Alif Saleh
Chief Executive Officer
Alif is an entrepreneur and company builder who has raised over half a billion dollars in funding to develop and commercialize novel technologies in the life science and biotechnology industry. He was recognized in 2022 by The Healthcare Technology Report as one of the Top 50 Heathcare Technology CEOs. Alif was previously the CEO of Scipher Medicine Corporation, Senior VP of GC International Corporation and held various product management and commercial positions with Alfa Laval in Europe and Asia. He received his MSc in Chemical and Genetic Engineering from Lund Institute of Technology in Sweden.
Lowry Curley, PhD
Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer
Lowry is a scientist, innovator, and developer of critical tissue engineering and neural interfacing technology unlocking the potential of brain-on-a-chip platforms. He has pioneered the early use of 3D neurophysiological models to test and screen drugs. Lowry is a member of the Nonclinical Innovation and Patient Safety Initiative collaboration (NIPSI) and 3Rs Collaborative, which advocate to the FDA for use of safer, more effective non-animal testing models in drug discovery. He also serves on the New Orleans BioDistrict Board, supporting economic growth of the biosciences sector in Southeast Louisiana. He received his PhD in biomedical engineering from Tulane University.
Michael Moore, PhD
Founding Chief Science Officer
Michael is co-founder and CSO of AxoSim and an Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Tulane University, with nearly 20 years of experience in biomaterials, neuroscience, and regenerative medicine. He received his PhD from the Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, and has experience commercializing laboratory-based technology from there as well as from his postdoc with Prof. Robert Langer at MIT. AxoSim is one of three startups to begin in Michael’s lab, though it is the only company he maintains direct involvement.
Thomas Hartung, MD, PhD
Consulting VP of Scientific Affairs
Thomas Hartung, MD PhD, is AxoSim’s Consulting VP of Scientific Affairs and the inventor of the Mini-Brain platform. Thomas believed in AxoSim’s vision to change the paradigm for neurological drug development and chose AxoSim to commercialize his groundbreaking technology. He is also the Doerenkamp-Zbinden-Chair for Evidence-based Toxicology at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Whiting School of Engineering, Baltimore, in Environmental Health and Engineering. He is also the Director of Centers for Alternatives to Animal Testing (CAAT, HTTP://CAAT.JHSPH.EDU) of both Hopkins and the University of Konstanz, Germany. CAAT hosts the secretariat of the Evidence-based Toxicology Collaboration, the Good Read-Across Practice Collaboration, the Good Cell Culture Practice Collaboration, the Green Toxicology Collaboration and the Industry Refinement Working Group. He is the former Head of the European Commission’s Center for the Validation of Alternative Methods (ECVAM), Ispra, Italy, and has authored more than 550 scientific publications.
Megan Morris, MSE
VP of Operations
Megan manages AxoSim operations with an emphasis on commercial activities and the integration of both quality management and HSSE (health, safety, security, and environmental) management. She earned her master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering from Tulane University and comes to us with a wide range of organizational experience from various industries. She is committed to ensuring AxoSim delivers robust data to clients with quality, integrity, and reliability.
Gregory Kading, CFA
Consulting Chief Financial Officer
Greg has worked with a variety of early and mid-stage businesses in the areas of financial planning and analysis, investment analysis, and financing. Most recently he served as CFO of ImmunoMolecular Therapeutics, a private clinical stage biotech company. Previously, he has served as CFO of MicroBiome Therapeutics and Accera, both commercial stage biotech companies, closing financings for over $50 million in multiple transactions. Previously to his biotech roles, Greg was a two-time President’s club winner with a predecessor company to CenturyLink while working in a variety of finance positions, ultimately serving as business unit CFO for the company’s Cable TV unit. He has been an adjunct instructor in finance at Metro State University in Denver and Arapahoe Community College. Greg was awarded the Chartered Financial Analyst designation from the CFA Institute. An Iowa native, Greg holds a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Iowa State University, and an M.B.A. degree from Creighton University.
Jeff Karlson
Director of Finance & Administration
Jeff manages accounting and administration at AxoSim. He comes to us from the nonprofit arena where he spent many years working in project, grant, and financial management on a host of local and national efforts. Most recently he provided financial and grants management oversight for a local non-profit’s 5-year, $4 million contract under the Gulf Region Health Outreach Program, part of a four-state project to expand health care access along the Gulf Coast.
Amit Johal, MBA
Director of Corporate and Business Development
Amit drives strategic initiatives while establishing and strengthening relationships with our collaborators. He holds a BS in Biology and an MBA in Health Sector Management from Boston University. Starting his biotechnology career in the lab, he has since shifted his focus to the business through developing and executing on strategies for portfolio management, corporate development, and pharma partnering.
Gina Jackson
Director of Corporate Communications
Gina Marie leads AxoSim's Corporate Communications team focusing on brand management, internal/external communications, investor relations and marketing. Prior to joining AxoSim, she led nonprofit pr and donor relations teams in Louisiana and South Florida. Gina holds a Bachelor of Science in Communication from the University of Miami.
Megan Terral
Corey Rountree, PhD
Lise Harbom, PhD
Andrew LaCroix, PhD
Kevin Simpson, PhD
Nicholas Coungeris
Tyler Rodriguez, PhD
Ethan Byrne, PhD
Tori Alstat
Morgan Williamson
Adam Julien, MSc
Eva Schmidt
Erin Schwarzbach
Ally Brengartner
Elizabeth Thiebaud
Julie Ward
Andrew Terrebonne
Rees Ryckman
Interested in joining our team?
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