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Lance Alstodt has been appointed the Company’s President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board as of Nov 16, 2020. Mr. Alstodt brings over 25 years of experience in leading medical technology and lifesciences companies in operations, capital raising activities, strategy, and mergers and acquisitions.
Most recently, Mr. Alstodt was the Founder and CEO of MedVest Consulting Corporation (“MedVest”), an advisory and capital firm focused exclusively within the healthcare sector, focusing on growth and channel strategy, strategic planning, merger and acquisition support and investor activities.
Prior to MedVest, Mr. Alstodt was a career investment banker with over 25 years of experience in healthcare investment banking, including mergers and acquisitions. In 2011, Mr. Alstodt joined Leerink Partners as Managing Director to help lead its medical technology sector. Mr. Alstodt brings significant domain experience within the orthopedic and spine specific sectors. From 2008-2011, Mr. Alstodt was a Managing Director and Head of Medical Technology at Oppenheimer & Co. From 2000-2008, he was a Managing Director in the Healthcare Group and Global M&A Group at Bank of America Merrill Lynch (“BAML”). Prior to BAML, Mr. Alstodt spent seven years in the Global M&A Group at J.P. Morgan Chase, where he worked extensively on acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, private and public financings, exclusive sales and general advisory assignments.
Mr. Alstodt received a B.A. in Economics from the State University of New York at Albany, with a secondary concentration in Finance and Marketing.
Robert Kristal has been appointed Chief Financial Officer as of November 2021. Mr. Kristal brings an extensive array of strategic and financial markets experience to the Company, including a background in advising global public life sciences companies in corporate finance, operations management systems, and strategic collaborations.
Mr. Kristal is an experienced and versatile Wall Street and Bay St. professional of over 25 years. He has built teams in both institutional sales and equity research at firms which have developed a notable presence in healthcare research and capital market activities. Most recently he served as the Head of Research for H.C. Wainwright, growing their research product and presence in the biotech/biopharma space.
Mr. Kristal has been involved in numerous transactions in investment and merchant banking and has extensive experience in providing strategic advice and dealing with investors and corporate management
Chief Financial Officer
Francisco Silva joined BRT in April 2011 and is Vice President of Research and Development. Mr. Silva is responsible for all laboratory operations and is involved in the development and growth of our stem cell programs.
Mr. Silva previously served as Chief Executive Officer of two companies engaged in the commercialization of human-based biologics for both research and therapeutic applications.
From 2003 to 2007, Mr. Silva was Vice President of Research and Development for PrimeGen Biotech LLC, a company engaged in the development of cell-based platforms. He was responsible for the development of experimental designs that focused on germ line reprogramming stem cell platforms.
Mr. Silva has taught courses in biology, anatomy and advanced tissue culture at California State Polytechnic University. He has obtained a number of patents relating to stem cells and has had numerous articles published with regard to stem cell research.
Mr. Silva graduated from California State Polytechnic University with a degree in Biology. He also obtained a Graduate Presidential Fellowship and MBRS Fellowship from California State Polytechnic University.
Chief Scientist & VP, R&D
Robert has over 25 years of biotech operations and combined experience in Quality Assurance, Regulatory, and Manufacturing.
Robert is responsible for Quality Control and Regulatory and has held positions at Regeneron, Millennium, and Merck Pharmaceutical companies.
Vice President of Quality Assurance/Regulatory Compliance.
Lance Alstodt has been appointed the Company’s President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board as of Nov 16, 2020. Mr. Alstodt brings over 25 years of experience in leading medical technology and lifesciences companies in operations, capital raising activities, strategy, and mergers and acquisitions.
Most recently, Mr. Alstodt was the Founder and CEO of MedVest Consulting Corporation (“MedVest”), an advisory and capital firm focused exclusively within the healthcare sector, focusing on growth and channel strategy, strategic planning, merger and acquisition support and investor activities.
Prior to MedVest, Mr. Alstodt was a career investment banker with over 25 years of experience in healthcare investment banking, including mergers and acquisitions. In 2011, Mr. Alstodt joined Leerink Partners as Managing Director to help lead its medical technology sector. Mr. Alstodt brings significant domain experience within the orthopedic and spine specific sectors. From 2008-2011, Mr. Alstodt was a Managing Director and Head of Medical Technology at Oppenheimer & Co. From 2000-2008, he was a Managing Director in the Healthcare Group and Global M&A Group at Bank of America Merrill Lynch (“BAML”). Prior to BAML, Mr. Alstodt spent seven years in the Global M&A Group at J.P. Morgan Chase, where he worked extensively on acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, private and public financings, exclusive sales and general advisory assignments.
Mr. Alstodt received a B.A. in Economics from the State University of New York at Albany, with a secondary concentration in Finance and Marketing.
Francisco Silva joined BRT in April 2011 and is Vice President of Research and Development. Mr. Silva is responsible for all laboratory operations and is involved in the development and growth of our stem cell programs.
Mr. Silva previously served as Chief Executive Officer of two companies engaged in the commercialization of human-based biologics for both research and therapeutic applications.
From 2003 to 2007, Mr. Silva was Vice President of Research and Development for PrimeGen Biotech LLC, a company engaged in the development of cell-based platforms. He was responsible for the development of experimental designs that focused on germ line reprogramming stem cell platforms.
Mr. Silva has taught courses in biology, anatomy and advanced tissue culture at California State Polytechnic University. He has obtained a number of patents relating to stem cells and has had numerous articles published with regard to stem cell research.
Mr. Silva graduated from California State Polytechnic University with a degree in Biology. He also obtained a Graduate Presidential Fellowship and MBRS Fellowship from California State Polytechnic University.
Chief Scientist & VP, R&D
Nickolay Kukekov, Ph.D.
President and CEO at KalGene Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Dr. Kukekov received his Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Columbia University, College of Physicians & Surgeons in New York City. The focus of his research was the molecular mechanisms underlying programmed cell death of neuronal cells exposed to various pro-apoptotic conditions i.e. hypoxia, cytotoxic drugs, amyloid-beta, etc. After his thesis defense and post-doctoral position at Columbia, he spent 15 years on Wall Street, where he held a number of healthcare investment banking positions. For over a decade, he was a founding partner at Highline Research Advisors, served as a Managing Director at Summer Street Research Partners and at Paramount BioCapital, and was a Vice President at Rodman and Renshaw.
Dr. Kukekov received his undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder in molecular, cellular and developmental biology and is a recipient of multiple research scholarship awards and publications in peer reviewed articles in leading scientific journals.
Dave Rosa
President and CEO at NeuroOne Medical Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ: NMTC)
Mr. Rosa serves on the board of directors of NeuroOne and is an entrepreneur with three decades of experience in the medical device industry spanning a variety of technologies and products. In addition to CEO roles with early stage medical device companies, Mr. Rosa’s background also includes senior roles with C.R. Bard Inc., Boston Scientific Inc., and St. Jude Medical, where his responsibilities included marketing, product development and business development. He has been named as an inventor on multiple medical device patents, serves on seven corporate boards, and has raised $200M in the capital markets. Mr. Rosa holds an MBA from Duquesne University, and a BS in Commerce and Engineering from Drexel University.
President and CEO at NeuroOne Medical Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ: NMTC)
Patrick F. Williams has more than 20 years of experience across medical device, consumer product goods and technology sectors. Appointed as Chief Financial Officer of STAAR Surgical Company in July 2020, Mr. Williams is responsible for optimizing the financial performance of STAAR and ensuring the scalability of various functions to support high growth expansion. From 2016 to 2019, he served as the Chief Financial Officer of Sientra, Inc. before transitioning to General Manager for its miraDry® business unit. From 2012 to 2016, Mr. Williams served as Chief Financial Officer of ZELTIQ Aesthetics, Inc., a publicly-traded medical device company that was acquired by Allergan. Previously, he served as Vice President in finance, strategy and investor relations roles from 2007 to 2012 at NuVasive, Inc., a San-Diego based medical device company servicing the spine sector. He has also held finance roles with Callaway Golf and Kyocera Wireless. Mr. Williams received an MBA in Finance and Management from San Diego State University and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of California, San Diego.
Chief Financial Officer at STAAR Surgical
Wayne Marasco, MD, PhD
Chairman, Scientific Advisory Board
Wayne Marasco, MD, PhD
Chairman, Scientific Advisory Board
Wayne Marasco, M.D., Ph.D. is Chairman of our Scientific Advisory Board. He is a principal faculty member of Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Professor in the Department of Cancer Immunology & AIDS at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Marasco is a licensed physician-scientist with training in internal medicine and specialty training in infectious diseases. His clinical practice sub-specialty is in the treatment of immuno-compromised (cancer, bone marrow and solid organ transplant) patients.
In 1995, Dr. Marasco founded IntraImmune Therapies, Inc., a gene therapy and antibody engineering company, and served as the Chairman of its Scientific Advisory Board until the company was acquired by Abgenix in 2000. Dr. Marasco has also served as a scientific advisor to several biotechnology companies working in the field of antibody engineering, gene discovery, gene therapy and stem cell therapy.
Dr. Marasco’s research laboratory (www.marascolab.org) is focused on translational medicine in two broad areas. First is in the area of therapeutic human monoclonal antibody development. His laboratory is pioneering the use of antibody immunotherapy to prevent and treat emerging infectious diseases such as influenza, SARS, West Nile Virus, HIV and other human diseases including cancer. The second area is in the development of humanized mice to study adult stem cell development, differentiation and their applications for regenerative medicine.
Dr. Marasco received his Ph.D. in 1980 from the University of Connecticut School of Medicine and postdoctoral training at the University of Michigan Medical School, where he also earned an M.D. in 1986 and completed training in internal medicine. He received his subspecialty training in infectious diseases at Harvard Medical School, and joined the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in 1989. Dr. Marasco has authored over 110 peer-reviewed scientific publications, over 25 reviews, chapters, monographs and editorials and is listed as the inventor on 36 patents. He has been a keynote speaker at many national and international meetings in these research areas.
Jason Lipetz, MD
Chairman, Disc Advisory Board
Jason Lipetz, MD
Chairman, Disc Advisory Board
Dr. Lipetz is the founder of Long Island Spine Rehabilitation Medicine, a prominent spine and musculoskeletal care center specializing in the non-surgical treatment of the spine and orthopedic rehabilitation.
In 2014, Dr. Lipetz was appointed Chief of Spine Medicine for the Northwell Health Spine Center and previously served as the Director of the Center for Spine Rehabilitation for the North Shore Long Island Jewish healthcare system from 1999-2006. In his current capacity, Dr. Lipetz is responsible for the development of non-surgical spine care services for the Northwell Health System.
Dr. Lipetz has served as a representative to national medical organizations since his residency years, including Chair of the Education Committee of the Physiatric Association of Spine, Sports, and Occupational Rehabilitation (PASSOR). Dr. Lipetz has most recently served as a member of the research committee of the International Spine Intervention Society. He served as the Residency Training Program Director for the Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Long Island Jewish Medical Center from 2003 to 2005, and is an Assistant Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine at Hofstra University School of Medicine. Dr. Lipetz is uniquely triple board certified in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Pain Management, and Electrodiagnostic Medicine.
Dr. Lipetz received his specialized and interventional spine medicine training during a fellowship year at the Penn Spine Center of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. After receiving his medical degree with Alpha Omega Alpha honors from Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons, Dr. Lipetz completed his residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. He was elected and served as Academic Chief Resident during his senior year of residency. Dr. Lipetz received his bachelor’s degree in biology with summa cum laude honors through the Presidential Honors Program of the State University of New York at Buffalo.
Wayne Olan, MD
Clinical Director of Regenerative Disc/Spine Program
Wayne Olan, MD
Clinical Director of Regenerative Disc/Spine Program
Dr. Olan, a board-certified Interventional Neuroradiologist, is the director of Endovascular and Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery in Washington, D.C. at the George Washington University Medical Center, and is also an associate professor at The George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences. Dr. Olan also serves as a consulting physician to the National Institutes of Health, The White House and the Congressional Medical Staff.
Dr. Olan was the director of interventional neuroradiology at Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland from 1999 to 2010. He is a member of many professional societies including the Radiological Society of North America, American College of Radiology, American Medical Association, Medical Society of District of Columbia, American Society of Neuroradiology, and American Society of Spine Radiology.
Dr. Olan has over 150 published papers, posters, abstracts and lectures on endovascular treatment of cerebrovascular disorders, including the treatment of cerebral aneurysms, arteriovenous malformations, and the treatment of stroke. A great deal of his research has covered the interventional treatment of spinal disorders, including compression fractures, degenerative spinal stenosis and percutaneous disc interventions.
Christopher Plastaras, MD
Disc Advisory Member
Christopher Plastaras, MD
Disc Advisory Member
Dr. Plastaras is MossRehab’s Clinical Director, Musculoskeletal Spine & Sports Rehabilitation Medicine. Dr. Plastaras received his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania and completed his internship at Albert Einstein Medical Center and his residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine / Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago where he also served as Chief Resident.
Dr. Plastaras practiced for 9 years at Northwestern University/Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago’s Spine & Sports Rehabilitation Center and returned back home to Philadelphia and worked in the Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at the University of Pennsylvania as Assistant Professor. Dr. Plastaras was the Director of the Penn Spine Center and directed the Spine, Sports, & Musculoskeletal Medicine Fellowship while at Penn.
Dr. Plastaras is board certified in Sports Medicine, Electrodiagnostic Medicine, and Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and specializes in Spine and Musculoskeletal Medicine. His clinical interests are the non-surgical management of musculoskeletal conditions including spine related pain, shoulder/hip/knee/foot/ankle pain, and running injuries.
Dr. Plastaras practice includes fluoroscopically guided interventional procedures treating peripheral joints, “facet” joints, epidurals, and radiofrequency ablation.
Dr. Plastaras has lectured on multiple occasions regionally and nationally on spine related topics. His research focus is on the safety and efficacy of spinal procedures and has authored 40 original research publications and 39 reviews, chapters, and opinion publications.
Harvinder Sandhu, MD
Disc Advisory Member
Harvinder Sandhu, MD
Disc Advisory Member
Dr. Harvinder Sandhu is an orthopedic spine surgeon at the Hospital for Special Surgery, specializing in minimally invasive spine surgery, endoscopic spine surgery, microsurgery, computer-assisted surgery, and the study and use of spinal biologics. Dr. Sandhu completed his training in spinal surgery at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, California and was subsequently Chief of the Spinal Surgery Service at UCLA until 1997.
Dr. Sandhu has more than 75 peer reviewed scientific publications in areas such as biologic enhancement of spinal surgery and novel minimally invasive management of spinal disorders. Dr. Sandhu is actively engaged in the research, development, and invention of a variety of medical devices and instruments used in spinal surgery and holds several patents involving the diagnosis and treatment of spinal disorders.
Joy Cavagnaro, PhD
Member
Joy Cavagnaro, PhD
Member
Dr. Joy Cavagnaro joined BioRestorative Therapies’ Scientific Advisory Board in January 2015. She is currently the President and Founder of Access BIO, L.C., located in Boyce, Virginia, a company providing consultant services specializing in science-based regulatory strategies and development services to facilitate translation of biomedical research, emerging technologies and product development. Her career spans academia, the clinical research organization and biotechnology industries and government. Dr. Cavagnaro is well published, serves on Scientific Advisory Boards and consults and lectures internationally.
From 1989 through 1997, Dr. Cavagnaro held positions with the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), most recently as a Senior Pharmacologist and Director of Quality Assurance in Bethesda, Maryland. Within the FDA, she was responsible for inter-center and international policy guidance for the preclinical development and safety assessment of biological products. She was the spokesperson for CBER at local, national and international meetings related to pharmacology and toxicology aspects of biologic product review.
She served as an FDA safety topic lead for the International Conference on Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH) initiative and as rapporteur for the ICH S6 guidance on preclinical safety evaluation of biotechnology-derived pharmaceuticals. Dr. Cavagnaro was also appointed to the prestigious U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Senior Biomedical Research Service, used by the FDA to recruit and retain the most outstanding research and review scientists.
Immediately prior to founding Access BIO, Dr. Cavagnaro was the Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and Integrated Compliance with Human Genome Sciences, Inc., in Rockville, Maryland, where she established the Regulatory Affairs Department, which included regulatory affairs and clinical data management data programming functions, and assisted in identifying and developing new pre-clinical opportunities.
Dr. Cavagnaro obtained her Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and her B.S. in biology from the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida.