Edmund "Morrie" Ruffin, MA :: Managing Partner

Morrie Ruffin has over 20 years of experience in the Biotech and Healthcare industries. Prior to joining Adjuvant, he was the Chief Executive Officer of LifeTech Innovations, LLC a business development consulting firm based in Bethesda, MD. Prior to his position at LTI, Morrie was Executive Vice President of Capital Formation and Business Development at the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), the largest trade organization representing the biotech and drug development industries. Joining BIO in 1994 as one of its original employees, Morrie was responsible for building the organization's global business development and investor outreach programs focused on helping companies raise capital and identify strategic partnering and licensing opportunities. This BIO business development franchise is now the largest in the world, with operations in the US, Europe, and Japan.

In addition to his business development work at BIO, Morrie was responsible for leading the industry's capital formation advocacy efforts with a focus on economic incentives to promote investment in early stage biotech and med-tech businesses. Morrie was a founder and board member of the Interoperable Informatics Infrastructure Consortium (I3C), an international standards setting body for the bioinformatics industry.

Prior to joining BIO, Morrie worked for US Senator Arlen Specter for five years as his senior legislative assistant. Prior to that, he spent approximately five years working in varying capacities, including policy analyst, at Systems Planning Corporation International and the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Morrie received his MA in International Studies & Economics from the Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and his BA from the University of Virginia.

Sarah Haecker, PhD :: Chief Scientific Officer

Sarah Haecker has 20 years of senior-level management experience in business strategy, business development, licensing, opportunity assessment, market analysis and strategic partnering in a diverse range of industries including regenerative medicine, biotech and Internet technology.

Currently, she is an independent consultant in the regenerative medicine industry lending her expertise to a wide range of clients, including large cap pharma, emerging growth companies, venture capital and university tech transfer. She has a broad technical knowledge base in regenerative medicine, tissue engineering, stem cell biology and research applications, gene and cell therapy, and has authored numerous articles and chapters in both scientific and business literature. Additionally, she is a member of the medical advisory board for Park BioVentures, previously held the position of Vice President, Business Development for Orasi Medical, Circle Biologics and BioE.

Sarah holds a PhD in molecular biology and bioethics from the University of Minnesota and a BS in biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin. She has continued her education in the MBA program at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business.

Bethany Kraynack :: Vice President, Operations

Bethany Kraynack brings nearly 15 years of experience to Adjuvant, with specific expertise in entrepreneurship, working with both emerging technology and life sciences companies.

Prior to Adjuvant, Bethany spent seven years with CONNECT, a San Diego-based not-for-profit focused on accelerating the commercialization of new technology and life sciences products. At CONNECT, Bethany oversaw a variety of programs and activities, honing an exceptional skill set in non-profit management, operations, program design, project management, marketing and branding, event planning and budget management.

Bethany is a native of Pennsylvania, where she graduated with a BA from Gettysburg College. She currently resides in La Jolla, CA (San Diego) with her husband and two young daughters.

Robert Margolin, MBS, MBA :: Vice President, Research

Robert Margolin has 10 years of biotechnology industry experience focused directly in the stem cell and regenerative medicine sectors.

Prior to joining Adjuvant, Rob served as Director of Marketing at Cell Line Genetics, a New York-based biotechnology company focused on stem cell characterization and quality assurance services and products for the regenerative medicine market. Before Cell Line Genetics, Rob was Associate Director at the Genetics Policy Institute (GPI), a leading advocacy organization for the stem cell community. He organized the World Stem Cell Summit, the flagship international event of the stem cell sector, from 2008 to 2010, founded and published three corresponding World Stem Cell Reports and managed GPI's strategic initiatives. Prior to that, Rob performed stem cell and personalized medicine market research, published various intelligence reports, and headed stem cell business development efforts for Burrill & Company and Burrill Life Sciences Media Group.

Rob holds a Masters of Biomedical Science with a concentration in stem cell biology from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and an MBA from Rutgers University.

Shosh Merchav, PhD, MBA :: Senior Consultant

Shosh Merchav has been involved in the field of Regenerative Medicine since the early 80's, both in the Academic as well as Industrial setting.

Shosh joined Teva in 2006 to head the Cell Therapy Projects Unit at Teva Innovative Ventures, where she was responsible for supporting and overseeing preclinical-to registration phase projects utilizing hematopoietic, adult, mesenchymal and embryonic stem cells in the fields of oncology, heart failure, neurodegenerative and peripheral artery disease. Prior to joining Teva, Shosh served as Director of Research and Operations at ViaCell Singapore Pte. Ltd., which she established in 2002 as a subsidiary of ViaCell Inc., and managed till 2006.

Before her work in the Biotech Industry, Shosh held a tenured academic position from 1986 till 2006 at the department of Cell Biology, Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion, Israel, where she established and headed the Experimental Hematopoiesis and Cell Therapy Unit. Shosh's translational research activities focused on normal and malignant hematopoiesis, identification and functional characterization of mesenchymal stem cells and Cord Blood Stem Cell Expansion technologies, the latter was recently licensed to Pluristem Inc.

Jeff Conroy :: Senior Consultant

Jeff Conroy has over 20 years of experience in biotechnology business development and commercialization strategy. Much of his recent work has been in transaction advisory services and alliance development, including in-licensing, partnering, and commercialization of preclinical, clinical and marketed pharmaceutical products.

Jeff has served as the CEO of Innovative Biologics, Inc, a small molecule anti-infectives company developing inhibitors of pore-forming toxins for Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection. Prior to Adjuvant, Jeff held general management and marketing leadership positions with Thermo BioAnalysis, a division of Thermo Electron (NYSE:TMO). Prior to Thermo, Jeff held sales, marketing and business development positions at Transgenic Sciences Corp. and Abbott Laboratories.

Jeff is a member of the Licensing Executives Society and serves on the Board of the Virginia Biotechnology Association. He holds adjunct faculty appointments at Georgetown University Medical School and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Jeff holds a BS in Finance from Providence College.