Speakers

Dr. Borkholder is an Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering and Microsystems Engineering at Rochester Institute of Technology. His research interests include biosensors, biomedical MEMs, medical devices, the auditory system, and treatment of auditory dysfunction. His laboratory focuses on therapy directed Microsystems and sensors validated through animal studies and targeted at clinical use. He is currently developing Implantable Microsystems for intra-cochlear drug delivery as part of a five year, NIH funded deafness therapy research collaboration with the University of Rochester Medical Center. Dr. Borkholder holds adjunct appointments with the University of Rochester departments of Otolaryngology and Biomedical Engineering.

Prior to joining RIT, Dr. Borkholder served as the Director of Hardware Engineering at ZONARE Medical Systems, Inc. where he led electronics and ASIC development for a portable premium quality ultrasound system utilizing non-standard imaging modalities. At Cepheid, he served as the Director of Electronic Systems and Technical Lead for new products, developing automated systems for dna extraction and analysis. At Eastman Kodak Company he worked on a variety of projects within the Microelectronics Technology Division involving the manufacture and characterization of CCD image sensors.

Dr. Borkholder has PhD and MS degrees in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University and a Bachelors in Microelectronic Engineering from the Rochester Institute of Technology. He is a senior member of IEEE.

Throughout his twenty-five year career, Dave Eilers has been a goal-oriented enterprise leader who enjoys pioneering new products as well as opening new markets worldwide.

Mr. Eilers has experience with Consumer Goods such as leading the introduction and roll-out of Personal Pan Pizza for Pizza Hut and opening new markets for Hathaway Division of Warnaco.

His experience in Durable Goods is as diverse as ¡Xhome satellite dishes and commercial chinaware for Syracuse China/ Libbey Foodservice.

For the last decade, Dave has been employed in the Healthcare Industry working both as a consultant and in management for two private-equity investors before the ten-company group was acquired in March of 2006.

Mr. Eilers¡¦ current interest is applying an Open Innovation business model to Diagnostic Healthcare-- bridging the gap between invention and market introduction. Dave was one of three founders of Blue Highway LLC, an advanced R&D subsidiary of Welch Allyn. Blue Highway is dedicated to creating innovative, intellectual capital through;

ƒ{ Early detection and diagnosis of adverse health conditions,
ƒ{ Aggregation of data to enhance clinical outcomes, and
ƒ{ Comprehensive, clinical decision support.

In the course of his business development activities, Mr. Eilers has observed a variety of clinical procedures at many prestigious teaching institutions such as Brigham & Women¡¦s Hospital, Mayo Clinic, Harvard Medical School and Cleveland Clinic, as well as 40 countries worldwide.

Edward E. Walsh, M.D.
Professor of Medicine
University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry
Head, Infectious Diseases Unit, Rochester General Hospital

Edward Walsh has been on the faculty in the Infectious Diseases Division since 1980. His research is focused on respiratory viral diseases, primarily Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), human Metapneumovirus and influenza viruses. Work has included basic structural and genetics of viral proteins, epidemiology of viral diseases in hospitalized populations, and especially the elderly, diagnostic methods and immune response to viral infection. The primary goal is development of an efficacious vaccine for RSV. Dr. Walsh sees patients in consultation at Rochester General Hospital where he also directs the Infection Control Program.

George Lewis is a Senior Presidential and National Science Foundation Fellow in the Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME) at Cornell University, and the Chief Technology Officer at ZetrOZ Incorporated. Lewis has over 15 years of ultrasound research and development experience in industrial and medical uses of ultrasound. His bachelor and doctoral studies focused on ultrasonic applications for drug delivery, non-invasive surgical techniques and ultrasound fetal monitoring. A nominee from Cornell University for the Brilliant Ten Popular Science and MIT TR35 award, Lewis is a pioneer in the development of new therapeutic applications. He has 23 publications, 18 lectures at national medical engineering meetings, and 4 industrial research partnerships. Additionally, Lewis has owned and operated two successful small businesses with over twelve employees.

Lewis has consulted and worked with companies such as Philips, GE, AngioDynamics, Transducer Engineering and Active Grid Technologies, and has been the investigator on multiple ultrasound related projects over the last decade. In Lewis’s research position at Cornell University; his lab has translated ultrasound imaging, therapy and ablation technologies from the bench top into clinical trials in Central New York and New York City Hospitals. Lewis is currently working with medical doctors to improve wireless maternal monitoring, develop ultrasound based treatments to reduce pharmaceutical use in patients with osteoarthritis, and design non-invasive surgical treatments for varicose veins. Most recently, Lewis has begun work on a joint collaborative effort between Weill Cornell Medical Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Cornell University BME to develop the first implantable ultrasound device for brain tumor therapy.

Dr. Hasenwinkel is an Associate Professor of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering and the Bioengineering Program Director at Syracuse University, where she has been on the faculty since 1999. Her research interests are focused on translational polymeric biomaterials for applications in orthopedics and nerve regeneration. The Wallace H. Coulter Foundation currently funds her work on the development of novel two-solution based bone cements for the treatment of vertebral compression fractures in the spine. Dr. Hasenwinkel’s lab is also developing injectable, particle-based, drug delivery systems to treat spinal cord injury and new techniques for studying spinal cord injury, based on micromechanical and spectroscopic analysis.

Dr. Hasenwinkel has received a number of awards for both research and teaching, including the James D.Watson Investigator Award, the Judith G. Seinfeld Distinguished Faculty Fellowship, and the Syracuse University Teaching Recognition Award. Dr. Hasenwinkel earned a B.S.E. in Biomedical Engineering from Duke University, an M.S. in Bioengineering from Clemson University, and a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Northwestern University.

Thomas A. Pearson is Albert D. Kaiser Professor in the Department of Community and Preventive Medicine and Professor of Medicine at the University of Rochester School of Medicine. Dr. Pearson is also Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Research at the University of Rochester Medical Center and directs the Rochester Prevention Research Center. He is Principal Investigator of the Rochester Clinical and Translational Science Award and directs the Rochester Clinical and Translational Science Institute. Dr. Pearson’s major research interests are in the epidemiology and prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, with a special interest in the international trends of coronary heart disease and stroke. He has actively participated in basic science studies, clinical investigations, and community-based projects.

Dr. Pearson received his Doctor of Medicine, Master in Public Health, and Doctor of Philosophy in cardiovascular epidemiology, all from The Johns Hopkins University, where he also completed residencies in preventive medicine and internal medicine and a fellowship in cardiology. He holds board certifications in Internal Medicine, Preventive Medicine, and Clinical Lipidology.

Dr. Pearson is a Fellow of the American Heart Association, American College of Cardiology, the American College of Preventive Medicine, and the American College of Physicians. Dr. Pearson has served as a member and chair of important committees of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the Institute of Medicine, the American Heart Association, and the American College of Cardiology. For the National Forum for Prevention of Heart Disease and Stroke, he serves as Chair-elect of its Coordinating Board. He currently chairs the Guideline Implementation Working Group as part of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s Guideline Development Program. He also is a member of the Advisory Group for the 2010 U.S. Dietary Guidelines. He has lectured and published extensively in the prevention of cardiovascular disease, at the patient, healthcare system, community, and public policy levels.

Tony is the Managing Director and co-Founder of KensaGroup. He has launched seven university-derived start-ups since KensaGroup's inception. Previously, Tony has served in both the CEO and COO capacities of mid-market manufacturing companies. He also served as Vice President of a multi-billion dollar international food retailer. Tony sits on the boards of NovaSterilis, Inc, MedHesives, Inc, Prendismo, LLC (formerly EclipsNet, LLC), and Novomer, Inc. Additionally, he has been an advisor to NextGen in conjunction with New York’s Task Force on Economic Development and Emerging Industries and the Center for Life Science Enterprise (New York State Office of Science, Technology and Academic Research Center for Advanced Technology at Cornell).

Tony earned his B.S. degree from Cornell University.