Wei-Kan Chu, Ph.D.
Scientific Advisor

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.
Scientific Advisor

Dr. Clay 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.
Scientific Advisor

Dr. William 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/

Dimitris C Lagoudas, Ph.D., PE
Scientific Advisor

Dr. Dimitris 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.
Scientific Advisor

Dr. Steven 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. Dr. McKnight directs an active research laboratory and has guided the Department of Biochemistry to substantial growth in the disciplines of chemistry, biochemistry and biophysics. Dr McKnight is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

  www.swmed.edu | biochemistry.swmed.edu

Gordon B. Mills, M.D., Ph.D.
Scientific Advisor

Dr. Gordon 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.   www.mdanderson.org

Rod J Rohrich, M.D. 
Scientific Advisor

Rod Rohrich, M.D., FACS is an internationally known surgeon and innovative leader and educator in Plastic Surgery. He is Professor and Chairman of the Department of Plastic Surgery at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, Holder of the Crystal Charity Ball Distinguished Chair in Plastic Surgery, Holder of the Betty and Warren Woodward Chair in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and recipient of the Rod J. Rohrich, M.D. Distinguished Professorship in Wound Healing and Plastic Surgery. Dr. Rohrich is Board Certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and has a clinical practice at Zale Lipshy University Hospital/UT Southwestern Medical Center and the Tom Landry Sports Center/Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, Texas.  Dr. Rohrich is a member of the American Association of Plastic Surgeons, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), the Plastic Surgery Research Council, the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), and the American Society of Maxillofacial Surgeons. He is a Past Director of the American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS), Past President of the Dallas Society of Plastic Surgeons and Past-President of the Texas Society of Plastic Surgeons. Dr. Rohrich is a Founding member of the Board of Governors of the National Endowment for Plastic Surgery. Dr. Rohrich has also served as President of the ASPS, the largest organization of Board certified plastic surgeons in the world and is past-member of the Board of Directors of the ASPS, the Plastic Surgery Educational Foundation (PSEF), the ASAPS and the Aesthetic Society Education and Research Foundation (ASERF).

Dr. Rohrich’s interests span the entire spectrum of plastic surgery from craniomaxillofacial surgery to aesthetic surgery (rhinoplasty, breast surgery, and body contouring). He has published more than 400 peer review articles and 30 chapters in plastic surgery, ranging from cosmetic surgery to craniofacial surgery. He has published five textbooks in plastic surgery ranging from rhinoplasty, craniomaxillofacial trauma, secondary rhinoplasty and ultrasound-assisted liposuction. He has been included as one of the Best Doctors in Dallas since 2000, Super Doctors in Texas since 2005, Best Doctors in America since 1996, Who's Who in America since 1993, Best Doctors in America by Good Housekeeping Magazine and named a Notable North Dakotan in 1998.  www.utsouthwestern.edu/index.html

Barton L Sachs, MD
Scientific Advisor

Dr. Barton 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.
Scientific Advisor

Dr. Stephen Slade, a specialist in Presbyopia correction, cataract surgery, LASIK, Implantable Contact Lenses, and refractive surgery, is a Houston native whose private practice is 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 LSU 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, lectured to, and certified over 8,000 surgeons on 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. He has since done tens of thousands of cases. 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.
Scientific Advisor

Dr. Stephen Spann is responsible for developing a strong referral base in Houston and the surrounding counties for the Faculty Group Practice. In addition to these responsibilities, Dr. Spann is a professor and chair of Family Medicine. He received his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine and completed his residency in family medicine at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, NC. He completed postdoctoral work in clinical epidemiology and health services research at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and is certified by the American Board of Family Medicine. His primary interests are preventive medicine, diabetes, and medical diagnostic dilemmas. www.bcm.edu


Ben G Streetman, Ph.D.
Scientific Advisor

Dr. Ben Streetman earned his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from The University of Texas at Austin in 1966. He joined the faculty of the university in 1982. He was the founding director of the Microelectronics Research Center. Dr. Streetman is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences as well as the National Academy of Engineering, the nation's highest honor for engineering professionals. He is a fellow of both the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the Electrochemical Society. He was awarded the Education Medal of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the world's largest professional engineering society with more than 300,000 members worldwide. Dr Streetman became dean of the College of Engineering in 1996. His teaching and research interests involve semiconductor materials and devices. He is the author of the book Solid State Electronic Devices, which has been translated into Japanese, Korean, Chinese and Polish. He has published more than 290 articles in the technical literature. Thirty-four students of electrical engineering, materials science and physics have earned their Ph.D.’s under his direction.  www.utexas.edu | www.engr.utexas.edu

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