OIE Scientific Advisory Board

George Arida, MBA

George has 25 years’ experience as a venture capital fund manager, and previously worked in a range of technical, management, and executive positions in private and public companies.  He currently serves as Chief Financial Officer for Clarametyx, and has extensive board and CFO/COO experience in early- and revenue-stage companies, including as board chair for ZyStor Therapeutics (acquired by BioMarin), Nerities (acquired by Kensey Nash, now DSM), Celleration (acquired by Alliqua Biomedical), Chromatin (acquired by S&W Seeds).  George was previously CFO for BlueWillow Biologics and Capital Resource Advisors (acquired by RogersCasey), and has over a decade of prior experience in industry.  He has a BS in Chemical Engineering from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an MBA with high honors from University of Chicago.  For fun George enjoys family, biking, walking, playing guitar, and traveling.

Kurtis (Kurt) Bachman, PhD

Kurtis (Kurt) Bachman, PhD, is an oncology leader with deep expertise in translational science, cancer biology, and drug development. At Johnson & Johnson Oncology, he served as Vice President and Head of Colorectal Cancer, where he built and led the Cancer Interception group and advanced clinical and preclinical programs targeting early genetic, inflammatory, and microbiome-driven mechanisms of colorectal cancer. He previously led Computational Sciences in Discovery Sciences, driving data integration and translational insights across R&D.

Before J&J, Kurt directed cancer metabolism research at GlaxoSmithKline and later headed Translational Sciences in the Molecular Medicine Unit, overseeing multidisciplinary teams focused on patient response, therapeutic resistance, and combination-therapy strategies. Earlier in his career, he held faculty positions at the University of Maryland Greenebaum Cancer Center, studying genetic and epigenetic drivers of breast and colorectal cancer.

Kurt earned his PhD in Cellular and Molecular Medicine from Johns Hopkins University and completed postdoctoral training in cancer genetics and therapeutics at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center. Since retiring from J&J in 2024, he has advised biotechnology companies and venture investors on oncology discovery, translational strategy, and portfolio opportunities.

James (Jim) L. Ellis, Ph.D.

Jim has served as Chief Scientific Officer at Nocion Therapeutics since July 2018, where he leads scientific strategy and drug discovery for the company’s platform focused on the selective silencing of inflamed nociceptor sensory neurons. Under his leadership, Nocion is advancing a pipeline of first-in-class therapeutics designed to deliver potent, localized efficacy while minimizing systemic exposure across multiple pain and inflammatory indications.

Jim brings more than 30 years of experience building and leading discovery organizations across biotech startups and large pharmaceutical companies. Prior to Nocion, he led GSK’s Innovation Hub in Cambridge, Massachusetts, driving early-stage innovation and external partnerships, and previously served as Vice President and Head of GSK’s Sirtuin Discovery Performance Unit. Earlier in his career, Jim held senior research leadership roles at Surface Logix and NitroMed, contributing to the advancement of novel programs from discovery through clinical development. At UCB Pharma, he was Group Director of Allergy & Respiratory Disease and Senior Director of Pharmacology, where he helped shape UCB’s global respiratory and allergy research pipeline.

Jim began his career in academic medicine as an Assistant Professor at Johns Hopkins University and completed postdoctoral training in Brad Undem’s laboratory. He earned his Ph.D. in Neurobiology from University College London under the mentorship of Professor Geoff Burnstock and received his B.Sc. (Hons) in Pharmacology from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland.

Kelly B. Emerton, PhD

Kelly B. Emerton, PhD (Senior Director, Product Development, Surgical): Dr Emerton runs product development as the Core Team Leader for robotic surgical stapling portfolio, where she oversees and leads all facets of medical device development to get Medtronic’s critical programs to product launch.  She currently sits on two Boards, and lends her expertise of 17+ years in product development across three Medtronic business divisions (Spine, Structural Heart & Aortic, now Surgical) to developing and running high-performing product development teams. Outside of Medtronic, Kelly spent 7+ years at Cleveland Clinic Hospital (Cleveland, OH) and has successfully spun off  3 technologies into companies, one of which was to Artivion (formally CryoLife) where she joined the company briefly to build their aortic pipeline and strategy.  Lastly, Dr Emerton holds over 9+ patents, one of which is now a medical device implanted into her father!

Eric Gulve, PhD

Eric Gulve’s career has spanned academic research, drug discovery, and early-stage investment in, and support of, bioscience startups.  He  is the Founding CEO and co-Director of NEURO360, a coalition of more than 50 partner organizations dedicated to establishing a thriving neuroscience ecosystem in the St. Louis region that translates and commercialize neurotechnologies that will address regional, national, and societal challenges. Before leading NEURO360, Dr. Gulve served as the President of BioGenerator, a non-profit organization dedicated to growth of the St. Louis regional economy by catalyzing the creation and early advancement of startup bioscience companies. Under his 15-year leadership, BioGenerator implemented programs to address gaps in capital, physical infrastructure, and talent; investing in and fueling the success of numerous locally grown startups. Its early-stage risk capital was leveraged by over $2.7B in co- and follow on investments – over $70 per dollar of BioGenerator invested capital.  He also served as Executive Vice President of BioGenerator’s parent organization, BioSTL. Under his leadership, BioGenerator and BioSTL secured numerous federal and state funding awards from agencies such as the Department of Commerce, NSF, and the Missouri Technology Corporation.

Dr. Gulve’s prior experience includes drug discovery research and in-licensing at Pfizer, Pharmacia, and G.D. Searle, where he led laboratories and project teams in metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. He served on local and global leadership teams, working collaboratively across different research lines, therapeutic areas, business units, and geographic sites.

Dr. Gulve received his AB in Chemistry from Occidental College (Los Angeles) and PhD in Physiology from Harvard University and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Washington University School of Medicine.

William (Bill) Miller, PhD

William H. Miller, Ph.D. is an accomplished “drug hunter” with over 30 years of experience in preclinical drug discovery research in the pharmaceutical industry.  Dr. Miller has a strong background in medicinal and synthetic organic chemistry, with an established track record for successfully advancing initial hits to viable development candidates, and for identifying creative solutions to complex drug discovery challenges.  His experience spans multiple therapeutic areas, including antibacterials, cardiovascular, dermatology, inflammation, neuroscience, oncology, ophthalmology, osteoporosis, and supportive care, as well as multiple target classes, including enzymes (such as bacterial enzymes, epigenetic enzymes, kinases, prolyl hydroxylase, sirtuins, thrombin), receptors, and ion channels.  He has contributed to the identification of 18 development candidates, including the approved drugs Blujepa (Gepotidacin) and Jesduvroq (Daprodustat), and the late-stage clinical assets Afabicin and Lotrafiban.  He is an inventor on over 70 issued US patents and an author on over 40 journal publications.  Dr. Miller earned a BS in chemistry at the University of Connecticut, a Ph.D. in synthetic organic chemistry at Yale University, and worked as an NIH postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University.

Sabriya Stukes, PhD

Sabriya is Partner at IndieBioNY. Prior to joining, she was Operations Director for Stellate Therapeutics, a biotech company developing microbiome-derived therapeutics to treat neurodegenerative diseases. After earning her PhD in Biomedical Sciences from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, she was the founding Associate Director for the Master’s in Translational Medicine (MTM) program at The City College of New York, NYC’s first and only graduate degree that educates and trains scientists and engineers in the hands-on process of medical technology commercialization and healthcare innovation.

A microbiologist, educator, and science communicator, her expertise is in working with individuals to identify unmet community needs, design sustainable clinical solutions, think critically about the world around them, and craft compelling scientific narratives. She also has worked for over a decade in fostering equitable and inclusive environments in the STEM disciplines and thinks deeply about how we can build sustainable healthcare solutions that work for all and not just some.