Jeff Barnes, President

Jeff Barnes has been in the medical device industry for about 30 years, involved in many aspects of product development, clinical applications, sales and management. He began his career as a technical specialist for products that were commercialized and revolutionized radial keratotomy vision correction surgery in the early 1990s. He was
subsequently a subject matter expert in automated lamellar keratoplasty that became the first and dominant surgical and diagnostic devices for LASIK eye surgery. Bausch & Lomb and Abbott acquired four of the startups that Barnes was involved with. In 2012 Barnes cofounded ImmutriX Therapeutics Inc.,and subsidiary AimaLojic Animal Health,
working on a novel technology for blood purification. He and his team have taken the concept from inception to clinical use and are preparing to launch a blood purification system in veterinary and human medicine for drug overdose and other disease conditions.

Amanda Drobnis, Co-Founder & CEO

Amanda Drobnis is the Co-Founder and CEO of Hilltop BioSciences. She has spent many years looking for ways to combine her passion for animals (especially horses) with business. First working for a non-profit planning large conferences and events and then in marketing for a large pet retail company. She then moved on to sales and marketing for several medical and veterinary companies. Before founding
Hilltop Bio, Amanda co-founded and managed a New England based medical regenerative therapy distribution company that continues to thrive and grow today. When not at Hilltop Bio’s lab Amanda can be found riding her favorite horse, Addie, or lost in a great book!

Bailey Surtees, CEO

Having expanded Kubanda from idea to commercial enterprise, Bailey now serves as company CEO. She develops the company’s strategic focus and vision, oversees all operations, and engages and expands Kubanda’s network with business and technical professionals.

Wesley Wierson, Founder & CEO

Wesley A. Wierson PhD, founder and CEO of LEAH Labs, is a passionate scientist and entrepreneur applying his expertise in gene editing technology to solve consumer level problems. He studied microbiology as an undergraduate, where he was first exposed to gene editing technology. As a PhD student, he developed gene editing technology that permits the integration of exogenous genes into the genome with precision, thus giving cells new functions, allowing scientists to study biology and genetics and to engineer living therapies. Wes founded LEAH Labs in late 2018 to bring living cell therapies to dogs. LEAH Labs is first focused on translating a breakthrough, FDA approved cell
therapy called CAR-T cell therapy to dogs with B cell lymphoma. Not only does this approach bring the potential to disrupt a decades old standard of care for our pets, LEAH Labs also aims to trial novel cell therapies in canine models of spontaneous disease to give dogs a chance at life and to accelerate human drug development timelines.

Alon Landa, CEO

Alon Landa, MedcoVet CEO has 20+ years of experience leading technology startups across many fields including satellites, medical devices, Internet media, and has even written an app to help people prepare for a new furry friend (called PupReady). Over the last 15 years, Alon has started companies that leverage the Web to bring existing
products to more customers. His latest company, MedcoVet, uses the Web to change the economics of laser therapy while increasing the connection between veterinarian and pet owner.

Albert J. Di Rienzo, Co-Founder, President & Chief Innovation Officer

In a span of nearly 30 years, Albert’s career has focused on innovation in academia, government and industry, where he has been intimately involved with bringing over one hundred animal and human health solutions to market. In 2017, Albert Cofounded One Health Group, which is a for-profit company that’s focused on the intersection of
animal and human health; the Company is initially entering the animal health diagnostic and monitoring market via its noncontact, clinical-grade solution called Voyce.

Daniel Grosu, CEO & President

Daniel Grosu, MD, MBA, serves as the Chief Executive Officer and President for PetDx, and acts as the Chairman of its Board of Directors. Daniel founded PetDx in early 2019 as a result of witnessing his beloved dog Poppy fight a losing battle with pancreatic cancer. She passed away at the age of four, less than two months after diagnosis. The experience motivated him to bring together a team of experts in genomics and veterinary medicine around a simple goal – the early detection of cancer in pets, using the most
advanced molecular diagnostic methods available today.

Craig Mincher, Veterinary & Clinical Director

Craig is an experienced innovator and entrepreneur with a veterinary degree and MBA. 25 years experience in Animal Health including 16 years in business leadership. Has successfully built a leading veterinary pharmaceutical company in the Animal Health space. A visionary with deep insights into the South African Animal Health market and
experience in new product development, regulatory environment, sales, marketing,
strategy, supply chain and financial management.

Ashley Kalinauskas, Founder & CEO

Ashley is the Founder and CEO of Torigen Pharmaceuticals—a startup that resulted from her graduate thesis project at the University of Notre Dame. Ashley graduated from the
University of Connecticut in 2012 with an undergraduate degree in Pathobiology
and then chose to continue her education. Torigen and its first product, VetiVax, are based upon the research of former University of Notre Dame professor Dr. Mark Suckow.
Torigen focuses on providing veterinary cancer care solutions for companion animals. Torigen’s first product, VetiVax, is an autologous cancer immunotherapy that uses the patient’s own tumor cells to create a personalized treatment to fight the cancer. With over 50% of companion animals over the age of 10 dying from cancer and with other treatment modalities being both expensive and having negative side effects, VetiVax is an
innovative new treatment that is quickly gaining traction with veterinarians across the country.

Adriann Sax, Co-Founder & CEO

Adriann Sax joined Vetigenics in May 2020 as CEO and Cofounder bringing nearly thirty years of leadership experience from Pharma and Biotech in operations, commercialization and business development with a focus in oncology. Adriann started her career at Sterling Drug progressing through a series of operating and executive roles with established companies such as Merck, Bristol Myers Squibb and Roche, and led
the global launches of leading oncology and immunology drugs. Adriann holds an MBA from the Keller Graduate School and BS in Animal Science from the University of Delaware. She is an active advisor and board member for many industry associations, academic institutions, and non-public company boards.