MANAGEMENT TEAM
Nicole Bell
Chief Executive Officer
Ms. Bell is an experienced executive in the electronics and diagnostics industries in roles ranging from science and engineering to business development and marketing. She has served as an executive in engineering and new product development for over ten years in young and growth-stage companies, including TransEnterix Surgical where she served as the Vice President of Research and Development, driving the development of the surgical robot from breadboard design to FDA submission in 3 years, propelling the company’s market cap to over $500M. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from MIT in Materials Science and Engineering as well as a Master’s of Science degree in Biomedical Engineering from Duke University. Her best-selling and award-winning memoir, What Lurks in the Woods, vividly details her family’s experience with the devasting effects of undiagnosed tickborne infection in the hopes that others will learn from her successes and failures.
Justin Alexander
Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Alexander is a financial executive with almost twenty years of experience, including public accounting as an auditor with KPMG followed by 15 years in the private sector focusing on early-stage technology, life science, and service companies gaining valuable experience in the areas of product development, manufacturing, retail, clinical and service operations. He serves as fractional CFO to several small companies in addition to Galaxy Diagnostics. Mr. Alexander holds degrees in Accounting, Finance and East Asian Languages (Japanese) from Indiana University and a Master of Business Administration for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Edward Breitschwerdt, DVM, DACVIM (SAIM)
Chief Scientific Officer and Cofounder
With over 400 peer-reviewed publications, Dr. Breitschwerdt is an internationally recognized leader in Bartonella research, diagnosis and treatment and has been consulted widely about an array of infectious diseases by many leading companies in the veterinary diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccine industries. Dr. Breitschwerdt is an internist and professor of medicine and infectious diseases at North Carolina State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. He is a co-director of the Vector Borne Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, which has been testing animals for vector-borne infections since 1984. Importantly, Dr. Breitschwerdt’s research at the NCSU Intracellular Pathogens Research Laboratory has produced significant research findings concerning the medical importance of Bartonella and other emerging infectious disease pathogens in both animal and human health. In recognition of his outstanding contributions to research and teaching, Dr. Breitschwerdt has received numerous awards, including the NCSU Holladay Medal for Excellence (2013), AAVMC Excellence in Research Award (2017), the AKC-CHF Canine Health Excellence Award (2018), the WSAVA Global One Health Award (2018), and the Melanie S. Steele Distinguished Professorship in Medicine (2018).
Ricardo Maggi, PhD
Chief Technical Officer and Cofounder
Dr. Maggi is a Research Professor of Medical Microbiology at the College of Veterinary Medicine at North Carolina State University, where he directs research at the Intracellular Pathogens Research Laboratory. His research focuses on the development of novel diagnostic serological, microbiological and molecular tests, as well as the identification of prophylactic agents (vaccines), the characterization of mechanisms for microbial pathogenicity, and the development of diagnostic tests aimed at the identification of potential molecular markers for early detection of bacterial-induced cancers. Dr. Maggi joined North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2005 where he has led the design, development, and validation of in-vitro clinical diagnostic tests for the detection and characterization of emerging and re-emerging vector-borne pathogens in humans and animals. He has generated more than 120 peer-reviewed publications, lectured in several national and international scientific and clinical forums, and written over 7 book chapters pertaining to his research activities. Dr. Ricardo Maggi has a background in proteomics from Argentina, and in molecular microbiology of fastidious microorganisms from the University of Puerto Rico.
Susan Orton, PhD
Laboratory Director
Dr Orton is the Manager of the Bioterrorism & Emerging Pathogen (BITEP) Unit at the North Carolina State Laboratory of Public Health (NCSLPH). She brings over 20 years of high complexity laboratory testing experience, including eleven years of experience as a CLIA-qualified High Complexity Laboratory Director. Dr Orton holds a doctorate in immunology and a laboratory director certification from the American College of Microbiology (ACM) Board of Medical Laboratory Immunology.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Jeff Clark (Chair)
Jeff is a serial entrepreneur and venture capitalist based in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. He is passionate about empowering visionary founders to make a difference in patient care and healthcare delivery. He founded Aurora Funds in 1994 with Scott Albert and continues to serve as Managing Partner. Aurora raised five early-stage venture funds with total AUM exceeding $250 million. Jeff led the Life Science team and has overseen investments in more than 30 companies across the life sciences and has full cycle investing experience from inception to exit including numerous IPO’s and M&A transactions. He has served on public and private boards of over 15 different Aurora portfolio companies including: Argos (ARGS – Nasdaq), Cardioxyl (Sold to Bristol Myers), Hyperbranch (Sold to Stryker) , Regado, (RGDO – Nasdaq), and Valor (Sold to Humana). He co-founded several companies, including Veritas Collaborative, LLC (now Accanto Health), Matchwell (now part of Medical Solutions). Current roles include Venture Partner with the North Carolina Venture Fund, Board Chair at Quinsite, CEO of LadeRx, and Senior Advisor and Operating Partner for Oval Park Capital. He maintains strong ties to the RTP community. His service includes past Chairman of the Board of NC’s Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED), past Chairman of the Board of Directors for TROSA and Board/Executive Committee member at Caring House.
Edward Breitschwerdt, DVM, DACVIM (SAIM)
With over 400 peer-reviewed publications, Dr. Breitschwerdt is an internationally recognized leader in Bartonella research, diagnosis and treatment and has been consulted widely about an array of infectious diseases by many leading companies in the veterinary diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccine industries. Dr. Breitschwerdt is an internist and professor of medicine and infectious diseases at North Carolina State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. He is a co-director of the Vector Borne Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, which has been testing animals for vector-borne infections since 1984. Importantly, Dr. Breitschwerdt’s research at the NCSU Intracellular Pathogens Research Laboratory has produced significant research findings concerning the medical importance of Bartonella and other emerging infectious disease pathogens in both animal and human health. In recognition of his outstanding contributions to research and teaching, Dr. Breitschwerdt has received numerous awards, including the NCSU Holladay Medal for Excellence (2013), AAVMC Excellence in Research Award (2017), the AKC-CHF Canine Health Excellence Award (2018), the WSAVA Global One Health Award (2018), and the Melanie S. Steele Distinguished Professorship in Medicine (2018).
Amanda B. Elam, PhD
Dr. Elam is co-founder and previous CEO of Galaxy Diagnostics. She continues to advise corporate strategy and business development activities. Dr. Elam is an entrepreneur and scholar with experience in life sciences and information technology markets. She also serves as a Research Fellow at Babson College where helped to establish the Diana International Research Institute which convenes and curates thoughts leaders globally on the topic of women’s entrepreneurship and business leadership. Dr. Elam holds a doctorate in Sociology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and has published extensively on the topic of business start-up and growth in top journals and global research reports. Her doctoral research on entrepreneurship was recognized by the Academy of Management for innovative thought leadership.
Richard West
With over 20 years of life science CEO experience, Richard leads the strategic direction for Baebies. Previously with Vamsee Pamula, Richard led Advanced Liquid Logic, a Duke spinout that developed lab-on-a-chip technology and products for the research tools and diagnostic markets. Advanced Liquid Logic was sold to Illumina, Inc. for $96M. Prior to Advanced Liquid Logic, Richard was Founder and CEO of TriVirix, a venture-funded medical equipment contract manufacturer that he and his team grew to more than 500 employees. He also spent 15 years in the aerospace industry in program, sales, marketing and engineering management, including four years as a commissioned officer in the US Air Force. Richard is currently on the board and executive committee of NCBIO and serves on a number of private company boards. He has an engineering degree from Duke University, an MBA from the University of West Florida and completed all requirements except dissertation for a PhD in management at the Peter F. Drucker Graduate School of Management.
ADVISORS
Robert Mozayeni, MD
Medical Director
Dr Mozayeni is a board-certified internist in private practice in in Bethesda, Maryland where he specializes in the diagnosis and management of chronic inflammatory diseases having rheumatic and neurovascular manifestations. He was trained in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology at Yale and at NIH. He has had pre- and post-doctoral Fellowships in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry at Yale, and also at NIH where he was a Howard Hughes Research Scholar at LMB/DCBD/NCI and later, Senior Staff Fellow at LMMB/NHLBI/NIH. He is an expert in Translational Medicine, the science and art of advancing medical science safely and efficiently. He is a Fellow of the non-profit Think Lead Innovate Foundation, a co-founder of the Foundation for the Study of Inflammatory Diseases, Past-President of ILADS. and Founder of Tlab which focuses on the development of imaging techniques for the study of infectious pathology in chronic illness.
