Speakers

Michael P. Straightiff joined the University of Virginia Patent Foundation as director in September 2011.

Previously, as director of biomedical engineering commercialization in Case Western Reserve University's Technology Transfer Office, Straightiff managed high-profile research, development and commercialization partnerships with several large biomedical technology companies. He was also involved in the formation of companies spun out of Case, in coordination with Case Technology Ventures and the local investment community. Straightiff served on the board of directors for a venture-backed neurostimulation company and an early-stage biomedical imaging company. At Case, Straightiff also served on the institutional oversight committee for the school's Wallace H. Coulter Translational Research Partnership.

Straightiff formerly was a senior licensing associate and a consultant for Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties Inc., where he managed a diverse portfolio of technologies in engineering, physical sciences and life sciences. He also worked as a patent examiner for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office after serving as research assistant at the Cleveland Functional Electrical Stimulation Center.

He earned his master's in business administration from Case, where he also earned a B.S. in biomedical engineering. He holds a master of public policy degree, with a concentration in science and technology policy, from George Mason University.

Straightiff is a member of the Association of University Technology Managers, the Licensing Executives Society and the Biomedical Engineering Society.

Dr. Wamhoff is co-inventor of the HemoShear technology and co-founder of HemoShear. He is an Associate Professor at the University of Virginia (UVa) and leads an NIH-funded laboratory that studies vascular disease at the Cardiovascular Division of UVa’s Department of Medicine. Dr. Wamhoff began his fellowship at UVa to develop rodent models to investigate the molecular mechanisms of genes underlying vascular disease. During this time, he was a lead scientist at Setagon, Inc., a UVa Start-Up, which developed a novel drug-eluting stent for the treatment of blood vessel restenosis in humans. While at UVa, he has obtained funding from industry, the American Heart Association, NIH, and other organizations to study the fundamental cellular mechanisms underlying vascular disease. In addition, Dr. Wamhoff recently co-foudned a third company, SoundPipe Therapeutics, also a UVa Start-Up.

Dr. Wamhoff obtained a BS in Biology with a minor in Business Administration from Rhodes College and obtained his PhD from the University of Missouri, where he developed swine models of diabetes and atherosclerosis. Dr. Wamhoff has filed more than 15 patents related to regulation of smooth muscle cell phenotypic switching in vascular disease, leading to licensing of the technology in 2007 to a major device company. He has authored or coauthored 47 publications, three book chapters, and four commentaries. Dr. Wamhoff serves as peer reviewer for more than 15 major scientific journals and is a grant reviewer for the American Heart Association and NIH. He has been the recipient of multiple awards, including the Robert M. Berne Trainee Achievement Award, the American Physiological Society Young Cardiovascular Investigator Award, the 2008 Atherosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology (ATVB) Irvine Paige Award, and the 2010 American Physiological Society New Investigator Award for Cardiovascular Research. Dr. Wamhoff devotes philanthropic time to the community by promoting health awareness for the American Heart Association.

For a list of publications by Brian R. Wamhoff, Ph.D., go to http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=wamhoff%20br.

Erika Smith has over 20 years of business management and technical experience within the life science industry. She has worked with leading companies such as Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSE), Respironics (NASDAQ: RESP) and IVAX (AMEX: IPI) and in economic development with the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse. In these roles, she has held key positions in product development, quality assurance/ regulatory affairs, marketing, and business development. She has extensive experience in developing business and marketing strategies for emerging technologies and established product lines. Over the past five years Erika served as the Senior Director of Investments for the CIT GAP Funds which has been investing in high-potential technology companies offering significant economic outcomes for entrepreneurs and investors. The GAP Funds has been recognized by Entrepreneur Magazine as a Top 100 venture fund from 2005-2009. Erika actively teaches classes at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and has been a recognized guest speaker at Georgetown University – Masters of Biotechnology and Virginia Tech. Smith holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Biomedical and Electrical Engineering as well as a Master’s of Business Administration (MBA) from Vanderbilt University.

Jeffrey LaRose, Chief Scientific Officer, Executive Vice President of the Advanced Product Development Department, HeartWare Inc. HeartWare is engaged in the design, manufacture, and marketing of medical devices for the treatment of advanced heart failure. Jeff has been responsible for the research and product development activities since the inception of the company and holds numerous patents.

Jeff earned his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Akron in 1984 and 1986, respectively.

Karen LeVert is CEO and co-founder of Southeast TechInventures, Inc. (STI). STI is a technology accelerator focused on migrating the most promising technologies from university research labs to the commercial marketplace. STI has been instrumental in the launch of 20+ technologies from research labs.

Ms. LeVert’s business experience encompasses both corporate and entrepreneurial worlds with leadership experience in entrepreneurial ventures, executive management, finance, and information technology. She began her career with a Fortune-500 company assuming roles from computer programmer, to systems manager, to controller, to general manager of a 500-person business unit. Her first entrepreneurial venture was the launch of a franchise bioremediation company in 1998 that focused on the eradication of grease, sugars, and starches. She sold the business in 2001. Before co-founding STI, Karen co-launched a Silicon Valley software company where she served as Executive Vice-President of Business Development. Karen holds an MBA from the University of Dayton and an Information Technology undergraduate degree from Eastern Michigan University.

Along with her current professional duties she serves as a board member to Southeast TechInventures, Council for Entrepreneurial Development, North Carolina School of Science and Math, and was appointed by Governor Perdue to serve on North Carolina’s Innovation Council and the NC Council for Women.