Board of Advisors

 

Cleland Landolt, M.D., FACS FACC FACP

Former Chief Medical Officer & VP, Business Development, Berkeley HeartLab

Dr. Landolt brings extensive experience to the Board of Advisors as a life sciences industry executive and consultant following a successful clinical career as a cardiothoracic and vascular surgeon. In various corporate roles, he has run strategic and business development groups, and served as chief medical officer and chief operating officer. He currently provides a wide range of medical and strategic consulting services to start-up and established biotechnology and life sciences companies.

Dr. Landolt served as Chief Medical Officer and Chief Operating Officer for Novellus Research Sites, a multi-site clinical research company, where he functioned as Principal Investigator or Sub-Investigator on every clinical trial. Previously, he was Chief Medical Officer and Vice President of Corporate Development for Berkeley HeartLab, Inc., part of the Celera Group, a laboratory diagnostics business. Dr. Landolt, who had primary strategic responsibility for developing emerging technologies and new ventures, also initiated strategic planning and discussions that led to Berkeley’s $195 million acquisition by Celera.

He served as Vice President for Business Development of Collateral Therapeutics, Inc., an early-stage biotechnology company focused on clinical development of cardiovascular gene therapy, where he focused on product development and new strategic and partnership opportunities. Prior to transitioning to industry in 2001, Dr. Landolt had successful cardiac surgical practices on the East Coast and the West Coast, preceded by teaching appointments at Harvard University, University of California San Francisco and Emory University. Dr. Landolt completed his secondary education at Phillips Exeter Academy, and his undergraduate studies at Harvard College, graduating Cum Laude in Biology.

He received his M.D. from Cornell University Medical College and completed a post-doctoral research fellowship at the Cardiovascular Research Institute, San Francisco. He completed a Surgical Trauma Fellowship at Mission Emergency, San Francisco General Hospital, and a Transplant Fellowship at Pacific Medical Center, San Francisco. His Cardiothoracic Surgery residency and fellowship were at Emory University in Atlanta followed by a fellowship in Congenital Cardiovascular Surgery at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
 

Gail Naughton, Ph.D.

CEO, Histogen; Director, C.R. Bard, Inc.; former Dean, SDSU College of Business

As a member of the Board of Advisers to Perminova, Gail Naughton delivers a wealth of leadership experience throughout the fields of business, finance, biomedicine and academia. Naughton is currently CEO and Chairman of Histogen, Inc., a firm dedicated to redefining regenerative medicine. She also serves as a Director for C.R. Bard, Inc., a global company whose Electrophysiology Division develops diagnostic devices for treatment of cardiac arrhythmias.

Previously, Naughton was Dean of the College of Business Administration at San Diego State University, a position she held for nine years. She was the first female biotechnology entrepreneur to lead a major U.S. business school. Prior to joining San Diego State, Naughton was a respected scientist and corporate executive, with an accomplished background in the field of tissue engineering. She co-founded Advanced Tissue Sciences in 1986, serving as Principal Scientist before rising to Executive VP, Chief Scientific Officer and then President and Chief Operating Officer.

Before founding Advanced Tissue Sciences, Naughton held professorships at City University of New York, Hunter College and York College. Naughton also was Assistant Professor of Research at New York University Medical Center. She holds over 90 U.S. and foreign patents and is extensively published in the field of tissue engineering. In 2000, she received the 27th Annual National Inventor of the Year award by the Intellectual Property Owners Association in honor of her pioneering work in the field of tissue engineering.

Naughton serves on the Advisory Boards of the Department of Bioengineering at Johns Hopkins University and Georgia Institute of Technology. She is a Member of the Industrial Liaison Board at the UC San Diego, Georgia Institute of Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Washington. She is a Member of the UC San Diego Connect Leadership Council and San Diego Science & Technology Council, and she also is a Director of the City of Hope. Naughton earned a BS from St. Francis College, Brooklyn, New York, and both an MS in Histology and a Ph.D. in Hematology from New York University Medical Center. She also holds an MBA in Executive Management from the Anderson School at the UCLA.
 

Steve Hall

Former Sr. Partner & COO, Regent Surgical Health

With Hall as a member, the Board of Advisors gains a lifetime of experience in the health care industry and particularly in the administration of hospital systems and surgical units. Hall served as Senior Partner and Chief Operating Officer at Regent Surgical Health, a company that was a start-up when he first began working there in 2002 but today owns 15 ambulatory surgical centers and two specialty hospitals. He retired in 2009 but continued to serve as consultant and interim administrator.

Previously, he was Senior Vice President of NovaTelligence, Inc., a start-up healthcare technology company that was an early developer of electronic medical record devices. During the 1970s, ‘80s and ‘90s, Hall served in executive management for several hospitals and health care systems. He was Chief Executive Officer of Harbor View Medical Center in San Diego for Tenet Health Care Corp.; Chief Executive Officer for two hospitals owned by HCA Healthcare Corp.; Director of Operations for 11 hospitals for Epic Health Group, for which he also was Chief Executive Officer of Mission Bay and Claremont Hospitals in San Diego; and Chief Executive Officer of French Hospital in San Francisco.

Hall was an Army Medical Service Officer who served in Vietnam, where he received the Soldier’s Medal, Purple Heart, Bronze Star and Combat Medical Badge. He received a BA from Wake Forest University Winston-Salem, NC, and an MHA from Trinity University in San Antonio, TX.
 

Erik Viirre, M.D., Ph.D.

Director of Neurology, UC San Diego School of Medicine

Dr. Viirre brings to the Board of Advisors at Perminova a variety of expertise in start-up companies, clinical practice and health research. An Adjunct Professor in the UC San Diego Departments of Neurosciences, Surgery and Cognitive Science, Dr. Viirre also has participated in a variety of start-up companies, including Zero G Corporation and Otosound LLC, the latter of which is bringing to market technology for treatment of tinnitus that he developed and patented at UC San Diego.

As a researcher, he has worked on major grants from the National Institutes of Health, the United States Navy’s Office of Naval Research, DARPA and NASA. He is a consultant for groups such as the National Academy of Science and a variety of virtual reality technology companies. As a physician, his clinical practice is at UC San Diego Medical Center, where he treats patients with tinnitus, vertigo and hearing loss, a specialty referred to as Neurotology. He also trains medical students, audiology students, clinical house-staff and fellows from the UC San Diego School of Medicine. Dr. Viirre received his Ph.D. in Neurophysiology and his M.D. at the University of Western Ontario.

He was a fellow at the Robarts Research Institute in functional imaging and later a visiting professor in Neurology and Ophthalmology at UCLA, where he did a fellowship in medical neurotology. He was a Scientist at the Human Interface Technology Lab at the University of Washington, and is currently a Senior Scientist in the Human Performance Department of the US Navy’s Naval Health Research Center.
 

Poonam Alaigh, M.D., MSHCPM FACP

Former Commissioner, Health & Senior Services, State of New Jersey

Dr. Alaigh brings to the Perminova Board of Advisors a unique and dynamic blend of experience in clinical practice, public and private sector leadership, hospital administration, research and academia. A board certified internist with a vascular medicine specialty, Dr. Alaigh also has a comprehensive knowledge of health policy, healthcare reform, cost-effective care and quality outcomes, along with expertise in organizational management.

She was Commissioner of Health and Senior Services for the State of New Jersey, an executive-level state agency with a $3.8 billion budget and 1,700 employees where she answered to the Governor of New Jersey. Her key responsibilities included state and national health care policy, public health, senior care and quality and regulatory oversight of healthcare institutions in New Jersey. Previously, she was Executive Medical Director of Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, National Medical Director of GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals, Medical Director of Vytra Health Plans of New York, and Associate Medical Director of the Long Island Medical Care Group. Her clinical practice was at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Lyons, NJ. Dr. Alaigh also is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Practice at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, was recently appointed by Governor Christie to the State Health Planning Board and has joined The Common Sense Institute of New Jersey, the state’s premier free-market public policy think tank.

She has been very active in the American Heart Association, and has served as the President of the Northern New Jersey chapter in 2006. Dr. Alaigh received her medical degree from Lady Hardinge Medical College at Delhi University in India and later an MS in Health Care Policy and Management at SUNY at Stony Brook in New York.
 

Martin Staszak

Director of Software Development, Entropic Communications

Martin Staszak brings to the Perminova Board of Advisors three decades of leadership expertise in software engineering, system architecture and project management with pioneering high-tech companies in telecommunications, digital electronics and semiconductor industries. Currently, Staszak is Founder and CEO of Cogent Tech Enterprises, LLC, a provider of hardware and software solutions for vertical markets including communications, life sciences, home entertainment and energy management.

Previously, he was Senior Director of Software Engineering at Entropic Communications, a fabless semiconductor company. Prior to that, Staszak was Architect/Project Manager at Intel, where he was responsible for specifying Centrino wireless products and leading international teams in software development. He spent many years at 3Com, where he was Director of Software for Wireless LANs, Director of Technology and Research & Development and Director of Software and Systems Management. Staszak was Project Manager at Teknekron Communications Systems, Inc. He began his high-tech industry career as a Member of the Scientific Staff at Bell-Northern Research.

He holds several patents, including Method for Reducing Noise from an ADSL Modem and Method for Optimizing Downstream Data Transfer in an ADSL Modem. Staszak is a selection committee member for CommNexus, a non-profit high-tech trade organization that stimulate the growth of new high technology companies. Staszak works with EvoNexus, the CommNexus business incubator, to recruit and mentor new companies. He also is a board member of UC San Diego Executive Management Program for Scientists and Engineers. Staszak has a BS in Computer Science and Mathematics from UC Davis. He is a two-time Ultimate Frisbee National Champion.
 

Michael K. Perry

CEO, CRISI Medical Systems

Michael K. Perry joins the Perminova Board of Advisors with over 25 years of leadership experience in the medical technology industry. He is Chief Executive Officer and Director of CRISI Medical Systems, a San Diego-based medical technology company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative medication management products designed to make the delivery of intravenous drugs safer, more accurate and more cost-effective. From 1998 to 2009, Perry was CEO and Director of CardioDynamics, the innovator of a new measurement technology to noninvasively access a patient’s cardiac performance. Perry successfully built the public company from zero revenue to a $41 million profitable business before it was sold to SonoSite, Inc.

In 2003, Perry was named San Diego Entrepreneur of the Year for Medical Products and Technology. From 1994 to 1997, he was Vice President of Operations at Pyxis Corporation, and in 1995 assumed additional responsibility as Vice President for Research and Development. Pyxis Corporation was a pioneer of healthcare automation and information management services, in addition to pharmacy management services to hospitals and outpatient facilities. Perry was part of the executive team that successfully acquired and integrated three businesses into Pyxis, and in 1996 sold the company to Cardinal Health, Inc. Prior to joining Pyxis, Perry served in several management assignments with Hewlett-Packard’s Medical Products Group in manufacturing and finance.

Additionally, he was Director of Quality for a division of Hewlett-Packard’s DeskJet Printer Group. Perry holds an MBA from Harvard University and a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering from General Motors Institute. Perry serves as an Executive Committee member of the Advisory Board of the UC San Diego Cardiovascular Center. He and his wife, Karilyn, are among the founding families of Pacific Ridge School, an independent school in Carlsbad, CA.

 

Keith Jay Wahl, M.D., FACS

As a member of the Perminova Board of Advisors, Dr. Wahl contributes nearly 40 years as a practicing surgeon and significant experience as consultant and mentor to early- and middle-stage businesses in health-related and other fields.

He is founder of A-K Technology Consultants, a company that evaluates start-up and early-stage companies for business development and funding opportunities. Dr. Wahl is a partner in Pixon Imaging, Inc., a high-tech image enhancement development company; A-K Technology Consultants secured funding for Pixon to advance its core business of image enhancement products and software for the military and Border Patrol. Dr. Wahl also is a partner in Reltok Nasal Products LLC and co-developer of its product, Kotler Nasal Airway, a post-operative device for nasal and sinus surgery patients.

He has been a Board of Advisors member for SinusPharma, a company that specializes in sinus care therapies. Dr. Wahl was COO of VR Neurotech LLC, a start-up company that produced a life-saving device for fatigued drivers and equipment operators. And he was founder of Advanced Data Concepts Computer Systems, an early software developer for ambulatory surgery center billing. Dr. Wahl is a medical consultant to the State of California Department of Social Services and the Medical Board of California.

Dr. Wahl has been practicing medicine since 1972. He is a Fellow at the American College of Surgeons, American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, American Society of Head and Neck Surgeons, American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery and American Academy of Liposuction Surgery. Dr. Wahl was Chief of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery at Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego, Chief of Otolaryngology at Scripps Memorial Hospital in San Diego, and Chief of Surgery and Chief of Staff at Pioneers Memorial Hospital in Brawley. Dr. Wahl was an assistant clinical professor at UC San Diego School of Medicine, and taught at many other institutions as well.

He graduated from UCLA with a BS in pre-med and earned his MD at UC Irvine. His residencies in general surgery and otolaryngology/head and neck surgery were completed at UCLA and Stanford University.