Steering Committee

Arizona’s Bioscience Roadmap Steering Committee is comprised of about 135 leaders from the public and private sectors in science, health care, business, academia, and policy, and is the leadership group responsible for overseeing Arizona’s Bioscience Roadmap. The group helped to devise the Roadmap in 2002 and contributed to its update in 2014.

In 2018, the committee launched four project teams to advance and accelerate the Arizona ecosystem: entrepreneurship, legislative relations, risk capital, and talent.

In addition, some of the Steering Committee’s main activities include:

  • Stimulating a business environment in Arizona that will lead to growth in the biosciences and the emerging knowledge industry
  • Seeking ways to encourage new and innovative partnerships
  • Enhancing communications by coordinating efforts to raise the visibility of the biosciences in Arizona
  • Taking advantage of opportunities to advance and promote the biosciences to key audiences statewide
  • Staying abreast of major research, business, and policy developments that impact the biosciences in Arizona


Heather Carter, Ed.D.

Chair
Senior Vice Chancellor of External Affairs
Maricopa Community Colleges


Jennifer Barton, Ph.D.

Vice Chair
Director, BIO5 Institute
University of Arizona


Eve Ross, J.D.

Immediate Past Chair
Vice President (Retired)
W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc.


Michael Abecassis, M.D.

Dean
University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson


The Honorable Amanda Aguirre

President & CEO
Regional Center for Border Health


 Ann-Marie Alameddin

President & CEO
Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association


John Arnold

Executive Director
Arizona Board of Regents


Will Aylor

Assistant Vice President for Research
Northern Arizona University


Jeremy Babendure, Ph.D.

Executive Director
SciTech Institute


The Honorable Betsey Bayless

President Emeritus
Maricopa Integrated Health System


Shane Burgess, Ph.D., D.V.M.

Vice President and Dean
College of Agriculture & Life Sciences
University of Arizona


Chris Camacho

Board of Directors
Flinn Foundation
President & CEO
Greater Phoenix Economic Council


Dennis Carey

Executive Director
Pima County Medical Society


Jennifer Carusetta

Vice President, Public Affairs & Advocacy
Phoenix Children’s Hospital


Ji Mi Choi

Director, Desert and Pacific Region, I-Corps Hub
Arizona State University


The Honorable Becky Daggett

Mayor
City of Flagstaff


Bob DeLean

Chairman, CEO & Managing Director
Arizona Tech Investors


Dave Dexter

President & CEO
Sonora Quest Laboratories


David Engelthaler, Ph.D.

Director and Professor
TGen North


Maureen Fahey

Chief of Staff, Office of the CEO
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona


Brandy Flores

Senior Manager, Alliance Development
Pfizer


The Honorable Kate Gallego

Mayor
City of Phoenix


Jyotsna Ghai, Ph.D.

Vice President, Product Development
Roche Tissue Diagnostics (Ventana Medical Systems)


Steven Gonzales, Ph.D.

Chancellor
Maricopa Community Colleges


Robert S. Green, Esq.

Former President & CEO
EndoVantage, LLC


Mary Jo Gregory, FACHE, RN

President & CEO
The NARBHA Institute


David J. Gullen, M.D.

Board of Directors
Flinn Foundation
Community Internal Medicine
Mayo Clinic (retired)


Geoffrey Gurtner, M.D.

Professor and Chair
University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson


Michael Guymon

President and CEO
Tucson Metro Chamber of Commerce


Desire’e Hardge

CEO
Maricopa County Medical Society


Sharon J. Harper

President & CEO
The Plaza Companies


The Honorable Kevin Hartke

Mayor
City of Chandler


Doug Hockstad

Assistant Vice President, Tech Launch Arizona
University of Arizona


Tom Hornaday

President
Hornaday Development LLC


Matthew Hulver, Ph.D.

Vice President, Research
Arizona State University


Gail Jackson

President & CEO
Economic Collaborative of Northern Arizona


Chad Jaeger

Chief Operating Officer
Banner Research


Heidi Jannenga

Co-Founder and Chief Clinical Officer
WebPT


Kyle Jardine

Vice President, Market Executive
Wexford Science and Technology


Holly Jensen

Vice President, Communications
University of Arizona


Brittney Kaufmann

CEO
Health System Alliance of Arizona


Paul Keim, Ph.D.

Cowden Chair & Regents Professor
Northern Arizona University


Gretchen Kinsella

Arizona Business Unit Leader
DPR Construction


Joan Koerber-Walker

President & CEO
Arizona BioIndustry Association


Beth Kohler

Chief Executive Officer
Arizona Association of Health Plans


Melissa Kotrys

CEO
Contexture


Joshua LaBaer, M.D., Ph.D.

Executive Director
Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University


The Honorable John Lewis

President & CEO
PHX East Valley Partnership


Matt Likens

President & CEO
GT Medical Technologies


Jack W. Lunsford

President
The Lunsford Group


Christine Mackay

Director, Community and Economic Development
City of Phoenix


Joann MacMaster

CEO
Desert Angels


Marie Jay Maningo-Salinas, Ph.D.

Vice Chair, Research
Mayo Clinic


Libby McDannell

CEO
Arizona Medical Association


Hiral Mistry

New Product Development Leader
W.L. Gore & Associates


Jeffrey D. Morton

Partner
Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch LLP


Rick Naimark

Associate Vice President of Program Development Planning
Arizona State University


Matthew Nelson

Manager of Research Operations
St. Joseph’s Hospital & Medical Center


The Honorable Douglas Nicholls

Mayor
City of Yuma


The Honorable David Ortega

Mayor
City of Scottsdale


Nina Ossanna, Ph.D.

Chair
Bioindustry Organization of Southern Arizona


Kimberly Ott

Assistant to the President, Executive Communication and Media Relations
Northern Arizona University


Kevin Parker

Vice President, Precision Oncology Business Operations
Exact Sciences


Pankaj Jay Pasricha, M.D.

Chair of Medicine
Mayo Clinic Arizona


Julie M. Pastrick

President & CEO
Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce


Mara Pernick

Partner
Cancer Fund


The Honorable Brigette Peterson

Mayor
City of Gilbert


Suzanne Pfister

President & CEO
Vitalyst Health Foundation


Zaida Dedolph Piecoro

Health Policy Advisor
Arizona Governor’s Office


Liz Pocock

CEO
Startup Tucson


The Honorable Christian Price

CEO
Maricopa Economic Development Alliance


Guy Reed, M.D.

Dean
University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix


Eric Reiman, M.D.

Chair, Board of Directors
Flinn Foundation
Chief Executive Officer
Banner Research


Jessica Rigler

Staff Vice President, Population Health and Innovation
Blue Cross Blue Shield Arizona


Julie Riley

Chief Administrative Officer and Vice President of Service Line Operations
Dignity Health


Nannon Roosa

President
CATS Tonometer


Todd Sanders

President & CEO
Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce


Rick Schnellmann, Ph.D.

Dean
University of Arizona College of Pharmacy


Tom Schumann

Executive Director
Center for Entrepreneurial Innovation


Ronald E. Shoopman

Director of Innovation and Special Projects
Southern Arizona Leadership Council
Former Chair
Arizona’s Bioscience Roadmap Steering Committee


Martin Shultz

Former Chair
Arizona’s Bioscience Roadmap Steering Committee


Mark Slater, Ph.D.

Vice President for Research
HonorHealth
Former Chair
Arizona’s Bioscience Roadmap Steering Committee

Christopher J. Smith, Ph.D.

Vice President/Research Director
Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center


Joseph Snell

President & CEO
Sun Corridor Inc.


Scarlett Spring

Executive Director
Phoenix Bioscience Core


Carol Stewart

Associate Vice President
Tech Parks Arizona


Kristen Swingle

President and Chief Operating Officer
Critical Path Institute


T. Paul Thomas

CEO
Northern Arizona Leadership Alliance


Catherine Todero, Ph.D.

Vice Provost of Health Sciences Campuses
Creighton University


Jeffrey M. Trent, Ph.D.

President & Research Director
Translational Genomics Research Institute


Robert T. Trotter II, Ph.D.

Associate Vice President for Health Research Initiatives
Northern Arizona University


Victor Waddell, Ph.D.

Executive Director
Arizona Biomedical Research Centre
Arizona Department of Health Services


Sandra Watson

President & CEO
Arizona Commerce Authority


Michael White, M.D.

Executive Vice President & Chief Clinical Officer
Valleywise Health


Jason Wilder, Ph.D.

Vice President for Research
Northern Arizona University


The Honorable Joe Winfield

Mayor
Town of Oro Valley


The Honorable Corey Woods

Mayor
City of Tempe


Raymond L. Woosley, M.D., Ph.D.

President
CredibleMeds


Russ Yelton

CEO
Yelton & Associates


Chris Yoo, Ph.D.

Managing Director, Xcellerant Ventures
CEO, Yoo and Co. Accelerators


Fanny Zylstra

Director of Operations
TGen


Steven Zylstra

President & CEO
Arizona Technology Council


Flinn Foundation Bioscience Entrepreneurship Program

Participating on the Steering Committee in 2023-2024:

Iman Daryaei, M.D.

CEO
TheraCea Pharma


 Robert Futch

CTO
Delta Development Team


 Andrew Heuerman

CEO & Co-Founder
The Patient Company


 Mayank Mishra

Co-Founder
Televida


 Inga Rose

CEO
Reference Medicine


Ben Smith

CEO
EMR Data Cloud


Flinn Foundation Seed Grant Program

Participating on the Steering Committee in 2023-2024:

Benjamin Bartelle, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering
Arizona State University


Eugene Chang, M.D.

Professor, Otolaryngology
University of Arizona


Brandon Fox, M.D.

Neurosurgery Resident
Barrow Neurological Institute


Melissa Herbst-Kralovetz, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Basic Medical Sciences
University of Arizona


Jeff La Belle, Ph.D.

Professor, Biomedical Engineering
Grand Canyon University


Douglas Lake, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, School of Life Sciences
Arizona State University


Kaveh Laksari, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering
University of Arizona


Julie Ledford, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Cellular and Molecular Medicine
University of Arizona


Zachary Lerner, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering
Northern Arizona University


Vance Nielsen, M.D.

Professor, Anesthesiology
University of Arizona


Robin Polt, Ph.D.

Professor, Chemistry and Biochemistry
University of Arizona


Guy Reed, M.D.

Dean, College of Medicine-Phoenix
University of Arizona


Benjamin Renquist, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Animal and Biomedical Sciences
University of Arizona


Travis Sawyer, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Optical Sciences
University of Arizona


Barbara Smith, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering
Arizona State University


John Streicher, Ph.D.

Department of Pharmacology
University of Arizona


Daniel Von Hoff, M.D.

Distinguished Professor
Translational Genomics Research Institute


Xinglong Wang, Ph.D.

Professor, R. Ken Coit College of Pharmacy
University of Arizona


Jessica Weaver, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering
Arizona State University


Russell Witte, Ph.D.

Professor, Medical Imaging and Optical Sciences

University of Arizona


Jordan Yaron, Ph.D.

Assistant Research Professor, School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy
Arizona State University