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Board Members

Mark Slezak, Chairman of the Board

Chief Executive Officer, Lurie Investments

Mark Slezak is the Chief Executive Officer and Board member of Lurie Investments, Inc., overseeing financial activities for the Ann and Robert H. Lurie Family of Chicago. He is a member of the Board of Directors at Ardesta and numerous other private companies and foundations. Since 1979, Mr. Slezak has held various accounting and financial positions with Arthur Rubloff & Company and Equity Group Investments, Inc., a privately held investment company and originator of the country's largest publicly held REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts). From 1989 to 1996, Mr. Slezak held the position of Senior Vice President and Treasurer of EGI. He has been a director of EGI since 1997 and of its affiliate, American Classic Voyages, since 1998. Mr. Slezak is also a managing member of several investment funds investing in venture and public markets. He holds a BSBA degree from Roosevelt University in Chicago, Illinois.

 

Keith Brauer

Former Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer, Guidant Corporation

Mr. Brauer was CFO of Guidant from the company's inception until it was acquired by Boston Scientific in 2006. While at Guidant, he was also responsible for information systems, treasury and investor relations. Prior to joining Guidant, Mr. Brauer spent 20 years with Eli Lilly and Company, where he held various positions, including Executive Director, International Finance and Chief Accounting Officer; Director of Corporate Affairs; Vice President of Finance and Treasurer for its Physio-Control subsidiary; Controller of its Elizabeth Arden subsidiary; and Coordinator of Business Planning for its Medical Devices and Diagnostics division. Mr. Brauer was also a financial analyst for Ford Motor Company and a member of the Air National Guard. Mr. Brauer currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors and finance committee for Community Hospitals of Indiana and is the Audit Committee Chair and a Member of the Board of Directors of Suros Surgical Systems, Inc., and Endocyte, Inc. He holds a B.S. from Indiana University and an M.B.A. from the University of Michigan.

 

Chad Mirkin, Ph.D.

Dr. Chad A. Mirkin is the Director of the International Institute for Nanotechnology, the George B. Rathmann Professor of Chemistry, Professor of Medicine, and Professor of Materials Science and Engineering. He is also the founder of NanoInk.

Professor Mirkin is a chemist and a world renown nanoscience expert, who is known for his development of nanoparticle-based biodetection schemes, the invention of Dip-Pen Nanolithography, and contributions to supramolecular chemistry. He is author of over 290 manuscripts and over 325 patents (60 issued). He serves on the NanoInk Board of Directors as well as its Scientific Advisory Board. At present, he is listed as one of the top 10 most cited chemists in the world, and is the top most cited nanomedicine researcher in the world. Professor Mirkin has been recognized for his accomplishments with over 50 national and international Awards, including a NIH Director's Pioneer Award, the ACS Nobel Laureate Signature Award for Graduate Education in Chemistry, and three Collegiate Inventors Awards (National Inventors Hall of Fame) (2002, 2004). Dr. Mirkin holds a B.S. degree from Dickinson College (1986, Phi Beta Kappa) and a Ph.D. degree in chemistry from the Pennsylvania State University (1989). He was an NSF Postdoctoral Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology prior to becoming a chemistry professor at Northwestern University in 1991.

 

William White

Executive Vice President, Lurie Investments

Since joining Lurie Investments in 2000, Mr. White has been responsible for managing the investments of the Ann and Robert H. Lurie Family of Chicago, including its portfolio of Life Sciences and Technology investments. Prior to joining Lurie Investments, Mr. White was Managing Director of Corporate Investments at Equity Group Investments, LLC, where he was responsible for a portfolio of companies in a variety of industries. While at Equity Group, he also managed the organization's financing activities, including its relationships with investment banks and other financial institutions. He was also previously the Vice President of Corporate Banking at Manufacturers Hanover. Mr. White is a director of Cernium, Inc., Impact Health, Inc., Joint Juice, Inc., Kionix, Inc., and RenaMed Biologics, Inc. He holds an A.B. degree from Dartmouth College.

 

James M. Hussey

Chief Executive Officer, NanoInk, Inc.

James M. Hussey joined NanoInk, as Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors, in January 2008. Mr. Hussey brings 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry as executive, founder, investor and consultant to senior management and boards of directors. Prior to joining NanoInk, Mr. Hussey was with Ovation Pharmaceuticals, where he was a member of the senior operating committee, serving as Head of Alliances and Vice President of Corporate Development. He was President and CEO of NeoPharm, Inc., as well as a member of the Board of Directors and an investor/shareholder. In 1994, he founded Physicians Quality Care, a health care services IPA Management Company, which was sold to a public company in 1998. Prior to founding Physicians Quality Care, he was with Bristol Myers Squibb in Princeton, New Jersey, serving as General Manager as well as other positions in marketing, new business development and sales. Mr. Hussey holds a B.S. in Pharmacy from Butler University, Indianapolis, Indiana, and an M.B.A. from University of Illinois at Chicago.

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