David M. Mann, Chief Executive Officer

As the founder of both Vascular BioSciences and VBS Pharmaceuticals, Mr. Mann has led Vascular BioSciences since its inception in 1995, and VBS Pharmaceuticals since 2004. Mr. Mann is the inventor of the endoarterial biopsy catheter and co-discoverer of CAR peptide’s utility for pulmonary hypertension, sepsis and other diseases. Mr. Mann has been awarded over 30 patents both U.S. and foreign, is an author of 18 scientific publications, and has been awarded 10 highly competitive federal and state research grants totaling $5.8 million as the Principal or Co-Principal Investigator. David Mann holds an engineering physics degree from the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Howard J. Mimnaugh, CPA, Chief Financial Officer

As the Chief Financial Officer of Vascular BioSciences, Mr. Mimnaugh provides invaluable expertise, including accounting, business support, financial planning, analysis, investor relations, and also oversees tax functions. Mr. Mimnaugh has over 35 years of experience in all aspects of financial operations, having started at KPMG Peat Marwick in New York City. Mr. Mimnaugh is a Certified Public Accountant, court appointed Special Fiscal Agent and is a member of the AICPA, the PCPS, and the NJSCPA. Mr. Mimnaugh earned his degree in Economics from Rutgers University.

Robert D. Foster, VBS Co-Founder

Mr. Foster has over 30 years experience in corporate management of medical device development and manufacturing companies. He is the founder and former owner of Avalon Laboratories, the world‘s largest OEM manufacturer of heart cannula used in cardiac surgery. He founded the company in 1990, sold it to Medtronic in 1996 and repurchased it from Medtronic in 2002, and sold it to American Capital in 2008. Mr. Foster is also the former president and principal shareholder of Polaris Plastics, a diversified plastic molding company, currently a division of Mark IV Industries. Today, Robert Foster serves as the chairman for MC3 Cardiopulmonary, a leading healthcare device provider that specializes in cardiopulmonary treatment.

Erkki Ruoslahti, M.D., Ph.D., VBS Pharmaceuticals Co-Founder

Distinguished Professor and Director of the Vascular Mapping Center at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research at the University of California Santa Barbara, Dr. Ruoslahti is an internationally recognized scientist in the areas of vascular targeting peptide technology, vascular biology, cell adhesion, and tumor biology. Dr. Ruoslahti served as President and CEO of the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute from 1989 to 2001, has published more than 400 scientific papers, and is the inventor of more than 150 patents. His inventions form the basis of two clinically used drugs as well as several that are under development. He has co-founded several biotech companies and has served as a director or advisory board member of these and other companies. His honors include: elected membership to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the European Molecular Biology Organization. He is the recipient of the G.H.A. Clowes Award, Robert J. and Claire Pasarow Foundation Award, Jacobaeus International Prize, The Jubilee Award given by the British Biomedical Society. He was a Nobel Fellow at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm in 1995, and is an Honorary Doctor of Medicine from the University of Lund, as well as a Knight of the Order of the White Rose of Finland. Dr. Ruoslahti is the recipient of the 2005 Japan Prize in Cell Biology.

Jacob Reinbolt, Corporate Counsel

Mr. Reinbolt is a partner at Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch LLP, one of San Diego’s oldest and largest law firms. Mr. Reinbolt is a  member of Procopio’s intellectual property team. He was the firm’s Intellectual Property Team Leader from 2001 – 2006. His practice emphasizes computer law, intellectual property (trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, and patents), Internet law, securities law, franchising, corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, and licensing. Mr. Reinbolt received his undergraduate degree in finance and economics (double major), magna cum laude, in 1981 from Miami University, and his law degree in 1984 from the University of Michigan Law School. Mr. Reinbolt has published over 40 articles and manuscripts on intellectual property, corporate law, computer law and Internet Law. Mr. Reinbolt is Special Legal Counsel for the City of San Diego for Intellectual Property, Internet, and E-Government matters. Mr. Reinbolt was selected as one of the Top 10 intellectual property transactional attorneys in San Diego by The San Diego Daily Transcript in 2006.

Brian Sheehan, Chief Operating Officer

Mr. Sheehan has 20 years experience in medical manufacturing operations and quality control. Mr. Sheehan has extensive knowledge of the planning and implementation of ISO 9000 compliant medical manufacturing operations. Mr. Sheehan has been responsible for all areas of production and quality control for several precision medical manufacturers.

Masanobu Komatsu, Ph.D., Special Consultant for Targeted Therapies

Dr. Masanobu Komatsu is an associate professor and cancer researcher at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute at Lake Noma with a focus on the biology of angiogenesis, with particular interest in the vessel maturation process. Dr. Komatsu seeks to understand the process of abnormal blood vessel remodeling and regeneration, and through this knowledge, to develop effective interventions for vascular disorders and vascular complications. His other area of research is to develop novel vascular targeting strategies for the delivery of therapeutics and imaging probes in various human diseases.

Kalju Kahn, Ph.D., Head, Medicinal Chemistry

Dr. Kalju Kahn counts with 30 years experience in computational chemistry and drug design. Dr. Kahn has published more than 20 journal articles and has been awarded three grants for computational design and infrastructure, one from the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation for computational design of putative neuroregenerative drugs. At the University of California, Santa Barbara, he is a tenured lecturer in the biochemistry and chemistry departments. He focuses on theoretical chemistry methods to predict molecular properties and experimental design and optimization.

Roy Williams, Ph.D., Head of VBS Molecular Diagnostics.

Currently a bioinformatics specialist at The Scripps Research Institute, Dr. Roy Williams works on data analysis (microarray and proteomics) and genome annotation. With 15 years of experience, Dr. Roy Williams is an internationally recognized pioneer in genomics, microarray technology, and the computer-based analysis of complex genome-wide datasets. He has a focus on large-scale analysis of microarray datasets and next generation sequence data analysis.

Abraham Rothman, M.D., Chief Interventional Clinical Investigator

Abraham Rothman is a professor of Pediatrics at the University of Nevada School of Medicine, and physician at the Children’s Heart Center Nevada. Dr. Rothman is our Chief Interventional Clinical Investigator for our endoarterial biopsy clinical trials. His involvement in the pediatric cardiology field for more than 20 years earned his status as a nationally acclaimed pediatric cardiac interventionalist, pulmonary hypertension expert, and one of the Best Doctors in America. Dr. Abraham Rothman was the Chief of Division of Pediatric Cardiology at the University of California, San Diego for fourteen years and has published over 100 scientific articles. He has had over 10 years of experience using the endoarterial biopsy catheter.

Andrew R. Foster, Executive Vice President

Mr. Foster has over 20 years experience in corporate management, business development and marketing. As the former General Manager and VP Marketing of Polaris Plastics, Mr. Foster has extensive business development and marketing experience. As one of the original investors in Vascular BioSciences, Mr. Foster has played an integral role in the company since its inception. Mr. Foster graduated with honors from the University of California, Berkeley.

Irvin Kluth, VP Regulatory Affairs & Quality Assurance

Mr. Kluth has 32 years experience in all aspects of regulatory affairs and quality assurance for the medical device and pharmaceutical industries. Mr. Kluth has extensive knowledge and experience in applying FDA and international regulations including GLP, GCP, GMP, ISO and QSR for the design, development, validation, clinical testing, manufacturing, product launch, post-market surveillance, auditing, compliance, and inspections of medical devices and pharmaceuticals. Mr. Kluth is currently the assistant director for the Center for BioPharmeceutical and Bio-device Developement at San Diego State University.

Roderick T. Stabile, VP Manufacturing

Mr. Stabile has 16 years experience in the manufacture of mechanical, electrical and medical equipment. Mr. Stabile has extensive experience in the research, design and development of new products, manufacturing productivity, and quality programs such as ISO 9000, Six Sigma and lean manufacturing. Mr. Stabile holds a mechanical engineering degree from the Florida Institute of Technology.

Susana Peinado, Ph.D., VP Communications

Dr. Susana Peinado has more than 10 years of experience in writing, marketing, and corporate communications. She has previous experience working for government contractors and participating in health communication and research projects for federal government agencies, including the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the National Cancer Institute, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Peinado has also participated in contract and grant proposal strategy development and writing teams and developed strategies for government-sponsored communication campaigns. She holds a B.A. from Grinnell College, an M.A. in Communication from Johns Hopkins University, and a Ph.D. in Health Communication at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Jeffrey Mann, VP Purchasing

Mr. Mann has extensive experience in contract negotiation, purchasing, and procurement. He leads negotiation efforts on purchase agreements and vendor contracts and monitors suppliers’ performance to ensure quality of products and services. Mr. Mann is also involved in building strategic relationships with vendors and suppliers to increase the cost-effectiveness of expenditures for the company. He also leads lease negotiations and sourcing of difficult to find components. Mr. Mann has a B.A. from the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Dale B. Shimato, Director of Design

Mr. Shimato has 15 years experience as an artist and illustrator. Mr. Shimato has extensive knowledge of all areas of graphic design and production. Mr. Shimato has continued to follow his fine art path while making significant contributions in commercial art. Mr. Shimato holds a B.S. degree in Applied Art and Design from Cal Poly State University at San Luis Obispo.