Biotechnology Summit
Speaker and Panelist Bios

Kevin J. Tracey is president of The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, and professor of Molecular Medicine and Neurosurgery at the Zucker School of Medicine. He is a leader in the study of the molecular basis of inflammation and bioelectronic medicine. He and his colleagues identified the neural mechanism for controlling the immunological responses to infection and injury, and developed devices to replace anti-inflammatory drugs in clinical trials of rheumatoid arthritis, a new field termed bioelectronic medicine. The recipient of numerous awards and honors, including an honorary degree from the Karolinska Institute, Dr. Tracey is a fellow in the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, and the Association of American Physicians. He is co-founder and councilor of the Global Sepsis Alliance, a non-profit organization supporting the efforts of over 1 million caregivers in more than 70 countries.

Professor Tracey graduated summa cum laude from Boston College, majoring in chemistry, and received his MD from Boston University. He trained in neurosurgery at the New York Hospital/Cornell University Medical Center, and was guest investigator at The Rockefeller University. Since 1992 he has directed the Laboratory of Biomedical Science in Manhasset, NY, where in 2005 he was appointed president of the Feinstein Institutes. Dr. Tracey delivers lectures nationally and internationally on inflammation, sepsis, the neuroscience of immunity, and bioelectronic medicine. He is the author of Fatal Sequence (Dana Press) and more than 360 scientific papers.

Research focus

The major focus of Dr. Tracey’s laboratory is the molecular basis of inflammation and identifying the mechanism by which neurons control the immune system.

Dr. Tracey participated in the discovery of the direct inflammatory activity of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF) and the therapeutic role of monoclonal anti-TNF. He and his colleagues discovered the role of HMGB1 in inflammation, and identified the molecular mechanisms for signal transduction by signaling through pattern recognition receptors. This provided the first direct evidence to unify mechanisms of inflammation produced by molecules derived from the pathogen and host.

His laboratory discovered the molecular mechanism for the neural control of inflammation, now termed the inflammatory reflex. They delineated the neurophysiological mechanism as dependent upon action potentials transmitted in the vagus nerve, which regulate a T cell subset in spleen that produce acetylcholine. This lymphocyte derived neurotransmitter interacts with alpha-7 nicotinic receptors expressed in macrophages. Signal transduction via this receptor-ligand interaction inhibits cytokine release by suppressing inflammasome activation.

These discoveries enabled Dr. Tracey and his colleagues to develop devices to replace anti-inflammatory drugs. This new field, termed bioelectronic medicine, utilizes electrons delivered to neurons to modulate pathogenic targets in disease. The lead program utilizes devices to stimulate the inflammatory reflex, which inhibits TNF in healthy subjects and in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. His lab participated in reporting the first successful clinical trial demonstrating that vagus nerve stimulation can be effective in methotrexate-resistant rheumatoid arthritis patients.

Dr. Gruber received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and biology from the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota, and a doctorate in chemistry from the University of Minnesota. He also earned a master’s degree in business administration from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.

Dr. Gruber has received numerous awards including: The George Washington Carver Award from BIO, The Presidential Green Chemistry Award, The Discover Award for Environmental Innovation from Discover Magazine, The Lee W. Rivers Innovation Award from CDMA, an Outstanding Achievement Award from the University of MN in 2011, The Julius Stieglitz Award from the University of Chicago, The Kirkpatrick Award from Chemical Engineering, Design and Engineering Award from Popular Mechanics, Technology of the Year Award from Industry Week, Technology of the Year Award from United States DOE, and numerous others. Dr. Gruber was the editor of the two-volume book “Biorefineries—Industrial Processes and Products,” and holds more than 60 US patents, with several others pending.

After her studies, her husband, Ghislain Auclair, and she, wanted to create and develop their own business together. Sensitive to ecology and the current issues related to it, particularly in cities (pollution, overconsumption of energy and lack of greenery), they are willing to develop a technology based on Biology to offer an alternative to current urban lighting and re-enchant our cities. They then thought of bioluminescence, the ability of certain organisms, such as the firefly, to naturally create light. And they were like, “why not make some bioluminescent plants? », Plants that emit their own light. We would then have a perfect lamp that would not require electricity or connection, would be 100% recyclable, depolluting (thanks to the natural capacity of plants to fix CO2, the main greenhouse gas), and with an adaptable form. These perfect biolights can also be differentiating objects of decoration which would be unique in the world. We can create totally new bioluminescent experiences with those plants.

Since the start of this project to create bioluminescent plants in January 2016, Rose-Marie has focused on training in different aspects of entrepreneurship such as market research, commercial negotiation, business management, marketing and communication through various training courses at private institutes, at the University of Strasbourg and at the Alsatian innovative business incubator SEMIA to perfect her skills and develop Woodlight.

This entrepreneurial adventure has led them to develop a Fab-Lab type biotechnology prototyping laboratory (the Biotech-Lab), which is open to any entrepreneur, a first in Strasbourg. Since the opening of the Biotech-Lab at the University of Strasbourg in spring 2018, Rose-Marie has been working on the development of Woodlight products, she is the CSO of the project.

Woodlight has been multi-awarded and has obtained various fundings which allowed it to hire a Plant Biology engineer. After obtaining a first proof of concept in 2018, the team grew and we obtained the first bioluminescent plant cells at the end of summer 2020. We are in the process of developing the first prototypes of bioluminescent plants that we think we will get this year.

In addition to her activities at Woodlight, for the past two years she has been bringing her professional experience to the benefit of innovative entrepreneurs and students through various training courses, and interventions that she gives in addition to being a jury for various competitions for innovative projects.

Not all of her professional activities prevent her from traveling and nourishing his creativity through artistic activities such as theater, painting and music.

Babak led the college to introduction of its first Ph.D. program in computer science, as well as continues to forge mobility and exchange programs with the world’s leading universities. In January 2021, the CoECS received Bronze Level Recognition from the American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) Diversity Recognition Program (ADRP). The Bronze level recognition means that the CoECS is among the nation’s leaders in inclusive excellence. Babak fostered the growth of the Entrepreneurship and Technology Innovation Center (ETIC) of the College to become a regionally recognized student entrepreneurship and training center for internships and research and development collaboration with the industry. A focus on research and scholarship has resulted in the college’s research grant awards to increase 18% in one year from the 2019-20 academic year.

Babak’s experience in higher education spans over 34 years, where he has served as a full-time faculty member, President of the Senate, Associate Dean, and Dean. As dean of the engineering college, Babak led the development and implementation of a strategy to improve undergraduate student retention, place new emphasis on experiential and service learning, expand internships, achieve success in national and international student competitions, promote STEM education among high school students, promote gender equity and broadening participation of under-represented groups in engineering, increase the impact of research programs, and expand industrial partnerships with the college.

Babak has served as a member of the IEEE Board of Directors (2018-19), and a member of the Board of Directors of Long Island Software & Technology Network (LISTnet). In 2021 Babak serves as a member of the Educational Activities Board and the Chair of the Continuing Education Committee. He has been a member of Publication Services & Products Board (PSPB) of the IEEE.

An expert in embedded systems, signal processing and real-time applications, his research interests include real-time operating systems, performance analysis, secure embedded systems, wireless sensor networks, and wireless systems. He has supervised dozens of graduate and undergraduate students and is author of numerous technical papers in these areas. He is also an NSF Reviewer 2020 and 2021.

Babak is a recipient of the IEEE, MGA Leadership Award, IEEE Millennium Medal, the IEEE LI Section Athanasios Papoulis Outstanding Educator Award (given for noteworthy contributions to engineering education), and three IEEE Region 1 Awards, including 2008 IEEE Northeastern Region Technical Innovation Award "For Providing Technical Leadership in the Development of State-of-the Art Reconfigurable Wireless Technologies."

He has over 20 years of experience in R&D for embedded systems and wireless technology industry, where he has successfully managed joint R&D programs with Asian, European, and U.S. companies including Siemens Mobile, Nokia, Samsung, KDDI, and LG.

Babak received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, and his master's and bachelor's degrees in Electrical Engineering at Stony Brook University.

In 2014 Mr.Deri founded bluShift Aerospace, which is preparing to conduct the first ever commercial launch of a rocket powered by bio-derived fuel anywhere in the world, using a proprietary modular hybrid rocket engine that is also unique to the aerospace industry. Their series of small rockets will be able to lift 30-kilogram payloads suborbitally to space and then to low Earth orbit for academic research and commercial customers.

Mr.Deri grew up in Maine. He earned a degree in physics from Earlham College and a second degree in electrical engineering from University of Southern Maine. He lives in Brunswick, Maine, with his wife and two daughters.

Cat received her Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Cambridge in the UK, and completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Stony Brook Medicine. She also has an MBA in Healthcare Management from Stony Brook University. Cat is a co-author on several peer-reviewed publications and patents. She serves as a director of the Townwide Fund of Huntington, and Syosset School District’s Business Advisory Board.

His research experience and interests cover a broad range, from Medical Cyber Physical Systems (implantable, wearable and assistive technology) to modeling biological systems. Dr. Farajidavar has authored more than 50 peer-reviewed journal and conference papers/abstracts. He has served as technical committee member for several international IEEE conferences. He serves as a member of MTT-10, Biological Effects and Medical Applications of RF and Microwave committee, and Engineering in Medicine & Biology Society.

Prior to Rover, Mark co-founded and ran Clarapath, a robotic microtomy company that automates the most labor-intensive step of histology, the sectioning of anatomic pathology samples. Clarapath is now part of Northwell Health. Under Mark's leadership, Clarapath's lab at the New York Genome Center achieved CLEP certification.

Mark also has extensive experience building and running software companies. He co-founded FatWire software, an enterprise content management platform, and served as its CEO for over ten years. FatWire was acquired by Oracle for $163M. After FatWire, Mark helped fund and launch a variety of tech companies, including Clearpath Robotics and Touch Bistro. Mark won a regional E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year award (2000) and served on the NYS Regional Economic Development Council. He served as a board member of Overseas Military Sales Corporation for 14 years and the YPO Big Apple Gold chapter for 20 years. Marked earned his BA from Cornell and his Ph.D. in Computer Science/AI from the University of Chicago.

The medical devices produced by ALA can be found in dozens of references in the methods section in published scientific papers and journals such as Science, Nature, The Journal of Neuroscience, Nature Methods, Biophysical Journal, Journal of General Physiology, Pflugers Archive, Nature Neuroscience, and more.

Kriegstein is a graduate of Union College and is a member of ember Sigma Xi, Society for Neuroscience, Biophysical Society, and the Society for Vertebrate Paleontology.

With more than 10 years of college-level teaching experience, Nizich holds a Ph.D. in Information Studies from Long Island University, a master’s degree in Technology Systems Management from Stony Brook University, and a bachelor’s degree in Computer Information Systems from Dowling College.

Through ETIC programs, Nizich regularly connects both domestic and international students with internships and full-time positions in cybersecurity. He also directs New York Tech’s Center of Academic Excellence for Cybersecurity Education, designated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the National Security Agency, and serves as a member of the CTEA committee for cybersecurity for Suffolk County Community College.

John has led the accounting, auditing and strategic advisory work for more than a hundred IPOs, private financing and mergers and acquisitions with an aggregate valuation in excess of $2 billion. In addition, he has served as the interim lead of the firm’s Risk Advisory Practice, leading internal audit, contract compliance and Sarbanes-Oxley implementation and testing. He is deeply involved in the firm’s Outsourced Accounting Services practice and the International Services Group. John previously worked as an Audit Partner for an international accounting and consulting firm.

Mr.Peterson is always seeking to find solutions to complex and challenging problems. He has assembled and leads a team of engineers, software developers, researchers, scientists, technology and business and communications experts to bring a suite of innovative and critical products to market. These potentially world-changing products include SymptomSense Medical Evaluation Gateway, which rapidly scans vital signs, including blood oxygen levels, body temperature, heart rate and respiratory rate. This first of its kind technology is expected to play a critical role in helping the United States and the world recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Mr.Peterson and his team have also invented of the world's first vape and bullying detection and alert system for schools, FlySense. With over 8,000 devices deployed in schools around the world, this technology is making schools healthier and safer. The company's products and services are making an impact in communities and schools across the nation and have even been credited with saving the lives of students who were contemplating suicide.

Mr.Peterson believes that no puzzle is impossible to solve; all he needs is the time to figure them out.

A former bullying victim as a high school student, Mr.Peterson is dedicated to creating technology to address this problem in schools. As CEO of Soter Technologies, he is devoted to the practical application of technology to improve and save lives. The Soter name is inspired by the ancient Greek god of safety, deliverance and preservation from harm. Using advanced sensor and software technology, the company develops and delivers innovative solutions for environmental intelligence to make the world a safer place.

Mr.Peterson's inventions, products and software have received awards as well as national media attention. Soter's SymptomSense has been featured on NBC's Today Show, MSNBC, Inside Edition, Cheddar TV and many other regional and national media outlets. His FlySense vaping detection and anti-bullying sensor has also been featured in the national and local media, including ABC's Good Morning America and NBC's Today Show along with hundreds of other media outlets across the United States and abroad. Mr.Peterson is regularly interviewed by the media about technology, health and safety in the workplace and schools, entrepreneurship and technology.

Mr.Peterson has a proven track record in the high tech and software sector and has held senior and key roles at IPS, Symbol Technologies (a $1.6B NYSE company), and Neohapsis (bought by Cisco). In 2003, he co-founded CBD, Inc. to apply his experience to assist emerging technologies in libraries and public schools.

Mr.Peterson is also a national thought leader and expert in the field of the Internet of Things (IOT) and currently writes for TechTarget / IOT Agenda. He regularly speaks at colleges, universities and conferences across the United States on technology subjects.

Mr.Peterson has expertise working in many industries, including the accounting profession where he developed some of the country's first tax software and the public sector where he developed the first Public Computer Management system, monitoring user access, authentication and security in libraries and universities. His solutions have been deployed on over 100,000 desktops worldwide.

Early in his career, Mr.Peterson led the development and delivery of key security products for the gamming and aviation sectors. He also created the Engineering Test and Validation department at Symbol Technologies (Motorola/Zebra). Through the creation of T & V, he re-engineered the process on how products were developed at Symbol Technologies.

When Mr.Peterson is away from developing new technologies, software products and solutions for Soter Technologies, he enjoys spending time with his family, training for Ironman Triathlons and using his high-tech skills and knowledge to customize his high- performance automobiles. Giving back to his community and supporting young people is important to Mr.Peterson. He is involved in several community groups and is the Treasure for the Timothy Hill Children's Ranch located in Riverhead, New York. This not-for-profit includes residential programs that provide a safe haven for at-risk young people and help them restore their lives through a holistic approach that focuses on mind, body & soul.

Mr.Peterson earned a BS in Computer Science and Applied Math from Stony Brook University in New York in 1988. A lifelong resident of Long Island, he is committed to being a mentor and advisor for students. He is a sponsor of and has judged Stony Brook University's Wolfie Tank competition. A spin off from the popular NBC reality TV series “Shark Tank, Stony Brook University's Wolfie Tank caters towards aspiring student entrepreneurs from the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences who have developed innovative technologies and inventions and make business presentations to a panel of esteemed judges.

Thomas Powell leads the business development and executive management activities for BTI.

• Degrees in Computer Science and Engineering
• 35 years in the electronics, communications and medical industries
• Patent holder, published writer, public speaker and industry leader
• Based in NYC and has worked across North America, Europe and the Middle East