WakeForestU

Confirmed Speakers

• Jacquelyn Fetrow
  Dr. Jacquelyn S. Fetrow is the Reynolds Professor of Computational Biophysics at Wake Forest University, with joint appointments in both the Departments of Physics and Computer science. Her research program focuses on understanding the relationship between protein structure, function and dynamics, with a goal of improving the structure-based drug discovery process. Dr. Fetrow currently serves on the Executive Council of the Protein Society, an international professional organization, theAdvisory Council for the BIO Directorate at the National Science Foundation, and on the Board of Directors of QuantumBio, an early-stage biotechnology software company. Prior to coming to Wake Forest in 2003, Dr. Fetrow served for five years as chief scientific officer and director of GeneFormatics, a biotechnology software company. As part of the executive management team there, she played a key role in developing company strategy, raising over $50 million in three funding rounds, building to a 65-person organization and merging of the company with another biotechnology software company in 2003. Dr. Fetrow co-invented GeneFormatics' primary technologies and holds a U.S. patent for those inventions.
• Don deBethizy
  Dr. deBethizy co-founded Targacept in 1997 and serves as President and Chief Executive Officer and a member of its Board of Directors. Dr. deBethizy is active in the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), serving on its Board of Directors, as a member of both the governing boards of its Emerging Companies and Health Sections. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of LigoCyte Pharmaceuticals, a privately held biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of innovative vaccine products. Dr. deBethizy received a Ph.D. and M.S. in Toxicology from Utah State University and a B.S. in Biology from the University of Maryland, and he is a Diplomat of the American Board of Toxicology.
• Paul Pauca
  Dr. Pauca is an Associate Professor of Computer Science at Wake Forest University. His research interests include movile technology for disabilities, 3-D imaging and gaming for older adults, biometric image recognition, LiDAR and hyperspectral imaging, human computer interfaces for disabilities, digital image processing, and scientific software design. Dr. Pauca, along with some students, created VerbalVictor, a mobile app that allows people, especially children, with communication disabilities to easily communicate. The app allows for parents and therapists to customize the app to each child's specific content needs, offering a flexible, low-cost tool for people with special communication needs.
• Anthony Atala
  Anthony Atala is the director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, where his work focuses on growing and regenerating tissues and organs. His team engineered the first lab-grown organ to be implanted into a human -- a bladder -- and is developing experimental fabrication technology that can "print" human tissue on demand. His lab at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine is engineering over 30 tissues and whole organs. In 2007, Atala and a team of Harvard University researchers showed that stem cells can be harvested from the amniotic fluid of pregnant women. This and other breakthroughs in the development of smart bio-materials and tissue fabrication technology promises to revolutionize the practice of medicine.
• Samuel Cochran
  Samuel Cochran grew up in St. Louis, MO until he attended Northfield Mt. Hermon, graduating in 2001. He then attended Pratt Institute and received his Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Design in 2005. While at Pratt Sam’s academic work spanned sculpture, furniture, product, and transportation with a focus on innovation through the design process and an understanding of technology’s possibilities through systems and objects. Sam’s thesis project at Pratt was GROW, a hybrid solar and wind energy creating device that took on the biomimetic form of ivy. Sam has been the Chief Design Officer at SMIT since 2005, and took over as acting CEO in 2010. In this role he oversees all design, product and manufacturing developments at SMIT with account for their sustainability, profitability and marketability.
• Charles Pell
  Charles Pell has developed technology for the life sciences for over 25 years in both industry and academia. Born an inventor and originally trained as an artist, Chuck became a scientist and executive. Previous positions include co-founder and Director of Science & Technology at Nekton Research (acquired by iRobot), Design Director at Duke University’s BioDesign, and Research Coordinator at Dinamation International. BFA Western Michigan University, MFA Notre Dame. He currently serves as the CSO of Physcient, which brings modern technology to hand-held surgical instruments and envisions smart instruments that speed recovery and improve patients' lives.
• Carol Strohecker
  Carol Strohecker is Director of the Center for Design Innovation, a multi-campus research center of the University of North Carolina. She was Principal Investigator of the Everyday Learning research group at Media Lab Europe, the European research partner of the MIT Media Lab. Prior to joining MLE, Carol worked in the United States at Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories and in the Human Interface Group of Sun Microsystems. She earned the PhD of Media Arts and Sciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1991 and the Master of Science in Visual Studies from MIT in 1986. She has served MIT's Program in Media Arts and Sciences as a Lecturer and as a Presidential Nominee on the MIT Corporation Visiting Committee. Carol has contributed to advisory panels of the European Commission's Directorates-General for Education and Culture and for Information Society and Media. She acts internationally on research-related boards and program committees, and has earned four US patents for her collaborative work in interactive media tools and methods.
• Polly Black
  Polly Black is a professor of Entrepreneurship at Wake Forest University. Since August 2010 Director of the Center for Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurship as well as a Faculty Advisor for Internships and Independent studies. She first earned a Bachelor's degree at Vassar College from where she went on to receive an MBA from the University of Virginia Darden School and then a Master's degree from Columbia University. Ms. Black's career, with over 20 years of experience, exemplifies her work as a consultant and an entrepreneur at corporations HanesBrands, Inc. and Frito Lay. She founded her own consulting firm, BrandCurrents, where she offers insight into the wide-range of risks and rewards that entrepreneurs and businesses often face.
• Lynn Book
  Lynn Book is Director of the Program for Creativity and Innovation with the Office of Entrepreneurship and Liberal Arts and Visiting Associate Professor with the Department of Theatre and Dance at Wake Forest University. She joined the Winston-Salem community in 2005 from New York City, where in 1999 she founded Voicelab, an educational and cultural center producing multifaceted events featuring innovative approaches to performance and new media. She has won several awards that include the Archie Fund for Faculty Excellence, The Creativity and Innovation Fund of the Pro Humanitate Center and two Ethics, Leadership and Civic Responsibility awards that assisted with launching the Program for Creativity and Innovation and the national symposium, “Creativity: Worlds in the Making.” She was awarded the first “Excellence in Entrepreneurship” award for the development of the initial “Foundations in Creativity and Innovation”, 2006.
• Peter Gilbert
  Peter Gilbert is a producer, a director, and a part-time lecturer at Wake Forest University. He has completed work in photographing documentaries, feature films, commercials, and music videos. He served as a Producer and Director of Photography for the 1994 award winning film Hoop Dreams. Gilbert's commercial work includes awarding winning spots for Budweiser, Ford, Major League Baseball, MasterCard, Honda, Principal Financial Group, ESPN, NBA, Accuvue and the Truth campaigns. He has worked on over 60 music videos and concert films. Peter Gilbert is a member of AMPAS, DGA and IATSE 600. He is a director with Workhorse Media, in Los Angeles and New York; and a Board Member of Kartemquin Films, in Chicago.
• Carl Nordgren
  Carl Nordgren is the Founder and Creative Director of Creative Populist, Co-Founder of Minogi, and an Adjunct Professor in Creative Entrepreneurship at Duke University. He is a serial entrepreneur at heart, assisting in the launch of two pioneer cellular service companies, two innovative marketing firms, a software company, a semiconductor company, a college sports magazine publisher, and ran an incubator where he helped launch 5 companies in 14 months. Mr. Nordgren has also written a book, ‘Welcome to the Creative Populist Revolution,’ which addresses the need for creatively entrepreneurial minds to improve the economy and offers guidance for enhancing the creative capacity and development of entrepreneurial instincts in individuals.
• Mary Niepold
  Mary Martin Niepold is the Founder of Nyanya Project and a Lecturer in Journalism at Wake Forest University. In 2009 she was named Purpose Prize Fellow, a national award for the social entrepreneurs over 60 who use their experience and passion to take on society’s biggest challenges. Annually Ms. Niepold takes groups of students to Africa to help with Nyanya Project to help teach grandmothers in Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda how to earn sustainable incomes.
• Andrew DiMeo
  Dr. Andrew DiMeo is an innovator, entrepreneur, consultant, and educator in the Advanced Medical Technology Industry. He is currently a the Assistant Professor of the Practice and Director of Industrial Relations in Medical Technology Innovation and Senior Design at the UNC/NCSU Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering. He is one of the founders of Augment Medical, the North Carolina Medical Device Organization (NCMD), and Gilero. Dr. DiMeo also owns DiMeo Consulting, where he holds consultations on medical technology innovation, company formation, design controls, research and development. His education includes a BS in Physics, English Literature Minor, and Secondary Education from UNC Charlotte; an MS in Biomedical Engineering from UNC Chapel Hill's Medical School; and a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from the UNC/NCSU Joint Department.
• Chris Bashinelli
  Chris Bashinelli is the Executive Producer and Host of the television series, Bridge the Gap, with which he has traveled the world from Tanzania to Thailand. He’s worked with UN Ambassadors and has partnered with international NGO’s including the Jane Goodall Institute and Do Something.org. He’s interviewed people like Paleontologist Richard Leakey, NBA Superstar Dikembe Mutombo and Ice Cream legends Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield. Chris’ experience is in the world of TV, with credits ranging fromThe Sopranos (HBO) to An Inconvenient Truth Special on MTV. He holds a B.A. in Theatre Arts (Cum Laude) from Marymount Manhattan College, is a distinguished Eagle Scout and a United Nations guest speaker.
• Jason Manley
  Jason Manley is the founder of Conceptart.org, One Big Mob, CA Social, The Art Department, where he became President in 2010, and Former President of Massive Black Inc. He is a Concept Artist, Illustrator, Marketing Artist, Lead Artist, Art Director, Game Developer, Consultant, Entrepreneur and field leading Executive. Massive Black Inc. has the largest client list in the Entertainment Art Production industry, including all of the top 20 video game publishers and a minimum of 175 other studios and corporations. His client list include Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, EA, Activision/Blizzard, Square Eniz, Black Isle Studios, and id software to name a few.
• Natasha Gore
  Natasha Gore is the Executive Director of ECHO Network in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The ECHO Council, a diverse group of community leaders, came together to promote the building of social capital in Winston-Salem and Forsyth County. Before her time at ECHO Network, Ms. Gore was a Community Education Coordinator at Smart Start, a Program Officer at the Winston-Salem Foundation, and a Program Assistant at UNC Greensboro in the Office of Leadership and Service Learning as well as in the Office of Political Science.
• Paul Laurienti
  Dr. Laurienti is the director of the Laboratory for Complex Brain Networks at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine. His research focuses on a systems approach to studying the brain. The use of network science to evaluate whole brain networks promises to shed light on the complex interactions between brain regions rather than focusing on the individual brain areas. This is critical for studies directed toward alteration in brain function as damage or degeneration of one brain area alters the entire brain network and has potential implications for virtually every process. The majority of his work is directed at understanding age-related changes in brain networks. He is also interested in the preservation of brain health through various interventions and associated changes in network connectivity in older adults. Using magnetic resonance imaging, he and his research team generate functional and structural brain networks. They are applying the growing arsenal of tools available to study complex networks to these brain networks to identify age-related alterations in connectivity and network structure. In addition, they are involved in methodological development to further the use of network science to study normal and abnormal brain function.
• DeEtta Famiano
  DeEtta Famiano spent much of her childhood in the wildly beautiful Upper Peninsula of Michigan where she pursued art. After several years working in a philosopher's bookstore, she entered the physically challenging world of residential construction in North Carolina at age 21. In 2009, she received an Associates degree in Architectural Technology from Forsyth Tech and earned her LEED AP. She co-founded Famiano Design Group in 2011, which specializes in cutting edge Building Information Modeling, clash detection and large scale 3D laser scanning technology.