Our Team

Rachel Wellner, MD, MPH, FACS

DIRECTOR, FOUNDER, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER

Dr. Wellner is an accomplished breast surgeon with 20 years experience in oncology. She has served as a chief of multiple surgical centers. Dr. Wellner graduated Dartmouth College, cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa in 1997.

She received her MD from the University of Connecticut School of Medicine and an MPH from Columbia University. Post-graduate residency training was at The Mount Sinai Hospital followed by an SSO-accredited breast fellowship at The John Wayne Cancer Institute. She went on to hold various professorships at The Mount Sinai Hospital, Beth Israel, Continuum Cancer Center, The Hackensack University Medical Center where she was Chief of Oncoplastic Surgery. Dr. Wellner was also Chief of Breast at Pascac Valley Hospital and Palisades General Hospital. Dr. Wellner was Assistant Clinical Professor of Surgery at The Montefiore Medical Center. She has numerous publications, talks, TV appearances and features, along with myriad awards.

Damon Silvestry

CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER

Damon has three decades of strategic leadership and operational expertise across the life sciences, biotech, healthcare, and technology industries. He has a background in executive leadership roles at Progenity, Natera, Miraca Life Sciences, and Caris Life Sciences. Damon has delivered significant sales growth, forged strategic partnerships, optimized operations, and fostered a patient-centric culture. He holds a Master of Science in Manufacturing Engineering from Polytechnic/NYU University and a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from Southern Illinois University.

Scott Kratzer, MBA

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

Scott Kratzer has a 20+ year track record in both management consulting and corporate finance, advising clients on corporate strategy, competitive analysis, go-to-market strategies, valuation, and mergers & acquisitions.

Mr. Kratzer’s past client relationships include major corporations such as Microsoft, GE Ventures, G Ventures (Google’s VC arm), Johnson & Johnson, Amgen, Genentech, Pfizer, Novartis, Danaher Life Sciences, Thermo Fisher, Cargill Ventures, and numerous private equity firms.

 Scott was previously the Vice President of Advisory Services for ipIQ (an advisory firm focused on patent and intellectual property strategies).

Mr. Kratzer holds an MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management and an A.B. from the University of Chicago.  Scott serves on the Industry & Corporate Engagement Committee for the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago. Mr. Kratzer additionally leads the Advisory Board for the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach, CA.

 Scott is the author of the upcoming book, The Ampersand Mindset.

Anna Jovanovic, MD

CHIEF PATHOLOGY OFFICER

Dr. Jovanovic is a pathologist with over 30 years of experience in the medical field. She has been an assistant professor of Anatomic Pathology at the Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University. Dr. Jovanovic received her medical training at the Medical Academy of Warsaw followed by residency in pathology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and the Karolinska Institute in Sweden. She next pursued a fellowship in gynecological and perinatal pathology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. She is a staff pathologist at Trinity Health of New England/ Saint Francis Hospital. She also has multiple publications.

Tom Skripps

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Tom has 30 years of combined start-up, product development, go-to-market, and manufacturing experience across multiple industries. He has brought hundreds of products to market with over 45 patents and $1B in Sales, and has developed leading products for major medical device companies including Hill-Rom, Steris, Stryker, GE Medical, SmithNephew, Arthrex, J&J, Trumpf, Medtronic, Nuvasive, Getinge, Thermogenesis, Sirtex, and many others. Tom is a co-founder of Kyra Medical and has been an advisor to CEOs/founders. He has raised capital from angels, family offices, private equity, venture capital, and mezzanine along with traditional lending sources.

Jeffrey Cane, MD

CHIEF SURGICAL OFFICER

Dr. Cane is a board-certified thoracic surgeon with over 30 years experience. He completed a residency in general surgery at the New York Presbyterian Medical Center of Queens, and a residency in thoracic surgery at SUNY Health Science Center, Brooklyn NY. Dr. Cane was the director of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the Kings County hospital in Brooklyn NY ,and at the Richmond University Medical Center in Staten Island NY. Dr. Cane attended medical school at the Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara in Mexico with additional training at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, in New York City. He received the 2015 Celebration of Hope award from the American Cancer Society for starting a lung cancer screening program in Staten Island, NY.

Lu Wang, PhD

VICE PRESIDENT OF ENGINEERING

Mr. Wang is an accomplished serial entrepreneur with 20 years of experience in algorithm design, electrochemistry and research in the medical device field. He is a scientist and engineer in medical devices, digital health and biotech industries. He has a broad array of clinical knowledge. He has successfully launched several startups startups including AInnocence, SunnyBay Biotech, and Flow Pharma. He completed his undergrad at Jillin University in China and earned both a Masters in Computer Science and a PhD in physiology and neurobiology from Rutgers University. He has also co-authored more than 30 patents and 3 peer-reviewed papers in recent years. He is also an expert in medical device product development, business development and regulatory requirements.

Alex Walsh, PhD

PRINCIPAL SCIENTIST

Dr. Walsh’s areas of research include Biophotonics, optical microscopy, image analysis, laser-tissue interactions, engineering education, cellular metabolism, personalized therapy for cancer patients, tumor therapy response, immune cells and immunotherapies, functional, multi-scale imaging techniques, fluorescence lifetime imaging, models of physiological processes, and laser tissue interactions. She is an Assistant Professor in Biomedical Engineering at Texas A&M University and received her PhD in biomedical engineering from Vanderbilt University. Dr. Walsh has over 50 publications, raised over $3M in grant money, and has been granted myriad honors.

Board of Directors

Rachel Wellner, MD, MPH, FACS

DIRECTOR, FOUNDER, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, & CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER

Dr. Wellner is an accomplished breast surgeon with 20 years experience in oncology. She has served as a chief of multiple surgical centers. Dr. Wellner graduated Dartmouth College, cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa in 1997.

She received her MD from the University of Connecticut School of Medicine and an MPH from Columbia University. Post-graduate residency training was at The Mount Sinai Hospital followed by an SSO-accredited breast fellowship at The John Wayne Cancer Institute. She went on to hold various professorships at The Mount Sinai Hospital, Beth Israel, Continuum Cancer Center, The Hackensack University Medical Center where she was Chief of Oncoplastic Surgery. Dr. Wellner was also Chief of Breast at Pascac Valley Hospital and Palisades General Hospital. Dr. Wellner was Assistant Clinical Professor of Surgery at The Montefiore Medical Center. She has numerous publications, talks, TV appearances and features, along with myriad awards.

Tony Bazarko, MBA

DIRECTOR

Tony has served as President & Chief Executive Officer of Biologos since October of 2022. Prior to joining Biologos he held the position of Chief Commercial Officer at Specific Dx where he helped lead the company through an acquisition by Biomerieux. Prior to Specific Dx, Tony held the positions of Sr. Vice President for Danaher’s subsidiary Leica Biosystems, and Sr. Director of Strategic Affairs for Roche Diagnostics North America. He also served in various leadership positions at Life Technologies and Fisher Scientific International. Tony holds a B.S. in Biology from Indiana University and his M.B.A. from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management.

Jeremy Stackawitz, MBA

DIRECTOR

Jeremy has over 25 years of healthcare industry experience and 15 years of diagnostics experience, and is currently the CEO of Senzo, a Point-Of-Care IVD company. Before joining Senzo, Jeremy held roles of Chief Commercial Officer, President, and CEO at Quotient, a transfusion medicine diagnostics company, where he helped to lead them from start-up through IPO.  Prior to Quotient, Jeremy was Worldwide Commercial Director at Ortho Clinical Diagnostics, and was a Director at Therakos and Ortho Biotech, all Johnson & Johnson companies. He also held consulting positions at Monitor and McKinsey & Company, and received a B.A. in Chemistry from Dartmouth College and a M.B.A. from Wharton, University of Pennsylvania.

Advisors

FINANCIAL ADVISORY BOARD

SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY BOARD

ADVOCACY ADVISORY BOARD