Meet the Team

FFMI Interim Co-Director
Senior Director, Business Development

Mike leads the FFMI Business Development team. The team works with Industry partners and U-M faculty to enable and catalyze productive academic-industry partnerships, leveraging innovations to improve healthcare.

Mike utilizes over 15 years of healthcare research experience to establish mutually beneficial deals with industry to further the mission of the healthcare system.

FFMI Interim Co-Director
Director of Education

Jon joined the FFMI team in 2014 as the Director of Commercialization Education where he develops and leads biomedical innovation, entrepreneurship, and commercialization education and training programs for U-M Medical School faculty, staff, and trainees – resulting in education and development training for more than 1,000 participants and 50 emerging biomedical technologies per year.

He has a doctorate in education from the University of Michigan-Dearborn, as well as a master’s in education from East Carolina University and a bachelor’s degree from Adrian College.

Michigan Biomedical Venture Fund Manager

John joins U-M after 17 years in the med tech industry. Most recently, he was the Director of Clinical Engineering at a breast cancer screening startup (Delphinus), leading the development of medical image review and analysis software. John started his career at GE Healthcare, with roles in advanced applications, clinical research, molecular imaging, and led the development of features for non-invasive coronary artery CT imaging.

John worked as a Venture Associate evaluating startups for the Zell-Lurie Fund, and is pursuing a part-time MBA at U-M/Ross. HE holds a BSE in Electrical Engineering and MSE in Biomedical Engineering.

Associate Director, Business Development

Prior to joining FFMI, Emilija worked for the U-M Rogel Cancer Center since 2006. She brings over 10 years of experience working with oncology clinical trials.

Associate Director, Business Development

Prior to joining FFMI, Ingrid worked at the Hospital for Sick Children in industry partnerships and commercialization, and the University of Windsor’s Office of Research and Innovation overseeing the health research portfolio.

Ingrid completed her Ph.D. in molecular biology and M.B.A. at the University of Windsor.

Industry Alliance Manager, Business Development

Steph brings a background in physiology, cardiovascular, and orthopaedic research in addition to experience in venture capital and consulting.

Steph earned her bachelor’s degrees in Molecular Biology and Applied Math in Biological Systems from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and previously worked as a Research Associate at Tenaya Therapeutics. She has a PhD in Molecular & Integrative Physiology from the University of Michigan where she completed her degree within the Orthopaedic Surgery department.

Program Manager, FCVC Innovation Program

Ashley Schork joins FFMI after spending over six years working at the University of Michigan Life Sciences Institute (LSI) administratively managing several research centers in the areas of structural biology, cryo-electron microscopy, drug discovery, and high-throughput screening. Prior to the position at LSI, Ashley worked at Arbor Research Collaborative for Health providing administrative support to NIH and PCORI funded nephrology studies.

Ashley has both her BA and a Masters in Non-Profit Management from DePaul University.

Learning Experience Designer, Commercialization Education

Katherine joins FFMI from the Center for Academic Innovation (CAI), where she served as a Learning Experience Design Student Resident and Online Student Services Fellow during her graduate program. Prior to her work at CAI, she worked at U-M’s Office of Undergraduate Admissions where she was involved in developing training opportunities and materials.

Katherine holds a bachelors, masters, and graduate certificate from the University of Michigan.

Michigan Biomedical Venture Fund Analyst

Previously, Nimisha worked as a Venture Intern at Foundation Venture Capital Group (New Jersey Health Foundation) and as a Senior Fellow at the Rutgers Technology Transfer Office.

Nimisha has a Bachelor of Science in Human Biology from UC San Diego and a Master of Science in Physiology and Integrative Biology from Rutgers University. She is set to defend her PhD in Endocrinology and Animal Biosciences this August from Rutgers University.

Senior Administrative Assistant

Charlotte comes to FFMI from Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation MedRehab, where she was an administrative assistant for the ACU manager.

Charlotte holds a master’s in health administration from Southern New Hampshire University, and an undergraduate degree from Michigan State University.

Finance Fellow, Business Development

Jake supports the Business Development team within FFMI.

Jake earned his bachelor’s degrees in Economics and Political Science from the University of Texas at Austin. Before joining FFMI, he completed rotations with Michigan Medicine’s Central Finance team and the Department of Pharmacy.

Innovation Fellow, Commercialization

Chris supports the Commercialization Education team within FFMI.

Chris is a PhD candidate in Dr. Gary Hammer’s lab in the Molecular and Integrative Physiology Department. Chris earned bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Michigan in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology and previously worked with STEL Technologies (now Pro Therapeutics), a company spun out of the University of Michigan.

Research Operations, Management, & Strategy Fellow

Aníbal earned his BS in Integrative Biology at the University of Puerto Rico – Rio Piedras (UPR-RP). After his BS, he transitioned to Case Western Reserve University as an NIH-PREP scholar, where his passion for protein biochemistry grew and led him to Michigan’s Biological Chemistry Department, where he received his PhD. Throughout his PhD, Aníbal worked with the nonprofit Científico Latino Inc. to support the application preparation process of prospective STEM PhD candidates.