Executive Team
We are a multidisciplinary team of world-class scientists, engineers, clinicians, and entrepreneurs.
Nina Tandon
CEO, Co-Founder
Dr. Tandon bridges the realms of business and science, with 10 years of experience in tissue engineering and more than eight in bioreactor design. She completed two advanced degrees at Columbia University: a Ph.D. and postdoc in stem cells and tissue engineering and an Executive MBA in healthcare entrepreneurship. Named one of the 100 most creative people in business by Fast Company, she is also a TED Senior Fellow and MIT & McKinsey alum. Nina enjoys yoga, rock climbing, surfing, and growing a strong business while growing strong bone. Her TED Talk on personalized medicine has been viewed more than a million times.
Sarindr “Ik” Bhumiratana
CSO, Co-Founder
Born and raised in Thailand, Dr. Bhumiratana (a.k.a. Ik) moved to the U.S. to pursue science. His PhD and postdoc at Columbia University focused on engineering bone, cartilage, and osteochondral tissues from stem cells. He now works to translate that innovation toward clinical use at EpiBone. Ik holds two patents and has authored four book chapters and more than 15 journal articles related to bone and cartilage tissue engineering. He enjoys rock climbing, snowboarding, & soccer.
Board of Directors
Elma S. Hawkins
Chairman
Dr. Hawkins brings the vast experience of a 30-year career encompassing pioneering efforts in biotechnology and drug development, and executive roles in corporate development, strategy, fundraising, and general management. Most recently she served as president and CEO of Lion Biotechnologies. Previously Elma has mentored women-led companies at Springboard Enterprises.
Robert S. Langer
Dr. Langer, the Lemelson-MIT prize winner for being one of history’s most prolific inventors in medicine, is one of 11 Institute Professors at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the highest honor that can be awarded to a faculty member. He has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine, the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Inventors. His over 220 awards include both the United States National Medal of Science and the United States National Medal of Technology and Innovation (he is one of 3 living individuals to have received both these honors) and holds 34 honorary doctorates from academic institutions across the globe.
Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic
A leading expert in tissue engineering, Dr. Vunjak-Novakovic focuses on engineering human tissues for regenerative medicine, stem cells, and disease modeling. She holds more than 70 patents and is a frequent advisor to government & industry. She is the Director of the Laboratory for Stem Cells & Tissue Engineering at Columbia University, and a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, and the National Academy of Inventors.
David Zhu
David Zhu is the Founding Partner of Kendall Capital Partners based in Boston, MA. Kendall Capital Partners invests in early-stage companies that are incubated by scientific labs from top universities. The firm led a venture round in EpiBone. David has extensive experience in venture investments and currently sits on the board of a number of private companies including Rejuvenate Bio, Omnipulse and Bilayer.
Advisors
Jim Gunton has invested in privately-held growth technology companies for more than 20 years. Before co-founding the $80 million NJTC Venture Fund in 2001, Jim was a partner at Edison Venture Fund and a manager at Oracle Corporation in Silicon Valley. He served formerly as a Governor of the National Association of Small Business Investment Companies, and has served on the board of numerous private and public companies including Achieve3000, Amber Road, CytoSorbents, InstaMed, IntegriChain and CareGain. Jim earned a BS from Stanford University and an MBA with distinction from Duke University.
Dr. Kauderer is the Senior Associate Director at Columbia Technology Ventures. She joined STV after earning her doctorate at the Center for Neurobiology and Behavior at Columbia University in the laboratory of Nobel laureate Eric Kandel. Her research focused on synaptic plasticity and the molecular basis of learning and memory. Prior to completing her PhD, she was an attorney representing major financial institutions, international corporations, and emerging companies. She is responsible for patenting, licensing and development of technologies and startup companies arising from the research in the departments of biology, chemistry, and chemical engineering at the Morningside Heights campus. Dr. Kauderer received her BA from Brandeis University and her JD from New York University.
As a practicing oral and maxillofacial surgeon, Dr. Eisig takes great interest in the development and introduction of new clinical modalities that can help many patients requiring craniofacial reconstruction. He is Chief of the Dental Service at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, and serves as George Guttmann Professor of Clinical Craniofacial Surgery and Director of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. Dr. Eisig has overseen and/or performed all EpiBone’s large-animal preclinical implantations to date.
A serial entrepreneur who specializes in the startup, acquisition, and development of small and mid-sized companies, Cliff focuses on businesses with unique ideas or technologies that need guidance during their initial growth phases. He is the Director and Entrepreneur in Residence at Columbia Business School.
Hank currently serves as a Director of BioStar Ventures, a US based medical device venture capital fund. He also serves as a Board Director for several medical technology companies in both the public and private sectors. Prior to joining BioStar, Mr. Kucheman served as Chief Executive Officer of Boston Scientific.
Dr. Cole is an orthopedic sports medicine surgeon at Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush, and a Professor of Orthopaedics, Anatomy and Cell Biology at Rush University Medical Center. He is the head team physician for the Chicago Bulls, and co-team physician for the Chicago White Sox.
Featured Investors
Our investors are more than funders. They are thought partners—essential team members who actively participate in shaping our success.
Artists in Residence
Visual artist based in Brooklyn, NY. Eliza’s artistic practice ranges from drawing to performance, all with an interest in facilitating introspection and discovery for the viewer. She has exhibited and performed both nationally and internationally, including Von Lintel Gallery and Tiger Strikes Asteroid in New York, The Wand in Berlin, Germany and the 1961 in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
Interdisciplinary artist workingat the intersection of art, science & technology, Nurit is the co-founder and Arts & Culture Program Director of Genspace NYC, a citizen-science community biotech lab in Brooklyn. She conducts experiments through creative collaborative inquiries and addresses the ethics and the emerging practices of DIY biology, microbial signaling and collective collaborations, communication systems and social networks in nature, soft-genetic manipulation and biomaterial fabrication.
As the first Artist-in-Residence at EpiBone, Maia worked on creating 3D printed sculptural jewelry designs inspired by CT scan cross-sections of bones. Her designs address the paradigm shift from subtractive manufacturing to additive manufacturing, reflecting a similar shift in the field of tissue engineering from carve to grow. Studying Biology & Design at the University of Pennsylvania. Interested in biomimetic design, biofabrication, combining art, science, biology and design to achieve innovative results.