Oleg Shinkazh

CEO & Chairman of the Board

Oleg Shinkazh is a founder of ChromaTan and inventor of “Countercurrent Tangential Chromatography.” He is a chemical and biotechnology engineer with 17 years of experience in R&D and technical support in the biotechnology industry, specializing in downstream processing/purification of human biologics. Oleg has extensive experience with all unit operations in the modern marketplace and has worked and collaborated with such industry leaders as Millipore Corp., Pall Corp., Genentech, Biogen and many others.

Dr. Andrew Zydney

Board Member

Dr. Andrew L. Zydney is currently Department Head and Walter L. Robb Family Endowed Chair in the Department of Chemical Engineering at The Pennsylvania State University. Professor Zydney received his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from M.I.T. in 1985 and he was a faculty member in the Chemical Engineering Department at the University of Delaware from 1985 - 2001. Professor Zydney's research is focused on membrane science and technology, with a particular emphasis on bioseparations and the purification of high value biological products. He has published more than 150 articles on these topics, including invited contributions to the Encyclopedia of Bioprocess Technology and the Handbook of Biomedical Engineering. Professor Zydney recently became Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Membrane Science and he serves on the Editorial Boards for Separation and Purification Reviews, Separation Science and Technology and Biotechnology and Bioengineering. He served as President of the North American Membrane Society in 2002 - 2003, he was elected a fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineers in 1998, he received the Excellence in Teaching Award from the University of Delaware in 1994 and he is a past recipient of the Distinguished Teacher Award (1999) and the Outstanding Young Faculty Award (1990) from the American Society of Engineering Education.

Paul H. Silvis

Restek Corporation & Board Member

Paul founded Restek (www.restek.com) in 1985 to manufacture innovative, high quality chromatography products. The company’s sales exceed $60 Million and continue to outpace competitors by consistently maintaining double digit growth and profits. On January 1st 2009 Paul turned over the reins of Restek’s chromatography business to the employees through an ESOP stock purchase. While Paul will remain on the Board, he will primarily focus on growing a new technology company called SilcoTek (www.silcotek.com), which applies Chemical Vapor Deposition to metal and glass creating a surface similar to ultra-high temperature Teflon.

Paul received a B.S. in Chemistry/Life Science from the University of Pittsburgh in 1977 and graduated from the Penn State SMEAL executive MBA program from the Penn State in June 2006. He has completed numerous entrepreneurial leadership courses such as Birthing of Giants, Masters of Business Dynamics, Inc. 500 and Entrepreneur of the Year education sessions. Paul also currently serves on Penn State’s Board of Trustees, and has been the guest speaker for numerous leadership programs at Penn State and many local businesses.

Steve Carpenter

Board Member

Steve Carpenter is the Vice President of Venture Operations at the Life Sciences Greenhouse of Central Pennsylvania. The LSGPA provides investment and support to promising life sciences companies in central Pennsylvania. Since joining the LSGPA in 2004, Steve has served as a board observer or director for 10 start-up companies while evaluating prospective companies for investment. Prior to joining the LSGPA, Steve worked in the industry for over 20 years, and earned a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Lehigh University and an MBA from Penn State with a focus on venture capital, entrepreneurship, and finance in 2004. Steve is also an adjunct instructor for entrepreneurial finance at Penn State’s Smeal College of Business.

Jeff Hays

Business Advisor

Jeff brings decades of experience to our organization from the supply side of the Biotech and Pharma industry. He has a broad background having held executive roles in Marketing, R&D. Engineering and Operations. Working for companies such as 3M, Millipore and Pall corporation he brings experience and problem solving skills along with a deep understanding of the requirements of supplying to these regulated industries. Jeff is a regular advisor on matters relating to our Product Development and fulfillment activities, standard operating procedures, and compliance. Jeff holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.

David A. Fogel

Business Advisor

David Fogel is Managing Director of Swifton CFOs LLC, an outsourced CFO firm that provides emerging businesses with cost-effective and strategic financial leadership. David's expertise lies in constructing a reliable financial framework to attract funding, which is a valuable guide for his clients' continued growth.

As a contributor to the ongoing development of greater Boston's entrepreneurial ecosystem, he has been an active presenter and panelist with MassChallenge, CleanTech Open, WPI Venture Forum, Harvard Entrepreneurship Conference, 128 Innovation Capital Group, MIT Enterprise Forum Smart Start Program, Startup Leadership, The Capital Network and the MIT Entrepreneurial Teams (MIT e-Teams). He is also an active member of Mass TLC, MassMedic, Beacon Angels, TiE Angels and Mass Medical Angels.

David is Adjunct Instructor of Finance and Accounting in the Master’s program at the Tufts University Gordon Institute and in the MBA program at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. David is also a licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA). David has a BS from Miami University (Ohio), and a MBA from the University of Cincinnati.

Bob Steininger

Scientific Advisor

Mr. Steininger joined Acceleron in March 2007 as Senior Vice President, Manufacturing. He is responsible for managing the process development, analytical development, manufacturing, facility, and validation personnel that are involved in making clinical trial material in Acceleron’s disposable-based manufacturing facility.

He was previously the Vice President of Process Sciences at Millennium Pharmaceuticals. In this capacity, he was responsible for the processes for the bulk production of both large and small molecule clinical candidates and managed the development group which made Millennium’s first internally developed biologic using disposable bioreactors. Mr. Steininger also served as a VP within the Millennium Product and Portfolio Management organization.

Prior to joining Millennium, he held multiple roles at Genetics Institute (now Pfizer Pharmaceuticals) from 1984 to 2000, including Director of Clinical Production, Director of Process Technology, Director of Regulatory Affairs, and Senior Director of Research, Genomics. Mr. Steininger is a founding member of the Massachusetts Biomanufacturing Roundtable, and is a member of the advisory board for the Massachusetts chapter of ISPE, an Advisory Board member of the Chemical Engineering Department of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and on the Biotechnology Advisory Board for the RISTA program at the Cambridge High School. Mr. Steininger received a S.B. in chemistry from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an M.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.

Frank Li

Board Member

Feng (Frank) Li obtained his Ph.D. in Bioanalytical Chemistry jointly with Canadian Doping Control Centre and Concordia University. Subsequently, he conducted post-doctoral training at Mayo Clinic. Furthermore, Frank also has a BS in Pharmacy and an MS in Medicinal Chemistry. Professionally, he has held responsible roles in the area of drug discovery at MDS Pharma Services (a major CRO), in the Department of Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics (DMPK) at GSK Pharmaceuticals, and in the Drug Metabolism group at Cephalon (Teva Pharmaceuticals). He has extensive experience in both drug discovery and developmental phases in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. He is a recognized expert in both qualitative and quantitative (PK/TK) drug analysis and has a publication record in the area of drug metabolite identification and quantitation. He has more than 25 years of working experience in the CRO, pharmaceutical, and biotech industries. He is also a board member at Chromatan, a biotech company, and a partner at Hibiscus Capital Management, a venture capital firm.

Frank was the co-founder, CEO/President, and Board Chairman of Alliance Pharma. He led the company’s operation, legal, finance, and corporate development since the inception of the company in 2008. He was awarded top 100 fast-growing companies in 2014 and 2015, top 50 CEOs in 2016 and 2017, and Asian American CEO of the year in 2020. He successfully branded Alliance Pharma as a well-known top specialty CRO globally, has been well-recognized by the industry and competitors, he mentored many young scientists to be industry leaders. Under his leadership, Alliance Pharma has been working with 6 of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies globally, and over 150 clients from pharmaceutical, biotech, and academia. He successfully exited from Alliance Pharma, which is co-invested by two reputable investment firms (Ampersand Capital and KKR).