KELLY AZEREDO

As a Research and Development Senior Director and Prolific Inventor for Medtronic, Kelly Azeredo has contributed to the advancement of technology for medical devices and implementation of innovative business systems to improve overall organizational performance. Throughout her tenure at Medtronic, Kelly has held roles of increasing complexity as an engineer, people leader, and program leader of new surgical technologies and enterprise transformation initiatives.

In addition to her strong technical leadership, Kelly is an advocate and partner for diversity and inclusion. She has led site-wide initiatives for Women in Science and Engineering, drove technical diversity councils, and co-founded an R&D professional development program within Medtronic.  

Kelly graduated from the University of Connecticut with a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering and holds an MBA from Western New England University. In 2021, Kelly was inducted to UConn’s Academy of Distinguished Engineers.

FAZ BASHI

Faz K. Bashi, MD, has a research background in Immunology and Virology from UCSF. He is an active member of Life Science Angel’s (LSA) in Silicon Valley, as well as Chair of the Angel Capital Association’s (ACA) Life Sciences Syndication group, and is Emeritus Board Member of ACA. He is one of the Lead Venture Investors for Portfolia’s FemTech Funds, focused on Women’s Health and Wellness.  He has served as the Chair of LSA’s Digital Health & Sciences Screening Committee, Chair of LSA’s Device Screening Committee, LSA Board Member, and is a member of the Biotech/Pharma Screening Committee. He is a member of Berkeley Angel Network. He is active with I-Corp, VentureWell USA and International programs, UCSF’s Entrepreneurship Startup 101 and Lean Launchpad, UCSFs CTSI external advisory board, and Springboard Enterprises focused on women entrepreneurs in life sciences startups

MATTHEW DREHER

Matthew Dreher, PhD, is Distinguished Fellow within Boston Scientific’s Peripheral Interventions division focused on Interventional Oncology. Matt obtained his PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Duke University and then performed a post-doctoral fellowship in the Radiation Oncology Department of Duke University Medical Center. In 2007, Matt joined the Interventional Radiology Research Laboratory at the National Institute of Health (NIH) in the USA. While at NIH, Matt helped launch and build the Center for Interventional Oncology with the goal of pioneering image-guided minimally invasive cancer therapies. Matt has served on NIH study sections, NSF review panels, SIR Foundation study section and as an associate Editor for the International Journal of Hyperthermia.  He has co-authored over 60 peer-reviewed publications (h-index = 36). While at BTG, Matt led a variety of research and development programs within our Interventional Oncology portfolio including radiopaque microspheres and TheraSphere dosimetry. Matt Joined Boston Scientific in 2019.  Currently, Matt leads the scientific and clinical strategy with the goal of developing new Interventional Oncology products and procedures.

ROBERT FALOTICO

Dr. Falotico has been a part of the Johnson & Johnson research community for over 33 years. He received a degree in Biomedical Science from Brown University and a Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the University of Minnesota Medical School in Minneapolis. He began his career as a Scientist at the Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research Institute and rose to the position of Associate Director of Drug Discovery and Team Leader of Vascular Biology, pursuing novel programs in thrombosis, vascular disease and heart failure. Bob received the J&J Hoffman Award for his scientific achievements in 1986. He transitioned over to medical devices at Cordis in 1995 as leader of Stent Therapeutics Research, which played a key role in developing innovative products for thrombosis and restenosis. Bob led the Team that designed, developed and commercialized the world’s first drug-eluting stent (Cypher), a product that helped to revolutionize interventional cardiology and significantly improve patient lives, for which he received the Johnson Medal, J&J’s highest honor, in 2003. Bob was promoted to Distinguished Research Fellow in 2004. With the acquisition of Conor Medsystems in 2006, his team continued to design new therapeutic strategies for treating vascular disease. He is currently working with R&D and Business Development to identify new product opportunities for Cordis and the J&J Surgical Care group. Bob has 89 issued US patents and applications and 139 published manuscripts, book chapters and abstracts. He is married with two children and a granddaughter and lives in Princeton, NJ.

MARK GELFAND

Mr. Gelfand has more than 20 years of experience developing medical devices in academic, startup and corporate environments. His expertise is in integrative physiology, systems engineering and intellectual property. With Dr. Levin, he co-founded Cibiem, CHF Solutions, Ardian and Cardiac Concepts and served as the chief technology officer to those ventures. Mr. Gelfand also worked at Nellcor Puritan Bennett, the world’s leading respiratory device company, where he was responsible for the architecture development of a new ICU ventilator platform. Prior to Nellcor, he was co-founder and chief technology officer of CardioLogic Systems Inc., where he was responsible for the development of the Vest CPR device designed to treat cardiac arrest. The successor to that device is now marketed as AutoPulse® by Zoll Medical. From 1987 to 1992, Mr. Gelfand was a senior research engineer in the division of cardiology at The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, responsible for the development of several concept-level medical devices. Mr. Gelfand is an author and co-author of 70 issued U.S. patents in the fields of heart failure, resuscitation, sleep apnea, and dialysis. He holds master’s degrees in electrical engineering from St. Petersburg Institute of Technology and received graduate-level training in physiology at The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

DAVID GIARRACCO

Dave Giarracco is currently CEO of Noninvasix and veteran leader within the life sciences ecosystem. He joined Noninvasix to make a difference in sepsis care by commercializing a noninvasive technology with the potential to detect sepsis sooner and safer while personalizing patient management. During his leadership the company has raised capital, enabled this clinical stage company to receive FDA breakthrough device designation, and have added to the IP portfolio.

Previously he was a MedTech executive with Medtronic, Covidien, Tyco Healthcare and Sorin Biomedica as a commercial leader driving business growth and value. He has BS in Biomedical Engineering and Materials Science from The Johns Hopkins University, and a Master’s in Biomedical Engineering from The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

MICHAEL HESS

Michael Hess is currently SVP of Product Engineering at OrganOx, and adjunct professor in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Minnesota.

Before this, he was employed at Medtronic for over three decades, holding various positions at the company including R&D and General manager leadership roles in Cardiac Rhythm and Corporate Technology. Medtronic develops, manufactures, and sells device-based medical therapies to healthcare systems, physicians, clinicians, and patients worldwide. Most recently he served as Vice President Corporate Technology and Innovation at Medtronic (05/2020 – 05/2023).  Mike also served in 2024 as Editor in Chief of the IEEE Pulse magazine.   He is an AIMBE fellow, an IEEE Sr level member and a member of the Medtronic Bakken Society.

RUSS HOLSCHER

Russ Holscher is the Vice President of R&D for Baxter’s Advanced Surgery global business unit. Prior to returning to Baxter in 2017, Russ was founding CEO for Standard Bariatrics and before that he served in leadership roles for multiple companies including Baxter, Medtronic, and Johnson & Johnson. His 30+ year career has been dedicated to creating innovative products that improve surgery. Russ earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Nebraska, and he received his Master of Business Administration from Xavier University in Cincinnati.

MIR IMRAN

Mir Imran in one of America’s leading inventors and entrepreneurs, with more than 200 issued patents, including contributions to the first FDA approved Automatic Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator. Mir Imran has founded more than 20 life sciences companies, 15 of which have completed an IPO or acquisition. Mir is a Bioengineer and Electrical Engineer by training (MS and BS) and also attended UMDNJ/ Rutgers Medical School. Mir’s expertise spans a wide range of clinical areas from interventional cardiology to chronic pain, obesity and CNS disorders, and he serves on the boards of several life sciences companies. Mir is the founder and CEO of InCube Labs and InCube Ventures, both focused on his passion for creating medical solutions that change the standard of care in critical healthcare markets.

MUDIT K. JAIN

Mudit brings over 25 years of experience as a venture capitalist, serial entrepreneur, and operator in medical device industry. Mudit is a Founding General Partner of Treo Ventures, and the CEO and co-founder of NuXcel, a bioelectronics focused medical device accelerator. Mudit also co-founded three neuromodulation companies ShiraTronics, Inc., Avivomed,Inc., and iVEAcare, Inc., where he serves as Chairman of the Board and helped raise more than $170M in their Series A & B financings.  

Prior to founding Treo Ventures, Mudit was a General Partner with Synergy Life Science Partners. Before Synergy, Mudit led Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation’s medical device investment activities in the Midwest and East Coast.

Prior to his investing career, Mudit held operational roles in the Cardiac Rhythm Management Division of Guidant Corporation. 

Mudit has served on the boards of several  medical device companies, public and private, from early concept to commercial growth stage, resulting in successful IPOs and M&A transactions. Mudit currently serves on the boards of Avivomed, Inc., CVRx, (NSDQ: CVRX), iVEAcare, Inc., Neochord, Inc., Neuspera Medical, Inc., NuXcel, ShiraTronics, Inc., and SecondWave Systems, Inc.

Some of his prior investments/board responsibilities include Inspire Medical Systems (NYSE: INSP), iRhythm Technologies (NSDQ: IRTC), Aptus Endosystems (Acqd. by Medtronic), CardioMEMS (Acqd. by St. Jude Medical), and Impres Medical (Acqd. by J&J).  

Mudit also serves on the External Advisory Board for Cleveland Clinic Innovations, External Advisory Board of John Hopkins University Center for Bioengineering Innovation and Design, and on the Board of One Heart Health, a healthcare focused non-profit focused on providing access to pediatric populations in underprivileged geographies. He served on Duke University Graduate School Board of Visitors from 2016-2023.

Mudit graduated with a B.E. in Electrical Engineering from VNIT, Nagpur, India, where he was a gold medal recipient for academic achievements. He received his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Duke University, and his M.B.A. from The Wharton Business School, University of Pennsylvania.

JUSTIN KLEIN

Justin Klein, MD, JD, is aco-founder and Managing Partner at Vensana Capital, a leading venture capital and growth equity firm dedicated to medtech innovation. Justin currently or previously served on the board of directors of Apella, Cartiva (acquired), ChromaCode, Cleerly, Curate BioSciences, CV Ingenuity (acquired), Epix Therapeutics (acquired), Evident Vascular, Intact Vascular (acquired), Personal Genome Diagnostics (acquired), PhaseBio Pharmaceuticals (IPO), Relievant Medsystems (acquired), Senseonics (IPO), Topera (acquired), Ulthera (acquired), Vertiflex (acquired), Vesper Medical (acquired), and VytronUS (acquired). Justin currently serves as a member of the board of directors of the Medical Device Manufacturers Association and that of AdvaMed Accel, where he is the Vice Chair of the Investor Advisory Committee of AdvaMed’s board. He is also a member of the board of directors of CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, one of the country’s largest not-for-profit healthcare organizations that serves over 3.5 million patients in the greater Washington, DC, region. Prior to Vensana, Justin was a partner and leader of the medical technology investing practice at NEA, one of the largest and most active venture capital firms in the world. Justin also worked at the Duke University Health System where his experience included roles in strategy, finance, and operations as Duke built one of the nation’s first integrated healthcare delivery systems. Justin graduated with an AB in Economics, a BS in Biological Anthropology & Anatomy, and a Minor in Chemistry from Duke University. He also concurrently earned an MD from the Duke University School of Medicine and a JD from Harvard Law School.

DAVID KNAPP

David Knapp is the Vice President, Corporate Research at Boston Scientific. A leader in the area of Medical Device Development and Exploratory Research, Dave Knapp has been working to treat unmet needs in coronary, cardiovascular and pulmonary medicine for 20 years. Dave’s current focus as Vice President of Corporate Research at Boston Scientific is on developing new solutions and fostering growth in White Space areas. Coordinating open collaborative efforts has been a key focus area, including developing relationships with external institutions and connecting across disciplines and functions to drive meaningful innovation. Dave has a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering and Materials Science from the University of Minnesota.

HOWARD R. LEVIN

Howard R. Levin, M.D. started his career as an academic cardiologist and researcher and has worked extensively towards the integration of cardiac, respiratory and renal physiological principles into novel clinical treatments.

In 2003, with Mark Gelfand, Dr. Levin co-founded Coridea, an idea generator that translates ideas into novel therapeutic solutions for clinical practice. His inventions and co-inventions have successfully launched or their patents helped launch companies including Ardian (Medtronic), CHF Solutions (Gambro), Respicardia (formerly, Cardiac Concepts), eValve (Abbott) and RenalGuard (PLC Medical), Cibiem and Soffio Medical. He has held a number of positions in these companies including President, Chief Scientific Officer, Chief Medical Officer and VP of R&D. These companies have returned over $1.4 Billon US to their investors.

Prior to joining Coridea, Dr. Levin was a co-founder of Cardio Technologies Inc., where he served as the chief scientific officer and vice president of R&D. Prior to that, in 1992, he moved from Johns Hopkins to Columbia Presbyterian where he was a Heart Failure/Transplant Cardiologist and Medical Director of the Mechanical Cardiac Support Program. As an international expert in ventricular assist devices, he testified at FDA panels for approval of these devices as well as was a consultant to the FDA, large medical device companies and market research organizations.

Dr. Levin received his M.D. from the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine and his training in cardiology at The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He also has a master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering. He is an author over 150 issued U.S. patents and 70 peer-reviewed medical publications.

BETH McCOMBS

Beth McCombs, Senior Vice President R&D, Medical Segment, joined BD in September of 2019. In this role, Beth leads R&D across the four businesses of Medication Delivery Systems, Medication Management Systems, Pharmaceutical Systems and Diabetes Care.

Beth has over 20 years of experience in Medical Device innovation and new product development. Prior to joining BD, Beth most recently served as Vice President, R&D for Ethicon, Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J) surgical device franchise, and also led China R&D and Industrial Design/Human Factors for all of J&J Medical Devices. Beth began her career with J&J as an R&D design engineer and assumed increasing responsibility through a series of diverse innovation leadership roles, including Director for the J&J Corporate Office of Science and Technology (COSAT) focused on external technology partnerships, followed by Vice President, R&D for J&J’s Sports Medicine business, and then Vice President, Surgical Innovation, driving strategic marketing and R&D to establish the two new growth platforms of Surgical Robotics and Microwave Ablation.

Beth is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she earned both Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Mechanical Engineering. In addition, she received her Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business.

CASEY McGLYNN

Casey McGlynn is a partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. In 1990, Casey McGlynn formed the life sciences practice at the firm, and today, it has one of the largest practices focused on medtech, healthtech, and biotech companies in the country. Casey has formed, represented, sold, and taken public many of the most important medical device companies founded over the last 30 years.

Casey has extensive hands-on experience in helping entrepreneurs form, build, fund, and sell their companies. He has formed, participated with the boards of, and invested in companies in all of the major medical device fields. Over the last 30 years, he has built close-working relationships with an unparalleled list of entrepreneurs, doctors, investors, engineers, and managers in this industry. Through his portfolio of companies, he has met with and negotiated with the leaders of all of the major medtech acquirers.

Over much of his career, Casey has participated in forming and managing several small funds, all of which have been top quartile performers. In 2005, he founded Life Science Angels (LSA), an angel organization focused on investing in medtech, healthtech, and biotech companies. Since its formation, LSA has invested over $50 million in more than 40 companies that have received an additional $600+ million in follow-on funding from VCs.

Casey is a member of the board of directors of the Fogarty Institute for Innovation and Medical Device Manufacturers Association and was a founding board member of the emerging business committee of BIO.

DENNIS L. McWILLIAMS

Dennis is a serial life science entrepreneur and innovator dedicated to globally commercializing medical technologies.

Prior to joining Santé, Dennis founded Apollo Endosurgery, a medical device company developing novel flexible surgical devices for less invasive surgery, SparkMed Advisors, a boutique advisory to the medical device space, and co-founded Chrysalis BioTechnology‚ a development-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on novel drug therapies for tissue regeneration. He started his career as an analyst for the IC2 Institute, a global think tank focused on applied entrepreneurship and commercialization research.

Dennis also serves as Co-Course Director for the B.E.S.T. Innovation Course, taught at the IHU Institute in Strasbourg France, is a member of the Center for BioDesign’s Advisory Counsel at Johns Hopkins University and is a frequent lecturer in the Stanford BioDesign Fellowship program.

Dennis earned his MS in engineering management from Stanford University and his BS in aerospace engineering, with honors, from the University of Texas. He has served on the Board of Directors for the Texas Exes and University of Texas Men’s Athletic Counsel, been named a Distinguished Engineering Graduate and an Outstanding Young Texas Ex and is a member of the Academy of Distinguished Alumni for the Department of Aerospace.

MICHAEL MESTEK

Michael Mestek, PhD is the Vice President of Clinical Research & Medical Science for Medtronic’s Acute Care & Monitoring Operating Unit headquartered in Colorado.  He and his team produce clinical and economic evidence and educate on non-invasive physiological sensing technologies and airway management tools that are designed to help clinicians advance patient care.  Michael joined Medtronic in 2009 and has held positions of increasing responsibility in Research & Development, Global Marketing, in addition to Clinical Research & Medical Science.

In addition to his role in industry, Michael is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Colorado Denver | Anschutz Medical Campus where he has taught graduate-level courses related to medical device commercialization.  He is also the Chair of the Board of Directors for the Colorado BioScience Institute, a non-profit that provides education, workforce and career development, and innovation support to the local bioscience community. 

Prior to joining Medtronic, Michael was a Research Fellow and National Institutes of Health trainee in the Department of Integrative Physiology at the University of Colorado at Boulder where he conducted translational research on how lifestyle modification improves cardiovascular and metabolic health.  He holds a PhD in Kinesiology from Auburn University.

DAVID NARROW

David Narrow is a medical device CEO, investor and advisor with experience raising venture capital, attracting NIH grants, overseeing clinical trials, managing R&D projects, achieving regulatory approvals, and securing new reimbursement codes. He is currently co-founder and CEO of Sonavex Inc., a venture-backed medical device company spun-out of Johns Hopkins University, which has raised $24M in equity and $10M in federal grant funding. The company develops AI/DL-enabled ultrasound solutions for surgical patients, including technologies to assess AV fistula maturation and guide needle cannulation. Sonavex’s EchoMark & EchoSure products were recognized in TIME’s Best Inventions of 2024.

His first venture, MonoMano Cycling, provides rehabilitative, general health, and social benefits to stroke survivors by making cycling accessible for those with functional use of a single arm and leg.

David previously worked with multinational medical device companies to commercialize their technologies and provide long-term business strategy as a healthcare consultant at Health Advances LLC.

BIJAN SALEHIZADEH

Dr. Salehizadeh has over 25 years of healthcare operating and investment experience. At NaviMed, he sits on the Firm’s Investment Committee and is responsible for leading investments and overseeing portfolio companies with a particular focus on healthcare providers and pharmaceutical services.

Prior to co-founding NaviMed, he was a General Partner at Highland Capital Partners, where he focused on growth stage healthcare investments.

Prior to joining Highland Capital Partners in 2004, Dr. Salehizadeh spent several years in a variety of healthcare operational roles at publicly traded and emerging growth companies.

Dr. Salehizadeh is currently on the Boards of Directors for Advantage Surgical & Wound Care, BrentCare Behavioral Health, Citrus Health Group, and OPN Healthcare. Dr. Salehizadeh previously served on the Boards of Directors of CenterPointe Behavioral Health, The CM Group, Lighthouse Lab Services, and Velocity Clinical Research.

Dr. Salehizadeh holds an AB in Molecular Biology from Princeton University, an MD and MS in Health Policy from Columbia University, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

JOSEPH SMITH

As chief executive officer of Reflexion Health, Dr. Joseph (Joe) Smith brings decades of health-IT focused strategic, engineering, clinical, and healthcare policy expertise to the innovative digital medicine company. Prior to joining Reflexion Health, Dr. Smith served as the founding chief medical and science officer at the West Health Institute, president of the West Health Policy Center in Washington, D.C., manager of the West Health Investment Fund. Prior roles included industry leadership positions at J&J, Boston Scientific, and Guidant Corp. He holds a Ph.D. from the Harvard MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, and an M.D. from Harvard Medical School.

DAVID STEIN

Dr. Stein earned his bachelor’s degree from Johns Hopkins University in BME in 1997 and stayed to complete a master’s degree in 1999 and a PhD in 2001, working in the lab of Gregory Chirikjian. Since graduating in 2001, he has worked with Siemens, where he has served in several roles including VP of Global Engineering and CEO of the Point of Care Business Unit and has successfully led the development and strategy for numerous products within Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics. Since 2015 he has been serving as the Head of Strategy and Innovation for Siemens Healthineers.

ROBERT STOREY

Robert (Bob) Storey is Managing Partner of LaunchPort, LLC, a for-profit venture and ISO-13485 and FDA registered manufacturing center for emerging-growth medical device companies. Appointed as Vice-Chairman of the Governor’s Maryland Life Sciences Advisory Board, he is active in the development of a high-value medical device hub in the Capitol Region. He serves on a number of venture capital and private company boards.

An Executive in Residence at Johns Hopkins University, he is appointed as Evaluation Director for the NIH Blueprint Neuroscience investment initiative and serves on Advisory Boards for the Hopkins Center for Bioengineering Innovation and Design, the Laboratory for Computational Science and Robotics, and the Applied Physics Lab Commercialization Panel. Over the course of the past dozen years, he has secured funding for over 100 Hopkins projects through TEDCO’s Maryland Innovation Initiative.

Mr. Storey continues to serve as a Portfolio Executive for the National Institutes of Health $1.7B Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) investment initiative that dealt with the US’s SARS-CoV-2 testing crisis. He was also one of the founding members and lead Medical Device Expert for the I-Corps @ NIH™ program and has led international cohorts in the Lean Start-up area in Asia/Pacific, Africa, Europe, Middle East, and South America.

Mr. Storey graduated from the University of Arkansas in 1980 with degrees in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering. He joined Exxon Corporation in Houston, where he worked in performance materials technology, business planning, mergers, and acquisitions for close to 15 years. He was an advisor in Exxon’s Corporate Controller organization, held Sales and Marketing management positions, and crafted the formation of Exxon Chemical’s international joint venture with Mitsubishi Petrochemical of Japan. Mr. Storey left Exxon to become General Manager of a privately held engineering company in Maryland. He led the company through a successful sale to Clariant Corporation of Switzerland, with whom he served as Vice President of Clariant’s Performance Products division.

Following Clariant, Mr. Storey was CEO for Vapotherm, Inc., a medical device company that specialized in non-invasive respiratory devices. While with the firm for over a dozen years, he received the U.S Commerce Department’s Export Achievement Award, the Maryland World Trade Center International Leadership Award, and Deloitte’s Technology National Fast 500 award four times.

LALEH TAMHIDI

After receiving her BS (Class of 2000) and MS (Class of 2002) in Biomedical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University (JHU), Laleh began her professional career conducting cardiovascular research in the Lab of Dr. Art Shoukas at JHU. After working in academia for two years, she made a transition to Industry and began working at St. Jude Medical. While at St. Jude Medical (SJM) she has had the great opportunity to take on several different roles at various sites working on cardiovascular as well as neuromodulation devices. Mrs. Tamhidi started her career at SJM at the Sunnyvale, CA facility, first as a Clinical Engineer and then as a Program Manager. Making the move to Sylmar, CA, she then transitioned to Operations and Development, managing the low voltage lead group for SJM. Her experience in Operations led to an opportunity for her to take on the Site Director Role at an SJM manufacturing site in Portland, OR. Most recently she has returned to the San Francisco Bay Area and taken on a role as Director of Business Development and M&A Integration, working on the SJM/Thoratec acquisition and Abbott/SJM integration.