2023 Neurotech Leaders Forum

Embassy Suites, San Francisco Airport Waterfront and Zoom

November 6-7, 2023

Keynote Speakers

Jim Schuermann, President & CEO, Saluda Medical

Jim Schuermann has more than 25 years of healthcare and medical device leadership experience. Prior to serving as president of Saluda, Mr. Schuermann held the role of Chief Business Officer at Avedro, which executed its initial public offering and then was acquired by Glaukos in 2019. Prior to his time at Avedro, he was Vice President and General Manager of Medtronic’s Mechanical Circulatory Support, a newly formed business unit in the Cardiac & Vascular Group. Before Medtronic he was Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at HeartWare and held several roles at Boston Scientific. Mr. Schuermann started his medical device career at Sherwood-Davis & Geck, a division of American Home Products. He holds an MBA degree from Golden Gate University and a B.S. from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University.

Daniel Kraft, M.D., Ph.D., Partner, Continuum Health Ventures

Daniel Kraft is a Stanford and Harvard-trained physician-scientist, inventor, entrepreneur, and innovator and is serving as the Chair of the XPRIZE Pandemic & Health Alliance. With more than 25 years of experience in clinical practice, biomedical research, and healthcare innovation, Kraft has served as faculty chair for Medicine at Singularity University since its inception in 2008, and in 2011 founded Exponential Medicine, a program (now evolved to NextMed Health) that explores convergent, rapidly developing technologies and their potential in biomedicine and healthcare. Following undergraduate degrees from Brown University and medical school at Stanford, Daniel was Board Certified in both Internal Medicine & Pediatrics after completing a Harvard residency at the Massachusetts General Hospital & Boston Children's Hospital, and fellowships in hematology, oncology, and bone marrow transplantation at Stanford. Daniel is a member of the inaugural class of the Aspen Institute Health Innovators Fellowship and is member of the Kaufman Fellows Society. He is a partner with Continuum Health Ventures which is focused on funding early stage digital health companies enabling the democratization of health and improved healthspan. He is often called upon to speak to the future of health, medicine and technology and has given four TED and two TEDMED Talks and has delivered keynotes to a diverse array of organizations. He has multiple scientific publications (including in Nature and Science) and medical device, immunology, and stem cell-related patents through NIH-funded faculty positions with Stanford University School of Medicine and as clinical faculty for the pediatric bone marrow transplantation service at the University of California San Francisco. Daniel's academic research has focused on: stem cell biology and regenerative medicine, stem cell-derived immunotherapies for cancer, bioengineering human T-cell differentiation, and humanized animal models. His research has been published in journals that include Nature and Science. His clinical work has focused on: bone marrow / hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for malignant and non-malignant diseases in adults and children, medical devices to enable stem cell based regenerative medicine, including marrow derived stem cell harvesting, processing and delivery. Daniel is an avid pilot and has served in the Massachusetts and California Air National Guard as an officer and flight surgeonwith F-15 & F-16 fighter Squadrons. He has conducted research on aerospace medicine that was published with NASA, with whom he was a finalist for astronaut selection.

Conference Moderators

James Cavuoto, Editor and Publisher, Neurotech Reports

James Cavuoto is editor and publisher of Neurotech Business Report and the founder of Neurotech Reports. He is the lead author of "The Market for Neurotechnology," and "The Market for Bioelectronic Medicine," two market research reports published by Neurotech Reports. Cavuoto was the founder of Micro Publishing Press, Inc., a publishing company that helped pioneer the market for electronic publishing, digital imaging, and computer graphics. He holds a degree in biomedical engineering from Case Western Reserve University, where he studied under pioneers in the field of functional electrical stimulation. He has also studied human factors engineering at University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Cavuoto spent three years as a member of the technical staff at Hughes Aircraft Company in Los Angeles, where he worked on simulation, training, and publication products produced for the U.S. Department of Defense. Cavuoto was an adjunct professor at Rochester Institute of Technology and the author of eight books on computer graphics, electronic publishing, and digital imaging. He is a member of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. He has authored a chapter in the textbook Neuromodulation (Elsevier, 2009), as well as articles in Neuromodulation, Journal of Neural Engineering, Medical Device Daily, IEEE Spectrum, MX magazine, and the International Journal of Medical Marketing. He is coauthor, with Jennifer French, of Bionic Pioneers: Brave Neurotech Users Blaze the Trail to New Therapies (Neurotech Press, 2014).

Jeremy Koff, Senior Consulting Editor, Neurotech Reports

Mr. Koff is senior consulting editor for Neurotech Reports and president of Colibri Partners Inc., a strategic and marketing consulting firm with a primary focus in the medical device sector. The company offers services related to market and risk analysis, clinical and technology assessments, business plan development, business/financial modeling, and market research. Mr. Koff has nearly 20 years of global experience in the medical device industry with companies including Advanced Bionics Corp., Boston Scientific, MiniMed Inc., Bioness Inc, and many others. His business plans have attracted tens of millions in start-up capital. Mr. Koff holds a Bachelor's degree in biology from Middlebury College, a Masters of Public Affairs from Indiana University, and an MBA from UCLA. He is an active classically-trained musician, supporter of the arts, and is a board member of the Fender Music Foundation.

Jo Jo Platt, Senior Contributing Editor, Neurotech Reports

Jo Jo Platt brings more than 10 years experience as a neurotechnology consulant to Neurotech Reports. As the founder and president of Platt & Associates, she has helped leadership identify new opportunities, transform organizations, and build teams from the ground up. Most recently, she was a strategic development consultant for the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, where she helped identify and establish strategic partnerships in the emerging field of bioelectronic medicine and was instrumental in the launch of the Center for Bioelectronic Medicine. Previously, Jo Jo communications director for eDigital, where she managed all internal and external communications and built braand recognition through tradeshows and consumer events. Platt holds a bachelor's degree in communication and media studies from National University. She is currently the finance chair for the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Neural Engineering 2019 meeting.

Sharena Rice, Ph.D., Contributing Editor, Neurotech Reports

Sharena Rice is a research scientist at a medical technology startup in neurotech that is operating in stealth mode. She earned her Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of Michigan, where she was part of the team that discovered and characterized a new brain wave called “splines.” For three years, Sharena facilitated ethics discussions for incoming biomedical science trainees at the University of Michigan. For two years, Sharena served as co-founder and chief scientific officer of Intvo when the company was using computer vision to predict pedestrian behavior as a road safety solution. Sharena has a longtime fascination with the nervous system and the mind. She wrote a 45-page documentary on human behavior out of curiosity during eighth grade. She serves as scientific advisor for Valence Vibrations, Nerd (Advising Consultant) of Nobody Studios, and is on the advisory board of South by Southwest.

Panelists and Presenters

Suraj Mudichintala, Senior Associate, Action Potential Venture Capital

Suraj Mudichintala is a senior associate at Action Potential Venture Capital. He represents the firm on the boards of Axon Therapies and Alpheus Medical as an observer. He was previously an investor at Arboretum Ventures, where he served as a Board observer for Allay Therapeutics, Avation Medical, Francis Medical, Health Scholars, Koya Medical, and RareCyte. Prior to investing, Suraj was an associate with L.E.K. Consulting, a global strategy consulting firm. While at L.E.K., Suraj completed more than 20 engagements predominantly for life sciences and private equity clients.

Sara Shnider, Ph.D., U.S. Academic Innovation Lead, Joy Ventures

Sara is the U.S. Academic Innovation Lead at Joy Ventures, a venture builder and fund that supports research, as well as builds and funds companies on their journey to bring life-changing neuroscience solutions to market. She is responsible for sourcing innovative technologies from academia and building partnerships to accelerate their development toward commercialization. She brings over a decade of experience leading strategic and operational aspects of industry-academia partnerships in pharma, academia and the nonprofit sector. Prior to Joy Ventures, Sara directed a portfolio of global academic collaborations at Teva Pharmaceuticals, designed to source external innovation to enhance the company’s drug development efforts from discovery to Phase I clinical trials. Previously, she led scientific strategy and programs at a non-profit organization focused on neurodegenerative diseases and managed industry-academia contracts in the technology transfer office at University of California, San Francisco. She holds a Ph.D. in developmental neurobiology from Harvard University and an M.Sc in bioinformatics from the Weizmann Institute.

Todd Langevin, President, Biotronik Neuro

Mr. Langevin is currently President of Biotronik Neuro. Biotronik is a privately held medical device company headquartered in Berlin, Germany. Previously, he was CEO of Functional Neuromodulation, a start-up developing deep brain stimulation for Alzheimer’s disease. Todd spent 20 years at Medtronic with increasing leadership roles across a variety of therapeutic areas, product lines and geographies ranging from product and new therapy development, sales and marketing, and general management. He is a graduate of the University of Minnesota and received his MBA from the University of St Thomas.

Alexander Yeh, Ph.D., Founder and CTO, Neuspera Medical

Alexander Yeh is Founder, CTO, and Vice Presidentof Neuspera Medical Inc. Alex founded Neuspera to translate the work he advanced during his Ph.D. candidacy at Stanford University on wireless powering of implantable devices. At Neuspera, this fundamental technology has been adapted to clinical use under his leadership.  His areas of specialty include implantable medical device development, wireless power transfer, neurophysiology, RFIC design, wireless communications, and semiconductor packaging.  Alex has an M.S. and Ph.D. from Stanford University in electrical engineering, and has a B.S. in electrical engineering and B.A. in economics from University of California – Los Angeles. He is named in over 150 patents, patent applications, and academic papers related to implantable medical devices. He also serves on the board of Greenliant Systems, Ltd, a leading global supplier of solid-state storage solutions for industrial, automotive, and medical applications.

Victor Pikov, Ph.D., Co-Founder and CEO, Medipace, Inc.

Victor Pikov is a co-founder and CEO of Medipace Inc, a startup developing implantable neuromodulation therapies for auto-immune intestinal diseases. Victor previously worked at Galvani Bioelectronics and GlaxoSmithKline, where he oversaw development and testing of implantable pulse generators and stimulation leads for several clinical applications, including auto-immune and metabolic diseases. At the Huntington Medical Research Institutes, Victor developed neural interfaces for various chronic diseases, such as infertility, bladder paralysis, bladder spasticity/hyperreflexia, hearing and vision loss, tinnitus, obstructive sleep apnea, and obesity. At the California Institute of Technology, Victor developed optogenetic viral vectors for neuronal stimulation. Victor has several patent applications for implantable neural interfaces, closed-loop neuromodulation therapies, and non-invasive glucose measurement.

Marco Sorani, Ph.D., Executive Director, Development Sciences, Genentech, Inc.

Marco Sorani is a biopharma executive with 30 years of experience in drug and technology development. He is currently an Executive Director and the Chief of Staff in the Development Sciences group in Genentech's research and early development organization. In his role, he manages operations, oversees the implementation of group strategy, and leads numerous business initiatives. In his 15 years at Genentech, Marco has worked across Research, Development and Commercial in San Francisco and Basel, Switzerland. In prior Genentech roles, Marco led a business management team in Personalized Healthcare that supported Real World Data Science operations, including program and alliance management with industry and academic collaborations. Before joining Genentech, Marco was the co-founder of SSB Technologies (now called Level Access), a company that develops software tools that help to make software applications more accessible for people with disabilities. He also worked as an IT manager at Oracle, and as an IT systems consultant at Accenture and Ernst & Young. Marco earned a B.S. in Operations Research from Princeton University and a Ph.D. in Biological and Medical Informatics from UCSF. He is the author of over 30 peer-reviewed publications, and he has been an adjunct assistant professor in the Dept. of Neurosurgery at UCSF and an Instructor in Biopharmaceutical Sciences at UC Berkeley Extension.

Prasad Shirvalkar, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor, University of California, San Francisco

Prasad Shirvalkar is a neurologist and interventional pain medicine specialist who provides the full spectrum of care for chronic pain conditions. This includes conservative, nonsurgical treatments such as medications and nerve blocks (anesthetic injections near nerves that are sending pain signals). He also treats patients with advanced neuromodulation therapy by implanting peripheral and spinal cord stimulators, which are devices that relieve pain by sending electrical signals to the spine. Shirvalkar cares for hospitalized patients and provides telemedicine visits for established patients. He coordinates with other providers for each patient, collaborating to treat any pain condition. Shirvalkar's research aims to develop new therapies for hard-to-treat pain disorders, such as post-stroke pain and phantom limb pain, by harnessing technologies such as brain and spinal cord stimulation. He is conducting a study using electrodes implanted in the brain to understand how individuals interpret pain signals, with the goal of personalizing brain stimulation therapies. He is also interested in how sudden, severe pain episodes can progress to become chronic and in whether early intervention can prevent chronic pain. Shirvalkar earned his doctoral and medical degrees at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He then completed a residency in neurology at Weill Cornell Medicine and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where he served as chief resident. He completed a fellowship in pain management at UCSF. Shirvalkar belongs to the American Academy of Neurology, American Pain Association, American Pain Society, American Society of Anesthesiologists, International Neuromodulation Society and North American Neuromodulation Society, where he serves on the scientific program committee. In addition to medicine and science, Shirvalkar has a passion for percussion. He plays jazz drums in his free time and used to play with the Oakland Raiders' band.

Eric Grigsby, M.D., Founder and CEO, Neurovations

Eric J. Grigsby,   nationally-renowned pain care specialist and founder of Napa Pain Institute, has left an impact in his community—and around the world—through his work in pain management. Dr. Grigsby’s interest in health care and community service began before medical school, as an undergraduate student at Brown University. While there, he volunteered with disabled children at the Boston Children’s Hospital department of orthopedic surgery. It was during this time that he formed a deep empathy for the extent of the pain and suffering endured by patients with chronic illness. Dr. Grigsby committed himself to finding ways to address chronic pain and turned it into a lifelong mission to advocate for better pain care as a physician, an industry innovator, and a global health philanthropist. This commitment to advancing the care options available to patients suffering from pain and chronic disease led Dr. Grigsby to seek the best training, leading him to the world-renowned Mayo Clinic, where he completed his residency and later taught, before moving to the University of California at Davis. At UC Davis, he established the university’s pain management program and began formalizing what would become the first set of safe prescribing guidelines for the California Medical Board. In the early 1990s, Dr. Grigsby established the Napa Pain Institute, which grew quickly into one of the busiest private practices in the nation, with a reputation for advancing interventional, non-opioid therapies. Today, Dr. Grigsby remains active in the conversation around safe prescribing, serving on the Napa County Opioid Coalition, and working with hospital groups to improve their prescribing practices, ensuring the best care for every patient.

Jamie Tyler, Ph.D., Co-founder, IST LLC

William J Tyler, Ph.D. is a co-founder of IST, LLC and a Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Neuroengineering at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He has studied vagus nerve physiology, brain plasticity, and neuromodulation for 25 years. He has been awarded a DARPA Young Faculty Award, McKnight Technological Innovation Award, and received many other recognitions for his discoveries and work on neuromodulation by focused ultrasound. He has run academic laboratories funded by DARPA, the Army Research Office, and the National Science Foundation at Arizona State University, Virginia Tech, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He has worked as an academic entrepreneur for the past 15 years and is a co-founder of Thync, Diamond Therapeutics, and IST. Dr. Tyler has overseen the engineering and product development for several noninvasive neuromodulation devices used by the US Department of Defense, businesses, and consumers. Dr. Tyler has served as a trusted scientific advisor and partner to several companies, government agencies, and non-profit organizations. He has published many seminal, peer-reviewed research articles in the field of neuromodulation, is a highly cited leader in the field, and an inventor on more than 50 issued and pending U.S. and international patents covering neuromodulation methods and devices.

Kamran Ansari, CEO and Co-founder, FluxWear

Kamran Ansari is the CEO and Co-Founder of FluxWear, creating their innovative, patented SHIFT technology: a unique neuromodulation device (in the form of a comfortable, discreet cap) that alleviates both chronic pain and anxiety in just 25 minutes. Moved by his sister's debilitating chronic pain, Kamran transformed SHIFT from a mere concept into a commercial product, now undergoing clinical trials with leading health systems in Southern California. As a two-time recipient of the Beckman-Chapman Young Scientist of the Year Award, Kamran's innovativeness has also earned him a spot in the National Gallery for America’s Young Inventors, the UCLA Brain Research Institute Award, and a nomination for Orange County Business Journal’s Innovator of the Year Award. His focus on user-centered design has not only benefited patients but also secured multiple international design recognitions.

Erika Ross, Ph.D., Vice President, ONWARD

Erika is the vice president of clinical, regulatory, and quality at ONWARD. She was previously director of Applied Research at Abbott Neuromodulation, leading applied research strategy, external partnerships, portfolio, and execution. Prior to her role at Abbott, Erika was the neuroscience director at Cala Health, a Stanford Biodesign-incubated start-up that has been developing a noninvasive, digitally enabled neuromodulation solution for treating essential tremor. She has held roles of increasing leadership at Cala Health as the company completed development and prepared for commercialization. Prior to Cala Health, Erika held the roles of assistant professor of Neurologic Surgery and deputy director of the Surgical Device Innovation Accelerator at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. Erika has a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s begree in molecular biology from the University of Denver. She holds a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, located in Rochester, MN. Her Ph.D. thesis was titled “Circuit mechanisms of deep brain stimulation: Preclinical strategies toward improving therapeutic outcome.”

Andreas Forsland, Founder& CEO, Cognixion

Andreas is the founder and CEO of Cognixion, a digital health startup based in Santa Barbara, CA and Toronto, Ontario. Cognixion builds accessible and affordable neuroprosthetic software and wearables that use biometric sensors and machine learning in new ways to help people with complex disabilities use their face, eyes, and brain as a direct control interface for mobile and AR accessibility. Cognixion is recognized as a top 21 neurotech startup to watch, and is focused on scaling up the transformation of more than 100 million lives and translating universal design approaches for everyone by focusing on the most challenging human interaction needs.

Nolan Williams, M.D., Associate Professor, Stanford University

Dr. Williams is an Associate Professor within the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and the Director of the Stanford Brain Stimulation Lab. Dr. Williams has a broad background in clinical neuroscience and is triple board-certified in general neurology, general psychiatry, as well as behavioral neurology and neuropsychiatry. Themes of his work include (a) examining the use of spaced learning theory in the application of neurostimulation techniques, (b) development and mechanistic understanding of rapid-acting antidepressants, and (c) identifying objective biomarkers that predict neuromodulation responses in treatment-resistant neuropsychiatric conditions. Dr. Williams' work has resulted in an FDA clearance for the world's first non-invasive, rapid-acting neuromodulation approach for treatment-resistant depression. He has published papers in high-impact peer-reviewed journals, including Brain, American Journal of Psychiatry, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. Results from his studies have gained widespread attention in journals such as Science and New England Journal of Medicine Journal Watch, as well as in the popular press and have been featured in various news sources, including Time, Smithsonian, and Newsweek. Dr. Williams received two NARSAD Young Investigator Awards in 2016 and 2018, along with the 2019 Gerald R. Klerman Award. Dr. Williams received the National Institute of Mental Health Biobehavioral Research Award for Innovative New Scientists in 2020.

Brandon Bentzley, M.D., Ph.D., Co-founder and CSO, Magnus Medical

Brandon Bentzley is co-founder and chief scientific officer of Magnus Medical. His interest in neuroscience led him to begin the Medical Scientist Training Program at the Medical University of South Carolina, which is the birthplace of clinical transcranial magnetic stimulation for the treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders. At MUSC, he completed his dissertation research with Gary Aston-Jones, Ph.D., studying the behavioral economics and neuroeconomics of substance use disorders. Simultaneously, he conducted clinical research on buprenorphine maintenance therapy, focusing on how patient perspectives influence treatment. He completed his residency in adult psychiatry and his postdoctoral training at Stanford University, where he focused on the development of SAINT technology. Dr. Bentzley has published articles in high-impact peer-reviewed journals, including Brain, American Journal of Psychiatry, Molecular Psychiatry, Biological Psychiatry, Journal of Neuroscience, Journal of the American Medical Association Network Open, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. In parallel with his clinical work, Dr. Bentzley has over 15 years of experience in developing advanced automated systems that range from plasma reactors used in variable gravity experiments at NASA to high-powered magnetically confined plasma reactors at Princeton University. He has developed and built a highly advanced neuro-behavioral recording system, which is currently in full-time use at the Malenka Lab in the Department of Psychiatry at Stanford Medicine. Dr. Bentzley received a Bachelor of Science in Physics from The College of New Jersey and his M.D. and Ph.D. from MUSC. His academic appointments include Clinical Assistant Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine. His areas of clinical focus are treatment-resistant depression, substance abuse disorders, and suicidality.

Steven Goetz, CTO, Motif Neurotech

Steve currently serves as Chief Technology Officer at Motif Neurotech, where he leads all aspects of R&D for the Motif XCS System for Treatment Resistant Depression. Before joining Motif, Steve held leadership and engineering positions of increasing responsibility during his 26-year career at Medtronic. Most recently, he served as Vice President of Technology and Platform Innovation in the Neuromodulation Operating Unit, driving new therapeutic opportunities in bioelectronic medicine and defining major new implantable device architectures. Prior to this, Steve served in a variety of roles in and around Medtronic’s Brain Modulation Business, including time as the Chief Engineer for deep brain stimulation and time leading technology strategy and business development, work for which he was recognized as a Bakken Fellow, Medtronic’s most prestigious technical award. Steve holds over 160 patents and has contributed to multiple publications in the field. He holds a BSEE from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and an MSEE from the University of Minnesota.

Uli Gommel, CTO, Neo-Bionica

As chief technology officer at Neo-Bionica, Uli leads a team that pioneers the development of life-changing medical device solutions in the neurotech field. By bridging the gap between research and clinical applications, he and his team are able to provide world-class engineering expertise, innovative vision, and leading-edge strategy for the design and development of novel solutions. Uli's passion for engineering has grown over his twenty year career spanning across Europe, Asia and the US with posts at industry leaders including Advanced Bionics, Siemens Healthineers, and now Neo-Bionica. Outside the office, Uli enjoys spending time with his family, exploring the many cultural offerings throughout Los Angeles and California, and celebrating holidays in grand style.

Eran Benjamin, Business Development Manager, Micro Systems Technologies Inc.

Eran Benjamin has over 25 years of experience in the medical device and high tech industries where he held various leadership positions in the development of a variety of products such as active implantable medical device (Revi, Bluewind Medical), life supporting device (iVent101, GE Healthcare), capsule endoscopy device (PillCam Colon 2 Capsule, Given Imaging/Medtronic), and others. As Micro System Technology (MST) Business Development Manager, Eran acts as a venture capitalist, managing MST’s collaboration with companies that develop active implantable medical devices. MST is a privately held company that engages with Class II and III medical device companies in the development, and transfer-to-production of their products.

Entrepreneur Presenters

Ben Woodington, Ph.D., Co-Folunder and CEO, Opto

Ben Woodington is the Co-founder of Opto.bio, which is developing minimally invasive neural interfaces for the treatment and monitoring of some of the world's most difficult-to-manage diseases. A scientist and engineer with a background in medical device development for EU, U.K., and U.S. markets, he has built sensor and stimulator neurotechnologies at the University of Cambridge with a focus on translation in collaboration with neurosurgeons. Ben's Ph.D.research was aimed at using flexible, shape adaptive electronics to interface with the central nervous system, under the supervision of Prof. George Malliaras and neurosurgeon Dr. Damiano Barone.

Robert Greenberg, M.D., Ph.D., CEO huMannity Medtec

Robert Greenberg joined huMannity (formerly Alfred Mann Foundation) in 1998, was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors in 2004 and became its Chairman and CEO in 2021. He was a co-founder and former CEO and Chairman of the Board of Second Sight Medical Products, Inc. in Los Angeles, CA. Dr. Greenberg is a leader in the field of neural prosthetics—having developed and brought to market the world’s most advanced implantable neural stimulator at the time, the Argus II visual prostheses, to treat retinitis pigmentosa, a form of blindness. At Second Sight, he also oversaw the successful development and human implantation of a wireless cortical visual prosthesis, the Orion, which has the potential to treat nearly all forms of blindness and other brain diseases. Dr. Greenberg was also an Independent Director at Pulse Biosciences,  a company developing therapies based on nanosecond pulsed electric field technologies for oncology and dermatology applications. He was previously a medical reviewer at the FDA’s Office of Device Evaluation. Since 2001, he has also been the Chairman of the Board of Directors at the Southern California Biomedical Council, a nonprofit trade association supporting the healthcare industry in the Greater Los Angeles region. Dr. Greenberg is the recipient of numerous honors and awards, has over 260 issued U.S. patents and over 100 international patents, and has published over 60 articles. He received M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, MD. He has been a member of the New York Academy of Sciences, a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, and a Fellow of the IEEE.

Keith Warner, CEO, Neuralace Medical

Keith Warner is a proactive and engaging leader with expertise in advanced strategy development and implementation driving outstanding corporate growth. He has more than 25 years of senior level business acumen gained through key executive positions with leading large cap to venture stage startups within the life sciences and medical technology sectors. Keith has xperience in organization-building geared to achieve near and long term milestones both in domestic and international settings and the ability to deliver significant transformation and growth in financial performance, product development, investor fundraising, capital restructuring, P&L management, and strategic planning.

Daniel Powell, President and CEO, Spark Biomedical

Daniel Powell has more than 25 years experience delivering technical solutions across multiple industries. In 2006, Mr. Powell found his true passion in medical devices, specifically neurostimulation, and has since launched multiple products in the space, including deep brain stimulation for movement disorders and vagus nerve stimulation for epilepsy. Mr. Powell co-founded and serves as CEO of Spark Biomedical, the developer of the FDA-cleared Sparrow Ascent, a novel, wearable neurostimulation solution to address opioid withdrawal and addiction for adults. Under Mr. Powell's leadership, Spark continues to advance the science of wearable neurostimulation, including developing a solution for Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome--addressing the most vulnerable victims of the opioid epidemic, newborn babies.

Amy Baxter, M.D., Founder and CEO, Harmonic Pain Solutions

Dr. Baxter pioneered the field of noninvasive neuromodulation using mechanical stimulation for pain relief. Her new company, Harmonic Pain Solutions, is a spin-out of Pain Care Labs, whose devices block pain in 28 countries for over 114 million procedures. After Yale, Emory Medical School, and two fellowships, Dr. Baxter founded Pain Care Labs while practicing emergency pediatrics and creating a research division. When her devices replaced opioid use for a TKA, with two additional Fast-Track SBIRs for low back pain opioid reduction she founded HPS. Accomplishments include pain and sedation textbook chapters, over 25 first-author papers, 12 issued patents, and successful 510(k) FDA clearances for postsurgical and procedural pain. Her academic service spans a decade of NIH Scientific Review Groups for multiple institutes, and the ACEP COVID-19 Field Guide Task Force. Recognition includes Forbes Ten Healthcare Disruptors, Inc. Top Women in Tech to Watch, a Wall Street Journal “Idea Person,” and the Most Innovative CEO from Georgia Bio. Speaking highlights include HHS testimony, Exponential Medicine “Future of Pain Management," TEDMED, and a recently released TED talk on pain neuroscience close to reaching one million views.

Nicolas Barabino, Consultant, Focus

Nicolas Barabino is an active implantable medical devices consultant specializing in neurotechnology and cardiovascular sectors. With a Ph.D. in Microelectronics, Nicolas brings over a decade of experience in engineering and business development. He has worked on numerous neurostimulation devices for startups in the U.S. and Europe focusing on innovative technologies.