the global commercial lead for the highly successful Cosman RF ablation business he helped acquire. He also built the division’s Strategy function, providing leadership in areas including strategic planning, BD assessment, R&D portfolio management, digital strategy, and investments in next-gen platforms & new indications. In 2019 he joined EBT Medical, a venture-backed, clinical-stage startup developing a disruptive neuromodulation device for overactive bladder, where he oversaw all commercial aspects.
Nicolas Vachicouras, CEO, Neurosoft Bioelectronics Nicolas Vachicouras is the CEO and cofounder of Neurosoft Bioelectronics, a spinoff of EPFL in Switzerland devoted to developing new soft cortical electrodes. He pursued research in stretchable electronics for neural interfaces while he was a graduate student at EPFL. Nicolas was previously an R&D internat Aleva Neurotherapeutics.
Luca Ravagnon, Ph.D., CEO, WISE Srl Dr. Ravagnon co-founded and has been CEO of WISE since 2011. He has long-term experience in basic and applied research in the field of nanotechnology and developed and patented WISE’s proprietary supersonic technology. Since 2019, he has been a member of the management board of the Lombardy’s Life Sciences Cluster and in 2020 he became an Endeavor Entrepreneur. He holds a Ph.D. in Physics and an Executive MBA from SDA Bocconi.