About

Joe is Co-founder and CEO of Scioto Biosciences and Monon Bioventures. He brings over 15 years of experience in early stage asset development to the team. Joe was the Head of Startups at the Indiana University Research and Technology Corporation and was responsible for assisting Indiana University faculty, staff and students form and run more than 25 startup companies. Many of these companies went on to raise non-dilutive and private capital. The success of the program inspired the formation of Monon Bioventures (MBV). MBV is a privately held company specializing in early stage venture creation and management.

Throughout his career, Joe has served in technology transfer at the Purdue Research Foundation managing a wide range of portfolios in the medical device, software, pharmaceutical, agriculture, and chemical disciplines. Previously, he worked as a Principle within the venture capital group IN-Vivo Ventures and served as Vice President of Research and Development for Kylin Therapeutics.

Mr. Schulz is a serial entrepreneur with over 20 years of financial experience working with public accounting firms, Fortune 500 companies and small start-up companies. Jim graduated from Indiana University, Bloomington, in 1992 and worked for over seven years with Ernst & Young (E&Y). While working at E&Y, Jim supported a variety of clients specializing in manufacturing, financial services and transportation industries. After leaving E&Y, Jim worked for 5 years in various financial and operational roles with Eli Lilly and Company. Jim left Eli Lilly to pursue more entrepreneurial opportunities and began working as the Director of Finance for Suros Surgical Systems. After Suros was acquired by Hologic Inc., for $240 million, Jim focused his role in Upward Focus to support various life science companies in the medical device and pharmaceutical industries. Since 2007, Jim has helped several companies raise over $250 million in capital and was involved in the merger of Assembly Pharmaceuticals to Ventrus Biosciences, Inc. in July of 2014 and the sale of Naurex Inc. to Allergan in August 2015.

Tricia Schumann is a serial entrepreneur engaged in the management and ownership of hyper-growth businesses for over three decades with a focus on healthcare in the past 15 years. Tricia has experience in a wide-range of healthcare sectors including venture capital, health plan, health system, digital health and telehealth, health IT, large group employer healthcare and life sciences. Throughout her career, Tricia has participated in creating $6B in asset value.  As an evangelist for healthcare innovation, she is passionate about empowering payers, providers and their patients with resources to improve access, affordability and outcomes.

Ms. Schumann serves as a fractional Chief Investment Officer and business development consultant to growth oriented healthcare companies. She serves on for-profit and non-profit boards including Centura Health, Ascellux, Blu Biotech, and HEROIC Cybersecurity.  Ms. Schumann was named a “30 Women to Watch”, is a Woman Tech Council finalist and a 2022 recipient of Top 50 Women in Finance in the U.S. for her work in fundraising. Ms. Schumann is a Harvard Business School alum and has passions for golf, pilates/yoga, cycling, skiing and travel.

Mark L. Heiman, Ph.D. has 20+ years at Eli Lilly & Co where he served as researcher and CSO of obesity drug discovery. He is currently CSO and Vice President of MicroBiome Therapeutics. Mark is a Fellow of the Obesity Society and serves on the SAB of Helmholtz Alliance for Imaging and Curing Environmental Metabolic Diseases (ICEMED) in Munich, Germany. He serves on the editorial boards of Molecular Metabolism and J of Hepatology & Gastroenterology.

Dr. Heiman received his Ph.D. in Physiology from Louisiana State University School of Medicine. His postdoctoral training in neuroendocrinology was at the Indiana University School of Medicine. He joined the faculty of Medicine at Tulane University where he co-discovered the drug Lanreotide before joining Lilly. Mark has authored over 100 scientific papers and is best known for his seminal work performed at Lilly, which defined the key roles for both leptin and ghrelin in regulating energy balance.

Kevin Meyer has over 10 years of experience in the life sciences industry, having invented, patented, and commercialized a diverse portfolio of technologies. Most recently, Kevin helped found Perfinity Biosciences, leading the development and commercialization of tools that accelerate protein drug development and clinical research. These products are being sold by ThermoFisher Scientific and Shimadzu Scientific Instruments. Prior to Perfinity, Kevin led the development of the AccuPlex technology, a test that detects heartworm antigen and the infectious agents responsible for Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, and ehrlichiosis in dogs which was acquired by Antech diagnostics. Kevin has also worked for multiple pharmaceutical companies as a formulations and organic chemist making patented formulations of Albaconazole and Ongentys. Kevin is a graduate of Wabash College with a BA in chemistry.

Mr. Hughes has more than eight years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry where his scientific and legal background have given him a unique perspective and understanding on how to successfully develop and lead clinical programs. He has built and led global, cross-functional teams that were involved in a variety of programs from early-stage development through to commercial launch. Mr. Hughes is responsible for Clinical Operations and Quality Management and is currently focused on executing Scioto’s clinical trials in both autism spectrum disorder and necrotizing enterocolitis indications. Prior to joining Scioto, he held various roles at companies, including Mayne Pharma and Biorasi. He holds a B.S. in Chemistry from York University (Canada) and a J.D. from the University of Toledo, College of Law.

Jisoo Pae is a co-founder and CEO, Chairman of the board at clinical stage biotech based in South Korea, Genome & Co. Originally a physician trained in psychiatry at Seoul National University Hospital, Jisoo brings unique mixture of over 20 years of scientific/medical background along with a seasoned business management experience.

Prior to his establishment of Genome & Co in 2015, Jisoo has served in variety of healthcare industry related roles at Samsung Life Insurance, Bain & Company and Merck & Co., Korea (also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme outside of the U.S.) as management consultant and healthcare policy director. In his roles at Bain & Company, Jisoo has developed turnaround strategy for Korean branch of a global pharma company and market positioning strategy for medical device business unit of Korean conglomerate. At Merck & Co, working closely in government related affairs, he led numerous projects in pricing & reimbursement and new vaccine product launch campaign in Korea.

Since the establishment, Jisoo has led Genome & Co to a successful IPO in KOSDAQ, and become one of the highest valued microbiome R&D biotech in terms of market cap. Genome & Co has grown to be among the global leaders in microbiome research specialized in oncology in clinical development partnerships with Merck KGaA/Pfizer and Merck & Co.

Jisoo received his M.D from Seoul National University, College of Medicine and Master of Business Administration from Duke University, Fuqua School of Business. Jisoo is also an author to a bestseller in hospital management area, “The 30 Secrets of Well Managed Hospitals Talked by MBA Doctor.”

Jenni Li is a Senior Associate at Michigan Capital Network (MCN), a venture firm investing in early-stage Life Sciences companies across the Midwest and other under-ventured geographies. Jenni leads the technical review team specializing in the evaluation of potential portfolio companies’ clinical data and patent portfolios.

At MCN, Jenni has invested in several therapeutics and medical devices investments, including Tetra Therapeutics (acquired by Shionogi), HistoSonics (University of Michigan technology, JJDC supported), Ablative Solutions (Gilde Healthcare and Biostar Capital supported), ONL Therapeutics (University of Michigan technology, BIOS Partners supported), and PhotoniCare (University of Illinois – Urbana Champaign technology, OSF Ventures supported).

Her career in early-stage life sciences technology began as a co-entrepreneur lead in the NSF I-Corps program and has continued through her published research on synthetic biology and bioengineering. Jenni’s research has covered the development of microfluidic platforms, use of synthetic biology for diagnostic applications, and understanding C. elegans whole-brain dynamics. Jenni has experience filing patents and commercializing academic research innovations. She received her BS in Chemical and Biological Engineering from Georgia Tech and will receive her Ph.D. in Chemical and Biological Engineering from Northwestern University in 2025.

Mr. Hong is the CEO of Genome & Company and is in charge of the overall company strategy and execution at clinical stage biotech in South Korea.  With an MBA from Wharton school, Mr. Hong brings a three-decade track record in the global biopharmaceutical industry including multiple General Manager roles in Korea and Canada with Lilly, Teva and GSK along with corporate marketing, strategy, and business development experiences.”

Andrew Cothrel is President of Rushlight Ventures, where he is focused on monetizing the IP of small to mid-sized aerospace & defense firms, as well as spinning up and curating commercially-oriented new companies leveraging de-risked technology portfolios. He is also active as a founder, investor, and/or board member for a number of early-stage companies.

Andrew is also the founder of Blue Marble Medical, where he has spent the past 15 years developing and commercializing medical/health technologies and consulting in strategy, M&A, and new product development & commercialization, from both BigCo and Startup perspectives. He has supported over 100 clients, led seven startups, transacted four exits, and raised in excess of $60MM at various early-stage companies in various roles.

His prior 20-year corporate career spanned progressively responsible roles at Exxon, Abbott Labs, and Roche, where he ended his BigCo days as VP/Site Manager of Roche’s life sciences research business area and as a corporate officer for Roche’s North American operating entity. Andrew’s academic background includes a BS and MS in mechanical engineering complemented by business education at University of Michigan, Cranfield University, and London Business School.

Joe is Co-founder and CEO of Scioto Biosciences and Monon Bioventures. He brings over 15 years of experience in early stage asset development to the team. Joe was the Head of Startups at the Indiana University Research and Technology Corporation and was responsible for assisting Indiana University faculty, staff and students form and run more than 25 startup companies. Many of these companies went on to raise non-dilutive and private capital. The success of the program inspired the formation of Monon Bioventures (MBV). MBV is a privately held company specializing in early stage venture creation and management.

Throughout his career, Joe has served in technology transfer at the Purdue Research Foundation managing a wide range of portfolios in the medical device, software, pharmaceutical, agriculture, and chemical disciplines. Previously, he worked as a Principle within the venture capital group IN-Vivo Ventures and served as Vice President of Research and Development for Kylin Therapeutics.

As a surgeon and scientist, Gail E. Besner, M.D., joined Nationwide Children’s Hospital and The Ohio State University in 1991 upon completion of her pediatric surgical training. She holds the H. William Clatworthy, Jr. Chair in Surgery and is the Chief of Pediatric Surgery at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. She is a member of the Center for Perinatal Research at the Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. She was the Program Director of the Pediatric Surgery Residency Training Program for many years, and now serves as the Associate Program Director. In 1991, Dr. Besner established a basic science research laboratory in pediatric surgery at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Dr. Besner’s research has received continuous funding from the National Institutes of Health for the past 23 years. Her research focuses on identifying novel therapeutic strategies to protect the intestines from necrotizing enterocolitis including the use of probiotics, stem cells and growth factors, as well as the production of tissue engineered intestine.

Since 2012, Dr. Goodman has been the principal investigator in the Center for Microbial Pathogenesis. His research focuses on gene regulation in biofilms, bacterial surface detection and attachment, horizontal gene transfer (HGT) and metagenomics, and bacterial histones. Dr. Goodman joined the research team in Columbus after nineteen years of teaching at the University of Southern California and earning his Ph.D from Johns Hopkins University in 1988.

Studies in Dr. Bailey’s laboratory focus on determining the impact that the intestinal microbiota have on the local mucosal immune system, and on immune reactivity at systemic sites, particularly during periods of psychological stress. In past studies, they have shown that exposure to different types of psychological stressors change the community structure of microbiota in the intestines. Their goal now is to demonstrate that these changes have significant effects on the health of the host.

Lauren O. Bakaletz, Ph.D. is a Professor of both Pediatrics and Otolaryngology and serves as Director of the Center for Microbial Pathogenesis at The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, OH. She and her team study the molecular mechanisms that underlie polymicrobial infections of the respiratory tract, including otitis media, sinusitis, exacerbations of COPD and CF. The Bakaletz lab is actively involved in the design and testing of novel vaccine candidates for the prevention and/or resolution of otitis media, including developing a method to effectively immunize non-invasively by ‘band-aid’ vaccine. The lab also characterizes biofilms induced by multiple bacterial pathogens of chronic and recurrent diseases of the airway, as well as other sites, in an attempt to identify potential targets for intervention or biofilm disruption.

Dr. Erickson is a neurodevelopmental psychiatrist who has conducted clinical trials in autism and related disorders for over 18 years. He is currently the Director of Research at The Kelly O’Leary Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders and the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. He is the founder of the Neurodevelopmental Treatment Discovery Lab in Cincinnati that includes faculty investigators across disciplines including pediatrics, psychiatry, psychology, medical genetics, and neuroscience among others. He currently spends significant time designing and executing early phase targeted engagement pharmacotherapy studies in idiopathic and syndromic forms of autism.

Dr. Beversdorf is a Professor of Radiology, Neurology, and Psychological Sciences at the University of Missouri and is the William and Nancy Thompson Endowed Chair in Radiology.  He is active in research on autism, with particular interest in pharmacofMRI as a potential treatment marker, and gene/stress interactions in autism.   His work has been published in journals such as Neurology, Journal of Neurology Neuroscience and Psychiatry, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United State of America, NeuroImage, and Lancet. He has been funded by National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke, National Institute On Drug Abuse, and Department of Defense.  He has led several clinical trials in autism spectrum disorders, with an interest in understanding biomarkers to predict treatment response, and a recent focus on agents targeting the adrenergic system.

Dr. Frazier is a licensed clinical psychologist who received his Ph.D. from Case Western Reserve University in 2004. He joined Cleveland Clinic in 2006 and from 2013-2017 was the director of the Cleveland Clinic Center for Autism. In 2017, he was hired as the Chief Science Officer at Autism Speaks and is currently a member of the Autism Speaks national board and chair of the medical and science advisory committee. He is also a Professor of Psychology at John Carroll University.

Over the last decade, Dr. Frazier has maintained an active clinical practice and research programs focused on the evaluation and treatment of neurodevelopment disorders and related conditions. He has published more than 120 scientific papers and has ongoing collaborations across the US and internationally. His primary research focus is improving assessment and our basic understanding of people with genetic syndromes associated with neurodevelopmental conditions.

Terry Katz, PhD is a licensed psychologist and Senior Instructor with Distinction at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.  She has worked with children with developmental disabilities and their families for over 30 years. In 2009, she co-founded a sleep behavior clinic for children with special needs at Children’s Hospital Colorado and continues to work in this clinic.  Dr. Katz has helped develop educational materials for caregivers and providers to help address difficulties with sleep and has written a book on sleep for parents of children on the spectrum. She was the co-chair of the Autism Speaks/Autism Treatment Network Sleep Committee from 2012 to 2014. Her research interests include assessment of sleep problems, the association between sleep and daytime functioning, and behavioral sleep education.

Dr. Alex Kolevzon is a child and adolescent psychiatrist and Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He serves as the Clinical Director of the Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment at Mount Sinai and as the Director of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry for the Mount Sinai Health System. His research interests pertain to understanding the neurobiology of autism and related neurodevelopmental disorders, biomarker discovery, and developing novel therapeutics. Most recently, his group has focused on studying specific rare genetic forms of autism, including Phelan-McDermid syndrome, ADNP syndrome, and FOXP1 syndrome in order to explore targets for pharmacological intervention. Dr. Kolevzon leads the Experimental Therapeutics Program at the Seaver Autism Center which conducts studies that range from small pilot trials to multi-centered pivotal FDA studies. He also leads a national rare disease clinical research network dedicated to clinical trial readiness and studying the natural history of Phelan-McDermid syndrome. He is a frequently invited speaker regionally, nationally, and internationally and is also extremely committed to medical student and residency education as an active teacher, mentor, and clinical supervisor

Kara Gross Margolis, MD, is the associate director for clinical and translational research, and director for brain gut research at the New York University Pain Research Center. Dr. Margolis is a pediatric gastroenterologist with internationally recognized clinical expertise in brain-gut axis disorders including autism spectrum disorders (ASD). She is also an accomplished physician-scientist who investigates disease mechanisms that affect the gut and brain through clinical, translational, and basic science research programs. She has published pioneering studies on the roles of neurotransmitters and/or gut microbiota in inflammatory bowel diseases, motility disorders, disorders of gut-brain interaction, and ASD. She has several patents in these areas upon which she is focusing on the development of novel gut-targeted therapeutic strategies.  Dr. Margolis is a standing member of the NIH Digestive, Kidney and Urological Systems (DKUS) study section. Moreover, she served as an editorial board member for several journals, including Gastroenterology, and was recently appointed to the Basic Science Committee as part of the international team designated to establish the Rome V criteria for DGBIs. She receives funding from the NIH, Department of Defense, and several pharmaceutical companies and/or foundations to support her work.

Dr. Saulnier obtained her doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the University of Connecticut. She trained and worked at the Yale Child Study Center’s Autism Program for nearly a decade before relocating to Emory University School of Medicine and the Marcus Autism Center in Atlanta, GA, where she directed a large-scale clinical research program. In 2018, she opened her own company, Neurodevelopmental Assessment & Consulting Services, where she specializes in diagnostic assessment, as well as teaching and training for autism spectrum and related disorders. Dr. Saulnier has published numerous articles, written two books, and she is an author on the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, Third Edition