About Us
BioLife Solutions is a leading supplier of class-defining cell and gene therapy bioproduction tools and services. Our tools portfolio includes our proprietary CryoStor® freeze media and HypoThermosol® shipping and storage media, ThawSTAR® family of automated, water-free thawing products, evo® cold chain management system, Custom Biogenic Systems high capacity storage freezers and SciSafe biologic storage services.
Board of Directors
Michael Rice (President and Chief Executive Officer)
Michael Rice has been President and Chief Executive Officer and a director of the Company since August 2006, and was chairman of the board from August 2007 to November 2013. He is also the President of biologistex CCM, the Company’s joint venture with SAVSU Technologies, Inc. Mr. Rice has more than 30 years of leadership and entrepreneurial experience in the medical and high tech industries. He was most recently the senior business development manager for medical and wireless products at AMI Semiconductor, from October 2004 to August 2006. From October 2000 to October to August 2006, Mr. Rice also served as the director of marketing and business development at Cardiac Science, Inc., a manufacturer of automated external defibrillators. Prior to that, from May 1998 to October 2000, he was the Vice President, Sales and Marketing for TEGRIS Corporation, a privately held network services provider. Mr. Rice also spent 12 years, from May 1986 to May 1998 at Physio Control Corporation in several sales and marketing management roles prior to its acquisition by Medtronic Inc. The board has determined that Mr. Rice should serve as a director because it values management’s insight.
Raymond W. Cohen (Chairman of the Board of Directors)
Raymond W. Cohen joined the board in May 2006, and has served as chairman of the board since November 2013. Mr. Cohen is an accredited public company director and has extensive international medical device experience holding several Chairman and Chief Executive Officer positions on the boards of both publicly listed and private life sciences companies in the United States and Europe. Mr. Cohen currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer and member of the board of directors of Irvine, CA based Axonics Modulation Technologies, Inc., a privately held venture backed developer of neuromodulation devices. Since July 2013, Mr. Cohen also currently serves as the non-executive Chairman of Lombard Medical (NASDAQ:EVAR) a manufacturer and marketer of endovascular stent graphs. Mr. Cohen also currently serves as a non-executive director, chairman of the compensation committee and member of the audit committee of Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPPI), a developer and marketer of oncology and hematology drugs. Cohen also currently serves as a director and chairman of the audit committee at JenaValve Technology, Inc., a private venture backed developer, manufacturer and marketer of transcatheter aortic valve systems; non-executive Chairman of Syncroness, Inc., a contract engineering firm. From mid-2010 to late 2012, Mr. Cohen served as Chief Executive Officer of Vessix Vascular, Inc., a developer of a novel percutaneous radiofrequency balloon catheter renal denervation system used to treat uncontrolled hypertension. In November 2012, during his tenure as Chief Executive Officer, Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX) acquired the company. Previously, from 1997 to 2006, Mr. Cohen served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NASDAQ listed Cardiac Science, Inc., which in 2004 was ranked as the 4th fastest growing technology company in North America on Deloitte & Touche’s Fast 500 listing. In 2008, Mr. Cohen was named by AeA as the Private Company Life Science CEO of the Year. Mr. Cohen was named Entrepreneur of the Year in 2002 by the Orange County Business Journal and was a finalist for Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year in the medical company category in 2004. Mr. Cohen holds a B.S. in Business Management from Binghamton University. The board has determined that Mr. Cohen should serve as a director because of his extensive experience with public companies.
Rachel Ellingson
At Zimmer Biomet, as a member of the executive leadership team, Rachel Ellingson is responsible for global oversight of strategy, business development and integration. Prior to joining Zimmer Biomet, she served as vice president, corporate strategy and as a member of the executive leadership team at St. Jude Medical. Before joining St. Jude Medical, she served as vice president, business development and investor relations at AGA Medical Corporation. Prior to joining AGA Medical, she was an investment banker, most recently as a Managing Director, Healthcare Investment Banking with Bank of America and prior to that, was with Cowen & Company. During her career, she has been responsible for executing more than 50 M&A and financing transactions, raising over $15B in capital and generating over $40B in M&A transaction value. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Rhode Island and an MBA in Finance from the University of Connecticut.
Amy DuRoss
As CEO and co-founder of Vineti, Amy has led the company and its software as a service platform to the forefront of innovation supporting cell and gene therapy manufacturing, delivery and patient follow up. Before co-founding Vineti, Amy focused on healthcare new business creation for GE Ventures/healthymagination. Prior to GE, Amy was chief business officer at Navigenics, a genomics company sold to Life Technologies in 2012. She was co-founder and executive director of Proposition 71, California’s $3B stem cell research initiative passed in 2004, as well as chief of staff at the resulting state grant oversight agency. Amy holds an MBA and MA/BA in English from Stanford University. She was named a 2016 Health Innovator Fellow by the Aspen Institute. Amy also serves as a member of the board of directors for the ARM Foundation for Cell and Gene Medicine.
Joseph Schick (Chairman - Audit Committee)
Mr. Schick joined the Board in November 2013. He has 13 years of experience as a Chief Financial Officer spanning four different mid-sized companies in various industries. Prior to his CFO experience, Mr. Schick was in various roles for seven years at Expedia (NASDAQ: EXPE), including Senior Vice President of Finance. From this background, Mr. Schick has significant experience with SEC reporting, strategic planning, and mergers and acquisitions. Mr. Schick started his career with Arthur Andersen and is a CPA who received his B.S. in Accounting from the University of Illinois. He is also on various non-profit boards and completed the Director Certification program at UCLA. The Board has determined that Mr. Schick should serve as a director because of his financial experience with public companies.
Andrew Hinson
(Chairman - Corprate Governance Committee, Member - Compensation Committee)
Andrew Hinson joined the Board in February 2007. Mr. Hinson served as Vice President of Clinical and Regulatory Affairs for LoneStar Heart, Inc. from 2004 to 2016. Mr. Hinson previously served as the Senior Director of research and clinical development at AnGes MG, Inc. (TSE: 4563) a biotechnology firm engaged in the development and commercialization of novel gene and cell therapies for the treatment of cardiovascular disease. Prior to that Mr. Hinson had a long career with Procter & Gamble Pharmaceutical (NYSE:PG) holding multiple technical and management positions in research, clinical development and medical affairs. Mr. Hinson has diverse experience in the cell and gene therapy markets and extensive experience with regulatory affairs and clinical development of new therapies for cardiac, neurologic, and gastrointestinal diseases. The Board has determined that Mr. Hinson should serve as a director because of his experience and knowledge of companies in the biotechnology space.
Thomas Girschweiler (Board Member)
Thomas Girschweiler was a member of our board from 2003 to March 2014 and rejoined the board in May 2015. Mr. Girschweiler has been engaged in corporate financing activities on his own behalf since 1996. From 1981 to 1996, he was an investment banker with Union Bank of Switzerland. Mr. Girschweiler is a graduate of the Swiss Banking School. The Board has determined that Mr. Girschweiler should serve as a director because of his experience in corporate financing activities and his status as a significant shareholder.
Scientific Advisory Board
Aby J. Mathew, Ph.D.
Dr. Mathew was part of the founding team of BioLife Solutions, Inc., and is a co-developer of BioLife’s biopreservation media solutions. He is a co-inventor on multiple issued and pending patents related to methods, devices, and formulations for the preservation of cells, tissues, and organs. He holds a Ph.D. in Biological Sciences within the Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology Program from Binghamton University and a B.S. in Microbiology from Cornell University. Dr. Mathew has been researching low temperature biopreservation since 1994, and his studies contributed to the development of BioLife’s current commercial HypoThermosol® and CryoStor® product platforms and intellectual property foundation. Dr. Mathew was part of the scientific team that linked cell death via apoptosis (programmed cell death) to exposure to hypothermic and/or freezing temperatures. These discoveries were integral to the development of BioLife’s intracellular-like biopreservation media, and also contributed to improvements in cryosurgical ablation of cancer. Dr. Mathew was BioLife’s first Director of Manufacturing, established BioLife’s initial Quality system, and has been Executive Vice President & Chief Scientific Officer since December 2019. From February 2011 through November 2019, Dr. Mathew served as Senior Vice President & Chief Technology Officer. From January 2007 through February 2011, Dr. Mathew served as Senior Scientist, Director of Strategic Relations, and Senior Director of Strategic Relations. From June 2003 through January 2007, Dr. Mathew served as Director of Manufacturing. From September 2000 through June 2003, Dr. Mathew served as Clinical Accounts Manager and Director of Hypothermic Preservation for Cryomedical Sciences/BioLife Solutions. Dr. Mathew is currently active in, or previously a member of, AABB (formerly the American Association of Blood Banks), BEST (the Biomedical Excellence for Safer Transfusion collaborative), the International Society for Cell and Gene Therapy (ISCT), the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine (ARM), Tissue Engineering & Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS), Society for Cryobiology, International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories (ISBER), American Society for Cell Biology, and the Society for In Vitro Biology. Dr. Mathew is a member of: the Board of Directors, and Advisory Panel, of the Parent’s Guide to Cord Blood Foundation, the Scientific Advisory Board of HemaCare Corporation, the founding Board of Directors of the Cord Blood Association, the NIST-AMTech National Cell Manufacturing Consortium, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) Clinical Advisory Panel, the Business Advisory Board of RoosterBio Inc., and the Scientific Advisory Board of SAVSU Technologies. Dr. Mathew has obtained UCLA Corporate Governance Program Certification
Andrew Hinson
(Member – Compensation, Corporate Governance Committees)
Andrew Hinson joined the Board in February 2007. Mr. Hinson served as Vice President of Clinical and Regulatory Affairs for LoneStar Heart, Inc. from 2004 to 2016. Mr. Hinson previously served as the Senior Director of research and clinical development at AnGes MG, Inc. (TSE: 4563) a biotechnology firm engaged in the development and commercialization of novel gene and cell therapies for the treatment of cardiovascular disease. Prior to that Mr. Hinson had a long career with Procter & Gamble Pharmaceutical (NYSE:PG) holding multiple technical and management positions in research, clinical development and medical affairs. Mr. Hinson has diverse experience in the cell and gene therapy markets and extensive experience with regulatory affairs and clinical development of new therapies for cardiac, neurologic, and gastrointestinal diseases. The Board has determined that Mr. Hinson should serve as a director because of his experience and knowledge of companies in the biotechnology space.
Andrew Hinson joined the Board in February 2007. Mr. Hinson served as Vice President of Clinical and Regulatory Affairs for LoneStar Heart, Inc. from 2004 to 2016. Mr. Hinson previously served as the Senior Director of research and clinical development at AnGes MG, Inc. (TSE: 4563) a biotechnology firm engaged in the development and commercialization of novel gene and cell therapies for the treatment of cardiovascular disease. Prior to that Mr. Hinson had a long career with Procter & Gamble Pharmaceutical (NYSE:PG) holding multiple technical and management positions in research, clinical development and medical affairs. Mr. Hinson has diverse experience in the cell and gene therapy markets and extensive experience with regulatory affairs and clinical development of new therapies for cardiac, neurologic, and gastrointestinal diseases. The Board has determined that Mr. Hinson should serve as a director because of his experience and knowledge of companies in the biotechnology space.
Anthony Davies, Ph.D.
Dr. Davies is Founder and CEO of Dark Horse Consulting, a boutique practice focused on CMC and product development issues in cell and gene therapy. After training as a biochemist, chemical engineer and molecular biologist, Dr. Davies has worked in the cell and gene therapy field for some 20 years. He brings with him an extensive track record in manufacturing, operational management and commercial development, most recently as Chief Technology Officer for Capricor, Inc. and Vice President, Product Development for Geron Corporation’s cell therapy programs. Dr. Davies received a MA in Biochemistry from the University of Cambridge and a PhD from the University of Birmingham. He conducted postdoctoral research at the Institute of Virology at Oxford and the University of California, San Francisco.
Colleen Delaney, M.D., M.Sc.
Founder, CSO, and Executive Vice President of Research and Development of Deverra Therapeutics, a cellular therapy company focused on the development of universal donor, off-the-shelf cell therapies for patients with hematologic malignances and other critical diseases. Prior to Deverra, Dr. Delaney was the Scientific Founder and Chief Medical and then Chief Scientific Officer of Nohla Therapeutics, Inc. She is also an Affiliate and former Member of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Clinical Research Division where she also held the Madeline Dabney Adams Endowed Chair in AML Research and was the principal investigator of an active, NIH-funded laboratory. In 2006, she established and became the Director of the Cord Blood Transplant Program at the Fred Hutch/Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. She is a Professor at the University of Washington in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology.
Dr. Delaney received her MSc from Oxford University and her MD from Harvard Medical School and is the recipient of numerous awards, most recently as an inductee into the Life Sciences Washington Hall of Fame.
Dr. Delaney received her MSc from Oxford University and her MD from Harvard Medical School and is the recipient of numerous awards, most recently as an inductee into the Life Sciences Washington Hall of Fame.
Dayong Gao, Ph.D.
Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Washington in Seattle. Dr. Gao has been actively engaged in cryopreservation research for more than 20 years, and has authored over 130 peer-reviewed journal articles on cryopreservation.
Edward LeCluyse, Ph.D.
Senior Research Investigator at The Hamner Institutes for Health Sciences. Dr. LeCluyse pioneered the use of HypoThermosol® and CryoStor® in improving preservation of research designated livers and derived commercial hepatocytes marketed to the pharmaceutical industry.
Erik Woods, Ph.D., HCLD(ABB)
Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer at Ossium Health, Inc., a company developing the first cryopreserved bone marrow bank from deceased organ and tissue donors. Dr. Woods is also a Visiting Professor at the Indiana University School of Medicine, where he has held an Adjunct position since 2003. Dr. Woods has devoted his career to advancing cell culture and cryopreservation to facilitate mainstream clinical use of cellular therapies, originally co-founding General BioTechnology, LLC (GBT) in 1997 which he led for 15 years and through successful acquisition by COOK Medical in 2012. Dr. Woods is former President of the Society for Cryobiology and has published numerous peer reviewed manuscripts, book chapters and holds multiple patents in the field.
Jason Acker, MBA, Ph.D.
Dr. Acker is a Senior Research Scientist with the Canadian Blood Services and a Professor in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. He received his Bachelor of Science, Master of Science in Experimental Pathology and PhD in Medical Sciences degrees from the University of Alberta. Dr. Acker was a Canadian Institutes of Health Research Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. He completed his Master of Business Administration in Technology Commercialization program at the Alberta School of Business at the University of Alberta in 2009.
Jerry E. Cooley, M.D.
Dr. Cooley is a board certified dermatologist and diplomate of the American Board of Hair Restoration Surgery (ABHRS). He has served in leadership positions including President of the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS) and co-editor of the Hair Transplant Forum, the main journal for hair transplant doctors. He has been performing hair transplants for almost 20 years.
John McMannis, Ph.D.
Executive Vice President of Manufacturing at Mesoblast Limited (ASX: MSB; OTC ADR: MBLTY). Dr. McMannis was previously the Director, Cellular Therapy Laboratory, Department of Stem Cell Transplantation, Division of Cancer Medicine, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas.
Jon Rowley, Ph.D.
Entrepreneur and Independent Consultant, formerly the Innovation Director, Cell Processing Technologies at Lonza Biosciences. Jon has been responsible for driving technology development and innovation related to commercial scale bioprocessing of therapeutic cell-based products.
Lizabeth Cardwell, MT (ASCP), MBA, RAC
Principal, Compliance Consulting, LLC, a private consulting business offering quality and regulatory consulting services to cell therapy, medical device, and pharmaceutical companies.
Scott R. Burger, M.D.
Principal, Advanced Cell and Gene Therapy, a consulting firm specializing in cell, gene, and tissue-based therapies. Dr. Burger works with clients in industry and academic centers worldwide, providing assistance in process development and validation, GMP/GTP manufacturing, GMP facility design and operation, regulatory affairs, technology evaluation, and strategic analysis.
Shelly Heimfeld, Ph.D.
Director of Heimfeld Research Laboratory, Scientific Director of Cellular Therapy Laboratory, Scientific Director of cGMP Therapeutic Manufacturing Facilities, and former President of the International Society of Cellular Therapy. Dr. Heimfeld is internationally recognized for research in hematopoietic-derived stem cells and the development of cell processing technologies for improved cancer therapy.
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