Endomedix works with a small internal team that it leverages through the use of long term relationships with renowned scientific leaders to produce its specific expertise and polysaccharide science. Both the internal staff and external collaborators will expand and evolve as the Company’s focus evolves from polysaccharide chemistry to preclinical testing to clinical trials.
Management Team
Richard Russo
President & CEO
Richard Russo is a MedTech veteran, with a history of success in both major corporations and early ventures. He held sales, product management and marketing, and business development positions at American Hospital Supply Corporation, American Sterilizer Company, Electro-Biology, Inc. and C.R, Bard, Inc. He joined Osteotech, Inc. as Director of Business Development and Regulatory Affairs. He had several notable accomplishments there. He successfully led the designation of the Company’s major product as a human tissue not requiring FDA premarket clearance after the Agency had initially designated it as a combination product, Class III medical device and biological drug. He established the marketing direction for the lead product, and led the acquisition of a failing French firm and the establishment of a Bulgarian subsidiary and led the European operation as president to become the leading tissue products company globally.
At Endomedix , Richard led the corporate pivot to a new business model, changed product development targets, and rescued a failing R&D program through the establishment of a new R&D team and lab. He negotiated a successful exit of a unfavorable product and technology license to Integra Life Sciences, relieved the legal founders of their operational roles, and redirected a failed patent program. Since the operational restart of the Company in 2014, before the successful development of the Company’s technology and first product, he stepped in to become Endomedix’s lead cash investor. Richard earned a BA in philosophy from Boston College and a MBA from Columbia University.
Piyush Modak
Vice President – Research & Development
Piyush Modak is the Vice President of R&D and co-founder of Endomedix since its restart. Piyush is an accomplished biomaterial scientist. Her prior experience includes working with a nationally recognized Young Presidential Scholar in the development of polysaccharide fibers for the delivery of stem cell therapy for cartilage tissue regeneration. Her prior work also included the electrospinning of nanofibers for drug and other tissue engineering applications. These activities led to an issued patent.
Since joining Endomedix, Piyush worked to establish the laboratory facilities and procedures as well as recruited and trained personnel. She helped establish the consulting team and worked directly with them to develop the liaisons with external laboratories She led the development of the selection and specification of our starting materials and suppliers and pioneered the development ofour proprietary processing and filtration techniques, Piyush is the lead inventor of our core technology and key patents and is the lead author of our scientific publications. Piyush earned a B. Tech, Information Technology from the University of Mumbai (India) and a M.S. Biomedical engineering from New Jersey Institute of Technology –Newark, NJ.
Kai Lo
Acting CFO
Kai Lo is acting CFO. Kai plays a key role in financial planning, budgeting and valuation analysis. He has over 25 years of senior financial experience with both major corporations such as J&J, Medtronic and Mini-Circuit Inc. and early-stage companies. His experience includes preparing a privately held and a publicly held firm for acquisition, turning around a failing acquisition by a Strategic, and financially supporting as controller the tripling of profitable revenues at a $300 million firm. Kai’s work for Endomedix complements the bookkeeping performed by Capri Consulting and the tax work and reviews performed by Citrin Cooperman. Kai earned both a BA in business administration and a MBA from The Ohio State University and an MA in economics from The Cleveland State University.
Michael Jaffe, Ph.D
Michael Jaffe is a senior polymer consultant and strategist for Endomedix. A world renown polymer chemist, Mike is the former chair of the Polymeric Materials sector of the Science and Engineering Division of the American Chemical Society As the first of four Hoechst Celanese Research Fellows, he led the teams that invented Vectra Liquid Crystalline Polyester, played leadership role in product commercialization. He has won many awards, including 2011, 1995 Thomas Alva Edison Patent Award (1995 and 2011) and North American Thermal Analysis Society Lifetime Achievement Award. Mike earned a BA in chemistry from Cornell University and a Ph.D Chemistry from Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Willis Hammond, Ph.D
Willis Hammondis an organic chemist consultant for Endomedix. His strengths in NMR spectroscopy and size exclusion chromatography are widely recognized. His career includes important scientific posts at Allied Signal Inc. and Hoechst research and Technology division of Hoechst. Prior to industry, Willis was a associate professor of Chemistry at Yale University and a NIH Postdoctoral Research Fellow –Department of Chemistry at California Institute of Technology.Willis earned a BA in Chemistry from Northwestern University and MS Organic Chemistry and PhD Organic Chemistry from Columbia University.
Thomas Gsell, Ph.D
Tom Gsell is a manufacturing and materials separation consultant for Endomedix. Now retired, Tom was employed by Pall Corporation, and over 36years held R&D leadership positions in increasing in responsibility, eventually being promoted to Senior Corporate Vice President. Tom was a key member of the Pall Medical Business Unit launching an extensive platform of commercially successful blood filtration products aimed at removing white blood cells from transfused blood. These groundbreaking products changedUS and international blood banking practices. Tomis named as a co-inventor on over a 100 granted and published US and International patents, as well as a number of peer reviewed scientific publications. Tom earned a BS Chemistry from SUNY Albany, MS Polymer Chemistry at Florida State University and PhD in Polymer Science from Polytechnic University.