Mentors

The heart of the Deshpande Center is its Catalysts, mentors who share their expertise with grantees working to take their technologies to the marketplace.

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Gene Achter

Advisor Gene Achter is an advisor and entrepreneur, aiding the development of instruments in various areas including clinical diagnostics.

Rajesh Aggarwal

Panda Health | Chief Growth & Strategy Officer Rajesh Aggarwal is a physician and executive leader with clinical, scientific, and technological expertise in healthcare innovations.

Jeff Arnold

CEO Advisor and Investor Jeff Arnold is an angel investor and mentor to CEOs for diverse life science companies.

Hillel Bachrach

20/20 HealthCare Partners | Founder and Managing Partner Hillel Bachrach is an entrepreneur investing in life science and medical entities.

Roopom Banerjee

WhiteLeaf Advisors | Managing Partner Life Science Catalyst nurturing MIT innovators through major inflection points from company inception to high-value exit.

Sameer Bharadwaj

Orbia | Chief Executive Officer Sameer Bharadwaj is CEO of Orbia.

Paul Blackborow

Hamamatsu Photonics | Business Development Paul Blackborow was CEO of Energetiq Technology, now a subsidiary of Hamamatsu Photonics.

Larry Brown

Noveome Biotherapeutics | Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer Larry Brown has broad experience in large pharmaceutical and start-up venture capital based companies.

Christine Bunt

Verseau | Chief Executive Officer Christine Bunt is an entrepreneur, investor, founder, and CEO of life sciences companies.

Malcolm Burwell

Deep Science Start-up Founder As a builder of early-stage deeptech start-ups, Malcolm Burwell acts at the overlap of technology, markets and operations.

Joe Caruso

Advisor Joe Caruso is an active angel investor, mentor, coach and personal advisor to CEO’s and entrepreneurs.

Patrick Casey

Consultant Pat Casey helps clients identify and develop growth opportunities.

Jose Estabil

ADN Genomix | Cofounder José Estabil is experienced in translating technology into high-growth businesses.

Robert Farra

Entrepreneur Robert Farra is an entrepreneur/executive with expertise in medical devices development.

Bonnie Fendrock

Red Sky Partners | Advisor Bonnie Fendrock leads corporate and business development at biotech companies.

Jim Freedman

Retired MIT TLO Associate Director and Consultant Jim Freedman is experienced in product development and manufacturing of materials and processes, and patenting and licensing of new technologies.

Don Golini

SANICA Ventures | Consultant Don Golini has over 20 years experience in the development, management and commercialization of new technologies.

Jonathan B. Green

Arcadia Funds, LLC | Managing Director & Chief Technology Officer Jonathan Green co-founded an investment management firm that focuses on opportunities in specialty finance.

Sanjay Gupta

AirFuel Alliance | President Sanjay Gupta has expertise in launching hardware, firmware, and software systems solutions.

Marina Hatsopoulos

Levitronix Technologies | Board Chair Marina Hatsopoulos is an entrepreneur who has provided seed funding to hardware businesses.

Mark Kirtland

Pyxis Advisors | Managing Director Mark Kirtland guides equity firms, VCs, and med tech companies on strategy, commercialization, R&D priorities, and corporate development.

Michael Krasner

Vioby | Cofounder Mike Krasner, a pioneer in digital audio, has cofounded a number of businesses in advanced tech markets.

Manoj Kumar

Architect and Advisor Manoj Kumar is a healthcare AI leader with genomics and precision medicine expertise.

Bob Linke

IonSense, Inc. | Board Executive Chairman Bob Linke is a seasoned healthcare entrepreneur.

Sissi Liu

Metalmark Innovations | CEO Sissi Liu is an entrepreneur and investor targeting sustainability and climate change challenges.

Val Livada

Consultant Val Livada is an active member of the Boston entrepreneurship ecosystem, board member or advisor to many start-ups.

George Mabry

Consultant and Investor George Mabry focuses on early stage companies in medical, software, and B2B industries.

Bob Mason

Argon Ventures | Managing Partner Bob Mason leads pre-seed, deep-tech investments to launch products and build businesses.

Jon McGrath

Medtech Entrepreneur Jon McGrath is a medtech entrepreneur and has led transformative therapeutic technology projects.

Jerome Meier

Akeso Biomedical, Inc. | Chief Operating Officer and Consultant Jerome Meier holds senior strategic and operating roles in international business.

Matthew M. Nordan

Prime Impact Fund | Managing Director Matthew Nordan is an investor, advisor and analyst for early stage companies, especially related to climate innovation.

Lori Pressman

Consultant and Advisor Lori Pressman brings intellectual property, scientific, and business development expertise to the Deshpande table.

Stan Reiss

General Partner | Matrix Partners Stan Reiss focuses on early stage investments across technology sectors.

John Ripple

Ripple Biotech, LLC | Founder John Ripple has been CEO of five biotechs, and his LLC advises biopharmaceuticals.

Marc Rudoltz

MSR Healthcare Consultants LLC | President Marc Rudoltz provides executive support to pharmaceutical and biotech companies.

Jason Sager

Sagely Health | CEO Jason Sager is an oncology physician-scientist with more than 20 years of clinical and drug development experience.

Mark Shu

Danfoss | Innovation Director Mark Shu is active in sustainable energy development.

Eric Swanson

MIT | Research Affiliate Eric Swanson holds managerial posts in academic, industrial, and nonprofit organizations

Samson Timoner

Entrepreneur Samson Timoner is a serial entrepreneur with 20+ years of experience in computer vision.

Jack Turner

Technology Licensing Advisor Prior to retiring, Jack Turner was the Senior Associate Director of MIT's TLO.

Anna Voronova

MIT LGO | Research Collaboration Manager Dr. Anna Voronova’s experience spans many biotech and pharma companies.

Josh Wachman

Nor’easter Ventures | Managing Director Josh Wachman is a technical generalist with spikes of expertise in computer vision and machine learning.

Jeffrey Wiesen

Consultant Jeffrey Wiesen consults with management teams of biotech companies.

Darshana Zaveri

Catalyst Health Ventures | Managing Partner Darshana Zaveri leads investments in early stage healthcare.