Earlier this month the Bioscience Association of Maine appointed three new Board members. The new BAM Board Directors include Dr. Janet Yancey-Wrona, Dr. Dennis Leiner, and Ms. Keri Seitz. The new Board members present tremendous knowledge and experience in the biotech and medical device industry. BAM is very excited to benefit from their unmatched expertise.
JANET YANCEY-WRONA, PH.D., Strategic Bio Business
Janet currently provides strategic business consulting to early stage biotechnology companies. From fund-raising to marketing, Janet’s expertise comes from a broad range of experience at a variety of life sciences companies. She served at CEO for Bar Harbor BioTechnology which provided tools for gene expression research, as Marketing Manager for Maine Manufacturing (now GVS North America), which makes consumables for the life sciences industries, and as Chief Operating Officer for AIKO Biotechnology, a start-up company focused on the discovery and development of unique treatments for pain and addiction management. Janet re-entered the private sector after a seven year tenure with the State of Maine, first as the founding President and Director of the Maine Technology Institute where she oversaw more than $40 million in investments that support research and development leading to commercialization from Maine-based companies, and then as Maine’s first Director of the Office of Innovation and the Science Advisor to the Governor where she was responsible for the Science and Technology Action Plan for Maine. Janet’s background includes Bachelor’s and Doctoral degrees in biology from Wake Forest University and the University of North Carolina, respectively, and a post-doctoral fellowship at the National Institutes of Health. Janet came to Maine in 1997 as a research scientist with IDEXX Laboratories, a world-leading veterinary biotechnology company.
DENNIS LEINER, Ph. D., Leiner Optics
Dr. Leiner is the president of Leiner Optics, an engineering company that assists startups and Fortune 500 companies who are incorporating visualization into their medical devices. Dr. Leiner received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Optics from the University of Rochester and his Ph.D. from the University of Connecticut. He is the founder of Lighthouse Imaging Corporation, a leader in medical optics design and manufacture. He is listed as inventor or co-inventor on more than 20 patents and has published numerous papers in the areas of medical optics and optical instrumentation. Dr. Leiner is a Director of the Optics and Electro Optics Standards Council, the team representing the United States in international optics standards where he leads the U.S. technical group developing ISO endoscope standards. Dr. Leiner is a member of the Board of Directors of the Maine International Trade Center (MITC).
KERI SEITZ, Medical Device Industry Consulting
Keri is a medical device industry consultant and just recently left a position of Managing Director at Optimum Imaging Diagnostics, LLC (OIDx). OIDx is a point of care diagnostics start-up, bringing to market optimum rapid point of care diagnostic technologies, created with the goal of trusted and accurate results with unprecedented accessibility. Keri has more than ten years’ experience in the medical device industry. As President and CEO of FHC, Inc., a neurosurgical medical device manufacturer located in Bowdoin, she moved from regulatory affairs through quality system management to overall business leadership while bringing significant company growth. Her extensive experience in product development from concept to commercialization, through post-market surveillance, including quality management system compliance and regulatory clearance worldwide has allowed her to assist several Maine-based medical technology businesses with their needs. In each position, Keri has enjoyed assisting biotechnology entrepreneurial minds bring their ideas to market. Keri also serves on the board of the Maine Manufacturing Extension Partnership, is a Director of the Bath Area Family YMCA and serves as an advisor to the Maine School of Science and Mathematics as well as the University of Maine Graduate School of Bioscience and Engineering. A proud Maine native, Keri is a graduate of the University of Maine and resides in Brunswick.
For a full list of BAM Board Members and their bios, please visit Maine Bioscience Board page.
