Board of Directors

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Jeff Helfer, CEO

Diffinity Genomics is led by Jeff Helfer, an entrepreneur and angel investor with 33 years experience in medical product development and manufacturing, new business development, and regulatory affairs.  He recently co-founded and served as CEO of MYOTECH, LLC, to commercialize a unique, alternative human heart pump, and VP of Engineering for Biophan Technologies, Inc. where he successfully developed new medical device technologies that led to business partnerships with Boston Scientific and Medtronic.  Previously, at Johnson & Johnson, he served as Program Director, Director of New Business Development, Director of Regulatory Affairs, and Director of Engineering.  At Eastman Kodak Company, Helfer participated in the early development of the company’s Ektachem clinical diagnostic business, formed and managed the company’s radiographic imaging research laboratory, and participated in multiple life science business development initiatives.
              

Dr. Lewis J Rothberg, CTO, Co-founder and Inventor

Dr. Rothberg holds a BS in Physics, Magna cum Laude, from the University of Rochester, and a Ph.D. in Physics from Harvard University.  He has published more than 160 peer-reviewed scientific articles.  His current appointments include Professor of Physics, Professor of Chemical Engineering, and Professor of Chemistry at the University of Rochester, Rochester, NY.  Past appointments include Director, NSF Photo-induced Charge Transfer STC, University of Rochester, and Distinguished Member of Technical Staff, AT&T Bell Labs, Murray Hill, NJ.  Dr. Rothberg’s research has been integrated into Sony and Lucent products, and he has helped in the formation of several start-up companies.  He and Dr. Huixiang Li, also at the University of Rochester, co-invented the Company’s DNA purification and molecular diagnostic technologies.

Richard D. Richmond, Co-founder and Director

Rick brings extensive executive and startup experience and is currently serving as CEO of SiMPore.  Prior to SiMPore, he was CEO of STS Biopolymers (sold to Angiotech Pharmaceuticals), and Executive Vice President of Sterilization Technical Services duoTEK, a premier provider of testing, packaging and sterilization services and products to the medical device and pharmaceutical industries. Rick has also started a single-use laboratory plastics products company and managed the turnaround of pharmaceutical, cosmetics and electronics water purification equipment companies. At Sybron Corporation, Rick held executive positions in planning, marketing, finance, business development and division management. Rick has also assisted several Rochester-area entrepreneurs in their formation of technology-based companies.  He holds an MBA and MS in Applied Economics from the University of Rochester Simon School of Business, Rochester, NY.  

Michael Riedlinger, Co-founder & Director

Michael is the founder and president of Technology Sales and Licensing Services, and currently serves as the Director of the Rochester BioVenture Center.  Technology Sales and Licensing Services was founded in 2002 and specializes in business development programs for organizations that seek new sources of revenue from licensing or selling their technical innovations to others.  The company also provides consulting services to support economic development and public/private technology commercialization activities in the Upstate New York region.

Michael also served as the president of NaturalNano, Inc., to November, 2006. NaturalNano, Inc., founded in 2004, is a publicly traded nanomaterials company developing proprietary technologies and processes for providing novel properties for a wide range of applications. These include industrial polymers, plastics and composites; and additives to cosmetics, agricultural, and household products.  Prior to founding Technology Sales and Licensing, Mr. Riedlinger was Chief Executive Officer of Vitalwork, Inc., an organizational development company focused on training and corporate culture change for the telecommunications industry.