Innovation in Research V - Biographies

President of Innovation, Research, & World Clinic Sanford Health

David Pearce is President of Innovation, Research, & World Clinic for Sanford Health. He completed his undergraduate Bachelor of Science Degree with honors in biological sciences at Wolverhampton Polytechnic in 1986. He gained his PhD in 1990 at the University of Bath, UK, and did postdoctoral training at the University of Rochester, U.S., and Oxford University, UK.

Dr. Pearce heads the leading lab in Juvenile Batten disease research. He has been researching Juvenile Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis (Batten disease) since 1997. His research has led to the first clinical trial for Juvenile Batten disease. He has published over 100 research papers on Batten disease. He also oversees a national registry for rare diseases known as the Coordination of Rare Diseases at Sanford (CoRDS). He has served on numerous NIH review committees, has organized rare disease workshops for the National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) arm of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and is currently the chair of the consortium assembly for the International Rare Diseases Research Consortium (IRDiRC).

As President of Innovation, Research, & World Clinic at Sanford, he oversees the development of research programs, including more than 450 researchers, eight research centers and more than 300 ongoing clinical trials.

Chief Medical Officer
MaMome Inc.

Dr. McClellan is a board-certified OB/GYN with 30+ years of experience founding & managing best-in-class integrative women’s care practices. Her extensive experience in clinical practice and medical-based companies like TIA women’s health is a valuable resource to our team at MaMome to implement our products’ clinical and marketing strategies for incorporating into the current healthcare practices. As Chief Medical Officer of MaMome she is responsible for overseeing the clinical aspects post launch, continuously receiving and modifying clinical protocols of the product to achieve best results for pregnant women and their healthcare providers.

Senior Medical Director
Open Door Family Medical Center

Graduate of NYMC Class of 1999 and Metropolitan (MHC)/Westchester (WMC) OB/GYN Residency Program Class of 2003. Originally from Jamaica, West Indies, Dr. Murray has been in the care of immigrants for her entire practice of Ob/Gyn. She worked for 15 years full time at Metropolitan Hospital Center in Spanish Harlem, and for the past eight years has led Open Door Family Medical Center’s clinical staff as a Senior Medical Director and Department Head for Women’s Health. As an immigrant herself, she has seen firsthand the need for care of the immigrant population and has dedicated her entire career to serving underserved families and addressing the social determinants of health and health disparities in our community. Dr. Murray is a recipient of the Doctor of Distinction Award 2021 – “Caring for All” and a Westchester Women in Business 2020 Honoree.

Founder, CEO, and Principal Investigator MaMome Inc.

Nini Fan is a microbiome researcher with expertise in genomic sequencing, bioinformatics, clinical trial, intellectual property, product development, and business administration.

MaMome's mission is to decrease the suffering of pregnant women from different pregnancy complications. Our approach uses a combination of clinical evidence, AI-based algorithms, and microbiome biomarkers to identify and prevent the complications from developing into symptomatic and harmful diseases.

The company’s vision is to revolutionize pregnancy management to a more natural, food-based preventative approach as effective, if not better, than pharmaceutical approaches without suffering side effects, and without the huge costs of healthcare.

Executive Vice President of
Community Health
Open Door Family Medical Center

Andrea Ruggiero began her career at Open Door as an HIV Case Manager in 2004. Born in Ecuador, Andrea is a bi-lingual, Hispanic Professional. In her capacity as HIV Case Manager/Test Counselor she provided crisis intervention and concrete case management services to vulnerable populations; including many new immigrants that needed comprehensive health care services. Andrea’s experience with health disparities, prepared her for her role as Executive Vice President of Community Health, where she is responsible for all of Open Door’s enabling services, including School Based Health Centers, Care Coordination, Clinical Nutrition, WIC and Wellness Programs. She has helped to develop and maintain formal linkages with community partners and services that complement client needs and assure availability of all necessary assistance for Open Door’s most needy clients.

Dean of School of Mathematics, Science, and Engineering Westchester Community College

Raymond Houston earned his BS in Applied Mathematics and Chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh, his MA in Curriculum and Instruction from Point Park University, and his Ed.D.C.T. in Mathematics Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. His doctoral dissertation focused on the effectiveness of developmental mathematics courses.

Dr. Houston has been a part of the Westchester Community College community for over 8 years. He has been a member of the Mathematics Department, where he has served as a professor and most recently Co-Chair of the department.

Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer Mahmee

Has led operations and strategy at leading startups in healthcare, education, digital media and consumer goods. An activist-entrepreneur, Melissa received her MBA from the Peter F. Drucker School of Management at Claremont Graduate University, and her JD from Southwestern Law School. Pitchbook named her one of the top black founders to watch in 2019.

Principal, Founder
East Egg Project Management

Yasmeen Ahmed Pattie is the principal and founder of East Egg Project Management, a New York City- and State-certified MWBE firm offering real estate, economic development, and planning services in the life sciences. With 20+ years of relationship building and project management experience, Yasmeen works with growing companies to find, lease, and furnish new office and lab spaces and to access public funding and incentives to support that growth. She also advises larger organizations on development and planning initiatives, including feasibility studies and community programming concepts, in tech and life sciences. She also serves as a life sciences “lens” for developers and other groups entering the market: evaluating sites, advising on strategy, and building networks. Yasmeen received her degrees from Amherst College and the University of California at Berkeley, and lives with her family on Long Island.

Bi-Lingual Mobile Family Therapist
MOMobile Family Therapy Program
Maternity Care Coalition

Claudia practices as a clinical social worker with a focus on transnational trauma and providing mental health services to uninsured and uninsurable Spanish speaking clients. Currently, they work at Maternity Care Coalition in Philadelphia as a therapist in the organization’s new Mobile Family Therapy program. They specialize in postpartum mental health. Clients include gestational parents experiencing perinatal and postpartum depression, PTSD, loss, as well as adjustment disorders. They will be a certified Perinatal Mental Health professional through Postpartum Support International in 2022.

Claudia graduated from Columbia University with a major in Sociocultural Anthropology and received their MSW from University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Policy and Practice.

External Relations, VP
Montero Language Services

Fritz is an international sales, marketing and operations top executive with a 37-year successful track record in leading business development and business strategy . An experienced business leader with a deep understanding of consumer markets and retail channels across the globe. Proven multi-functional management skills to develop and implement strategic business & go-to-market launch plans for consumer products & services. Leadership, strategic thinking, multi-cultural and people skills needed for success in a fast-changing, technology-driven international business environment are his competencies.

Chief Innovation Officer
White Plains Hospital

He oversees strategy, programmatic growth and development, an institutional venture fund, and startup incubator. Jonathan is responsible for establishing the innovation entity’s vision, goals, strategic imperatives, and investment theses. Jonathan has over 16 years of healthcare strategy and operations experience, and previously raised a $5M venture fund. Jonathan has a BA from the University of Pennsylvania, a MPA from New York University, and a MS in Finance from Baruch College, in addition to being a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives, certified Six Sigma Green Belt, and Project Management Professional. He was recently named a 2021 Top 25 Emerging Leader by Modern Healthcare.

Implementation Manager, Innovation Implementation & Operations White Plains Hospital

Michael Latchmansingh is the Implementation Manager for East Post Road Ventures at White Plains Hospital. He received his BSN/RN degree from Binghamton University and worked for Georgetown University Medical Center SICU before returning to school in a non-traditional nursing path. He returned to graduate school and received his Law Degree and MBA concurrently from Albany Law School and Union Graduate College, respectively, while working for the Office of the Medicaid Inspector General and the Albany Stratton VA Medical Center.

Ultimately returning to the tristate area to work in Risk Management for a community hospital in the Bronx and eventually in Risk Leadership for a large, internationally recognized, teaching hospital in NYC. Michael applies his years of experience in workflow and process analysis, with a specific emphasis on potential failure points and mitigation strategies, to his role as Implementation Manager.

Partner, Goodwin Procter LLP

Laurie Burlingame is a corporate partner in the nationally recognized Life Sciences Practice Group at Goodwin Procter LLP. She represents private and public companies through their life cycle (from start-up through exit) across the spectrum of the life sciences industry, including pharmaceuticals, medical devices, diagnostics and biological materials. She also represents leading life science venture capital firms and investment advisors in connection with their portfolio company investments.

She often serves as outside general counsel to her clients, closely advising management teams and boards of directors on a wide variety of matters, including formation and founder issues, venture capital financings, initial public offerings (including deSPAC transactions) and follow-on public offerings, mergers and acquisitions, licensing transactions, spin-out transactions strategic collaborations, commercial transactions, corporate governance and other general corporate matters.

She enjoys engaging with entrepreneurs to hear more about their passions and in helping them to start their ventures off on a strong legal foundation. She has served as a mentor for many university start-up programs and has served as a judge for numerous business plan competitions, including the MIT 100K.

Adjunct Research Assistant Professor Medical Sciences and Education Boston University School of Medicine Director, Education Strategies Westchester Biotech Project

Carla joined the CityLab team in 2000 to combine her passions for science, education, and business. She first entered a research laboratory through a National Science Foundation Student Science Training Program while a high school student in New York. One day after her high school graduation, she began work in a cancer research laboratory in NY, an experience that ultimately influenced her career path. She spent summer and winter vacations during her college years investigating the roles of viruses and biochemical modulators in cervical cancer. After graduating from Tufts University with degrees in electrical engineering and Spanish, she began a long graduate school path that included studies at Dartmouth College (Masters in Biomedical Engineering) and University of Rochester (Masters of Business Administration). While in Rochester, Carla worked as an engineer for a surgical laser start-up company that designed devices to facilitate minimally invasive surgical procedures. She then decided to return to school to study cancer biology and earned her D.Sc. from Harvard University in 2000.

Carla has a long-standing interest in education. She has helped thousands of students to prepare for standardized entrance exams at all levels and has volunteered for several programs that encourage women to study science and engineering. Carla currently serves as the Director of Education Strategies for the Westchester Biotech Project and received its founder’s award. Carla has served on many state-wide STEM education development committees. She is a Course Faculty Facilitator for the Harvard Macy Institute Program for Educators in the Health Professions.

Clinical Trial Educator
Co-Chair, Clinical Research Cohort

Ellen Bedenko is a seasoned clinical research professional with knowledge and perspectives on the clinical trials process developed while working at sponsor, CRO, and vendor levels. Her areas of interest are patient recruitment and retention, inclusion of patients with limited English proficiency, inpatient clinical trials, and biobanking for both investigator-initiated and industry-sponsored trials.

Clinical Site Liaison, Medical Sciences
Co-Chair, Clinical Research Cohort

With a diverse, 30-year background as a champion of change, Daria actively implements her creative and innovative ideas in clinical research. Her ongoing focus is the constant need for bridging the gap between clinical practice and research during this evolving time. She has built deep understanding and knowledge through a variety of roles and settings. As a clinical operations consultant at Huron Consulting Group, she initiated the rebuilding infrastructure of clinical research programs. At a US-based CRO she created successful model for Phase III medical device trial sites as a patient recruitment specialist.

Manager, Research
Westchester Biotech Project

Ms. Albitz is an innovative, results-driven manager with more than 24 years of experience in pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. She has successfully launched new US and global drug products, including in both Europe and Latin America.

With her unique experience leading effective cross-functional teams, she is adept at overseeing the logistics of scientific advisory boards and the strategic creation and tactical execution of multi-channel marketing campaigns.

At Westchester Biotech Project, she coordinates the Clinical Research Cohort and conducts outreach to the larger community for thought leader input.

Co-Founder, Executive Director
Westchester Biotech Project

Ms. Gere’s career has been all about bringing researchers, engineers, and data scientists together across the many silos of biomedical progress. By collaborating with industry, academic, government, and nonprofit institutes, the Westchester Biotech Project convenes cross silo experts for knowledge-sharing and goal setting.

A key regional gap, that is recognized by both growing companies and academic institutions, is the lack of configurable lab space to accommodate growth beyond the incubator stage. Our Blueprint2030 program is hosting Charrettes throughout 2022-2023 to design the Lab of the Future, and gather resources for establishing forward-looking and accessible facilities.

Borderless initiatives include international Roundtables on Clinical Research, Advancing Microbiome Science to Clinical Practice, and Translation/Localization of documents for regulatory submissions through patient facing materials.

jgere@westchesterbiotechproject.org

914-719-2226

Co-Founder & Chief Strategy Officer,
Westchester Biotech Project
Partner, Meridian Risk Management

Michael Welling is a father of a now 16 year old son who received two separate unrelated anonymous stem cell transplants at the age of 1. After their family’s 6 month stay at Sloan-Kettering and watching firsthand how cutting-edge medical research saved his child’s life, Michael set out to support scientific progress in any way that he could for the purpose of helping save more lives. This led to Michael founding and launching the Westchester Biotech Project in 2017.

Currently a White Plains resident, Michael grew up in Westchester and then returned after living and working abroad. Having been part of the Westchester Business community for years, Michael is currently a Partner with Meridian Risk Management in Pelham.