Dr. Vandenburgh, a Myomics founder, is an expert on muscle tissue engineering.
Herman H. Vandenburgh, Ph.D. is a co-founder of Myomics and its original Chief Scientific Officer. He is Emeritus Professor of Pathology at Brown University and is currently Myomics’ President and CEO. Dr. Vandenburgh received his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania and spent five years at the National Institutes of Health before joining the Brown faculty in 1981.
Dr. Vandenburgh has published more than 100 articles on skeletal and cardiac muscle differentiation and the role of mechanical forces in regulating muscle growth. He has been involved in the sports medicine field for over 30 years, and was the first to show that tissue cultured muscle cells could be used in sports medicine studies.
From 1994-1998, the Vandenburgh academic research group completed four NASA Space Shuttle flight experiments with tissue engineered ‘bioartificial muscles’ to study the process of skeletal muscle atrophy in the microgravity environment of outer space. The ‘bioartificial muscle’ forms the basis of patented platform technologies for muscle repair, therapeutic protein delivery, and high throughput drug screening.
Dr. Vandenburgh co-founded Cell Based Delivery, Inc., and was its Chief Scientific Officer from 2001-2003.
Frank Benesch-Lee, Dipl.-Ing.(FH) Chief Engineer
Mr. Benesch-Lee, a Myomics founder, is an expert in robotic hardware/software.
Frank Benesch-Lee, Dipl.-Ing.(FH) is a co-founder of Myomics and is its Chief Engineer. He is an expert in hardware/software development and their translation from research to industrial application. Frank Benesch-Lee received his degree in 2001 from the University of Applied Sciences in Brandenburg, Germany, in cooperation wit the Department of Chemistry at Brown University. He then pursued further studies in the Department of Engineering at Brown University where he helped develop the initial engineering approach that would eventually form the basis for Myomics' technology. He became a full time member of the Myomics team in 2006 and leads
the MFAS™hardware and software development group.
Janet Shansky, M.S., Lab Operations
Ms. Shansky has over 20 years experience in muscle tissue culture.
Janet Shansky joined Myomics Inc. in February of 2006 as lab manager. Ms. Shansky previously worked for over 20 years with Dr. Herman Vandenburgh, current CEO and President of Myomics Inc., managing his academic lab at Brown University/Miriam Hospital which focused on tissue-engineering skeletal muscle for in vivo therapeutics. In addition, Ms. Shansky was manager of the analytical department at Cell Based Delivery, Dr. Vandenburgh’s previous biotech company, in the development of implantable, tissue-engineered, genetically modified skeletal muscle for delivery of therapeutic proteins. Prior research experience included positions at Sloan Kettering Institute for Cancer Research, and Yale University Medical School. Ms. Shansky received her master’s degree in biochemistry from Cornell University, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, and her bachelor of science degree from Tufts University.
Advisory Board:
Robert Valentini, M.D., Ph.D., President, Concordia Medical
Dr. Valentini, a Myomics founder, is a serial entrepreneur in drug development, tissue engineering, and biomaterials.
Robert Valentini, M.D./Ph.D., co-founded and is a Director of Myomics. He is currently President of Concordia Medical, a biomaterials/tissue engineering company. He was previously CEO of P & H Therapeutics, a drug development company and a Program Executive at Shire HGT. Also, as a co‐founder with Dr. Vandenburgh of Cell Based Delivery, a biotechnology company that developed innovative products to treat hemophilia, anemia, and cardiovascular disease, they raised over $11 million in venture capital financing. Dr. Valentini was formerly a professor of Medical Science at Brown University, where he focused on biomaterials, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. He obtained his Sc.B., Ph.D., and M.D. degrees from Brown.
Richard Horan, MBA, Senior Managing Director, Slater Technology Fund
Mr. Horan brings extensive knowledge in the area of biotech start-up financing.
Richard Horan, Advisor, is Senior Managing Director of the Slater Technology Fund, a Rhode Island state funded venture capital fund that focuses on life sciences and technology companies. The Slater Technology Fund is an investor in Myomics, Inc. Mr. Horan has worked in investment banking and in the venture capital markets with a focus on biotech and life sciences. He has also served as CEO of a number of his portfolio venture backed companies. Mr. Horan was recently named “one of those most responsible for shaping the future of Life Sciences in New England” by the Convergence Guide. Rich received his A.B. from Dartmouth College in 1976 and an M.B.A. from the Tuck School at Dartmouth in 1980.
Gregory Crawford, Ph.D., Dean of Science, University of Notre Dame
Dr. Crawford, a Myomics founder, is an expert in automated imaging technology.
Gregory Crawford, Ph.D., is a co-founder of Myomics. Formerly Professor and Dean of Engineering at Brown University, he is currently Professor of Physics and Dean of Sciences at University of Notre Dame. Dean Crawford has over 300 research and education publications, review articles, and book chapters, holds 8 U.S. patents, and is the editor of a number of books. His research focuses on soft matter materials, photonic materials, medical devices, displays, nano-science, magnetic resonance, and photonic devices. The creative deployment of his basic research has resulted in two biotechnology start-up companies, Myomics, Inc. and Corum Medical, Inc.
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