2014 Plenary Session I
Patrick Lu, Ph. D.
President & CEO
Sirnaomics, Inc.
Development of Three Generations of Nanoparticle Carriers for Novel siRNA Therapeutics
Dr. Patrick Y. Lu, the founder, President and CEO of Sirnaomics, Inc., has 25 years of biomedical research and 20 years of biopharmaceutical industry experience in molecular pharmacology specialized in nucleic acid delivery and therapeutics. Patrick has instrumentally built the senior management, consolidated key IPs, obtained funding and established R&D team at its headquarter located in Gaithersburg, Maryland (since 2007). Sirnaomics currently has also established subsidiaries in Suzhou Biobay and Guangzhou Bioisland, China. Prior to Sirnaomics, he was the co-founder and executive vice president of Intradigm Corporation (Rockville, MD, 2001-2006). During his tenure in Intradigm, Patrick led a strong R&D team building a significant IP portfolio, raised funding and established partnerships with large pharma and biotech companies. Before becoming an entrepreneur, Patrick served as lab head and senior scientist in Novartis and Digene. Patrick’s leadership is also reflected through the founding of two influential Chinese American professional organizations, CBA and UCAPO, in which he has served as president. Patrick received his B.S.(1981), M.S.(1984) and Ph.D. (1987) from Sun Yat-sen University, China and completed his postdoctoral training in University of Maryland at College Park (1990) and Georgetown University Medical School (1992).
Andy DeHennis, Ph. D.
Engineering Manager
Senseonics
Implantable Wireless Sensor Development: Benchtop Modulation Through Clinical Evaluation
Andrew David DeHennis was born in Philadelphia, PA. In 1997 he received a BS in Physics with Departmental Honors from Millersville University. After graduation, he was lead software engineer in the development of a patented package dimensioning, bar code scanning, and tracking conveyor belt system at Metrologic Instruments, Inc. ( now Honeywell Scanning and Mobility ). Returning to academia in 1999, he earned his MS degree in 2001 and Ph.D. degree in 2004 in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. His thesis work focused on the development and integration of bulk and surface micromachined sensors that were monolithically integrated with wireless interface circuitry. Applications for these sensors ranged from environmental monitoring to intra-cranial pressure and intra-arterial flow transduction. In 2004, he joined Senseonics, Incorporated ( formerly Sensors for Medicine and Science, Inc. ), where he is currently Engineering Manager. His teams work focuses on the development of a long term, human implantable, wireless, continuous glucose monitoring system (CGMS) with a “grain-of-rice” sized sensor along with a wearable, external transceiver system. Realizing this unique and challenging system has required advances and innovation in RF materials, micro-assembly and packaging, sensor/circuit integration, ASIC design, as well as real time in-vivo calibration means and algorithm development. He is the lead R&D engineer working to progress the CGMS sensor platform through the FDA approval process in moving towards commercialization.
