Matt Winkler, PhD

Founder and Chairman

Dr. Winkler founded Ambion in 1988 and sold the research products division in 2005 to Applied Biosystems. He is the founder of Asuragen. Prior to founding Ambion he was an Associate Professor of Zoology at the University of Texas at Austin. He has a B.S. degree in Genetics and a Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of California at Berkeley.

Matt McManus, MD, PhD

President and CEO

Dr. McManus joined in August 2014 bringing more than 20 years of clinical diagnostic leadership experience. Matt was most recently CEO and President of PrimeraDx, Inc., a molecular diagnostics company acquired by Qiagen. He has held leadership positions in a number of other companies, including as Head of Cleveland Clinic Laboratories, COO of the Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Institute at the Cleveland Clinic, and a variety of positions at Novartis, McKinsey & Co., and Procter & Gamble. Dr. McManus received his M.D. and Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, M.B.A from Boston College and B.A. from the College of the Holy Cross.

Christopher Earl, PhD

Christopher D. Earl, PhD is an entrepreneur, investor and non-profit leader with broad experience in science, venture capital, and the management of biotechnology companies and not-for-profit organizations. He serves as Senior Advisor to a leading pharmaceutical company’s corporate venture capital fund, and through Innotrove LLC advises other leading biopharma companies. Dr. Earl is a board member of several biotechnology companies and science-driven non-profit organizations. Most recently, Dr. Earl was the first President and CEO of BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH), a not-for-profit organization that engages the biotech industry in developing cures for infectious diseases of the least developed countries. At BVGH he defined an integral role for biotechnology sector in creating treatments for neglected tropical diseases, advocated new financial incentives for tropical disease R&D, and forged collaborations between leading companies and research institutions. Dr. Earl secured BVGH’s funding from foundations, corporations and individual donors, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Previously, Dr. Earl served as Managing Director of Perseus Capital and the Perseus-Soros BioPharmaceutical Fund. Over eight years he led investments and served as a director on portfolio company boards. At Perseus and Perseus-Soros, Dr. Earl invested in companies that achieved FDA approval for multiple innovative drugs, particularly for the treatment of cancer. Earlier in his career, Dr. Earl was President and CEO of Avitech Diagnostics, Inc., and a General Partner of Plant Resources Venture Funds. Dr. Earl serves on the Board of Directors of Daktari Diagnostics, Inc. and Mirna Therapeutics, Inc. He is a Trustee of the Nature Conservancy of Maryland/DC and the Committee for Economic Development. Dr. Earl received a BA in Biology from the University of Pennsylvania, and a PhD in Cellular and Developmental Biology from Harvard University.

Matthew Crawford

Managing Director, PTV Sciences

Matt founded PTV Healthcare Capital, a venture capital firm, in 2003 and has served since then as Managing Director. PTV was recognized as a Preqin Most Consistent Top Performing Private Equity Fund Manager and Most Consistent Top Performing Venture Capital Fund Manager in 2017, and was previously named a Preqin Consistent Performing Venture Capital Fund Manager in 2010 and 2014. Matt has spent his 30 year career in the private equity, venture capital, banking and finance industries. He has served on the board of directors of numerous private and public companies. Prior non-profit boards Matt has served on include: Executive Committee member for The University of Texas Chancellor’s Council, the Children’s Council for the Dell Children’s Medical Center Foundation, and the Rise School of Austin. Most recently, Matt was appointed to the Wake Forest University Board of Trustees. Matt holds a B.A. in History and an M.B.A. from Wake Forest University.

Deval Lashkari, PhD

Senior Partner, Telegraph Hill Partners

Deval has worked in the life sciences area since 1988 developing and commercializing novel technologies. He gained corporate and business development experience through senior management positions in a number of life science companies. He was a founding Research Director at Synteni, which was acquired by Incyte Genomics, where he became Director of Product Development. He also worked with Operon Technologies (acquired by Qiagen), and Genometrix. Deval has represented THP on the boards of AcroMetrix (acquired by Life Technologies), Active Motif, Agena Bioscience, Althea Technologies (acquired by Ajinomoto), AltheaDx, Applied Precision (Acquired by GE), Aurora Discovery (acquired by NEXUS Biosystems), NEXUS Biosystems (acquired by Brooks Automation), Precision NanoSystems, RareCyte, Sage Labs (acquired by Horizon Discovery), and SwitchGear Genomics (acquired by Active Motif). He was an observer on the board of Dharmacon (acquired by Fisher Scientific). Deval received a B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley and a Ph.D. from Stanford University.

David Sargent

Managing Director, Duff & Phelps Securities

David Sargent is a managing director of Duff & Phelps Securities, LLC and will lead the investment banking activities in the Southwest. He brings to this role more than 28 years of investment banking origination, execution, management experience and board experience with middle-market public and private companies. David has extensive experience in many industries, including energy, food, healthcare and business services. Prior to joining Duff & Phelps, Sargent was the founder, CEO, president and director of Growth Capital Partners, L.P., a merchant and investment banking firm in Houston, Texas. Prior to forming Growth Capital Partners; David was employed by Prudential-Bache Securities for seven years. He joined Prudential-Bache Securities in 1984 to assist with the start-up of its Dallas Corporate Finance office to provide corporate finance services to clients based in the Southwest. In 1989, David was promoted to vice president with responsibilities for developing new business in the region. While at Prudential-Bache Securities, his main focus was assisting small and middle-market companies to raise equity and debt capital for corporate growth. David was also involved with valuation and restructuring work. David received his undergraduate degree in finance and investments from Babson College in 1982. He is also a member of the Houston Venture Capital Association. David currently serves on the boards of U.S. Legal Support, Inc., and the Babson College Board of Overseers and previously served on the boards of Trinity Hospice, L.L.C., Mytech Corporation, Ambion, Inc., Bridgepoint Technical Manufacturing, Symtx, Inc. and Golfsmith International, Inc.

Tiffany Olson

President of Nuclear Pharmacy Services, Cardinal Health

Tiffany Olson is a well-established expert in the Healthcare and Diagnostics industry and currently serves as President of Nuclear Pharmacy Services at Cardinal Health; a business that develops, manufactures, compounds, dispenses and delivers over 10 million time-critical, patient-specific doses annually via a network of nuclear pharmacies and manufacturing sites that span the United States. Before joining Cardinal Health, Tiffany was President of NaviMed, a company focused on personalizing medicine through innovative diagnostics and had also worked for Eli Lilly and Company where she led the effort to formulate the strategy to create and commercialize diagnostics and companion diagnostics. Prior to joining Eli Lilly and Company, Tiffany had a long and distinguished career at Roche Diagnostics culminating in attaining the role of President and CEO of Roche Diagnostics Corporation. During her time at Roche, Tiffany also served as Global Head of Market Development (Basel, Switzerland) and a range of other positions including Vice President of Roche Molecular Diagnostics and Vice President of Corporate Accounts. She also spent a number of years in leading positions with other healthcare organizations. Tiffany was the first woman to receive the Life Science Alley Luminary Award, recognizing her “rich career in medical diagnostics…exceptional reputation as a leader and her vision to drive both innovation and value for personalized medicine.” In 2013, she received the “Woman of Wellness Award” for her extraordinary contributions in her volunteer work in oncology. She has written several articles on personalized medicine, molecular diagnostics and business strategy. Tiffany received her bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Minnesota and her master’s degree from St. Thomas University in Minnesota. She has held several board positions and currently serves as a Board Member for the Cardinal Health Foundation and Asuragen.