JOHN OSBORNE

John is Managing Director of AlphaDev LLC.  Prior to joining AlphaDev, John founded three successful venture funded startup companies ranging from a NYC-based digital technology company, to a national retail DVD rental business, to a venture-funded life science company.   John's track record of developing and leading early stage ventures, managing their growth, and assembling world class leadership teams to build long term value combine to advance the value creation efforts at AlphaDev's portfolio companies and its broader strategic objectives.  Having raised $100+ million in institutional financing, John also brings deep experience working with professional investors to fund promising venture-stage companies.  John received his MBA from Rice University, Jones School of Business and received his B.B.A in finance from Southern Methodist University.

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BEN HERTZOG, Ph.D.

Ben Hertzog is Managing Director of AlphaDev, LLC. Ben joined AlphaDev in 2009 and brings over a decade of experience in healthcare and life sciences as an entrepreneur, investor and management consultant. Ben manages day-to-day operations, portfolio strategy and deal flow, as well as spending considerable time advising AlphaDev’s portfolio companies.

Ben is also a founder of Hertzog Partners, LLC., an entity he founded in 2007 to provide consulting services and look for acquisition opportunities in later-stage opportunities. Hertzog Partners is focused on profitable, privately-owned companies in healthcare technology, products and services.

Prior to Hertzog Partners, Ben was Vice President of BCM Technologies, an early-stage venture capital firm affiliated with Baylor College of Medicine. Ben was also an engagement manager with the management consulting firm McKinsey & Co. where he was a member of the firm’s Pharmaceutical and Medical Products Practice.

Ben has a Ph.D. from the graduate program of Artificial Organs, Biomaterials, and Cellular Technology at Brown University and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Trinity University.

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BRENTON SCOTT, Ph.D.

Dr. Brenton Scott is an AlphaDev Associate and the COO and co-founder of Pulmotect, a company holding multiple patents for activating innate lung immunity defenses. Brenton brings a distinguished career in biochemistry and cell biology research at Rice University and MD Anderson Cancer Center and is a co-founder of Pulmotect. Brenton received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Cell Biology from Rice University and his MBA from the University of Houston in 2005.

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GRAHAM RANDALL, Ph.D.

Dr. Randall is expected to join AlphaDev as an Entrepreneur-In-Residence. Dr. Randall brings a catalog of accomplishments as a serial entrepreneur involved with several Silicon Valley start-ups. Dr. Randall has been involved with AlphaDev since 2007 working on NIH grant applications as well as business planning for several AlphaDev companies.

Graham received his MBA from Rice University in 2008 and his Ph.D. in Molecular Biophysics from the Baylor College of Medicine in August 2008. Graham’s research focused on understanding the role of DNA structures and its possible application in the development of anti-cancer targets an antibiotic agents. Graham also holds a BA in Applied Mathematics from UC Berkeley.

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MEREDITH BROWN

Meredith is Director of Business Development and Strategy at AlphaDev. She advises on venture assessment and business strategy, including launch and marketing plans. She performs due diligence research and assists with regulatory submissions and clinical development planning.

Meredith also serves as a life science reviewer with the Gulf Coast Regional Center for Innovation and Commercialization for the Texas Emerging Technology Fund.

Prior to joining AlphaDev, Meredith founded a genetic diagnostic firm and provided operational leadership. She also has consulted in the areas of corporate strategy development, industry research, business investment, and science and technology evaluation.

Meredith graduated from the University of California at Santa Barbara with a biological sciences degree, worked at Baylor College of Medicine, MD Anderson Cancer Center, and the University of Utah’s Huntsman Cancer Institute before earning her MBA at the University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business.

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MICHAEL CUCHIARA

Michael Cuchiara is a scientific consultant for AlphaDev LLC. While at AlphaDev, Michael has helped to manage intellectual property, facilitate prototype design and development activities, as well as source and analyze potential investment opportunities. Prior to working at AlphaDev, Michael obtained his B.S. in Bioengineering from Arizona State University. Currently, Michael is pursuing his Ph.D. in Bioengineering at Rice University in Dr. Jennifer West’s research group where he is developing hydrogel microfabrication technologies for tissue engineering applications.

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DIANE MARKESICH, Ph.D.

Diane is a business development consultant for AlphaDev LLC. Areas of specialization include molecular cell biology, genetics and genomics, with application in drug target discovery. Dr. Markesich has advanced experience in large-scale tissue culture operations with a focus on production of embryonic stem cell clone libraries and in vitro differentiation of stem cells. As Associate Director of Target Validation at Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, she led the high-throughput mouse phenotyping facility, which assessed gene function in the context of medically relevant physiology. Prior to entering the biomedical research industry, Dr. Markesich received her Ph.D. from the Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology at Rice University, specializing in the molecular genetic analysis of embryonic development. Her postdoctoral training included a fellowship in Developmental Gastroenterology in the Department of Pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital. Her early career as a scientist was spent in the Digestive Diseases research laboratories at the Houston Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center and Baylor College of Medicine, where she studied the infectious etiology of gastrointestinal diseases. Her undergraduate degree is in Chemistry, from Gannon University.

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LEO LINBECK III

Leo Linbeck is the Chairman of AlphaDev Management Partners and President and CEO of Aquinas Companies, LLC, the sponsor of AlphaDev. The Aquinas Companies, founded more than 70 years ago, have experienced exceptional growth over the last decade to achieve revenues now exceeding $600 million annually, with particular experience in healthcare facilities development and operations, as well as real estate and construction.

Mr. Linbeck’s track record of leading and managing high-growth enterprises, technical engineering expertise and passion for entrepreneurship combine to advance all of AlphaDev’s managed companies as well as AlphaDev’s broader commercialization objectives.

He graduated from the University of Notre Dame with both Civil Engineering and Liberal Arts degrees, received a Masters in Engineering from the University of Texas and then earned his MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. Mr. Linbeck serves on the graduate business faculty at both Rice University and Stanford University, where he teaches courses he developed on the subject of managing business growth.

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MARK WORSCHEH

Mark Worscheh is the CFO of AlphaDev Management Partners, as well as the Executive Vice President of Aquinas Companies. He focuses on capital raising, structuring and development strategy for the portfolio companies, relying on his nearly 20-year experience as both an investment banker and a start-up company CFO.

He spent nearly ten years in investment banking for a variety of global investment banking firms (Merrill Lynch, Bankers Trust and NatWest Capital Markets) before his five-year position as CFO of a venture capital-backed entertainment venue developer and operator. For the past five years, Mr. Worscheh has overseen Aquinas’s third-party investments in private equities and real estate, as well as handing or advising on financial assignments for the Aquinas Companies and selected third parties.

Mr. Worscheh graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a degree in Economics and also earned an MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

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MARTIN LINDENBERG

Dr. Lindenberg is co-founder and board member of AlphaDev.

Among his over thirty-five years of varied business experiences, Dr. Lindenberg has been involved with six successful biotech start-ups that have progressed to acquisition or IPO. Dr. Lindenberg led a $9M seed financing for Xeotron Corp. in Houston prior to the company’s acquisition by Invitrogen in 2005 and also was a founder and VP of Biofield Corp. through a series of VC financings. The company went public at a market cap of $70M in 1996.

Martin received his MD and MBA degrees from the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. Martin was also the founding chairman of the Houston Technology Center in 1997 where he remains an active board member. He also serves on the boards of educational and community organizations.

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