H. John Wells
John Wells has spent over 30 years in the biomedical services field. For 18 years he held positions of increasing responsibility for the American Red Cross in one of its 36 Blood Services Regions, headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. During his tenure, he held the positions of Chief Technologist of Laboratory Services, Director of Product Management, Region Administrator, Director Regional Services and Sales and Marketing.

In 1991, Mr. Wells was invited by the American Red Cross’s President (Elizabeth Dole) to join the National Headquarters Senior Management Group in Washington, D.C as part of a historic overhaul (“Restructuring”) of its blood banking organization. Mr. Wells planned and developed a National Inventory Management/Hub System that provided the strategic framework for meeting customer needs in the cost containment health care environment. This system patterned after the Federal Express model was the first in blood banking and had an annual operating budget of over $70 million. In 1995, as Senior Officer, Mr. Wells established a new business development group within the Red Cross that had responsibilities for strategic Research & Development direction, product/service development, external (both domestic & international) business relationships and strategic planning. In 1999, Mr. Wells assumed additional responsibilities as Executive Director of the Red Cross' new Center for Cell Therapy. The Center was the Red Cross' vehicle into the arena of cellular products and related services for the treatment of cancers, genetic disorders, autoimmune diseases and selected chronic infections.

Our Associates……

Rita A. Reik, M.D.,FCAP (www.viapathenterprises.com)
Dr. Reik is a pathologist with board certifications in Anatomic Pathology, Clinical Pathology and Blood Banking/Transfusion Medicine subspecialty. She is the President of ViaPath Enterprises, Inc., a national Pathology consulting and resources firm. Dr. Reik has clinical and administrative experience in all areas of Pathology, as well as in the specialty areas of transfusion medicine, blood banking, tissue banking and cellular therapy. She recently served as Senior Medical Officer for the American Red Cross Biomedical Services Division at their headquarters in Washington, D.C. Prior to that, she held positions as Director of National Operations for the American Red Cross Center for Cell Therapy, and Chief Medical Officer for the American Red Cross Pacific Northwest Regional Blood Services. Her past experience includes Medical Directorship of Community Tissue services in Dayton, Ohio, and Director of the Stem Cell Processing and Graft Engineering Laboratory at Jackson Memorial Hospital/University of Miami School of Medicine. She has also held several clinical laboratory directorships.

Dr. Reik received her medical and residency training at the University of Miami School of Medicine / Jackson Memorial Medical Center in Miami, Florida. She was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society in 1989. She is referenced in Who's Who in the World 2000.

David L. Graham (www.thegsgroup.com)
With over twenty years of healthcare marketing, business development and sales management experience, Mr. Graham brings a variety of experiences to each assignment. He has worked in both large organizations and smaller, start-up situations. In his last position as the Director of Marketing at CellPro Incorporated, he helped position the company as the leader in cell therapy and stem cell separations. Previously, he was with ZymoGenetics, a start-up biopharmaceutical company as Director of Marketing & Corporate Development, and Baxter-Hyland Division where he held numerous product marketing and sales Management roles. As founder of The Graham Sjostrand Group, David has worked on behalf of for profit clients like Amgen, Baxter Healthcare, Gambro BCT, Pall Corporation, Targeted Genetics and ZymoGenetics as well as non-profits such as the American Red Cross, Children's Hospital of Oakland Research Institute and the Puget Sound Blood Center. His firm specializes in marketing research and new product planning with special emphasis on blood banking and emerging cellular therapies.

Richard E. Kruger, Ph.D., RAC (www.krugerconsulting.com)
With over 30 years of pharmaceutical/biotechnology experience, including a senior regulatory affairs professional, Richard Kruger brings a wealth of accomplishments to each client. Dr. Kruger is the principal of Kruger Consulting, Inc. that provides regulatory consulting service providing biotechnology companies with clear reality-oriented advice and counsel tailored to their specific needs. He can assist companies who are developing novel technologies to initiate and manage appropriate, proactive relationships with the FDA and foreign regulatory authorities, by designing product development pathways that reduce both precious time to market and capital expenditures. Dr. Kruger can also provide education and training of our client staff.

Leonard I. Friedman, Sc.D.
Dr. Friedman obtained a B.S. in Chemical Engineering at the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn (now the Polytechnic University) and a M.S. and Sc.D. in Chemical Engineering at Columbia University. He spent three years at the Artificial Lung Testing and Evaluation Facility at Brown University. In 1973, Dr. Friedman established the Biomedical Engineering Laboratory at the American Red Cross. This group evolved to become the Product Development Department at the Holland Laboratory, the central research and development facility of the American Red Cross Biomedical Services. The interdisciplinary group which Dr. Friedman headed conducted "applied research", development and evaluation involving many of the products and methods used in blood banking today. Major projects included studies of equipment and logistics for blood collection and processing, blood group automation, use of robotics in blood banking, membrane based plasmapheresis systems, application of bar code technology in blood banking, blood component shipping systems, licensure and quality control of red cells, platelets and leukoreduced components, pathogen inactivation processes, bacterial reduction and detection systems, peripheral blood and cord blood stem cell processing techniques, and use of macrophages in wound healing. He has been a member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, the American Society for Artificial Internal Organs, the American Association of Blood Banks, the International Society of Blood Transfusion, and the American Society of Hematology and worked on various organizational committees. Dr. Friedman has published over 75 articles and holds several patents. In 2000, he received the American Red Cross Drew Award.

Cathy Killion, Ph.D.
Cathy Killion is Principle Consultant of Killion & Associates, specializing in Cell and Gene Therapy Bioprocessing since 1997. From inception, decisions impacting product/technology design, process development through to cGMP manufacturing, will determine the outcome of regulatory acceptance and successful commercialization. Dr. Killion’s career spans over 18-years including basic research, biotech research and development, cGMP manufacturing of gene-modified cell therapeutics, and strategic technology planning. Dr. Killion’s expertise is scientific/technology evaluations, competitor technology assessments and recommending development and manufacturing strategies for cell or gene-modified cellular therapies in pre-clinical and clinical testing phases.

Dr. Killion was Group Manager of Cell Biology Research at Baxter Biotech, Gene Therapy Unit from 1992-1997. Dr. Killion received her Ph.D. in Cellular and Integrative Biology from Washington University in St. Louis and completed post-doctoral research studies at the University of Southern California. She is co-inventor of issued gene therapy methods (patent #6,114,113) and has numerous publications. She has worked as a research technician in the Department of Allergy and Immunology at Washington University School Medicine and at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, Maryland. She received two Bachelor of Arts degrees in Biological Sciences and Medical Technology from California State University.

Scott E. Mackler (www.cleanroom-consulting.com)
Scott Mackler is the Principal of Cleanroom Consulting, LLC, specializing in cleanroom design and applications, contamination control consultation, new cleanroom product introductions, and industrial sales & marketing.