Stephen M. Prescott, M.D.
Chairman & Co-Founder, Lineagen
President, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation

A founding member of Lineagen Research Corporation as well as Lineagen, Inc., Dr. Prescott was previously the Executive Director of the Huntsman Cancer Institute, where he held the prestigious H.A. & Edna Benning Presidential Endowed Chair.

Dr. Prescott was appointed by former Secretary of Health and Human Services, Michael O. Leavitt, to the National Advisory Council for Human Genome Research, which advises the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI). Dr. Prescott earned a B.S. from Texas A&M and his M.D. from the Baylor College of Medicine.


Fred Middleton
Managing Director, Sanderling Ventures

With almost 30 years experience in the biotechnology and biomedical industries, Mr. Middleton currently has active roles as Chairman, CEO, or Director of Sanderling portfolio companies, including Stereotaxis (NASDAQ: STXS), Favrille (NASDAQ: FVRL), CardioNet, Novocell, Cylene, Endocyte and Actimis.

Mr. Middleton was a co-founder of Genentech, where he served as VP of Finance, Administration, Corporate Development, and CFO. He also served as President of Genentech Development Corporation. During his time at Genentech, he concluded more than $200 million in partnering and institutional funding, including Genentech’s IPO, a first-ever in the biotechnology industry, Mr. Middleton founded Morgan Stanley Ventures in 1984. Mr. Middleton earned a B.S. in chemistry from MIT and an MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School.


Dinesh Patel, Ph.D.
Managing Director & Founder, vSpring Capital

Dr. Patel is a founding Managing Director of vSpring Capital and led investments in Altea Therapeutics, Axial, Coherex, Exagen, Inflabloc, Numira, Lineagen, Protolex, Q Therapeutics, ZARS, and Salus Therapeutics.

Dr. Patel was an active angel investor in over 20 biotech and technology companies. Dr. Patel was co-Founder, Chairman and President & CEO of TheraTech, Inc., which he took public and sold for $350 million to Watson Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Patel served as co-chair of Utah Governor Jon M. Huntsman's transition team and was appointed the Chairman of the USTAR Governing Authority board.

Dr. Patel earned a Bachelor's Degree in Pharmacy at Gujarat University, Master's Degree from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, and Ph.D. in Physical Pharmacy from the University of Michigan.


Daniel C. Wood, C.F.A
General Partner, Mesa Verde Venture Partners

Prior to forming Mesa Verde, Mr. Wood had been co-founding general partner of IngleWood Ventures of San Diego which has performed 14 bioscience company investments, primarily in very-early-stage companies. He also serves on the board of Satiogen Pharmaceuticals.


Mr. Wood served on the Board of CardioNet for seven years and of Cylene Pharmaceuticals for six years. He led the first institutional rounds of financing for both companies. He was also a board observer at Conforma Therapeutics (acquired by Biogen-Idec) and Digirad (NASDAQ-DRAD).  Mr. Wood was President of the Sorrento Corporation, a registered investment advisory firm he formed in 1985 in San Diego.

Mr. Wood is a Tufts University graduate and earned an MBA in Finance from the University of Connecticut. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.


Al R. Harris, Ph.D.
Co-Founder, Lineagen
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Dr. Harris is former Director of Pharmaceutical Licensing for Abbott Laboratories and Manager of Licensing and Acquisitions for Abbott Diagnostics. Dr. Harris has initiated, negotiated, and completed more than 400 transactions, encompassing all phases of the biotechnology and pharmaceutical product cycles. Dr. Harris has been involved in strategizing and implementing complex business arrangements including mergers and acquisition of businesses, product families, and technologies.

Dr. Harris earned an M.S. from the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston and a Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma in Norman.


Mike Jerstad
Partner, PrairieGold Venture Partners
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Mr. Jerstad focuses on life science opportunities, and represents PrairieGold on the boards of Chronix Biomedical, Orasi Medical, and Lineagen. PrairieGold Venture Partners is an early stage venture capital firm focused on life sciences and green technology investments. Mr. Jerstad oversees all aspects of the firm’s investment activities, from sourcing, structuring, and negotiating investments to serving as a board member for portfolio companies.

Prior to joining PrairieGold, Mr. Jerstad worked in Piper Jaffray’s Investment Banking Group, specializing in merger and acquisition advisory services and public and private equity financing. Before Piper, he was an attorney at Briggs and Morgan in Minneapolis.


Mary C. Tanner
Managing Director of Peter J. Solomon Company

Ms. Tanner is a member of its Mergers and Acquisitions Group and with Vice Chairman Fred Frank, co-heads PJSC’s global pharmaceutical and life sciences practice. Prior to joining PJSC, Ms. Tanner headed Life Sciences Partners, a company she founded to specialize in healthcare investment and strategic advisory work. Previously, she served as Senior Managing Director at both Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns. Ms. Tanner has devoted more than 25 years to the global healthcare industry. Her expertise includes the pharmaceutical industry, biotechnology, diagnostics, medical devices, healthcare services, cosmetics and consumer medicine industries.

A few of Ms. Tanner’s clients have included: Pfizer in its $60B acquisition of Pharmacia; Amgen in its $16B acquisition of Immunex; Rhone-Poulenc in its acquisition of Rorer; then Rhone-Poulenc Rorer in its acquisition of UK company Fisons; BASF Pharma, a German company, in its acquisition of UK company Boots Pharmaceuticals.


Michael S. Paul, Ph.D.
President & CEO and Co-Founder, Lineagen

See Management Team bios