Meet our advisory board members!

Dr. Michael Bleavins retired from Pfizer in 2006 with nearly 20 years of experience in biomarkers, translational medicine, collaborations in pharmaceutical research and development from discovery to Phase 4 stages, as well as application of new technologies to facilitate pharmaceutical decision-making. Dr. Bleavins’ expertise covers biomarkers, clinical pathology, cell biology, molecular biology, immunotoxicology, live-cell imaging, genetic toxicology, investigative pathology, pharmacogenomics, genomics, metabonomics, proteomics, and biochemistry. He has numerous publications in multi-species effects of toxic agents, is an internationally recognized expert in biomarker development, validation, and translation, in addition to drug development, and an invited speaker throughout the world. Dr. Bleavins has significant experience in successful multidisciplinary collaborations, bridging pre-clinical and clinical safety testing, clinical trial support, academic collaborations, and application of emerging technologies.

Dr. James Plonka brings over three decades of research, technology and investment expertise. As Vice President of Venture Capital, James was responsible for Dow Chemical Company’s Private Equity investing program involving a $500M evergreen fund for investment in emerging technologies, business models, and markets. Within healthcare, James focused on diagnostics, devices, renal technologies, diabetes, and rehabilitation. James holds an undergraduate degree in Chemistry from the University of Notre Dame and a Doctorate in Chemistry from The Pennsylvania State University.

Dr. Shuichi Takayama brings deep expertise in 3D cell culture techniques. Dr. Takayama is founder of Incept Biosystems, a venture backed start-up that develops innovative microscale technologies that provide fertility specialists breakthrough capabilities to treat infertility. He received his M.S. from the University of Tokyo in 1994 and his Ph.D. degree in chemistry from the Scripps Research Institute in 1998, after which he joined the G.M. Whitesides group at Harvard University as a Leukemia and Lymphoma Society postdoctoral fellow. He has received the The Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Award (ORAU, 2002), and The NSF Career Award (NSF, 2003). Dr. Takayama’s work has been instrumental in developing 3D Biomatrix products as well as Incept’s microcirculatory chip technology.

Dr. William Warren is CEO and a founder of VaxDesign Corporation. Prior to this, he was President of Sciperio Inc., a program manager at DARPA in the Defense Sciences Office and a principal member of the technical staff at Sandia National Laboratories. Dr. Warren is the author of over 180 referred publications and the editor of three conference proceedings. He has 7 patents issued, over a dozen pending and provisional patents on topics such as in vitro immune models, digital printing systems, microparticle-related immunotherapies, RF communications, water desalination, semiconductor memories and infrared detectors. Dr. Warren has received three R&D 100 awards, the Frost and Sullivan Product Leadership Award, the Industry Week Innovation Award, the Discover Magazine Award, the Xerox Materials Research Award, and several outstanding awards. He holds a B.S. with Honors and a Ph.D. in Engineering Science from the Pennsylvania State University.

Dr. Jerry Callahan brings over 20 years of experience in leading the growth and financing of technology-based businesses. Currently, Dr. Callahan serves as the Vice President of Business Development at Van Andel Institute (VAI). He founded three companies based on technologies developed at VAI, raising over $20M in funding to build strong management teams and technology portfolios. Prior to joining VAI, Dr. Callahan founded Intervention Insights, LLC, a personalized oncology company, for which he raised almost $3M to fund commercialization and leadership. He also co-founded Hopen Life Sciences, LLC, a venture group that has raised $75M for two investment funds. Dr. Callahan received his B.S. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, M.S. in Information Systems Management from Ferris State University, M.B.A. from Western Michigan University, and Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership from Union Institute & University.

Mr. Mark Paulson brings expertise in various aspects of intellectual property law, with an emphasis on patents. Mark represents clients in activities relating to protecting, creating, enhancing, and enforcing IP rights. Mark has been lead counsel on numerous patent litigations and has experience with patent procurement, opinions, design patents, Federal Circuit appeals, 337 ITC actions, trade secret and unfair competition matters, as well as patent interferences, reexaminations, and reissues. He also has handled acquisitions, technology transfer agreements, and joint ventures where technology is the driving force. Mark has been recognized by Chambers & Partners for IP litigation and has been cited by Chambers as a “leading global IP litigator.” Mark is a frequent lecturer on litigation and patent issues and is a member of the FCBA, the AIPLA, and the ABA.