President and Chief Executive Officer
Erik Holmlin is a dynamic leader with more than two decades of experience developing innovative solutions and companies in the life sciences and health care industries.
Erik’s experience includes positions at GenVault Corporation (CEO), Exiqon A/S (CCO) and Becton Dickinson (vice president of marketing and development). In 2001, Erik led the formation and financing efforts of GeneOhm Sciences, Inc. and orchestrated the company’s acquisition by Becton Dickinson in 2006. He also served as an entrepreneur in residence (EIR) at leading life-science venture capital firm Domain Associates, LLC.
Erik was a National Institutes of Health postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University and a National Science Foundation predoctoral fellow at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena (Caltech). He holds a PhD in chemistry from Caltech and MBAs from UC Berkeley and Columbia University.
Chief Financial Officer
Gülsen Kama has an extensive background in business planning and execution, especially in operating environments that demand rigorous management of expenses to enable profitable growth. She was most recently Chief Financial Officer at Northern Data AG, where she created and implemented a global finance organization to enable strong growth. Prior to Northern Data AG, Ms. Kama was Chief Financial Officer, East Region and Healthcare IT at Quest Diagnostics, Quest’s largest region, where she drove market expansion and operational efficiencies. Before Quest, Ms. Kama established an impressive track record of transformative and growth-oriented leadership across a diverse range of multibillion-dollar organizations, including FedEx, United Airlines, A&P, and AIG, where she held senior leadership roles in strategic planning, financial planning and analysis, capital planning and corporate strategy.
Chief Operating Officer
Mark Oldakowski has a 20-year history of success in the development of systems for the life sciences and medical device industries.
Prior to joining Bionano Genomics, Mark led a global team at Brooks Life Science Systems in the development of sample analyzers, high-throughput screening solutions, and chemical storage and biobank systems. Prior to his time at Brooks, Mark was with Affymetrix, where he launched the array platform that is widely used today for GWAS and other genomics applications. Mark also spent time at Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics on the development of equipment for diagnostic core labs.
During his 13 years at Life Technologies (formerly Applied Biosystems) he held various levels of responsibility in the development of systems for real-time PCR, sequencing and sample preparation. Mark holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and a master’s degree in computer and systems engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York.
Chief Medical Officer
Alka Chaubey is double board-certified in clinical cytogenetics/genomics and clinical molecular genetics/genomics by the American Board of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ABMGG).
Previously, she was the Head of Cytogenomics at PerkinElmer Genomics, where Dr. Chaubey led the successful development and launch of several innovative products including the CNGnome test (low-pass whole genome sequencing), and a new FSHD assay utilizing Saphyr. She has also played an integral role on Vanadis team at PerkinElmer in their efforts to bring a new PCR-free NIPT technology to the market. Prior to PerkinElmer Genomics, Dr. Chaubey was the Director of the Cytogenomics Laboratory at the Greenwood Genetic Center, SC, USA. She also holds an academic appointment as the Scientific Director of the Georgia Esoteric and Molecular Laboratory, Scientific Director of the Cytogenetics Laboratory of the Augusta University Medical Center and Adjunct Assistant professor of Pathology of the medical College of Georgia at Augusta University.
Dr. Chaubey serves on the Board of Directors for the Cancer Genomics Consortium and is also the Genetics Subdivision Nominating Committee representative of the Association of Molecular Pathologists (AMP). She originally received her Doctorate degree (PhD) from Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, India and completed her post-doctoral studies at Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad, India, and University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC).
Vice President, Global Sales
Stan Marin is a sales leader with more than 20 years of experience driving fast-growing capital equipment businesses and cutting-edge technologies adoption in the life sciences and molecular biology diagnostics industries.
Prior to joining Bionano, where he has held different sales leadership positions covering EMEA, APAC and global regions, Stan led a sales and support team at Fluidigm, bringing the sales of microfluidic systems for high-throughput qPCR and single-cell analysis from the early stages to complete adoption on the French market. Before that, he also led sales development successes at Pyrosequencing-Biotage and then Qiagen on the emerging next-generation sequencing (NGS) market for single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping and methylation analysis.
Stan received his Master of Science in biology from University Pierre et Marie Curie – Paris 6 and his MBA from IAE Paris, business school of the University Pantheon-Sorbonne – Paris 1.
Vice President, Business Development
Alex Helm has over 17 years of technical and marketing experience in the life sciences industry. Alex has always been excited by life science technology and its ability to transform health care practice by providing better product solutions, better information to clinicians and ultimately better outcomes for patients.
Alex joined Bionano from Illumina, where he was Director of Clinical Segment Marketing for the Americas region and was responsible for key segment marketing strategies including oncology testing, reproductive health, genetic disease testing and infectious disease testing. Prior to his role in regional marketing, Alex was the global lead for Illumina’s Reproductive Health (RH) product team where he worked to bring advanced solutions in prenatal testing to market. Alex received a Bachelor of Science in biology and physiology from University of Minnesota and an MBA in marketing from University of California, San Diego.
Global Head of Market Access
Donna Polizio has over 30 years of experience working in diagnostic and life sciences companies including Hologic, Redpath, Aureon and Genomic Health, where she held leadership roles in areas including research and development, applications, sales and market access, with a special emphasis in In-Vitro Diagnostics (IVD) and Laboratory Developed Tests (LDTs).
She joined Bionano from Exact Sciences, where she most recently held the role of Vice President, U.S. Managed Care and Reimbursement. Donna has obtained coverage and reimbursement for some of the most valued diagnostics of the last several decades. She received a bachelor’s degree in biology from Queens College and a master’s degree in organizational leadership from Mercy College.
Vice President, Clinical and Scientific Affairs
Alex Hastie is a PhD trained scientist who has focused on scientific advances in optical genome mapping for the past 12 years.
Alex received training during his PhD in cancer genetics, biochemistry, and biophysics at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute. He focused his research on novel technology and received a patent as coinventor for a method for detection of protein-protein interactions.
After a post-doctoral fellowship at the Max Planck Institute in Munich, Germany, he joined Bionano Genomics as a scientist, where he has been an inventor on multiple patents and coauthored over 90 peer reviewed publications. Currently, Alex serves as vice president of clinical and scientific affairs where he leads clinical trials and the company’s scientific publication portfolio.
Vice President, Laboratory Business
Justin Leighton has more than ten years of experience working in the diagnostic testing industry, providing him with a diverse background in marketing, operations, IT, and commercial leadership.
He joined Bionano Laboratories in 2021, bringing his passion of delivering exceptional diagnostic services to both health care providers and patients. Before joining Bionano Laboratories, Justin served in leadership roles at several large diagnostic companies, including PerkinElmer and GeneDx. Justin is a certified genetic counselor who received a master’s degree from Arcadia University and a bachelor’s degree in diagnostic genetic sciences from the University of Connecticut.
Vice President, Platform Development
Patrick Lynch has more than fifteen years of experience developing products for both large and small life science companies. He has been at Bionano since 2015, where he has worked in a number of systems engineering roles and currently leads development efforts for Bionano’s next generation Saphyr system.
Prior to joining Bionano, he was a senior research and development manager at Thermo Fisher. Patrick also led verification and validation projects across a variety of genomic and proteomic technologies at companies including Life Technologies and Applied Biosystems.
Patrick holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from University of California, Los Angeles, and a PhD in bioengineering from UC San Diego.
Vice President, Bioinformatics
Neil Miller has more than twenty years of experience in bioinformatics, software engineering and genomics with a history of leadership in architecting life sciences analysis solutions.
Neil’s work has focused on the development of novel computational tools in translational research and clinical settings with an emphasis on the use of genomics for the diagnosis of rare disease and precision medicine. Before joining Bionano Genomics, Neil was Director of Bioinformatics at the Center for Pediatric Genomic Medicine at Children’s Mercy, Kansas City. Prior to that, he held the position of Deputy Director, Software Engineering at the National Center for Genome Resources as well as software engineering positions at iXL Enterprises and Genome Therapeutics Corporation.
Neil holds a bachelor’s degree from Tufts University and a PhD in biomedical informatics and computer science from the School of Medicine at the University of Missouri, Kansas City.
Vice President, Regulatory Affairs and Quality
Hema Shroff joined Bionano with over 15 years of experience within regulatory affairs, quality, and clinical fields, and an additional 5 years in healthcare settings.
Her prior experience includes positions in regulatory leadership in multiple forms (ranging from academic administration to large multinational firms) where her responsibilities included development and oversight for a range of regulatory and compliance programs, most recently at Amazon. Hema holds volunteer roles on the Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society (RAPS) Education Planning committee and is a technical committee member of the UDI & Nomenclature working group at the Global Harmonization Working Party (GHWP).
Hema earned her medical degree from Goa Medical College & Hospital, Goa University, in Goa India and a master’s in jurisprudence, health law and policy from Seton Hall University, School of Law School in Newark, New Jersey.
Vice President, Software Engineering
Viren Wasnikar has over 20 years of experience in the field of genomics, building data analysis and visualization products. Prior to joining Bionano, Viren managed a suite of BioDiscovery software products for analysis and interpretation of all genomic variants from microarray and next-generation sequencing (NGS) data.
During his two decades of experience in the life sciences field, Viren has demonstrated the ability to build robust, high-performing applications that have become industry standards. He has held various software development responsibilities in the areas of image analysis, machine learning and software engineering. He has successfully led software engineering teams with a firm belief in pursuing excellence. Viren holds a bachelor’s degree in electronic engineering from Poona University in India and a Master of Science degree in computer science from the University of Texas.
Fellow
Dr. Klint Rose is currently a fellow at Bionano Genomics after serving as the Chief Scientific Officer at Purigen Biosystems, acquired by Bionano Genomics in 2022. Klint co-founded Purigen and led the team that transformed isotachophoresis-based extraction into the Ionic Purification System platform of products.
He was previously an R&D Manager at QuantaLife, Inc. (acquired by Bio-Rad), where he played a key leadership role in the development, launch, and support of their droplet digital PCRTM product. He previously directed a portfolio of several successful projects at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) with applications in sample preparation, desalination, and nanomanufacturing. Klint is an expert in microfluidics and electrokinetics, with over 20 years of experience in the space. He received his B.S. and M.S. in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and his Ph.D. from Stanford University.
Fellow
Henry Sadowski is a scientist and innovator with 20 years of experience in the life science and genomics industries, following years as Assistant Professor, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. Henry has been at Bionano since 2008, where he has held roles in product and technology development.
In his current role, Henry leads a team of scientists to drive the development of new technologies that expand the assay boundaries for optical genome mapping (OGM). Prior to Bionano, Henry was Director, Product Development at Enzo Life Sciences.
Henry holds a number of patents and has been awarded the Bionano Genomics Distinction in Innovation award in 2013 and 2018. He received his B.S. in nutritional biochemistry from Cornell University and his Ph.D. in toxicology from University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, followed by a post-doctoral fellowship in molecular biology at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
Vice President, Global Customer Solutions
Mike Stringfellow has more than 25 years of experience helping biotechnology companies build exceptional Customer Solutions teams that enable customers’ success.
Mike came to Bionano Genomics after a successful five years at Agena Bioscience where he served as the global leader of Customer Solutions. Mike rebuilt the CS team from the ground up to enable the company’s commercial success which culminated in the successful acquisition of Agena by Mesa Laboratories in 2021. Prior to Agena, Mike spent more than 20 years as a part of Applied Biosystems/Life Technologies/Thermo Fisher organizations, leading a variety of teams in Customer Solutions, Product & Project Management and Operations. During his time at Applied Biosystems, Mike was certified as a Six Sigma Black Belt and completed course work to achieve Project Management certification. Mike holds a Bachelor of Science degree in molecular biology from the University of Utah.
General Counsel
Jonathan Dixon is an experienced legal advisor with over two decades of experience counseling leading life science and medical device companies in intellectual property, technology transactions, and M&A.
Prior to joining Bionano Genomics, Jonathan held a variety of legal positions, including associate general counsel, intellectual property at Becton, Dickinson and Company (“BD”) and CareFusion, and assistant general counsel and director of legal at BD and GeneOhm Sciences. Jonathan holds bachelor’s degrees in microbiology and economics from Brigham Young University, and a juris doctor degree from Lewis & Clark Law School.
Vice President, Accounting
Mark Adamchak is a resourceful accounting leader with 20 years of experience in financial management and operational roles, primarily in mid to large-sized corporations.
Mark’s skillset includes building high-performance teams, technical accounting, public company reporting, Sarbanes Oxley, M&A integrations, business process reengineering and cash flow management. Mark started his career as an auditor at KPMG and has since served in a broad range of progressive roles, most notably at SAIC, Intuit, and a private, life sciences start-up, Pathway Genomics. Mark joined Bionano as a controller in June 2018 and led the accounting function through a successful IPO in October 2018. Since then, he has contributed to over $450M in debt and equity raises and elevated his team to achieve SOX compliance as a Large Accelerated Filer. Mark is a licensed CPA and earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting at James Madison University.
Global Head of People Operations
Cory Kreeck is a people leader and human resources executive with 25 years of experience leading global teams across business functions. He brings a people-focused and entrepreneurial approach to human resources.
Prior to Bionano, Cory led human resources efforts at SpinLaunch, where he was Head of People, and Beachbody, where he held a number of roles with increasing responsibility, including Group Vice President, People Operations. Cory received a Bachelor of Science in philosophy from Utah State University and a master’s degree in organizational leadership from Biola University. Cory is also a Professional Certified Coach with the International Coaching Federation.
