Christopher Striemer is an engineer focused on transforming laboratory-developed nanotechnologies into commercially successful products. He received his Ph.D in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Rochester in 2004, targeting problems in biotechnology and solar energy. Through his graduate studies, Chris gained considerable experience in the processes used to manufacture computer chips and solar cells, concentrating his efforts on how novel nanostructured materials could be integrated into factory processes to improve efficiency and/or create new functionality. This research led to his discovery and initial development of the nanoporous membrane technology that is the basis of SiMPore’s separations platform. In addition to his work in membrane manufacture and scale-up at SiMPore, which he co-founded, he has worked for two university spinout companies in the life science tool (LST) and in vitro diagnostics (IVD) markets, leading projects that have produced optical analytical tools and diagnostic sensors for cancer biomarker and human immune response profiling.
Thomas Gaborski is an bioengineer, who bridges the gap between life sciences, engineering and technology commercialization. He is one of the co-inventors of the SiMPore membrane technology developed at the University of Rochester and has helped lead the production, product development and membrane characterization teams. Tom is currently on the biomedical engineering faculty at the Rochester Institute of Technology where he continues to develop novel applications of ultrathin membranes ranging from separations to cell culture and medical devices. Tom completed a BS in Biological and Environmental Engineering from Cornell University and a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Rochester. As a graduate student, he was a university presidential fellowship winner and a National Institutes of Health Predoctoral Fellow. His graduate work initially focused on neutrophil recruitment and the biophysics of adhesion receptor interactions. It was during this work that Tom became involved with the life science applications of ultrathin membranes leading to the co-founding of SiMPore. He has been the principle investigator on several NIH innovative research grants, where research concepts have been successfully commercialized into product lines now sold through leading global distributors. Tom is also a co-inventor on five issued and pending patents in bionanotechnology.
James McGrath is an Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering and the Graduate Program Director in BME at the University of Rochester. He holds degrees from MIT in both Mechanical Engineering (MS) and Biological Engineering (PhD) and trained as a post-doctoral fellow in Biomedical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. McGrath is an internationally known expert in cell migration and cytoskeletal protein biochemistry. McGrath is a founding member of SiMPore and leads the multidisciplinary Nanomembrane Research Group (NRG) at the University of Rochester. The NRG is a group of students, senior scientists, faculty, and entrepreneurs working on the development and application of ultrathin silicon membranes, with a focus on microfluidics, precision biomolecule separation, and cell culture. Since its founding in 2007, the NRG has been awarded more than $1.8M in federal, state and foundation funding, produced 9 peer reviewed papers, and been awarded 2 US patents.
Philippe Fauchet
