Began formally serving as President/CEO of SCBIO (South Carolina Biotechnology Industry Organization) in Spring 2017 -- focused on leading the relatively young and innovative statewide organization to its next level of development. SCBIO is committed to advancing, expanding, and accelerating the growth of the life sciences industry in South Carolina, working closely with strategic partners from industry, academia, and the public/private sector -- including complementary local, regional, and state economic development agencies such as the SC Department of Commerce.

Concurrently serve as Founder of SK Strategies, LLC - a Greenville, SC-based consulting firm that has specialized in economic development, public-private partnerships, integrated marketing and business development strategies, vision- mission-brand development, and the creation and implementation of 'strategic road maps' for an extraordinary roster of clients since 2004 (including CU-ICAR, Clemson University, Greenville Health System, KENTWOOL, Greenville Chamber of Commerce, and others).
Formerly served as Executive Director of the Greenville Health Research Development Corporation (RDC) -- a 501(c)3 supporting organization of Greenville Health System.

 Also currently serve as board member and past chair of the Cancer Society of Greenville County, SC BIO Board of Directors, South State Bank Greenville Advisory Board, Palmetto Conservation Foundation Board, Konduros Fishermen Fund, former executive committee/board member of the SC Chamber of Commerce.

Lou Kennedy is President, Chief Executive Officer and Owner of Nephron Pharmaceuticals Corporation. She joined Nephron Pharmaceuticals in 2001, and accepted the position of President and Chief Executive Officer in September 2007. Having held a variety of marketing and operational roles during her career; one notable achievement at Nephron was creating a national sales force, a rarity in the pharmaceutical industry. In the years following, this helped Nephron Pharmaceuticals grow by 300% and increased shipped product to one billion doses each of the last seven years.

Nephron recently built a state of the art manufacturing facility in West Columbia, South Carolina. Mrs. Kennedy was at the forefront of this expansion, which opened in June 2014. Lou is always seeking to enhance and grow her business. She started a 503B Outsourcing division of Nephron in 2016. Production for that division began in January 2017 and is rapidly increasing.

Along with her husband Bill, Mrs. Kennedy helped establish the Kennedy Pharmacy Innovation Center in conjunction with the USC School of Pharmacy. She serves on a variety of business and civic boards, including but not limited to, the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, the National Bank of South Carolina Board, a division of Synovus, Columbia College Board of Trustees, South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance as well as the USC Athletic Department Board. Lou and Bill Kennedy were named Ambassadors of the Year by the Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce in 2013. They also received the Lexington County Ambassador for Economic Development award in 2014. A graduate of the University of South Carolina’s College of Journalism with a Bachelor of Arts degree, Mrs. Kennedy never shies from the opportunity to cheer on the Gamecocks!

A Partner in Womble Bond Dickinson’s Charleston office, Stephanie Yarbrough’s practice focuses on guiding clients in economic development deals and general tax and corporate matters.

Stephanie works closely with domestic and international companies seeking to expand or relocate operations to the Carolinas and the Southeastern United States.  Her efforts on behalf of clients have led to the creation of thousands of new jobs and billions in new investments.

She serves on the Board of Directors for the South Carolina Economic Development Association (SCEDA), the Charleston Regional Development Alliance and the South Carolina Aquarium.  Stephanie was named to the Best Lawyers in America for Economic Development Law in South Carolina (2012-present).  She is the former Director of Economic Development for the City of Charleston under Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr.  She is a member of the North and South Carolina Bars and holds her J.D. from Southern Methodist University School of Law.  Stephanie earned her M.P.A. and B.A. from the College of Charleston.  

Rusnak has more than 25 years of life science experience, most recently holding the position of Director of New Ventures and Technology Development within the technology transfer office at the University of Rochester Medical Center. In his six- year tenure at Rochester, he led the office in life science licensing and directed the University’s Technology Development Fund and the award process. Rusnak also played a lead role in additional fund raising, including SBIRs and STTRs, for the Fund’s applicants, pre and post award. Rusnak additionally established numerous collaborations to foster commercialization, further investments, and advance drug discovery including agreements with the Moulder Center for Drug Discovery Research at Temple University, the Medical Research Council in the United Kingdom, Califia Bio, Inc., and Johnson & Johnson.

Previous to Rochester, he was an entrepreneur-in-residence with BCM Technologies, Inc. the venture subsidiary of Baylor College of Medicine. He was involved in starting and incubating more than five spinout companies from the medical school.  Rusnak has held senior positions in biotechnology business development with Ceros Pharmaceuticals, CombiChem and Lexicon Genetics, among others.

Rusnak received his Master’s Degree in Clinical Science/Lab Management from San Francisco State University and has a B.S. in Microbiology from St. Bonaventure University.

Jeff Stover’s practice covers the spectrum of intellectual property rights, including patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret, unfair competition and related matters for clients operating in a wide range of technologies, including manufacturers, technology companies and startups. He is registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and helps his clients secure, protect and defend their intellectual property rights. 

Jeff represents clients in litigated matters involving the assertion of intellectual property rights, including patent, copyright, trademark and trade secret litigation.  As part of that representation, Jeff handles post-grant patentability matters in front of the United States Patent Trial and Appeal Board, such as inter partes review proceedings. Outside of litigation, Jeff assists his clients in securing intellectual property rights, including the preparation and prosecution of patent applications, trademarks and copyrights in a wide range of business areas.

In addition to intellectual property matters, Jeff has litigation experience in a wide range of substantive areas, including general business disputes, shareholder disputes, fraud and misrepresentation claims, fiduciary duty claims, insurance coverage and bad faith disputes and other types of disputes, on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants, and draws upon this experience when counseling his clients. Jeff provides counsel in association with the protection of trade secrets and negotiates licenses, assignments and related documents associated with intellectual property rights.

Before beginning his legal career, Jeff worked as an engineer on the development of projects including the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Jeff brings the attention to detail needed to succeed as an engineer to the practice of law.

Davis currently serves Prisma Health-Upstate by leading industry engagement and economic development activities for the Health Sciences Center’s Office of Innovation while also directly supporting all internal innovation commercialization activities. During the launch of the innovation office in early 2014, Davis worked side-by-side with executive leadership to establish operational and innovation pillar goals, associated implementation strategies, and supporting policies. Since that time, Davis has had direct involvement in the triage and commercialization strategies of more than 300 unique life science innovation opportunities, resulting in a growing pipeline of opportunities that are generating new revenue streams, quantified cost savings, and in-kind contributions to the health system. 

Prior to his time at Prisma Health-Upstate, Davis co-founded a residential/commercial real estate team with the market share leader in the Upstate, served as an advertising account executive for Michelin and a local sports team, and worked as the senior litigation paralegal for a healthcare law firm. He is a Greenville, South Carolina native and graduate of Clemson University with a degree in Business Management / Executive Leadership & Entrepreneurship (2009, magna cum laude).

Heather Simmons Jones is CEO of the Greenwood Partnership Alliance, where she has served since August, 2013.  Since her arrival in Greenwood, the community has announced over $1 billion in capital investment and created over 1,000 new jobs.   Prior to joining the Partnership Alliance she started and ran her own consulting firm, Opus 3, working in the areas of economic development and human resources out of Columbia.  Her other economic development roles include serving as the lead official in Anderson, Beaufort and Allendale counties.  While in Allendale, she also served as the County Administrator for five years.  She is a 1997 graduate of Clemson University with her undergrad and a 2012 graduate of Clemson University with a Masters in Human Resources Development.  Heather is an avid Clemson fan, enjoys exercising and boating and the proud mother of Trace Jones.

Adam Hoots is DPR Construction’s Life Sciences core market leader for the Upstate. In the past 15 years, Adam has successfully completed more than $400 million in life sciences and high tech laboratory construction including all aspects from building shell to process connections and commissioning.  Nationally, Adam has worked on life sciences and cleanroom projects for clients including: Stanford University, Oregon Health Science University, National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) and the University of Florida (NIMET). A highly technical builder, Adam excels in efficiency, action, communication and continuous improvement through the use of Lean principles. Adam is a member of the Lean Construction Institute and is Green Globes Certified as well as a LEED Accredited Professional in Building Design and Construction by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC).

DPR Construction’s significant experience in life sciences is driven by a deep respect for the work completed in these facilities as well as their unique lab construction requirements. DPR’s specialized laboratory construction expertise provides customers with a seasoned team to plan, coordinate, build and validate projects of all sizes and complexities. Over the years, DPR is proud to have partnered with the nation’s top five biotechnology and top five pharmaceutical companies.

Adam and his wife, Brittany, founded a non-profit organization, kidSney, to promote kidney transplant awareness and assist families that have been impacted by kidney disease. Adam, himself, received a kidney from his mother in 2014 after being on kidney dialysis for more than a year.  He was diagnosed with IGA Nephropathy and Medullary Sponge kidney disease at a young age but has lived a relatively normal life since his transplant. Adam’s passion and experience has led him to serve on the board of directors for the National Kidney Foundation SC for the past three years. He also serves as a coach for the Greenville Little League, the Greenville Grizzlies and Christ Church Basketball.

Mandy Brawley serves as Deputy Director of Global Business Development division for the South Carolina Department of Commerce. She is active in the recruitment of new business and the expansion of existing businesses in the state. In Mrs. Brawley’s time at the Department of Commerce, she has managed projects that produced over 11,000 jobs and more than $2 billion dollars in capital investments in our state.

Prior to this position, she was a pharmaceutical representative covering South Carolina and parts of Georgia. Mrs. Brawley moved to South Carolina from her hometown of Biloxi, Mississippi, where she began her economic development career at the Biloxi Bay Chamber of Commerce. She is married to William Brawley, II, a native of Irmo, South Carolina. They have two daughters, Stella and Bette.

Mrs. Brawley has earned the Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business Administration from the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi. She has also attended the Basic Economic Development course from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. 

Caroline Brown is the director of the Office of External Affairs for the Medical University of South Carolina and MUSC Health. Before that, she oversaw external affairs and strategic engagement for MUSC’s Office of the President. In that capacity, she assisted MUSC President David Cole, M.D., and MUSC leadership in crafting a corporate engagement strategy which led to community support for MUSC as well as commercial partnerships.

In her expanded role, Brown’s responsibilities encompass both the academic and clinical operations of the MUSC enterprise, working to establish new strategic partnerships and overseeing the organization’s corporate affairs and economic development work.  She continues to serve in an advisory role as a special assistant to President Cole.

Prior to joining MUSC, Brown was a campaign and financial strategist for federal political candidates. She also served as U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham’s national deputy finance director and state deputy finance director and spent time in Washington working on Capitol Hill. During her time in politics and government, she successfully built relationships with business and industry leaders across the country and led record breaking fundraising strategies and campaigns, garnering the skills necessary for navigating complex environments and solving problems.

Brown, a Charleston native, earned her undergraduate degree in public relations from the University of South Carolina and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in business administration.

Matthew Couvillion focuses his practice on transactional matters, with an emphasis on corporate law, tax, and non-profit organizations.  He has experience advising clients on mergers and acquisitions, tax matters, and corporate governance. 

Matthew received an LL.M. in Taxation from Georgetown University Law Center.  He earned his law degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law where he was the Managing Editor of the South Carolina Journal of International Law and Business. He is a graduate of Auburn University with a B.A. in History.

J.J. currently serves as Director State Government Affairs for Johnson & Johnson, which he joined in 2011.  Previously he served as President at Tallon Darby Communications and as a registered lobbyist with The Palmetto Policy Group.  He holds a B.S. in International Studies and Economics from the University of South Carolina.

A South Carolina native and graduate of Clemson University with BS and MS degrees in Management, Bob is a 35 year employee of AVX. He started in Marketing, then became the General Manager of a capacitor facility in Maine in 1994.  He and the team there developed a high reliability value proposition for the business, whose primary customer base would be companies manufacturing implantable medical devices.  In 2014, Bob was appointed Vice President of the Medical Division, a new position in AVX dedicated to developing products for the medical industry and expanding the AVX footprint in medical devices. In that capacity, he continued his involvement in developing, manufacturing and marketing capacitors and other AVX components for pacemakers, implantable defibrillators and other life-saving and enhancing products.  Through these efforts, AVX components are used in most of the implantable life support devices made in the world, and the company is expanding its passive component, interconnect, sensor and antenna product portfolio to serve other segments of the medical electronics industry.

Tressa Gardner is the Associate VP of the Southeastern Institute of Manufacturing and Technology (SIMT) at Florence-Darlington Technical College. Ms. Gardner connects business, industry, inventors and entrepreneurs with the advanced technological resources of the SiMT to increase innovation, expand capabilities, and improve efficiency and time to market. The SiMT’s extensive resources and capabilities support medical device development, aerospace, automotive, advanced manufacturing, and R&D. She also represents FDTC as Co-Principal Investigator on the CA2VES project, an initiative of Clemson University’s Center for Workforce Development. 

Ms. Gardner received a BS in Economics from Francis Marion University and a Master of Arts in Economics from Clemson University. She served as Co-PI and Project Manager on numerous National Science Foundation grants to Florence-Darlington Technical College from 2003-2013 before joining the SiMT as Director of Business Development in 2013, and was named Associate VP in 2016. Prior to joining the college, she was Quality Assurance and Safety Coordinator Director for S & W Manufacturing. She was recently chosen as a 2017 Woman of Distinction by Girl Scouts of Eastern South Carolina, was FDTC’s Administrator of the Year in 2008 and was honored as a YWCA Tribute to Women and Industry (TWIN) recipient in 2009. She also serves on the boards of the Florence Regional Arts Alliance and Pee Dee Speech and Hearing Center. 

Michael J. Graney leads the CRDA's comprehensive, strategic global business development efforts focused on five industry clusters - Aerospace, Automotive, Information Technology, Life Sciences and Advanced Logistics. Mike joined the CRDA after successfully managing the Business Development program at the Economic Development Council of Western Massachusetts for more than eight years. Mike’s focus is on inward investment to Charleston, with a particular emphasis on European FDI. Mike is active with our Investor Relations program, engaging public and private sector investors and allies to support our business attraction strategy.

Mike has had an eclectic career, working in industries as varied as economic development, commercial development, and sports and entertainment. Mike has spent his entire career on the East Coast, primarily in New England.

Mike was born in upstate New York and received his B.A. in Economics from Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. He currently resides in Charleston and enjoys living 5 minutes from the beach.

Chad Hardaway is Associate Director of the University of South Carolina (USC) Office of Economic Engagement and the Director of the Technology Commercialization Office.  As Associate Director of the USC Office of Economic Engagement, Chad works to align USC assets with outside corporate and government partners.  As Director of the USC Office of Technology Commercialization, Chad oversees a portfolio of over 500 university technologies and is responsible for moving those technologies out of the laboratory and into the marketplace. 

Chad also works with University Technology Startups and South Carolina Technology Companies to form partnerships, find capital, explore research opportunities, develop new markets, and ultimately move products into the hands of consumers.  Prior to joining the University of South Carolina in 2005, Chad was a Process Engineer with Eastman Chemical Company.  These past positions and experiences provide a broad understanding of the early stage technology development cycle and how it can connect with existing corporate market and technology development.  Chad has a BS in Chemical Engineering, MBA, and a Juris Doctor all from the University of South Carolina.

Dr. Harms is Vice President for Medical Affairs at Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina (BCBSSC), responsible for the assessment of new and evolving technology for the purpose of determining coverage.  Prior to joining BCBSSC five years ago, Dr. Harms had a similar role with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois.  Dr. Harms currently serves on both the Medical Policy Panel and the Executive Committee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA), and previously served on the Technology Evaluation Center Medical Advisory Panel of BCBSA.  He has experience consulting with venture capital organizations regarding new technology and currently frequently consults with evolving technology vendors regarding evidence gaps in their clinical trials.  Dr. Harms represents BCBSSC on the Board of Directors of the South Carolina Telehealth Alliance, the South Carolina Cancer Alliance, and Palmetto Care Connection.

Erica M. Jackson is a partner in the Research Triangle Park, NC and Charleston, SC offices of K&L Gates and a member of the firm's Food, Drugs, Medical Devices and Cosmetics and Health Care practice groups.  Her practice focuses on Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulatory, enforcement, and compliance matters, providing strategic counsel to pharmaceutical, medical device, biologic, dietary supplement, and food manufacturers, as well as other related health care entities. In addition, she advises clients on health care fraud and abuse compliance and matters involving the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and similar state regulatory agencies. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Jackson was a corporate counsel for Genentech, Inc in South San Francisco, CA and an associate in the Washington, D.C. office of an international law firm, where she concentrated her practice on FDA and health care matters. She earned a BA in Public Policy and a certificate in Health Policy from Duke University, a Master of Public Health in Health Policy and Administration from Yale University School of Public Health and a JD from Emory University School of Law.

Thornton Kirby is President and CEO of the South Carolina Hospital Association, a role he has held since 2005.

Under Thornton’s leadership SCHA has been an advocate for patients as well as hospitals, earning a national reputation for statewide improvements in quality and safety. South Carolina was the first state to establish “Certified Zero Harm Awards,” which are given annually to hospitals that can demonstrate at least 12 consecutive months without certain types of harm.

Thornton attended the University of Virginia, where he studied government and interned for Senator Strom Thurmond.  He studied law at the University of South Carolina and began his professional career as a healthcare attorney with the Nexsen Pruet law firm. After advising hospitals for several years, Thornton served as a hospital executive and later as a senior executive for Clemson University.

Adam Klonecke is Senior Site Director/Operations, for Abbott’s Scottsdale, AZ and Liberty, SC locations. These sites support subassemblies for use in Pacemakers, Defibrillators, Heart Monitors, and Neuromodulation Stimulation devices. Adam joined Abbott in 2017 with its acquisition of St. Jude Medical. During his 15-year tenure there he held leadership roles responsible for international expansions, new distribution centers, and introducing novel technologies to markets, and during which he lived in various US cities, Puerto Rico, Malaysia, Sweden and Belgium. Adam received his MBA from the Anderson School of Management at UCLA and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from California Polytechnic Statement University.

Ms. Leidinger, who earned her bachelor’s degree from Clemson, joined the university as executive director of governmental affairs in 2002 and assumed additional duties as executive secretary to the Clemson board of trustees in 2008.  She has primary responsibility for directing Clemson’s government relations activity at both the state and federal levels, and works with industry and developing strategic partnerships to strengthen the university’s economic and industry engagement. In addition, she serves as executive secretary to the board of trustees. In that role, she serves as the liaison between the university and its board of trustees, facilitating relationships and information sharing between the board and university administration, faculty, staff and students.

As Thorne’s COO, Tom is responsible for developing and leading the execution of the Company’s business plans, including its various divisions, joint ventures, and strategic alliances.  Tom’s specific worldwide responsibilities include sales, production, engineering, QA/QC, distribution, customer service, R&D, medical affairs, and human resources for Thorne’s various business units. 

Prior to joining Thorne, Tom was the COO of Diversified Natural Products.  Previous to that, Tom spent the majority of his career at Bristol-Myers Squibb, where he was responsible for worldwide pharmaceuticals strategic planning, business analysis, market research, pricing, managed care, customer, and direct-to-consumer marketing, marketing services, disease management, medical affairs, sales planning and administration, financial planning and analysis, trade relations, public policy, e-business, and productivity. 

At Bristol-Myers Squibb, Tom led the development and implementation of refocusing the company on bio-pharmaceuticals and serious diseases.  In addition, he coordinated the development of Rx Response, a public/private-sector collaboration of pharmaceutical manufacturers, distributors, retailers, hospitals, the Red Cross, and federal/state government entities to address disruptions to the supply of medicines in the United States in the event of a natural disaster, terrorist act, or a pandemic.  

In addition to his tenure at Bristol-Myers Squibb, Tom has been a licensed insurance agent and principal in an insurance agency, he held financial roles at the Travelers Companies and General Electric, and he was a managing director of the life sciences consulting practice at Navigant Consulting. 

Tom is currently a Board member for Thorne Research and SCBIO.  He has also previously served as chairman of the Board for Together Rx, a consortium of top tier pharmaceutical companies offering prescription drug savings cards to the uninsured, and he was president of the board of trustees for the Association for the Advancement of Mental Health and a board member for the National Pharmaceutical Council and  MedPearl.com. 

Tom earned a B.A. degree in finance and economics from Fairfield University, in Fairfield, Connecticut, and an M.B.A. from Temple University, in Philadelphia.

Marc Metcalf is a Business Recruitment Officer for the Upstate SC Alliance, providing support to companies that are considering expansion of their business in the U.S.  In his role, Marc works with the Alliance’s public and private sector investors in executing recruitment strategies focused on making the Upstate an ideal location for business expansion opportunities.

Prior to joining the Upstate SC Alliance, Marc was a business developer with a manufacturing focused credit union and was responsible for relationship development and company growth while serving hundreds of South Carolina manufacturers and their employees.  Most recently, Marc was the Employer Services Manager with Greenville Technical College, serving as the college’s liaison to the business community and implementing customized training and workforce development solutions for area manufacturers.  Marc has a bachelor’s degree from the University of South Carolina and an MBA from North Greenville University.  Marc currently represents the Alliance on the boards of SCBIO and the SC Automotive Council and is a board member of the City of Greer Recreation Association. 

Dan serves as Executive Director of Strategic Initiatives & Business Technology for Charles River Laboratories.  

In that role, he is responsible for working closely across the Microbial Solutions leadership to shape global business growth strategies, evaluate and support the prioritization of critical business initiatives, and oversee and manage a portfolio of growth projects key to achieving the business’s 5-year plan. He also continues to serve as the Business Technology Partner for IT and act as the primary liaison between IT and Microbial business leadership on strategic initiatives. 

Kathy Phlegar is Founder and President of Phlegar & Associates, a boutique consulting firm providing strategy, business development, and product/technology evaluation expertise to Fortune 100 companies for 20 years.  

Prior to founding her firm, Kathy led a $70MM division in a multi‐national company, directing cross‐functional product development teams from concept to national launch, and providing revenue and expense forecasts and strategic investment proposals. She also launched products nationally while directing product design, manufacturing, serviceability, pricing, and distribution.

Kathy's expertise has extended to evaluation of business growth opportunities through company, technology and device acquisition for three Fortune 500 companies., and she has been engaged to reposition a small privately‐held company for acquisition by a publicly traded company.  She also has developed Life Science Sector Strategy for the Charleston Region, identifying core competencies and market screening criteria for target segments. 

Kathy holds an MBA from the University of Florida, and a B.S. from Clemson University.

In 2010, Dave Shalaby took on the role of president after having served on the board of directors for eight years. Under Dave’s leadership, the company has grown into a vertically integrated design, development, and custom manufacturer of bioresorbable medical device and pharmaceutical products. Before stepping into his role at Poly-Med, Inc., Dave was founder and president of InSource Consulting, providing strategic consulting services to financial service companies to improve process and business efficiencies through the use of process analysis methodologies.

During his tenure, Dave personally led major merger and acquisition integrations for two Fortune 100 insurance companies and has overseen countless key strategic efforts in support of his clients.

He grew InSource Consulting into a multi-million dollar specialty management consulting firm aimed at providing strategic support services to large companies within the healthcare, financial service, and federal government sectors. InSource Consulting was acquired by Virtusa, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTU) in 2009.

This unique mix of strategic and business acumen has led to significant growth at Poly-Med, Inc. Several key initiatives encouraging the team to achieve elegant solutions are advancing the company to the next level, while staying true to the legacy of Dave’s father, Dr. Shalaby W. Shalaby.

Education

David holds a B.S. in Aeronautical Technology from Purdue University (1992) and an MBA from Loyola University of Chicago (1994).

Christine Dixon Thiesing, MBA, is the Director of Academic Innovations for South Carolina Research Authority. SCRA is a public, non-profit corporation, that fosters the state of South Carolina’s innovation economy by supporting entrepreneurs, enabling academic applied research, and connecting industry to innovators. The SCRA Academic Innovations group is charged with maximizing the economic impact of South Carolina's institutions of higher education. Through grants, mentoring, and networking, Academic Innovations cultivates academic startups, builds the state's research infrastructure, and fosters collaborations between academia and industry to grow the state's knowledge economy.

Christine serves as Principal Investigator of an Economic Development Administration i6 award to grow the entrepreneurial capacity of the state in the medical device sector and address challenges in the maturation and translation of academic medical device innovations. The SC Medical Device Alliance, in part funded by the i6 award, is a $2.0M initiative that leverages inter-institutional collaborations and connects clinicians with biomedical engineers to advance medical technologies that address clinical unmet needs. The program aims to generate de-risked, viable startups with a clear pathway to funding and train multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional teams in the development and commercialization of medical devices.

Prior to SCRA, Christine was the Associate Director of Technology Development for the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) Foundation for Research Development, in which she identified resources for the maturation of medical technologies and supported more than twenty startup companies. 

Christine co-founded PriMed, which provided life science entrepreneurs the foundation needed for long-term commercial success through mentoring, curriculum, and networking.  Christine is a founder of CuRE Innovations, a startup developing advanced dental materials to improve oral health. 

Her engagement with academic startups began at CyDex, Inc., which commercialized the Captisol® drug delivery system. She developed expertise in licensing intellectual property to the pharmaceutical industry, raising capital, and accounting. In her years there, the company grew from a five-employee startup to a venture-backed organization that raised more than $20M in capital and had more than forty employees.

Christine currently serves as Board Member for several organizations: Southeastern Medical Device Association (SEMDA), South Carolina Biotechnology Industry Organization (SCBIO), and P.B. Hoidale Co., Inc.

Christine holds an MBA with a focus in finance from the University of Kansas. She obtained a B.A. in Biology from the University of Kansas Honors Program.

Will Thomas represents a variety of health care and life sciences clients in litigation, regulatory, and transactional matters, which have the tendency to blend together and overlap. He is the leader of Parker Poe's Health Care Industry Team. Prior to entering the practice of law in 1999, Will worked as an administrator in an academic medical center and in a physician’s office, so he is uniquely familiar with both the operational and legal aspects of health care. Early in his legal career, Will served as a law clerk to Judge Terry Wooten, U.S. District Court Judge.

Will’s clients include general acute care hospitals (for profit, not-for-profit, and governmental), individual physicians and physician practices, urgent care centers, nursing homes, rehabilitation hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, ambulance companies, group homes, radiation therapy centers, and ambulatory surgery centers, just to name a few. Will typically interacts with in-house counsel, risk managers, CEOs, COOs and other health care administrators when providing day-to-day operations counsel, in addition to his regulatory, transactional, and litigation roles. Additionally, Will spent several years of practice defending pharmaceutical companies in multi-district OTC and prescription drug litigation.

Will holds his JD from the University of South Carolina, an MHA from the Medical University of South Carolina, and his BA from Washington and Lee University.  He is a member of the South Carolina Bar.

Will Williams is a native of Georgetown, SC and a graduate of The Citadel with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration. Will has more than 20 years of economic development experience in various capacities. Will is a member of several organizations such as, The SC Economic Developers Association, The Greater Aiken Chamber of Commerce, the North Augusta Chamber of Commerce, and the Aiken Technical College Foundation. Will is currently the 2nd Vice Chairman of the Southern Economic Development Council and President of The Rotary Club of Aiken.

Will has been recognized for his work in economic development with the 2017 SCEDA Local Developer of the Year and the W. D. Workman Buffalo Hunter Award. He also has the professional designation of Certified Economic Developer by the State of South Carolina.

Will enjoys playing golf, hunting, and fishing along with long distance running. He is married to Ellen, a native of Columbia, SC. They have two sons, one who attends The Citadel and one who attends Aiken County Public Schools.

Dr. Cynthia Young joined Clemson University in August 2017 as the Founding Dean for the College of Science.  Through her leadership over the past year, the College has made great progress including building an innovative leadership structure and diverse team, developing an ambitious strategic plan called SciForward, engaging in strategic outreach opportunities to increase awareness of SCIENCE throughout South Carolina, creating a new hiring process that elevates “T” shaped researchers who can integrate across many disciplines and industries, engaging with new global partners that are at the forefront of scientific research, and converging the collective power of the life, physical and mathematical sciences to tackle tomorrow’s scientific challenges and prepare the next generation of scientist.  Prior to joining Clemson, Dr. Young spent 20 years at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. During that time, she was a nationally recognized scholar, co-founded UCF’s EXCEL program that raised STEM graduation rates by 40%, and served in many leadership roles including associate dean of the College of Science and Vice Provost for faculty excellence and UCF Global.