about Us
A Culture of Innovation
Leveraging HUMAN BIOLOGY + TECHNOLOGY to ignite a new era in human health
About Emulate
At Emulate, we understand that animal studies and reductionist models are limited because they are not based on integrated human biology.
By leveraging 21st century technologies, we are able to overcome these limitations with living human in vitro models that empower researchers to explore the biological mechanisms of health and disease. These microphysiological systems (MPS), commonly known as Organ-Chips, are setting a new standard for how we study biology and develop drugs, therapies, and cures for those who need them most.
History
A History of Innovation
From the beginning, the goal was always to build a more predictive model of human physiology.
The pioneering work on Organ-Chips was begun by our founding team at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University. Following the landmark paper in Science, “Reconstituting Organ-Level Lung Functions on a Chip,” Emulate was founded to share the success of these efforts with the broader life sciences community. Since our inception, we have been focused on delivering exceptional science across multiple organs and applications.
In 2019, Emulate researchers published a pivotal paper in Science Translational Medicine demonstrating how the mechanisms of drug-induced liver injury can be dissected using the Emulate Liver-Chip. In 2022, the landmark publication “Performance assessment and economic analysis of a human Liver-Chip for predictive toxicology” was released in Nature Communications Medicine. This first-of-its-kind study proved that the Emulate human Liver-Chip better predicted drug-induced liver injury than animal and hepatic spheroid models.
Leadership
The Emulate executive team brings steep commercial, technology, and scientific experience from across the life sciences industry. Together, they represent our team, culture and the broader research community in delivering on the promise of predictive human biology.
Jim Corbett
CEO, Board Member
Jim Corbett has served as a leader of successful international businesses across diverse sectors, including biotechnology, medical imaging, analytical instruments and in vitro diagnostics. His experience ranges from Fortune 100 companies to entrepreneurial start-ups. Most recently, he served in leadership roles at PerkinElmer during an 11-year tenure, including Executive Vice President and President of Discovery & Analytical Solutions. His other roles at PerkinElmer included President of Diagnostics & Life Sciences, Senior Vice President of Life Sciences Solutions, and Vice President of North America Genetic Screening.
Prior to PerkinElmer, Corbett was President of ViaCell, Inc. which was acquired by PerkinElmer in 2007. Previously, he co-founded CADx Systems, a company focused on the oncology market, where he held the position of Executive Vice President and Director with responsibility for worldwide sales and marketing, technical support and business development. Following the 2004 acquisition of CADx by iCAD, Inc., he was named Chief Commercial Officer. In addition, Corbett worked for Abbott Laboratories for 14 years in a variety of sales and marketing positions including Worldwide Marketing Manager for Abbott Diagnostics Immunoassay Systems and Region Manager for Abbott Diagnostics. Corbett holds a Bachelor of Science from The University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Donald Ingber
Scientific Founder, Board Member, Scientific Advisory Board Chairman
Donald E. Ingber, M.D., Ph.D. is the Founding Director of the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University, Judah Folkman Professor of Vascular Biology at Harvard Medical School and the Vascular Biology Program at Boston Children’s Hospital, and Professor of Bioengineering at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
He received his B.A., M.A., M.Phil., M.D. and Ph.D. from Yale University. Ingber is a pioneer in the field of biologically inspired engineering, and at the Wyss Institute, he currently leads a multifaceted effort to develop breakthrough bioinspired technologies to advance healthcare and to improve sustainability. His work has led to major advances in mechanobiology, tumor angiogenesis, tissue engineering, systems biology, nanobiotechnology and translational medicine.
Through his work, Ingber also has helped to break down boundaries between science, art, and design. Ingber has authored more than 500 publications and over 160 issued or pending patents, founded 5 companies, and has been a guest speaker at more than 550 events internationally. He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine, National Academy of Inventors, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Ingber’s Human Organ-on-a-Chip technology was named Design of the Year in 2015, honored as one of the Top 10 Emerging Technologies of 2016 by the World Economic Forum, and acquired by the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City for its permanent collection.
Daniel Levner
Co-Founder, CTO
Daniel Levner is the Chief Technology Officer at Emulate. A serial deep-tech entrepreneur, Levner co-founded Emulate and brings to it extensive experience in biological and engineering technology development and commercialization. Levner joined the Emulate founding team during his role as a Senior Staff Scientist with the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University. There, he led the advanced engineering team responsible for developing the Emulate Organ-Chips platform and played a key leadership role formulating innovative approaches for bridging biologists, engineers and business stakeholders.
Prior to directing the Organs-on-Chips program, Levner worked with world-renowned Harvard geneticist Prof. George M. Church in programs related to medical diagnostics, DNA/RNA sequencing, and multiplexed biological sample analysis techniques. As an entrepreneur, Levner co-founded a medical diagnostics startup company, and earlier in his career, an optical telecommunications startup company.
Levner received his PhD in electrical engineering from Stanford University as well as an MS in aeronautics and astronautics, also from Stanford. He has authored numerous publications and more than 70 issued and pending US patents.
Lorna Ewart
Chief Scientific officer
Lorna Ewart is Chief Scientific Officer at Emulate. She brings over 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, spanning Bioscience and Drug Safety. In her role at Emulate, Ewart provides oversight for the company’s scientific vision and advancement with academic, industry, and regulatory partners. Lorna additionally provides scientific supervision for the Emulate R&D and Services teams while also serving as the company’s European leader.
Prior to joining Emulate, Ewart created Veroli Consulting Limited. At Veroli, she served as an independent scientific consultant directing academics, start-up biotechnology companies, and pharmaceutical companies working with Organ-Chips and organoids. Within the pharmaceutical industry, Ewart rapidly developed a reputation as a valued partner with academic institutions, regulatory bodies, and technology developers and successfully established the Microphysiological Systems Centre of Excellence within AstraZeneca’s R&D Biopharmaceuticals Unit in Cambridge, UK. Under her leadership, AstraZeneca was positioned at the leading edge of industrial adoption of Organs-on Chips technology.
Earlier in her career, Ewart was the therapy area lead toxicologist for Respiratory and Inflammation in AstraZeneca’s Gothenburg R&D site in Sweden. Following her Ph.D., she joined the Respiratory and Inflammation research area within AstraZeneca, optimizing efficacy in small molecules before moving into preclinical Drug Safety where she led a Safety Pharmacology team delivering GLP data across multiple therapeutic areas.
Ewart is a classically trained pharmacologist and obtained her honors degree at the University of Aberdeen and her Ph.D. at the William Harvey Research Institute in London. She has authored over 35 publications and is a fellow of the Royal Society of Biology and British Pharmacological Society.
Veronica Mankinen
Executive Vice President, Commercial
Veronica Mankinen is Executive Vice President of Commercial at Emulate. She brings a wealth of experience building and developing high performing teams focused on introducing novel technologies to the life sciences market. Her passion lies in establishing innovative technologies in the market which accelerate research and drug development with a focus on improving the human condition through improved therapeutics and sustainability.
Josiah Sliz
VP, Platform Development
Josiah Sliz is the Vice President of Platform Development at Emulate. Josiah has spent the past 10 years working to advance Organ-on-Chip technologies, the last 7 of which were spent developing the Emulate Organ-Chip Platform. He has directed and contributed to the technical development of the system’s instrumentation, consumables, and software, which together support Emulate’s biological models and pharmaceutical applications. He has also led several collaborations with external partners aimed at expanding the technology’s reach and demonstrating its validity. His formal training is in Biomedical Engineering with expertise in the design and development of microfluidic systems, Organs-on-Chips and supporting instrumentation, as well as a strong background in computational modeling, pharmacology, biomechanics, and biomaterials.
Prior to joining Emulate, Josiah was a Microfluidics Engineer at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University, where he played an integral role in the foundational work for what eventually became the Human Emulation System.
Josiah has a Master of Engineering degree in Biomedical Engineering as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Biological and Environmental Engineering from Cornell University. His research there focused on the design of microfluidic chips and instrumentation for the study of cellular mechanics and directed cell migration.
Stacy Perro
VP, People
Stacy Perro is the Vice President of People and oversees Human Resources (HR) at Emulate. She established the function in 2015 and has been a steward for the organization through critical stages in its growth trajectory. In her role, Perro partners with key members of the leadership team to develop and execute HR strategies and activities that foster innovation and organizational effectiveness. She has cultivated, and continues to maintain, a culture of inclusivity, collaboration and growth opportunity by working closely with team members at all levels within the organization. This has led the team to successfully drive the organizations mission forward, both as individual contributors and as a community.
Prior to joining Emulate, Perro spent a year at the Wyss Institute working in the Academic Affairs department where she first became acquainted with Organ-Chip technology and several future members of the Emulate team. Throughout her career, her HR experience has spanned other industries including Entertainment, Wireless, and Healthcare. Her diverse background and broad skill sets enable her to effectively lead culture, recruit and retain top talent, and be a trusted advisor in employee relations matters.
Perro holds a BA in Communications from Keene State College.
Luke Dimasi
Senior Director, Product Management
Luke Dimasi is the Senior Director of Product Management at Emulate, responsible for aligning product innovation and strategy to market and customer needs. Dimasi has over 15 years of product leadership experience in the in vitro cell biology, drug development, and life science space, with a passion for translating deep customer insight to deliver products that empower scientific research and delight customers. His experience combines training in cellular and molecular biology with years of life sciences business and marketing leadership serving the academic, pharma and biopharma markets.
Prior to joining Emulate, Dimasi held leadership positions at Agilent Technologies in the Cell Analysis Division and at Corning Life Sciences, managing a portfolio of market leading advanced cell biology products. He also has extensive experience commercializing and managing product lines supporting biologic drug development and manufacturing.
Dimasi has a Bachelor of Biotechnology from the University of Adelaide, awarded with first class honors.
Board of Directors
Martin Madaus
Executive Chairman
Martin Madaus is an experienced executive with expertise in biotech, medical devices, in vitro diagnostics and life sciences tools, including management of public companies, private equity and venture-backed companies, and mergers and acquisitions. He also has 15 years of experience serving on public and private boards of directors. Madaus is currently an operating executive at The Carlyle Group. Previously, he served as chairman and CEO of Ortho Clinical Diagnostics. Prior to Ortho, Dr. Madaus served as executive chairman of Quanterix Corporation. Previously, he was chairman, president and chief executive officer of Millipore Corporation (NYSE: MIL) and president and chief executive officer of Roche Diagnostics Corporation North America. Dr. Madaus received a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of Munich in Germany and a PhD in veterinary medicine from the Veterinary School of Hanover in Germany.
Donald Ingber
Board Member
Donald E. Ingber, M.D., Ph.D. is the Founding Director of the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University, Judah Folkman Professor of Vascular Biology at Harvard Medical School and the Vascular Biology Program at Boston Children’s Hospital, and Professor of Bioengineering at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
He received his B.A., M.A., M.Phil., M.D. and Ph.D. from Yale University. Ingber is a pioneer in the field of biologically inspired engineering, and at the Wyss Institute, he currently leads a multifaceted effort to develop breakthrough bioinspired technologies to advance healthcare and to improve sustainability. His work has led to major advances in mechanobiology, tumor angiogenesis, tissue engineering, systems biology, nanobiotechnology and translational medicine.
Through his work, Ingber also has helped to break down boundaries between science, art, and design. Ingber has authored more than 500 publications and over 160 issued or pending patents, founded 5 companies, and has been a guest speaker at more than 550 events internationally. He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine, National Academy of Inventors, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Ingber’s Human Organ-on-a-Chip technology was named Design of the Year in 2015, honored as one of the Top 10 Emerging Technologies of 2016 by the World Economic Forum, and acquired by the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City for its permanent collection.
Jim Corbett
Board Member
Jim Corbett has served as a leader of successful international businesses across diverse sectors, including biotechnology, medical imaging, analytical instruments and in vitro diagnostics. His experience ranges from Fortune 100 companies to entrepreneurial start-ups. Most recently, he served in leadership roles at PerkinElmer during an 11-year tenure, including Executive Vice President and President of Discovery & Analytical Solutions. His other roles at PerkinElmer included President of Diagnostics & Life Sciences, Senior Vice President of Life Sciences Solutions, and Vice President of North America Genetic Screening.
Prior to PerkinElmer, Corbett was President of ViaCell, Inc. which was acquired by PerkinElmer in 2007. Previously, he co-founded CADx Systems, a company focused on the oncology market, where he held the position of Executive Vice President and Director with responsibility for worldwide sales and marketing, technical support and business development. Following the 2004 acquisition of CADx by iCAD, Inc., he was named Chief Commercial Officer. In addition, Corbett worked for Abbott Laboratories for 14 years in a variety of sales and marketing positions including Worldwide Marketing Manager for Abbott Diagnostics Immunoassay Systems and Region Manager for Abbott Diagnostics. Corbett holds a Bachelor of Science from The University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Sharon Kedar
BOARD MEMBER
Sharon Kedar is Co-Founder, Partner of Northpond Ventures. Northpond Ventures is a multi-billion-dollar science-driven venture capital firm based in Cambridge, MA; San Francisco, CA; and Bethesda, MD. Northpond has consistently been named one of the most active lead life science investors in venture industry rankings. It is deeply engaged in the academic ecosystem, having founded The Laboratory for Bioengineering Research and Innovation at Harvard’s Wyss Institute; launched the MIT-Northpond Program – Advancing Life Science & Engineering Innovation; and sponsored a prize for women entrepreneurs at MIT. It has led or co-led over 60 financings over the past several years and sits on the board of the vast majority of these businesses.
Prior to Northpond, Sharon was CFO of Sands Capital. Over her 15-year tenure, Sands Capital grew assets over 30x from $1.5 billion to $50 billion. At Sands Capital, Sharon held multiple leadership roles across the firm over her tenure prior to CFO: Analyst/Portfolio Manager for the technology sector, Western States client relations, and Sands Capital Ventures board member. Prior to Sands Capital, Sharon was a consultant at McKinsey & Company.
While at Sands Capital, Sharon co-wrote two books on personal finance. “On My Own Two Feet: A Modern Girl’s Guide to Personal Finance” is currently in second edition as a Simon & Schuster imprint. Her work has been featured nationally.
Sharon has served on many of Northpond’s portfolio company boards, including multiple IPOs. She is currently a board member of Emulate, a Harvard spin out focused on Organ-on-a-Chip technology. She is also an advisor at SEEN Hair Care. Sharon has an MBA from Harvard Business School, a B.A. in Economics from Rice University, and is a CFA charterholder. She lives in the Washington, DC area with her husband, Greg, and their three kids.
Shlomo Melmed
BOARD MEMBER
Shlomo Melmed, MB, ChB, FRCP, MACP, leads Cedars-Sinai’s research and education programs, recruiting nationally recognized faculty leadership, establishing new educational programs and maintaining the highest academic standards. Dr. Melmed holds the Helene A. and Philip E. Hixon Distinguished Chair in Investigative Medicine. An international authority on pituitary medicine, he has pioneered the discovery and application of novel treatments for endocrine tumors and has authored more than 350 peer-reviewed articles.
Dr. Melmed has been a faculty leader at Cedars-Sinai for nearly 40 years and has been the health system’s chief academic officer since 1998. Dr. Melmed’s laboratory consistently has received competitive grant awards from the National Institutes of Health since 1980, and he has trained over 80 physicians, scientists and graduate students who occupy leading positions in academic endocrinology worldwide. He is editor-in-chief of The Pituitary, editor of Williams Textbook of Endocrinology and is on the editorial board of the Journal of Clinical Investigation. He is also an associate dean of the UCLA School of Medicine.
He is an elected member of the Association of American Physicians, the American Society of Clinical Investigation and the Endocrine Society Council. He served as president of the International Society of Endocrinology, president and founding member of the Pituitary Society, a member of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine’s Independent Citizen’s Oversight Committee and serves on the California Life Sciences Association Board.
Dr. Melmed is a fellow of the American College of Physicians (ACP) and was elected to Master of the ACP. He also has been honored with the Pituitary Society’s Lifetime Achievement Award. He has been named one of America’s top physicians and has received Cedars-Sinai’s Pioneer in Medicine Award. Other honors include the Transatlantic Medal from the Society of Endocrinology, the Endocrine Society Clinical Investigator Award, The Endocrine Society Outstanding Scholarly Physician Award and the Royal Society of Medicine’s Clinical Endocrinology Trust Medal.
Dr. Melmed earned a bachelor of medicine, bachelor of surgery (MB, ChB) with distinction from the University of Cape Town, South Africa. He is a diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine, certified in endocrinology and metabolism.
Eric Moessinger
BOARD MEMBER
Moessinger joined NanoDimension in 2008 and was the first employee of NanoDimension’s Silicon Valley office. He is focused on life sciences investments. Moessinger is currently a board member of Emulate, SQZ Biotech, Serotiny, Amphivena and a board observer of IonPath, Inscripta and Click Diagnostics. He previously observed on the board of ARMO (acquired by Lilly) and Twist (Nasdaq: TWST). Moessinger also helped lead NanoDimension’s investments in Orca and Octant.
Before joining NanoDimension, Moessinger was a consultant at Bain & Company in Zurich and San Francisco. While at Bain, Moessinger worked on strategy cases in healthcare, industrial goods and telecommunications and on the turn-around of an electrical component manufacturer. In addition, Moessinger spent eight months in Bain’s Private Equity Group.
Moessinger has an MS.c. from the London School of Economics and a BS/BA from the University of Florida.