Scientific & Regulatory Team
Joseph P. Vacanti, M.D.,
Founder, Chief Scientific Advisor

Dr. Scott J. Swanson
Scientific Advisor

Lawrence J. Rhoades
Scientific and Engineering Advisor

Brian Orrick
Scientific Advisor

David Feigal
Chief Regulatory Advisor

Merry Lee Bain
Regulatory Advisor

Ira Spool
Computational, Design & Engineering Director

 Business Team
Gary Woolf
President & CEO

Tom Fidel
Chief Strategic Officer

Diane Woolf
VP of Finance

Warren Tolman
Director of Business Development

Morgan Rowe
Associate

I Jian Lin
Chief Marketing Officer

 Legal Team
William Mandell
Pierce & Mandell, P.C. - General Counsel

Giulio DeConti
Chief Intellectual Property Counsel


Science and Regulatory
Joseph P. Vacanti, M.D., Founder, Chief Scientific Advisor
Dr. Vacanti is a renowned regenerative medicine pioneer, and has been working passionately on the research and development of bioengineered organs systems for more than 20 years. He is the Co-Director of Mass General Hospital's Center for Regenerative Medicine, and is the Director of Tissue Engineering and Organ Fabrication at Massachusetts General Hospital, where he is also Chief of Pediatric Surgery, Director of Pediatric Transplantation and Surgeon-in-Chief for Mass General Hospital for Children. He is also a Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Vacanti has worked closely with world-renowned engineer/scientists Dr. Judah Folkman and Dr. Robert Langer. He has authored more than 250 original reports, 33 review papers, 35 book chapters and 390 abstracts. He also has more than 50 patents or patents-pending in the US, Canada, Europe and Japan. Dr. Vacanti is regarded worldwide as the father of organ engineering.
Back to top

Scott J. Swanson, M.D., Scientific Advisor
Dr. Swanson is a member of the prestigious surgical team and the Senior Faculty, Cardiothoracic Surgery/Thoracic Surgery at The Mount Sinai Hospital. Thoracic Surgery at The Mount Sinai Hospital is famed for its advancements in the application of minimally invasive techniques, its focus on state-of-the-art multidisciplinary treatment of difficult tumors, and a commitment to treating patients whose conditions others believe to be incurable. Dr. Swanson's current research focuses on innovative treatment strategies in lung disease, including minimally invasive surgical techniques. Dr. Swanson is a member of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery, the Cardiothoracic Surgery Network, the General Thoracic Surgery Club, and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons. He has an M.D. from Harvard Medical School, and a B.A. from Amherst College. Dr. Swanson has also been Chief Resident of Thoracic Surgery at Brigham & Women's Hospital, Boston, and Chief Resident of Cardiac Surgery at Brigham & Women's and Children's Hospital.
Back to top

Lawrence J. Rhoades, Scientific and Engineering Advisor
We regret to announce the untimely death of our valued colleague, Lawrence Rhoades, an inventor, creative genius, businessman, entrepreneur, and philanthropist, who passed away on Saturday, April 21, 2007, while scuba diving in Hawaii. He was 62 years old. Larry was a special member of the BioEngine and Alito teams over the past couple of years and with his knowledge, vision, and resources made significant and lasting contributions to both companies. He served on the Board of Directors and played a major role in investing his energy and resources in getting both companies off the ground. Larry was instrumental in redesigning and producing our first prototype for animal testing. He will be remembered for his inventive mind, his wise counsel, and for his generous spirit. Our association with Larry was sadly much too short. His reassuring presence and happy nature will be missed by his family, his wide circle of friends, and by those of us who were fortunate enough to know and work with him.

Mr. Rhoades studied Economics and Mechanical Engineering at Brown University and received his M.B.A. from Northwestern University. He was the Chief Executive Officer of The ExOne Company, a developer and supplier of innovative manufacturing technology and equipment. For thirty-five years, he held the same position at Extrude Hone Corporation - the leading global supplier of deburring and finishing systems - serving the majority of the world's largest manufacturers and now a unit of Kennametal, Inc. ExOne has six and Extrude Hone has twenty locations in major manufacturing centers throughout the world. Mr. Rhoades held patents on more than two dozen inventions related to nontraditional manufacturing processes for machining, finishing, forming and measurement.

He chaired the Advisory Committee of the U.S. Export Import Bank, and served on numerous advisory groups for the U.S. Department of Defense and the Department of Commerce, addressing both technologies and business practices related to manufacturing. Mr. Rhoades served on the Boards of the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences, the National Institute for Standards and Technology's (NIST) Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Program, the Western Pennsylvania's MEP Center (Catalyst Connection), which he chaired from 1995 through 2000, and the Society of Manufacturing Engineers' Education Foundation. He chaired the Board of the Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT) in 2003. In June of 2001, he was elected a Fellow of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers and was appointed to the Pennsylvania Bar Association's Judicial Evaluation Commission.

He served on the Boards of Gardner Publications, Inc., Concurrent Technologies Corporation, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix Association, the National Center for Defense Manufacturing & Machining, and the Doyle Center for Defense Manufacturing, which he chaired through June, 2005. He was a Council Member of the National Academies' Government-University-Industry Research Roundtable, and served on the Board for Manufacturing and Engineering Design for the National Academy of Engineering.

Mr. Rhoades was the recipient of the Pittsburgh Business Times' 2003 Manufacturer of the Year Award, and was named the Ernst & Young Master Entrepreneur of the Year for Western Pennsylvania in 2003, and the Pittsburgh Venture Capital Association's Outstanding Entrepreneur of 2005. Nationally, he was the recipient of the 2004 Defense Manufacturing Excellence Award.
Back to top

Brian Orrick, Scientific Advisor
Mr. Orrick is currently the Vice President of Operations for Alito. Prior to joining the Alito team, he was a Member of the Technical Staff at Charles Stark Draper Laboratory for 8 years, where he served as the Principal Investigator and Co-Investigator for numerous projects involving the engineering of nanostructures for use in biomedical and aerospace applications. Mr. Orrick served as the Technical Lead at Draper Laboratory on Alito's technologies from 2000 to 2005. As technical lead, he supervised the building and development of Alito's medical devices and served as the engineering liaison between Massachusetts General Hospital and Draper Laboratory. Mr. Orrick holds an M.B.A. from Boston College's Carroll School of Business Management, with dual concentrations in Management of Information Technology and Technology-Marketing and a B.S. in Applied Science and Technology and Nuclear Engineering from the Thomas Edison State College. He has also earned a graduate certificate in Biomedical Engineering from Tufts University to further his expertise in the field of biomedical engineering.
Back to top

Ira Spool, Computational, Design & Engineering Director
Mr. Spool is Head of Engineering and Computational Modeling and Design at Alito. He brings 18 years of medical device and product development experience to the company. Prior to joining Alito he designed and developed novel devices for Harvard Medical School research laboratories. He has led design and development of the Adaptive Intracavitary Brachytherapy Applicator for M. D. Anderson Cancer Center and has also developed surgical devices for frog design, inc., Human Factors Industrial Design, Inc., and Surgical Design Corp. Mr. Spool holds a Master's in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts.
Back to top

David Feigal, Chief Regulatory Advisor
Dr. Feigal holds an M.D. degree from Stanford University and an M.P.H. from the University of California Berkeley. Dr. Feigal held various senior positions in the Food and Drug Administration from 1992 to 2004, including 5 years as Director for the Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH), 2 years as Medical Deputy Director of CBER, and he headed CDER's Antiviral Drug Division, the Anti-Infective Drug Division and ODE IV for 5 years. As Director of CDRH, Dr. Feigal was an advocate for the Center's Science and Education programs and worked with Congress and industry to launch a user-fee program that will lay the groundwork for CDRH in the future. In 2004 he stepped down from CDRH to relocate to Phoenix, Arizona, where he is now a Partner in NDA Partners, LLP and a Research Professor at the Arizona Biodesign Center and an Adjunct Professor in the Law School at Arizona State University. Prior to his work at the FDA, Dr. Feigal held faculty positions at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine and the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Feigal completed his internal medicine residency training at the University of California at Davis and a fellowship in clinical epidemiology at the University of California at San Francisco.
Back to top

Merry Lee Bain, Regulatory Advisor
Merry Lee Bain obtained a B.S. degree in Biomedical Engineering and an M.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University. Merry Lee has nearly 20 years of experience in the medical device industry and has played an integral role in the development of a wide variety of medical devices including combination products and long-term implants. Her primary focus has been on steering new products through the FDA approval process, including determining needs for non-clinical testing and designing and managing clinical studies. Merry Lee has served as Vice President of Regulatory Affairs for Cook Biotech, a large privately owned medical device company, and has worked with the FDA as an industry representative on a number of task forces for developing FDA guidelines and policies. Merry Lee has served as a Premier Expert Consultant for NDA Partners, LLP since 2005.
Back to top

Business Team
Gary Woolf, President & CEO
Mr. Woolf is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Alito. He is also CEO of Shiboomi Business Accelerators, a consulting firm specializing in providing strategic advisory services for emerging businesses. His professional experience includes playing a pivotal role in strategy and operations for companies in a variety of industries and stages, from multinational service companies to start-ups. For 10 years he held senior management positions, including CEO, at Bob Woolf Associates, one the world's largest sports representation and marketing firms with clients including Larry Bird, Joe Montana and Larry King. He has founded and consulted with dozens of emerging companies in numerous industries, including healthcare, consumer products and technology. Mr. Woolf is a cum laude graduate of Harvard University.
Back to top

Thomas Fidel, Chief Strategic Officer
Mr. Fidel is the Chief Strategic Officer of Alito and the Co-Founder and Chief Strategic Officer of Shiboomi, LLC. Mr. Fidel also founded Fidel Consults, a business which assists high-performance individuals with the development of performance-enhancement and life management skills. He holds a B.S. from the University of Idaho and served as a Captain at the Marine Corps for 11 years, where he specialized in counter-terrorism, human intelligence, and strategic planning. Mr. Fidel focuses on developing leadership strategy and strengthening the vision and growth of companies and organizations.
Back to top

Diane Woolf, VP of Finance
Ms. Woolf has previously raised nearly $1 billion of private equity capital for a wide variety of companies in her positions as an investment banker with Robertson Stephens, and as Director and Head of Private Placements for Tucker Anthony Sutro. She holds an M.B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley, graduated summa cum laude from the University of New Hampshire's Whittemore School of Business and Economics, and was a certified public accountant with Coopers & Lybrand. Ms. Woolf has also structured, negotiated and raised start-up capital for several companies as a consultant with Shiboomi Business Accelerators.
Back to top

Mr. Warren Tolman, Director of Business Development
Mr. Tolman is a lawyer at Holland & Knight specializing in business, government and emerging companies. A graduate of Amherst College and Boston College Law School (cum laude), Mr. Tolman was a Massachusetts Gubernatorial candidate in 2002 and was the Democratic nominee for the Lieutenant Governor in 1998. From 1991-1999, Mr. Tolman served as the State Senator and State Representative in the Massachusetts Legislature and chaired the Joint Committee on Taxation and the Committee on State Administration. He is also a regular commentator on Fox 25 News, New England Cable News, and WBZ Radio. Throughout his career, Mr. Tolman has been an advocate for people suffering from lung disease. He was the author of the landmark "Tolman Tobacco Disclosure Law" requiring tobacco companies to reveal the additives and ingredients in their cigarettes and to disclose accurate nicotine yield rating information. For this law, he was awarded the "Statesman Award" by the American Heart Association, was sent by the American Cancer Society to various states to testify on behalf of similar legislation, and was referred to as an "Anti-Smoking Nazi" by Rush Limbaugh on his national radio program. Mr. Tolman is also a shareholder and advisor to Alito.
Back to top

Morgan Rowe, Associate
Ms. Rowe is a 2003 cum laude graduate of Harvard University. She has worked as a Research Associate with Shiboomi Business Accelerators since 2002 and serves as the Assistant to the CEO of Alito Scientific and Alito. She was previously a member of the U.S. Figure Skating Team for five consecutive years. She currently serves on the U.S. Figure Skating Association's Board of Directors as well as its Marketing, Strategic Planning, and Program Development Committees.
Back to top

I Jian Lin, Chief Marketing Officer
Mr. Lin, Chief Marketing Officer, is responsible for driving the strategic marketing and communications of Alito. He is also the President and Chief Creative Officer of BrandIntent, a specialized brand development consultancy that works with leadership brands committed to improving the lives of their constituents. Mr. Lin has driven global brand efforts for companies such as Monster, NEC and Compaq and is also fluent in three languages. His knowledge and understanding of various cultures have given him tremendous insight into inspiring and securing commitment across diverse audiences and partners. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Massachusetts College of Art and studied communication design and music at Tokyo University of Arts and Music.
Back to top

Legal Team
William Mandell, Pierce & Mandell, P.C. - General Counsel
William M. Mandell is a founding Shareholder of Pierce & Mandell, P.C., a law firm located in Boston, Massachusetts that focuses its practice on business, healthcare regulation and law, and intellectual property. Mr. Mandell works with start-up health and technology companies, as well as physicians and other healthcare providers, in all facets of corporate, business, investment, transactional, financing, regulatory and contract areas. Mr. Mandell is a graduate of Brandeis University and Boston College Law School. He is the author of several publications on regulatory compliance in the business and healthcare fields.
Back to top

Giulio DeConti, Jr., Chief Intellectual Property Counsel
Mr. DeConti is currently a Partner at Lahive & Cockfield LLC and was named a Massachusetts SuperLawyer in 2005. He specializes in biotechnology and chemistry, all areas of patent practice, and has extensive experience in patent preparation and prosecution, intellectual property due diligence, patentability, validity and infringement opinions and licensing. He is also a co-author on several scientific papers. Prior to obtaining his law degree, Mr. DeConti spent five years as a research associate in a multidisciplinary research project involving steroid biochemistry, renal physiology and endocrinology. Mr. DeConti holds an Sc.B. and an M.S. in Biochemical Pharmacology from Brown University and a J.D. from Georgetown University. Mr. David Burns, Associate, and Mr. Brian Trinque, Patent Agent, provide intellectual property support to Mr. DeConti for Alito.
Back to top
HOME • DISEASES • TECHNOLOGY • MISSION • TEAM • PARTNERS • NEWS & EVENTS • INVESTOR RELATIONS • CONTACT
©2006 ALITO SCIENTIFIC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED