Wei-Kan Chu, Ph.D.
Venture Partner

Dr. Chu currently is a Robert A. Welch Professor in Physics and a Distinguished University Professor at the University of Houston. His professional experience includes Deputy Director of Research (89-97) at the Texas Center for Superconductivity; a Research Professor of Physics at the University of North Carolina (88-89); a Staff, Advisory and then Senior Engineer at IBM (75-81); and a Research Fellow and Senior Research Fellow at Caltech (72-75). He is the author of the book Backscattering Spectrometry and the editor of four books. Dr. Chu has authored or co-authored over 280 journal publications, over 120 invited talks and conference presentations and 20 US-Patents to date. His research interest is related to Ion Beam Characterization of Materials and Ion Beam Modification of Materials such as ion implantation in semiconductors. He is also an expert on High Temperature Superconductors (HTS) in the area of HTS Thin Film studies, HTS-Magnetic Bearing and Levitation Flywheels.  www.uh.edu | spokane.tcs.uh.ed

Clay Jefferies Cockerell, M.D.
Venture Partner

Dr. Cockerell is Director of Dermapathology at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. He received his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, and completed his residency in dermatology and fellowship in dermapathology at New York University Medical Center. Dr. Cockerell is active in a number of nationally recognized medical groups and is past President of the American Academy of Dermatology, the world’s largest dermatologic society, representing more than 14,000 physicians, and the President of the American Academy of Dermatology Association. He previously served as secretary-treasurer and as a member of the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Dermatology. In addition, Dr. Cockerell is past President of the Texas Dermatological Society and past President of the Dallas Dermatological Society. Dr. Cockerell is the author of more than 500 publications and has served as Associate Editor of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology and is on the editorial boards of a number of medical journals including the American Journal of Dermatopathology. Dr. Cockerell also serves as a Managing Director of Dermapath Diagnostics in Dallas, Texas.  http://www.utsouthwestern.edu/index.html

William E. Cohn, M.D., Ph.D.
Venture Partner

Dr. Cohn has been awarded over twenty patents for his medical devices which help surgeons operate on a beating heart, a task thought to be impossible for many years. A native Houstonian, he graduated from Baylor College of Medicine in 1986 and was recruited to Boston’s Beth-Israel Hospital where he focused on minimally invasive surgery. Dr. Cohn creates procedures and devices to minimize the invasiveness of heart surgery and uses new techniques that avoid the employment of the heart-lung machine, thereby allowing the heart to continue beating during surgery and reducing the risk to the patient. In Spring of 2004, Dr. Cohn returned to Houston to join the renowned Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital as well as the faculty at Baylor College of Medicine. Today he continues his clinical research activity at the Texas Heart Institute and St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital, where he is serving as Director of Minimally Invasive Surgical Technology and Co-Director of the Cardiovascular Research Laboratories.  http://texasheart.org/

Dennis Donohoe, M.D.
Senior Advisor

Currently, Dr. Donohoe manages a clinical and regulatory consulting service that reviews medical and surgical devices as well as device-drug combination products.  Prior to this he had a long tenure as Johnson & Johnson’s Worldwide Vice President, heading up various clinical, regulatory, cardiology, endovascular, and neurovascular divisions. Among his other accomplishments, he has over 10 years of medical experience in various private and public settings.  Dr. Donohoe earned his B.A. with honors from LaSalle University , and his M.D. from the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center at Penn State University . 

Dimitris C. Lagoudas, Ph.D., P.E.
Venture Partner

Dr. Lagoudas is the John and Bea Slattery Chair of Aerospace Engineering Director for the Texas Institute for Intelligent Bio-Nano Materials and Structures for Aerospace Vehicles (TiiMS) at Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas. He is currently serving as Director for the newly established Texas Institute for Intelligent Bio-Nano Materials and Structures for Aerospace Vehicles, Chair of the Executive Committee of the Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering and as an Associate Vice President for Research. His research involves the design of multifunctional systems at nano, micro, meso and macro levels with appropriate methods developed to bridge the various length scales. This research will develop multifunctional hierarchical structural materials systems that will carry structural loads; store electrical energy; assist in thermal management; and protect against low and high velocity impact. Additionally, multifunctional porous shape memory alloys at the micro scale will be developed and then integrated into smart structures relevant to multifunctional lightweight space applications.  smart.tamu.edu

Steven L. McKnight, Ph.D.
Venture Partner

Dr. McKnight is a Professor and Distinguished Chair in Basic Biomedical Research and Chairman of the Department of Biochemistry at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. He is also the Co-Founder of Tularik, Inc. (acquired by Amgen, Inc.) and Cumbre, Inc. He is known for his discovery of leucine zipper proteins. Dr. McKnight was formerly an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He is a member of the National Academy of Science and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Dr. McKnight is a recipient of many awards including his most recent induction into the Hall of Honor at The University of Texas at Austin, College of Natural Sciences in 2003 and he was awarded the Monsanto Award by the National Academy of Science.  www.swmed.edu | biochemistry.swmed.edu

Gordon B. Mills, M.D., Ph.D.
Venture Partner

Dr. Mills was recruited to The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, where he holds the rank of professor with joint appointments in Systems Biology, Breast Medical Oncology and Immunology; serves as chairman of the Department of Systems Biology; head of the section of Systems Biology and holds the Ann Rife Cox Chair in Gynecology. Dr. Mills is co-Director of the newly formed Kleberg Center for Molecular Markers and director for the SCRBII Molecular Markers building.

With more than 300 publications either published or in press, Dr. Mills has authored papers in such prestigious journals as Nature, Cell, Oncogene, Nature Genetics, Nature Medicine, Cancer Research, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and Clinical Cancer Research. Additionally, Dr. Mills is the holder of more than 20 patents related to novel technologies and molecular markers. He was a co founder of an early diagnostics company.

Dr. Mills has made significant contributions to the understanding of ovarian tumorigenesis, including the identification and development of lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) as a possible marker for early-stage ovarian cancer and as a potential target for therapy. He also has played a major role in increasing our understanding of the genetic aberrations in the phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase/PTEN/AKT pathway, forwarding this cascade as a major target for the therapy of multiple types of cancer.

Dr. Mills earned his M.D. and his Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Alberta.  www.mdanderson.org

Ferid Murad, M.D., Ph.D.
Venture Partner

Dr. Murad was formerly the Director of the Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine for the Prevention of Human Diseases, Director of the Research Center for Cell Signaling, the John S. Dunn, Sr. Distinguished Chair in Physiology and Medicine and Chairman of the Department of Integrative Biology and Pharmacology at The University of Texas at Houston - Medical School. Dr. Murad has been active in both academic medicine and industry throughout his distinguished career. His work has concentrated on the field of cell signaling or signal transduction systems. In 1998, Dr. Murad received the Nobel Prize in Medicine for his work with nitric oxide. Among his many other awards and honors, Dr. Murad received the prestigious Albert and Mary Lasker Basic Medical Research Award in 1996, the American Heart Association Ciba Award in 1988 and the Baxter Award for Distinguished Research in the Biomedical Sciences from the Association of American Medical Colleges in 2000. He is a member of the National Academy of Science, a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Science, and Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. 

Robert O'Holla
Senior Advisor

Mr. O’Holla was formerly the Worldwide Vice President of Regulatory Affairs at Johnson & Johnson. Mr. O’Holla is a health products executive that has over thirty years experience, including research and development, quality and compliance, regulatory affairs, policy development, and product sterilization. Mr. O’Holla has also written several publications regarding health products. He received his BA from Upsala College, his AA from Union College, and his MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson University.

Rod J. Rohrich, M.D. 
Venture Partner

Dr. Rohrich is Chairman of the Department of Plastic Surgery, he holds the Warren and Betty Woodward Chair in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, and he was the past President of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Dr. Rohrich earned his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and subsequently completed residencies in General Surgery and Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor. He also completed his residency in Hand and Microsurgery at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. Dr. Rohrich later completed a Pediatric Fellowship at Oxford University in England. He is a member of numerous professional societies including the American Association of Plastic Surgeons, on the Board of Directors of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery and the Board of Directors of the Plastic Surgery Educational Foundation. He has authored or co-authored more than 500 articles, abstracts, books, and chapters.  www.utsouthwestern.edu/index.html

Barton L. Sachs, M.D.
Venture Partner

Dr. Sachs received his undergraduate degree from Harvard University and graduated from State University of New York Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, New York. He also holds an MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He completed his fellowship in spinal surgery and is board certified in both orthopedic and spinal surgery. Dr. Sachs is the Associate Executive Medical Director for Medical University of South Carolina. Previously, he was President and CEO of the Texas Back Institute Research Foundation, where he was also a surgeon. Active in numerous professional organizations, Dr. Sachs is a fellow of the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery, the North American Spine Society, and Scoliosis Research Society, among others. In addition, he is a member of the Board of Directors and Chairman of Examinations for the American Board of Spine Surgery and has been published in numerous academic medical journals.  http://www.musc.edu/

Stephen G. Slade, M.D.
Venture Partner

Dr. Slade is a native Houstonian and is in private practice in Houston, Texas. He attended Tulane University and the University of Texas Medical School with a final, elective year spent at Guy’s Hospital, London, graduating summa cum laude, with highest honors. He completed a residency at the Louisiana State University Eye Center in New Orleans and fellowships in corneal surgery at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and in New York, New York on Project ORBIS. Dr. Slade is a Fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the American College of Surgeons. He is an active teacher of surgical techniques and has taught and certified over 8,000 surgeons LASIK and lamellar refractive surgery. In 1991, along with Stephen Brint, M.D., he performed the first LASIK in the United States. Later he performed the first Custom LASIK ablation based on topography in the United States, and has since completed tens of thousands of cases. Dr. Slade has remained on the cutting edge, having the nation’s first and longest experience with all laser LASIK, accommodating iols (crystalens) and implantable corneal contact lens. He has received numerous awards and has produced many articles, book chapters, holds four patents or patents pending in the field and has authored five textbooks on refractive surgery. He has been featured in numerous news segments aired on CBS, ABC and PBS and was the featured surgeon on the Emmy Award winning PBS documentary “20/10 by 2010?” narrated by Walter Cronkite.  www.visiontexas.com

Stephen J. Spann, M.D.
Venture Partner

Dr. Spann earned his Medical Degree from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston in only three years. He completed his internship at Baylor as well, his residency at Duke University in North Carolina and earned an MBA from The University of Texas at Dallas in 2004. Dr. Spann has been faculty at Bowman-Gray School of Medicine in North Carolina, Oklahoma University Health Center, and Chairman of the Department of Family Medicine at The University of Texas Medical Branch. He returned to Baylor College of Medicine in 1997 to serve as professor and Chair of the Department of Family and Community Medicine. The author of many published articles and texts, Dr. Spann’s current research includes chronic disease management, and shared decision-making in cancer screening the areas of prostate, breast, and colorectal cancer.  www.bcm.edu


Ben G. Streetman, Ph.D.
Venture Partner

Dr. Streetman, formerly Dean of the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin, held the Dula D. Cockrell Centennial Chair in Engineering. He was Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and was the founding Director of the Microelectronics Research Center at UT. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has been honored as a Distinguished Graduate of the UT Cockrell School and Distinguished Alumnus of UT Austin. He is a member of the Board of Directors for National Instruments, and a former Director of Global Marine and Zix Corp. He is the author of the book Solid State Electronic Devices, which has been used worldwide for more than 35 years.  www.utexas.edu | www.engr.utexas.edu

Marlene Wright Valenti
Senior Advisor

Marlene Wright Valenti is currently the President of Wright Regulatory Consulting, LLC in Fort Lauderdale , Florida where she assists medical device companies in developing and executing regulatory strategies.  She has extensive experience in regulatory affairs for Class II and Class III medical devices and has been responsible for worldwide regulatory approvals for Cardiovascular Class II & III combination productions.  Among some of her significant investigational device exemption (IDE) product approvals are the CYPHER^®, the first drug-eluting stent approval for Japan and CHECKMATE, the first brachytherapy system approval for the United States. Additional IDE approvals include products for neurovascular use in the United States , which led to premarket approval.   She received her B.S. from the State University of New York and Graduate Studies in Business from Empire State College in New York .

Dan Walsh
Senior Advisor

Mr. Walsh is a member of PA Consulting Group’s management team in the life sciences and healthcare practice division.  He leads life sciences technology assignments for a wide range of medical technology, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology clients.  He specializes in technology strategy and acquisition, medical device product development, medical device, diagnostic and pharmaceutical regulatory compliance, quality systems, and improving the effectiveness of commercial launch of new medical technologies.  He has access to the broad capabilities of PA Consulting Group’s global organization.  Mr. Walsh has more than 30 years of product development experience and 20 years in the life sciences industry, including product development, quality and clinical affairs roles for Air-Shields Vickers, Johnson & Johnson IOLAB Site Microsurgical Division, and Moberg Medical.  He has a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and an M.S. in Biomedical Engineering.