miR Scientific Is Transforming Cancer Management Into What It Should Be

Sam is co-founder of miR Scientific and is the company’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. A physics scholar who has dedicated his professional career to develop and manage complex systems innovations, Sam has established himself to be a true visionary driven to affect global impact. He is an accomplished world class leader who understands science and its business applications for resolving key challenges facing humanity on a global scale. A champion of public/private partnerships, he is a member of the Board of Trustees and Board of Selectors of the Jefferson Awards for Public Service. Sam attended the American University of Paris in France and Macalester College in St. Paul, MN.

Dr. Martin Tenniswood co-founded miR Scientific in 2013. As Chief Scientific Officer, Martin is responsible for the company’s overall scientific vision and research strategy.  Martin also plays a key role in the translational research and commercialization processes and has been involved in many other areas of the organization in his role as a co-founder.

Martin previously spent 10 years as an Empire Innovations Professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at the University at Albany.  Concurrently, Martin served as the Director of the Cancer Research Center at the University at Albany from 2009-2018. Previous to his tenure at the University at Albany, Martin was the Coleman Chair of Life Sciences at the University of Notre Dame from 1998-2007.  Martin earned his Ph.D in Biochemistry from Queen’s University (Kingston, ON, Canada) in 1979, and his B.Sc (Hons) from Trent University (Peterborough, ON, Canada) specializing in organic chemistry in 1973.

He has authored and published more than 135 peer-reviewed papers and chapters and has edited two books. Since starting his independent career as a Canadian Medical Research Council Scholar at the University of Ottawa in 1983 Dr. Tenniswood’s research has focused on the study of hormone dependent cancers, including prostate, breast and endometrial cancer. His basic research focused on understanding the hormonal control of cell death in these cancers and in in developing new therapies for hard-to-treat hormone dependent cancers, particularly castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) and inflammatory breast cancer. His lab has used a variety of high throughput, high content methodologies, including mRNA- and miRNA-based transcriptomics to understand the biology that leads to tumor progression and drug resistance. 

In the course of his academic career he has mentored 31 graduate students, 19 residents and postdoctoral fellows, 47 of whom are still active in research.

Dr. Tenniswood has consulted for numerous commercial entities including Eli Lilly, Millennium Pharmaceuticals Cytochroma and Serono Pharmaceuticals and he has served as scientific reviewer for Medical Research Council of Canada, the National Cancer Institute of Canada, and the National Institute of Health (including the Pathology B study section and the NCI SPORE Review Panels).

Martin has served on the national Susan G. Komen for the Cure Review Panels and volunteered extensively with the local affiliates in Indiana and Northeastern New York region. In recognition of his contributions to the local affiliates he was awarded the status of Pink Tie Guy.

Erik Johnson, Chief Operating Officer, joined miR Scientific in 2021. A seasoned leader in pharma and oncology, Erik spent two decades at Bristol Myers Squibb, where he was instrumental in leading the global commercial scale-up of two groundbreaking immuno-oncology programs. Erik works closely with Co-Founder, Chairman & CEO Sam Salman to lead the Company's global operations, logistics, and enterprise resources for the planned high-volume production necessary for miR Scientific to deliver on its mission to transform cancer management worldwide.

Erik held several key leadership positions during his tenure at Bristol Myers Squibb, which included senior roles in strategy, planning, operations and commercial. As Head of Worldwide Commercial, Immuno-Oncology Melanoma & Genitourinary (GU), he was the worldwide lead for Opdivo® and Yervoy® in those tumors, totaling over $5B in annual revenue.  He also worked closely with R&D to advance pipeline assets for Melanoma and GU. Throughout his career with BMS, Erik launched products for nine new indications, each of which exceeded company expectations. As the brand lead for SPRYCEL®, he drove and executed a strategy that delivered double-digit year-over-year growth, leading the brand to all-time highs in sales and market share.

Erik earned an MBA from the Merage School of Business at University of California, Irvine and received a Bachelor of Science degree from Colorado State University.

He is active in the Pennington, NJ community, where he served as an officer for the Hopewell Valley Education Foundation, actively supports underprivileged kids programs and participates in multiple running and cycling races each year, primarily benefitting cancer research.

Dr. Klotz is the past Chief of Urology at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and Professor of Surgery at the University of Toronto. He holds the Sunnybrook Chair of Prostate Cancer Research, is the Chairman of the World Uro-Oncology Federation, and past president of the Urological Research Society and the Canadian Urological Association. He was the founder and is chairman of the Canadian Urology Research Consortium (CURC). Dr. Klotz obtained his medical degree from the University of Toronto and completed his residency at the University of Toronto Gallie Program in Surgery. He was a fellow at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre in New York in uro-oncology. Dr. Klotz is a widely published uro-oncologist with over 350 publications and 6 books. His main research interest has been prostate cancer. He is the Associate Editor of the Journal of Urology responsible for Prostate Cancer. He serves on the boards of many medical/scientific organizations and journals, including the SUO, Prostate Cancer Canada, the journals Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases, Brazilian Journal of Urology, Italian Journal of Urology, and World Journal of Urology. Dr. Klotz was awarded the Queen’s Jubilee Medal for meritorious public service in 2012, and the University of Toronto Department of Surgery Lister Prize and the Society of Urologic Oncology Medal in 2013. He received the Harold Warwick Award from the Canadian Cancer Society for "outstanding contributions to cancer control" in 2014. He received the Order of Canada in 2015 and the Richard Williams Award from the AUA in 2016. He received the Dean’s Lifetime Achievement Award from the University of Toronto in 2017.

Tal is a seasoned impact investment professional with broad transaction experience that spans industries, sectors and geographies. His roots in the sustainability and healthcare sectors run deep, with corporate leadership roles and prominent presence as investor, advisor and board member in companies and investment funds. As Chief Strategy Officer of miR Scientific, Tal draws on his extensive experience in structuring transactions to craft, articulate and execute strategic dialogues and commercialization initiatives for miR. Tal received his M.B.A. with distinction from New York University’s Stern School of Business and his B.A. degree magna cum laude in Economics from Queens College.

Jill Anderson is Chief Legal Officer, joining miR Scientific in 2020. Jill oversees the company’s global legal operations and advises the company’s leadership on a wide range of strategic legal, regulatory and business issues. 

Jill has nearly twenty years of legal experience in healthcare technology and biotechnology, with specific expertise advising cutting-edge, high-profile bioscience companies and diagnostic laboratories. She most recently served as a partner in the Healthcare and Privacy & Cybersecurity departments at law firm Moses & Singer LLP in New York City. While at Moses & Singer, she acted as outside general counsel to several life sciences companies, including nonprofit research foundations. 

Prior to joining Moses Singer, Jill held roles at Partners Healthcare System and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, where she handled legal issues related to clinical and translational research. She began her career as a securities lawyer at Hale and Dorr LLP (now WilmerHale).

Jill earned her J.D. at Widener University School of Law and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Pre-Medicine from Rutgers University. Jill is very active in the life sciences startup community, frequently volunteering to advise and mentor emerging companies on regulatory and legal issues related to product development.

Bob Flippin formally joined miR Scientific in 2020, after serving as a Senior Advisor to the company for several years. Bob supports oversight of miR Scientific’s strategic direction and growth, implementing company strategy across financial, legal, facilities and general personnel domains.

Bob came to miR Scientific after a long career in commercial real estate, most recently as Executive Vice President of CBRE Group, Inc., the largest commercial real estate services and investment firm in the world. Based in New York City, Bob has represented large international corporations on a local, national and global basis. 

He has worked on significant complex transactions involving leases, portfolio analyses, property valuations and acquisitions, and corporate impact studies across real estate asset classes around the world. His vast global business network has also led to the development and expansion of numerous businesses, in addition to his real estate dealings.

Bob earned his Bachelor’s degree in History and Economics from Princeton University, where he captained the lacrosse team and earned All-American and All-Ivy honors.

Outside the workplace, Bob supports youth sports activities, including coaching on multiple levels, and sponsoring inner-city youth groups that combine education with sports to expand opportunities for underprivileged children to pursue secondary and college education.

Eli Mor, General Manager, miR Scientific Israel, joined the company in 2019. Eli is responsible for all of miR Scientific’s activities in Israel, supervising business development, marketing and operations. 

As an executive, Eli has raised capital, executed and integrated acquisitions, established corporations in new arenas and grown revenue. He has developed and launched new product lines, gained immediate market traction, executed turnaround strategies and changed management practices to drive sales.

Eli joined Impact NRS Group as President and Head of International Operations 5 years ago, and serves its subsidiaries as Co-Founder and President of NRS Agro-Innovation and CEO of NRS Poultry Sustainability & Transformation. In these capacities, Eli brings powerful data science, informatics and agriculture together to provide solutions for the world’s most pressing problems.

Previously, Eli spent 7 years at BioHarvest as CFO and prior as Senior Vice President of Business Development, where he led significant fundraising and played an instrumental role in company strategy. Eli has also held senior executive roles at Explay and Terayon Communications Systems.

Eli is a board member and venture partner at EFA Technologies. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting and Business Administration from the College of Management Academic Studies and is also a Certified Public Accountant.

Dr. A. Gregory DiRienzo is a co-founder of miR Scientific and serves as the company’s Director of Biostatistics. Greg’s primary responsibilities concern the rigorous development of modern statistical methodology and the design of corresponding software implementations for targeted use in data applications such as high dimensional classification and prediction; longitudinal studies with missing data; and survival analysis. Greg establishes protocols for the design and analysis plans of miR’s clinical studies.  

Greg spent 21 years in academia, most recently as a full-time faculty member in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University at Albany - State University of New York, where he served as chairman from 2011-2017.  He was previously a full-time faculty member in the Department of Biostatistics at Harvard University from 2001-2008.  

Greg has published numerous peer-reviewed articles in leading biostatistics and medical journals and is co-author on several patents with miR Scientific. He completed his Ph.D. in both Mathematics & Statistics and Biometry & Statistics at the University at Albany - SUNY and his Postdoctoral Research Fellowship with the Department of Biostatistics at Harvard University.

Greg is active in his local community, where he volunteers as a tee-ball coach and ice-hockey instructor for young children, as well as actively participating in local food banks for those in need.

Dr. Nathalie Bloch is Head of Discovery Platform at miR Scientific and Chief Medical
Innovation Officer at parent company Impact NRS Group, joining the company in 2021.
 
Nathalie is an industry leader in the digital health and AI in healthcare ecosystems in Israel.
She spent the last 4 years as Founder and Director of the Innovation Center for Digital Health
ARC at Sheba Medical Center and was responsible for building the hospital’s big data and AI
infrastructure, collaborating with dozens of startups, academic institutions and international
companies. Nathalie also served as the Director of the Patents Committee at Sheba Medical
Center. 
 
Nathalie spent 14 years as a physician at Harvard Medical School, with 4 years as an Associate
Medical Director at MACIPA in Cambridge, MA, where she led strategic projects to implement
new technologies within the organization, reducing readmissions and moving care into the
community.
 
Nathalie is part of a national committee advising the Israeli government on establishing its
strategy for the next decade on Bioconvergence in Healthcare. She leads an educational
practicum-based innovation and entrepreneurship program for medical residents at the
Israeli Medical Association, where she integrates 20 residents into 20 startups each year.
Nathalie is additionally a senior advisor to the Israeli Ministry of Health for R&D projects in
Innovation, Data and AI.
 
In 2018, Nathalie ranked among Haaretz’s 20 most influential women in healthcare in Israel.
She serves on the boards of leading Israeli startups in AI in healthcare. 
 
Nathalie earned her Doctor of Medicine from Tel Aviv University and a Master in Public
Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. She was also a Senior
Fellow for Innovation in Healthcare Delivery at Harvard Medical School.
 
Nathalie is active with Physicians for Human Rights-Israel and volunteers in the Occupied
Territories and the refugees’ clinic.

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Rob Tenniswood is the Co-Founder of miR Scientific, and serves as President of the company’s Canadian subsidiary, miR Scientific Canada.  In his current role, Rob is responsible for all Discovery operations, strategy and tactical execution, all efforts to introduce miR Scientific’s Sentinel platform in Canada (including government and stakeholder relations, regulatory submissions, clinical trial implementation, and all business operations).  He previously spent 7 years as the company’s Chief Operating Officer, and was responsible for oversight of all of the company’s internal operations, including oversight of finance, human resources, vendor relations, project management and strategy.

Rob earned his MBA in 2009 from the University of Notre Dame (South Bend, IN), and his B.A. from Notre Dame in 2005.  He is also a graduate of the Entrepreneurship post-graduate program at the University of Cambridge, having graduated in 2015.  

Rob actively supports several non-profit organizations, including Hug-A-Bull Dog Rescue, Black Lives Matter, Covenant House, and Plan International.  

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Amnon is the Head of Global Clinical Affairs, joining miR Scientific in 2021. Amnon plays a key role in developing and leading the company’s clinical operations in compliance with global regulatory standards.

Amnon spent 12 years at companies in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry, most recently as Director of Clinical Operations at Eloxx Pharmaceuticals where he led clinical operation functions in North America, Europe, Australia, and Israel.

Amnon earned his PhD from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and spent 3 years as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)

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Winnie is Director of Research, joining miR Scientific as Employee #1 in 2017. She previously spent 3 years as the company’s Research Lead and was responsible for the miR Sentinel® Prostate Cancer Test design and process optimization for commercialization.

Winnie has published and authored 11 peer-reviewed articles.

She received her doctorate degree in Biomedical Sciences from the State University of New York at Albany, where she received both the distinguished doctoral dissertation award and academic excellence award for her thesis. Winnie earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry from Queen's University in Canada.

John Dvor, Executive Vice President, Corporate Development, joined miR Scientific in 2020. John is responsible for miR’s international business development and strategic alliances with providers, payers, academic institutions, governments and corporations.

John brings over 20 years of experience as an entrepreneur, investor and advisor focused on the spaces of medical science and life-saving technology. Most recently, he co-founded Tufts Health Ventures, the investment arm of $4B health insurance company Tufts Health Plan. At Tufts Health Ventures, John was responsible for venture investments, strategic partnerships, including the creation of new payer/provider joint ventures nationwide, focused on value-based care. John served as Managing Director of Miraki Innovation, a med-tech venture capital fund which founded Auris Health, acquired by Johnson & Johnson for $5.75B. As an entrepreneur, John previously co-founded and was COO of ReMed Life Sciences, focused on auto-immune therapeutics for vitiligo patients.

John has held multiple roles in corporate leadership, from Head of Corporate Development for 3BL Media, a leading ESG/CSR digital media platform serving 60% of the Fortune 500, to corporate development roles at iRobot Corporation and the Aga Khan Development Fund.

John earned a Bachelor’s degree from Harvard University, beginning his early career as a United States Secret Service Attaché with the Marine Corps in the White House. Serving during the Clinton and Bush administrations, John was awarded Presidential Service Badge #17996.

John serves on the boards of the Association for Corporate Growth, the New England Israeli Business Council, Agon Holdings and Helge Capital. His work has been featured in the Financial Times, Boston Globe and the Wall Street Journal.  

John is a board member for two national workforce development nonprofits, the Warrior Scholar Project and Defy Ventures.

Austin Srejma, Vice President Commercial, joined miR Scientific in 2020.  Austin leads the development and implementation of the go-to-market plan  and commercial strategy for miR’s Sentinel family of tests, focused on the US launch market as well as worldwide readiness.  In addition, she leads the company’s program management office to plan and execute special projects.

Prior to joining miR, Austin spent over a decade at Enterey Life Sciences Consulting, most recently as Senior Director of Operations where she led the consulting organization to develop methodology and deliver strategic business transformations for top-tier established and emerging life sciences companies with domestic and global impact. She played a central role in consulting project scoping and delivery, internal recruiting, training, business development, marketing, and organizational development efforts.

Austin earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of Notre Dame, where she was a member of Beta Gamma Sigma academic honor society, and received a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from Gustavus Adolphus College.

In 2020, Austin joined the inaugural group of Mendoza Graduate Alumni Leadership Fellows, coaching MBA students in leadership development.  She is a member of the Chicago chapter of Women in Bio and the Executive Women in Bio sub-group.

Austin is active in the Chicago philanthropic community, supporting food-security and poverty-alleviation charities including Inspiration Corporation, the Greater Chicago Food Depository, and CARA. Additionally, she is a member of the Alzheimer’s Association Alois Society.

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Scot Nelson is Vice President of Global Market Access and US Commercial Launch Lead.  Scot joined miR Scientific in mid-2021 brings more than 20 years of industry experience in the commercialization of pharmaceuticals and diagnostics across a variety of specialties including Oncology, Urology, Gastroenterology, Dermatology and Primary Care to the miR Team.

He most recently served as Senior Director of Managed Care at Decipher Biosciences, Inc. where he was responsible for the development and execution of Decipher’s Managed Care Strategy to increase public and private payer adoption of Decipher’s genomic assays for urological cancers.  In addition to his core responsibilities, Scot served as a strategic advisor to the Executive Team in the areas of Commercial Operations, Sales, Marketing and Revenue Cycle Management and served on numerous cross-functional teams in support of Decipher’s overall corporate strategy. As a result of his efforts, Decipher experienced significant gains Medicare and Commercial Coverage and Commercially Contracted Lives, as well as a 5-year contract awarded by the U.S. General Services Administration and Federal Supply Schedule to serve the Veterans Administration as well as other Federally Affiliated Health Systems.  His contributions significantly increased per-test and overall reimbursement for Decipher’s genomic assays, contributed significantly to the company becoming profitable in mid-2020. and delivered a significant return to investors through a successful acquisition of Decipher by Veracyte, Inc. in early 2021.

Scot spent 13 years at Prometheus Laboratories where he successfully launched multiple CLIA Diagnostic and 3 Specialty Pharmaceutical Offerings in the areas of Gastroenterology, Urology and Oncology, achieving peak revenue of $500 million dollars, while serving in roles of increasing responsibility in Sales, Managed Care, Corporate Accounts and Business Development.  He also served as a member of Nestle Health Sciences Global Market Access and Strategy Committee representing Prometheus RxDx as part of the Global Market Access Team.  Prior to Prometheus, Scot held Field Sales and Sales Training roles for Connetics Corp. and Healthpoint, Ltd and served honorably in the United States Navy.

Scot has been active in the Mobile, AL community since 2006 having served on multiple boards including the Mobile Chapter of the Coastal Conservation Association and The Port City Pacers.  He has also served as a volunteer consultant to medical practices as well as multiple early-stage diagnostic and health technology startups in the areas of Market Access and Business Development. 

Scot graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Management of Technical Operations from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University.

Avital Barlev, Vice President of Quality Assurance, joined miR Scientific in 2020. Avital previously spent 11 years at Alpha Bio Tec Ltd., most recently as Vice President leading the company’s Quality Assurance department according to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the European Union, the ISO and other medical device regulatory authorities.

As a quality assurance leader, Avital has a demonstrated history of establishing and maintaining efficient quality systems in highly regulated markets and a track record of building teams under fast-growing business operations. At Alpha Bio Tec, he built the quality assurance function from the ground up, setting up three teams under a lean management system and priming the company for new medical device regulations in its primary market, the European Union. During his tenure, Alpha Bio Tec tripled its sales and production capacity while keeping high standards of quality and compliance.

Avital earned a Bachelor degree in Biotechnology from Tel-Hai College. 

Outside of work, Avital enjoys playing soccer and running mountain trails with his dog.

Eytan Meisels is Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, joining miR Scientific in 2020. He previously spent over 20 years at Inverness Medical Innovations, Alere and Abbott as VP of Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance where he led regional teams and was responsible for quality and regulatory strategies in various global regions, including achieving regulatory approvals for high risk In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Devices in the USA, EU, Latin America, Africa and Eastern Europe. 

He plays a key role in defining integrated global regulatory strategies for company products and the continued development of regulatory strategy and relationships with regulatory authorities, ensuring flexibility in response to an increasingly demanding regulatory environment.

Eytan has been in the medical device industry for 25 years, most recently as VP of Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance at VisionCare (now SamaraVision) where he led the company program of getting CE Mark for a novel intraocular implantable miniature telescope. 

He has co-authored peer-reviewed articles in the fields of chemical spatial structures and gene regulation.

Eytan earned his Ph.D. from the Weizmann Institute and was a Howard Hughes Postdoctoral fellow at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He received a Master of Science degree from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem’s Hadassah Medical School and a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry and Biochemistry from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

Eytan is active in the Rehovot Berman community, where he served on the board and as president of the board. He continues to volunteer and lead various community activities.

Dr. Northrop is VP of Operations, joining miR Scientific in 2022

At mir Scientific, Dr. Northrop plays a key role in ensuring all operations of mir Scientific meets  the scientific integrity, regulatory quality and state-of-the-art technology of the miR SentinelTM Prostate Cancer Test into transforming oncology testing access worldwide.

Prior to joining miR, Dr. Northrop spent the past three years as Chief Scientific Officer at Aspira Women’s Health and was responsible for all of the company’s innovation pipeline from ideation in R&D to clinical diagnostic validation and product launch.  

Dr. Northrop has spent over 20 years in the clinical diagnostic industry specific to women’s health, including her ABMGG training at Columbia University Medical Center, and building six brand-new CLIA/CAP/NYS molecular laboratories for several start-up biotechnology companies revolutionizing cutting-edge new technology.  As an Innovator Dr. Northrop was a lead scientist on developing  the first comprehensive PGD technology as a more diagnostic representation of an embryo’s ploidy status and single-gene variant detection while a post-doctoral fellow at RMA-NJ Fertility Center.  Dr. Northrop as a young scientist served as the lead field biologist in helping the first Giant Panda baby born in captivity at the San Diego Zoo and first eleven panda cubs born at the Woolong Nature Reserve in China. She has published several peer-reviewed articles, book chapters and presented at several prestigious scientific meetings.

Dr. Northrop serves as an advisor to several biotechnology and financial investment firms on her expertise in the clinical diagnostic genomics space.

Dr. Northrop mentors young minds in science and leads her teams to insight with empathy.

Arminda Figueroa is Chief of Staff and Country Manager, joining miR Scientific in 2019. Mindy was essential in launching miR Scientific’s inaugural clinical trial program in Puerto Rico and plays a key role in the company’s path to commercialization.  

Mindy brings over 20 years of experience in marketing and communications, with an emphasis on diversity, equity and inclusion, healthcare, and Hispanic and multicultural marketing. Mindy founded award-winning consulting firm Latin2Latin Marketing (L2L) 14 years ago as a market-growth accelerator, successfully developing and executing hundreds of complex strategic plans for a client base ranging from startups to corporations.

Her work on healthcare and patient education has appeared in publications such as Bloomberg, the Miami Herald, the Huffington Post and networks including Telemundo and Univision. In 2020, Mindy co-authored a study by the Network for Executive Women on the experiences of Latina women in corporate America. Mindy also frequently lends her expertise on podcasts and local South Florida radio.

Mindy serves on the boards of the Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication at Florida State University, the Hispanic Entrepreneur Initiative, and is Vice Chair of the Board of Governors of Tower Club. She is a member of Invest4PR and the Partnership for Modern Puerto Rico. She was recently honored by South Florida Business and Wealth Magazine as a recipient of their 2021 Prestigious Women Award.

Mindy holds a Master of Business Administration from Dowling College in New York and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Puerto Rico. 

Mindy is active in both the Florida and Puerto Rico communities, and served as an advisor to Gov. Rick Scott on the South Florida relief efforts for Puerto Rico after the devastation of Hurricane Maria. She is the proud founder of the grassroots philanthropic organization, Adopt a Puerto Rican Family.

Stuart Kozlick, Senior Vice President, Canada, joined miR Scientific in 2020. Stuart supports miR’s commercialization efforts in Canada.

Stuart brings over 20 years of experience in medical device development, innovation, research and commercialization. Stuart’s subject matter expertise spans several medical specialties including electrophysiology, structural heart, cardiovascular, endovascular, pulmonary, gastrointestinal, orthopedics and minimally invasive therapeutics. Over the course of his career, Stuart has launched several research, product development and clinical engineering programs and products globally.

In 2019, Stuart became the CEO of Puzzle Medical Devices Inc., a Montreal-based startup specializing in the development of cardiovascular medical devices to treat advanced heart-failure patients. Previously, Stuart was Vice President of Medical Robotics at Kinova Robotics Inc. in Montreal. Stuart has also served in several leadership and engineering roles at CAE Healthcare, Medtronic Inc., and the former CryoCath Technologies Inc.

Stuart serves as Professor of Practice in McGill University’s Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, Department of Surgery, Faculty Lecturer in the University’s Faculty of Engineering, Departments of Bioengineering and Mechanical Engineering and the Faculty of Management, Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship. 

Stuart continues to support the growing medtech ecosystem within Quebec and more broadly in Canada, holding various board positions, advising and mentoring L’institut TransMedTech, CTS Santé, RTI Inc., and TechStars Montreal AI, among others. Stuart also serves as Strategic Advisor, Executive-In-Residence within the Emerging Technology & Startup practice at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP.

Stuart holds a Master of Applied Science in Mechanical Engineering and a Bachelor of Engineering from Concordia University.

Stuart dedicates his time in the fields of cardiology and interventional cardiology with specialists, volunteering his presence in operating rooms during procedures, contributing to new interventional workflow creation and innovative future cardiac technology. 

Recently, Stuart was honored to co-lead the McGill University COVID-19 Code Life Ventilator Challenge in 2020 and 2021, a voluntary global response initiative with over 1,200 submissions, resulting in next-generation low-cost ventilator design for patients in need.

Avivit Raz joined miR Scientific in 2021 as Executive Vice President of Business Development in Israel. Avivit plays a key role in the company’s business strategy and operations in Israel, supporting commercialization efforts in the country.

Avivit’s experience in the pharmaceutical and molecular diagnostics industries covers marketing, sales, and business development functions in local as well as international corporate settings such as Merck and Janssen (J&J). With over a decade spent in the healthcare industry, Avivit has developed and implemented strategy, led reimbursement processes, and launched significant oncology products.

Avivit received her MBA from Ben-Gurion University, her MSc in Biology with distinction with a concentration in Genomics from Bar-Ilan University, and a bachelor’s degree in Biology with distinction from Ben-Gurion University.

In her capacity as a board member in the space of personalized medicine, Avivit worked to promote testing and expand its accessibility, recognizing that personalized medicine is the optimal path for diagnosing and treating various medical conditions.

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Akira Tsukagawa is Head of miR Scientific Japan, joining miR Scientific in 2021. He is responsible for all of miR Scientific’s activities in Japan. 

Across a career spanning three decades, Akira has focused on building open innovation and connecting Boston, Silicon Valley and Europe with Japan and the Asia-Pacific region. He founded Open Innovation Partners and co-founded Seize Capital in 2015. Akira has also served as venture firm Miraki Innovation’s Director for Japan for the last two years.

Since 2014, Akira has specialized in healthcare, InsurTech and AI, promoting open innovation at OMRON and Sompo Holdings, mainly overseas. As Founder at Open Innovation Partners, he led Sompo’s investment in Health2Sync, which is now partnered with Sanofi, Novo Nordisk and Abbott and has become the number 1 diabetes solution in Asia. He also led Sompo’s investment in Neurotrack Technologies, a mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia solution, ultimately launching Neurotrack as an MCI insurance product in Japan. In addition, Akira facilitated the adoption of medical and healthcare AI platform, Hathor, for the development of a Japan Medical Association AI platform by the government of Yamanashi prefecture.

He previously served as Director of SBI Holdings for India and in the principal investment at Deutsche Bank and Lehman Brothers. While at Deutsche Bank, Akira managed Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son’s Vodafone M&A. Prior to these roles, he was Vice President at Nomura/JAFCO Investment (Asia) Ltd.

Akira earned his MBA from Columbia University and is a U.S. Chartered Financial Analyst. He also holds an Executive MBA from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business in Data Science & Analytics and Innovation.

Keren Nir works as Vice President, Operations for miR Scientific Israel. Keren holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA) from Heriot-Watt University,  and is an expert in business mediation, strategy and business analysis. Keren also holds a Master's of Law from Bar-Ilan University.

Sebastiano is an entrepreneur, investor, activist, and advisor to businesses, governments, and nonprofits around the world. He is the chairman and CEO of NKGB, a strategic advisory firm specializing in Asian and European ventures as well as global M&A.

Directly or through his partnerships, Sebastiano is an investor in over 60 companies in the plant-based and cruelty-free space alone, and was an early investor in Beyond Meat (2012).

He is the owner and honorary chairman of Querciabella, a Tuscan organic, biodynamic, and vegan winery that has garnered international acclaim and won numerous awards, including “Best Wine of Italy,” and recently launched the gluten-free pasta brand Bontasana alongside a revolutionary baby food company, with the aim to disrupt the existing landscape.

A longtime animal rights activist, Sebastiano supports and sits on the board of several global nonprofits working to end the exploitation and suffering of animals. He is also the founder of the Plant-Based Empowerment Foundation (PBEF), a nonprofit operating in rural Senegal that is dedicated to providing children and women access to education, healthcare, and nourishing plant-based food.

Sebastiano served as advisor to Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi from 2014 to 2016. Originally from Milano, he divides his time among Europe, Asia, and the United States.

Arun is an entrepreneur, investor and technologist focused on Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, AR/VR , IT software and infrastructure for enterprise, data analytics, cloud platform, open source technologies, healthcare and sustainable energy, and is the Chief Executive Officer / Chief Risk & Compliance Officer of Leonie Hill Capital.

He has over 26 years of experience as a product centric founder, General Manager and CEO at startups and Fortune 500 companies in the US, Europe and Asia.

Arun has a diverse background in building enterprise focused startups, and has extensive operational experience in expanding companies in Asia and the emerging markets with a strong understanding of local laws, cultural and market demands, His experience in investing in disruptive startups, coupled with strong financial industry experience from trading to debt financing and equity research has also made him a well recognized and respected quant.

Being a mentor to entrepreneurs building technology-based businesses is Arun’s greatest passion. He is driven by the desire to make a positive impact through helping the entrepreneurs building and scaling businesses focused on new energy sources, achieving petroleum independence, building sustainable medical ecosystems, and promoting pragmatic approaches to environmentalism.

Additionally, he has taken a special interest in micro-finance as a poverty alleviation tool, because of his fervent dedication to social entrepreneurship. He is a supporter of many micro-finance organizations in India, Africa and the Middle East, and is actively building software companies to help them manage and grow in these regions.

He also acts as a liaison officer between the firm and various regulators on matters relating to Anti-Money Laundering/Countering Financing Terrorism etc., advising on implementation of best practices particularly with regards to AML/CFT regulations, and ensuring compliance with laws & ordinances.

At Leonie Hill Capital he developed robust investment decision making processes, on-going portfolio monitoring, evaluation and back office infrastructure to manage large in house portfolios.

Arun has an MBA from Stanford University and a B.Tech. in Electrical Engineering from IIT, Madras.

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Dr. Deepak A. Kapoor, Chairman and Chief Ecosystem Officer of Solaris Health Holdings, LLC, is one of the youngest physicians to have been certified by the American Board of Urology.  In addition to his role at Solaris Health, Dr. Kapoor serves as Market President for Integrated Medical Professionals, PLLC (IMP) and is President of Advanced Urology Centers of New York.

Dr. Kapoor received his baccalaureate and medical education with honors in the Pennsylvania State University/Jefferson Medical College accelerated honors program in medicine and completed his urologic residency at The Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, PA. His expertise includes basic science research in molecular biology, as well as extensive experience in oncologic and reconstructive surgery

Dr. Kapoor is Clinical Professor of Urology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Chair of Health Policy and Past President of LUGPA, Chairman of SCRUBS RRG and Senior Strategic Advisor for miR Scientific. He has also served as a Director of UroPAC and Chairman of Access to Integrated Cancer Care. Dr. Kapoor was founder of the New York Urology Trade Association and Integrated Medical Foundation. He is a Fellow of the American College of Physician Executives.

Dr. Kapoor has published and lectured extensively on clinical, business and health policy issues and is Associate Editor of the journal Urology Practice. He serves on a number of medical advisory boards, including the New York State Governor´s Prostate Cancer Advisory Panel. Dr. Kapoor has been continuously listed in the Castle Connolly Best Doctors Guide for his clinical excellence and has received numerous accolades, inlcuding the 2011 AUA Ambrose-Reed socioeconomic essay award, and the 2014 New York Section AUA Russell W.  Lavengood distinguished service award.  Dr. Kapoor was recognized in 2018 by LUGPA for his outstanding contributions to health policy and his work towards the preservation of independent medicine.

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Jim Roosevelt joins miR Scientific with extensive executive and advisory experience in health care, life sciences, corporate governance, legislative and regulatory matters, and politics. Jim served as CEO of Tufts Health Plan for more than 10 years, where he led a corporate turnaround that achieved significant growth and consistent profitability for the company. Before joining Tufts Health Plan, Jim served as Associate Commissioner of the U.S. Social Security Administration, and he was in-house General Counsel and former partner in Choate Hall & Stewart, a leading national law firm based in Boston.

Jim is passionate about politics and public policy. He is a clinical instructor in the Public Health and Community Medicine Department of Tufts University School of Medicine. He co-chairs the Rules and Bylaws Committee of the Democratic National Committee, is volunteer legal counsel for the Massachusetts Democratic Party, and is a trustee of the Cambridge Public Library and the Cambridge Community Foundation. Additionally, Jim is a member of the FAIR Health, Inc. Board of Directors, and he serves as Chair of the Massachusetts Health Quality Partners Board of Directors.

Jim is a member of the American Health Lawyers Association, the Boston Bar Association’s Health Law Committee, and the American Bar Association’s Health Law Section.

Previously, Jim has been a visiting fellow at the Institute of Politics of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, co-chaired Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo's Healthcare Leaders Task Force on Health Care Cost Growth and co-chaired the Massachusetts Hospital Association's work group on access to behavioral health care.

Jim earned a J.D. from Harvard Law School, and he earned his B.A. from Harvard College. He also graduated from Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program.

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Mr. Weinstein is focused primarily on international business development for Vanterra Accelerator portfolio companies. Mr. Weinstein has more than 30 years of experience in the healthcare and wellness industries, both operational and investing. Mr. Weinstein co-founded WM Partners in 2015, a leading health and wellness focused private equity fund. Previously, Mr. Weinstein was the CEO of CFR Pharmaceuticals S.A. (“CFR”) for ten years, where he was responsible for transforming that company from a local Chilean pharmaceutical company into a major global pharmaceutical company with a presence in 26 countries and three continents, via 15 acquisition transactions. Under Mr. Weinstein’s leadership, in May 2011 CFR completed an initial public offering, one of the largest IPOs in Chile. In September 2014, Mr. Weinstein led the sale of CFR to Abbott Laboratories for approximately $2.9 billion.

Mr. Weinstein has been active in developing and managing several businesses and start-up companies via joint ventures with local and foreign R&D companies. Mr. Weinstein has served as a board member in several businesses within the pharmaceutical industry and other industries in three continents.

Mr. Weinstein received a Business and Administration degree from the Universidad Catolica de Chile, and is a certified public auditor and accountant. He participated in the Owner/President Management Program at Harvard Business School.

Mr. Weinstein has more than 10 years experience as executive and investor in the life sciences industry. He most recently served as Vice President of Innovation and Development at Abbott Laboratories. Prior to that he was Vice President of Strategy and Innovation at CFR Pharmaceuticals. He has a proven track record of launching over 300 products in the Pharmaceutical industry in Latin America and completing more than 20 licensing deals including Biotech products and Medical Devices.

He currently serves as a Board Member of Arterys, Convexity Scientific, Hygieacare and Medasense. He previously was a board member of BMRC, a biotech research consortium in Chile.

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