Biocom California COVID-19 Return to Work Task Force

Maria oversees the internal communication, structure, and management of the Purchasing Group while providing support to identify, evaluate and improve key vendor and member processes to deliver the most effective solutions. She also manages marketing, vendor participation and member relations for the Member Perks Program.

Before moving to San Diego, Maria obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and minors in Chemistry and Spanish from the University of South Carolina.

Dr. Belouski is a board-certified toxicologist and the head of Bioanalytical Development and Quality Control laboratories at Xencor, a biotechnology company developing antibody therapeutics with proprietary XmAb engineered Fc domains. She received a Ph.D. in Immunology from the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School before working in the biopharmaceutical industry at Abgenix, Amgen, and Xencor. Shelley’s scientific expertise is in regulated bioanalysis (GLP, GCP, GMP and CLIA) and interpretation of results for safety and efficacy of mostly large molecule therapeutics in development for autoimmune disease and cancer.

Leandra oversees the internal project management and communication of the Purchasing Group while also providing support to key Biocom partners and vendors.

Before moving to San Diego, Leandra obtained a Bachelor of Science in Business degree in Marketing from the University of Minnesota.

Rick Fultz is Senior Vice President and Chief Business Officer of Biocom California. He is responsible for leading the organization’s membership, sponsorship, marketing and business systems efforts as well as partnering initiatives and overall business development. Recently he has taken on the role of Interim Executive Director for Biocom’s San Diego Office which aims to increase the support they provide the San Diego Life Science Cluster. San Diego’s biotech and medtech industries have seen an impressive amount of investment and activity during the pandemic, providing Biocom California with a unique perspective on the runway to economic recovery for their industry’s members and the overall region.

Prior to joining Biocom California, Rick led for and non-profit sales and development and served as Executive Director for a San Diego non-profit. He obtained a Bachelor’s in Economics from the University of Delaware and holds a Master’s in Public Policy from New England College.

Robert is the leader of Procopio’s Health Care practice group. He aids clients in a wide spectrum of business situations. In the civil context, he acts as an outside general counsel to a variety of businesses advising on various legal and business matters, and also leads the strategic litigation needs of these businesses. In the health care context, Robert advises clients, including independent physician associations, foundation-based physician groups, and other medical practices on health care compliance and fraud and abuse, the Anti-Kickback Statute, the Stark Law, and defends clients against OIG health care audits and False Claims Act matters and governmental investigations. He also advises on compliance with health care privacy laws such as HIPAA and the California CMIA, investigates data privacy compliance, and responds to data breaches. Additionally, Robert has extensive experience representing hospital medical staffs in disciplinary proceedings and is authorized by the CA Society for Healthcare Attorneys to serve as a hearing officer for such matters.

Rob is a member of Procopio’s COVID-19 Legal Resources Team.

Dr. Marrinucci is a life science entrepreneur with a passion for introducing diagnostic technologies with potential to transform human health. She joined the founding team at Truvian Sciences in late 2015, heading strategy, business operations, program management, and strategic partnerships. Prior to Truvian, Dr. Marrinucci developed a novel circulating tumor cell technology at Epic Sciences, which she founded in 2008. During her tenure as Epic’s chief scientific officer, she oversaw diagnostic collaborations with pharma and established and led Epic’s clinical laboratory and assay development operations. In addition to her role at Truvian, Dr. Marrinucci serves as board member for Connect as well as an advisor for Lynx Biosciences. She has been named to MIT Technology Review’s Top 35 Innovators Under 35, Foreign Policy’s Top 100 Leading Global Thinkers, and PharmaVoice 100. She also was named a 2016 Life Science Catalyst Award winner, gaining recognition from Biocom and San Diego Venture Group as one of 10 individuals sparking meaningful change to human health. She has authored dozens of peer reviewed publications and is an inventor on 12 patents. Dr. Marrinucci hold a B.S. in chemistry from University of Vermont and a Ph.D. from The Scripps Research Institute in chemical biology.

Dr. Mento has over thirty-five years of combined experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry.  Most recently, Dr. Mento was President, CEO, Co-founder, and a member of the Board of Directors of Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc. He held these positions from July 2005 to May 2020. From 1997 to 2005, Dr. Mento was President, Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors of Idun Pharmaceuticals, Inc. In April 2005, Idun was sold to Pfizer. Previously, Dr. Mento served as President of Chiron Viagene, Inc. (subsequently Chiron Technologies, Center for Gene Therapy), and Vice President of Chiron Corporation from 1995 to 1997.  Dr. Mento was Vice President of R & D at Viagene from 1992 to 1995. Prior to Viagene, Inc., Dr. Mento held various positions at American Cyanamid Company from 1982 to 1992.  His last position was Director of Viral Vaccine Research and Development at Lederle-Praxis Biologicals, a business unit of American Cyanamid.

Dr. Mento currently serves on the Board of BIOCOM and the BIOCOM Institute and had previously served on the Boards of BIO, BIO Emerging Company Section Governing Body, BIO Health Section Governing Body, Sangamo Biosciences, Inc., and various academic and charitable organizations.

Diego is currently the CEO of Vividion, a company with a revolutionary platform to discover and develop small molecule therapeutics. He had an extensive career at Johnson & Johnson, and was involved in the development and approval of PREZISTA® and INTELENCE®. He was the head of the Janssen Research and Early Development unit in La Jolla, CA. While at Johnson & Johnson, he founded and launched the JLABS incubator in 2012 for start-up life science entrepreneurs, and was instrumental in developing and launching Johnson & Johnson’s Innovation center model in 2013.

Taylor Moyer is the CEO of ManagedLab Services, a lab services company she founded in March 2008. Prior to founding the Company, Mrs. Moyer started her career as a Lab Manager for Applied Molecular Evolution in 2002. She then cut her teeth in distribution working as a procurement associate for Fisher Scientific. Next, she transitioned into the role of Southwest Territory Sales Manager for Biohit, Inc. where she rounded out her supply chain background and stayed until founding ManagedLab.

ManagedLab Services was designed to deliver expertise, support, and data driven solutions to improve client laboratory operations. Portfolio programs include everything from providing an exceptional on-site lab support team to designing and implementing lab equipment, chemical, and consumables management programs.

In addition to her work with ManagedLab, Mrs. Moyer is also a current board member and past President of the San Diego Entrepreneurs Exchange, a local 501c3 organization whose purpose is providing support for entrepreneurs in the life sciences industry. In 2017, she founded Boots in Bio, another 501c3 non-profit dedicated to training and placing veterans into careers in biotech.

Keith Rego is the Director of Global Environment, Health & Safety (EHS) at Illumina in San Diego, CA. He has over 20 years’ EHS experience in the Biotech, Life Sciences, and High-Tech industries.  He is responsible for defining and planning execution of the EHS strategy and related corporate and site annual initiatives across all Illumina global locations.  He leads a team of EHS Professionals passionate about building partnerships with employees and developing a culture where EHS are integrated throughout all levels of the organization.

Keith leads the Illumina Global Emergency Management Team, which is responsible for Illumina’s COVID-19 Response and Recovery framework at each Illumina location.

Keith is a Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) and Certified Safety Professional (CSP).  He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Environmental Science, Master of Science Degree in Public Health, and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) Degree all from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst MA.

Mr. Scott is co-founder and CEO of TEGA Therapeutics, a glycobiology company focused on lysosomal storage disorders and recombinant heparan sulfates. He previously was co-founder and President of Pharmatek Laboratories, a contract development and manufacturing company (sold to Catalent Pharma Solutions in 2016). Prior to that, he was Senior Vice President at Active.com (IPO 2011). Mr. Scott serves on the Board of Avelas, a bioscience company working to create better outcomes for cancer patients with its activatable cell-penetrating peptide technology. He also serves on the board of DTx, a biotechnology company using fatty acid motifs to deliver RNA therapeutics. He previously served on the board of Zacharon Pharmaceuticals (sold to Biomarin 2014). Mr. Scott is Executive Board Chair of CONNECT, a non-profit organization helping to create and scale innovation companies in San Diego. He also serves on the board of BIOCOM, a non-profit organization supporting the needs of bio/pharma companies in California. At UC San Diego, he serves on the Dean’s Advisory Council for the Division of Biological Sciences. In the community, Mr. Scott is chair-elect of the San Diego Blood Bank. He is a trustee for the La Jolla Playhouse, a Tony-award winning regional theatre. And he serves on the board of Outside the Lens, a non-profit providing photography and digital media programs for underserved youth. Mr. Scott earned his B.A. in Biochemistry from the University of California, San Diego. He earned his J.D. from the University of San Diego and is a member of the California Bar.

Dawn Verdugo, MPH is an epidemiologist-entrepreneur who specializes in pathogen surveillance and discovery. She founded yuFlu Inc. a molecular testing company that focuses on high throughput workflows for respiratory infections and pathogen surveillance. She has multiple peer-reviewed publications using next-gen sequencing technology for pathogen discovery and multiplex assays for the detection of pathogens. She received her MPH from Columbia University in infectious disease molecular epidemiology and has a BS in organometallic chemistry.

Lucas has over 15 years experience in Human Resources, Talent Management and Organizational Development and currently serves as NuVasive’s Chief Human Resources Officer. Lucas and his team are responsible for linking HR and people with NuVasive’s corporate strategies, and sustaining the career life-cycle of the Company’s global workforce.

His prior roles at NuVasive include Vice President, Commercial Talent Development; Vice President of Human Resources; and Vice President of Talent. Prior to joining NuVasive, he held multiple Human Resource leadership positions focused on driving culture and talent strategies at Life Technologies.

Mr. Vitale received his B.A. in Marketing and Finance from Hawaii Pacific and his M.S. degree in industrial/organizational psychology from Alliant International University.

Gene Yeo, PhD, MBA is a Professor of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), a founding member of the Institute for Genomic Medicine and member of the UCSD Stem Cell Program and Moores Cancer Center. Dr. Yeo has a BSc in Chemical Engineering and a BA in Economics from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, a Ph.D. in Computational Neuroscience (Machine Learning) from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an MBA from the UCSD Rady School of Management.