Marilyn (Lynn) Huston, Ph.D.

Dr. Huston is a practicing partner of WongCabello, L.L.P., a renowned Intellectual Property law firm. As a former in-house patent counsel for a publicly traded biotech company as well as an accomplished basic research scientist, Dr. Huston understands the issues involved with both commercial and basic research entities. Dr. Huston is fluent in a spectrum of biomedical technologies ranging from medical devices to gene therapy, monoclonal antibodies, cytokines, cloning and biologics manufacture. She received a J.D. from University of Houston Law Center and a Ph.D. of Microbiology from Texas A&M University.

Tom Kraft, Ph.D., MBA

Dr. Kraft is the Director of Client Services for the Houston Technology Center. Dr. Kraft founded several companies, one of which developed and commercialized medical and clinical devices in microbiology, immunology, hematology and clinical chemistry. This covered a period of four decades and is reflected in numerous commercial successes and 19 patents. At the Houston Technology Center, Dr. Kraft plays a lead role in accelerating technology start ups, principally in biosciences and bioengineering, as well as in space and other base technologies. He completed a doctoral program at Rice University in electrical engineering and math.

Morteza Naghavi, M.D.

Dr. Naghavi is an innovative physician scientist and entrepreneur with special interests in the fields of cardiovascular medicine and medical technologies. As a former cardiology faculty at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston and Director of the Vulnerable Plaque Research Department at the Texas Heart Institute, he made several inventions and contributed to creating the field of “vulnerable plaque”, the immediate underlying cause of heart attacks. Early works by Dr. Naghavi and colleagues resulted in the foundation of Volcano Corporation (NASDAQ: VOLC), the leading vulnerable plaque detection company. Dr. Naghavi invented the Digital Thermal Monitoring of vascular function which provides a noninvasive, inexpensive, and easy-to-use tool for screening asymptomatic at risk patients and monitoring vascular response to therapy. Through his years of active contribution to the field of early detection and prevention of cardiovascular disease, Dr. Naghavi founded the Society for Heart Attack Prevention and Eradication (SHAPE) and is the Chairman of the SHAPE Task Force, a non-profit international coalition focusing on the advancement of cardiovascular risk assessment. Dr. Naghavi is the founder and CEO of Endothelix Inc.

Andy A. Nat, Jr., MBA

Mr. Nat is the Executive Director of the Texas Life Science Center. He was previously a principal and chief financial officer at Vesalius Ventures. Mr. Nat has over 25 years executive experience in finance, corporate strategy, business development and operations in companies ranging in size from startups to Fortune 50 companies. He holds a B.A. from Columbia University and an M.B.A. from Yale University.

Andrew was the Co-founder, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Financial Officer of a Houston based Internet start-up. He has also held positions at major corporations such as BP Global Power, Edison Mission Energy, FPL Group and PaineWebber. At BP Global Power, Andrew led the team that closed a $400 million project, the largest project closed at this business unit to that date.

Chuck Powell, J.D.

Mr. Powell is an attorney and partner in Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P.'s Houston office. He has extensive experience with venture capital transactions, mergers and acquisitions, and securities offerings.

His primary clients are venture capital funds and technology companies including telecom companies and businesses implementing technology in the energy industry. Mr. Powell received his law degree from the University of Texas at Austin.

John P. Warren, J.D.

John Warren is the former Associate General Counsel for Research and Intellectual Property Management at the University of Houston, where he also served as the Executive Director of the Center for Industrial Partnerships. John has been practicing Intellectual Property and Government Contract Law for over twenty years and has been admitted to the highest courts in Texas, Michigan, New York, New Jersey, Florida, England and Wales as well as to numerous federal courts and the United States Court of Federal Claims. John is a graduate of Seton Hall University and obtained a Juris Doctor from Stetson University College of Law. He has authored articles on government contracting and intellectual property and frequently speaks on both subjects as well as international law. He has taught many legal subjects at the undergraduate, graduate, and law school levels.

Leo B. Womack

Leo B. Womack has been the President of Gulf Equities Realty Advisors, Inc., a diversified real estate portfolio management company, since 1986. He has also been the Chairman and Chief Financial officer of Fairway Medical Technologies, Inc., a medical device company and a portfolio company of the Baylor College of Medicine Venture Fund since 1996. From 1969 to 1978, Mr. Womack was the managing partner of a local and later national CPA firm. He serves on the Board and is the President of the Houston Angel Network. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Schumate Industries Inc.(OTCBB:SHMT) and O.I. Corporation (NASDAQ:OICO). Mr. Womack is licensed as a certified public accountant and as a real estate broker. He is also an active member of NACD the National Association of Corporate Directors and numerous other organizations. He received a BBA from Texas A&M University.