Paul R. Sanberg, Ph.D., D.Sc. is founder and president of the National Academy of Inventors®. He is Senior Vice President for Research & Innovation, Distinguished University Professor, Executive Director of the Center of Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair, and Vice Chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery in the Morsani College of Medicine, at the University of South Florida. Dr. Sanberg trained at York University, the University of British Columbia, the Australian National University and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, among others. Before coming to USF, Dr. Sanberg held academic positions at Ohio University, the University of Cincinnati, and Brown University. Dr. Sanberg is an inventor on over 30 health-related patents issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and over 70 foreign patents. His co-discovery of a novel antidepressant drug is in late development by AstraZeneca. Dr. Sanberg’s work has been instrumental in translating new pharmaceutical and cellular therapeutics to clinical trials for Tourette syndrome, depression, stroke, Huntington’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.

Professor George R. Newkome received his B.S. and Ph.D. in Chemistry from Kent State University. After a post doctorate at Princeton University, he joined LSU where he became a full professor in 1978, and then LSU Distinguished Research Master in 1982. In 1986, he went to USF as their Vice President for Research and professor of chemistry then in 1992 was named Distinguished Research Professor. In 2001, he went to The University of Akron as their Vice President for Research, Dean, Graduate School; the Oelschlager Professor of Science and Technology; and professor, departments of Polymer Science and Chemistry. Currently, he is also President & CEO of the University of Akron Research Foundation, the Akron Innovation Campus, and on the board of directors for 14 corporations. He has published over 450 scientific papers, has 45 patents, and edited/written over 15 scientific books/monographs.

Howard J. Federoff, M.D., Ph.D., received his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City. Following clinical training in Internal Medicine and Endocrinology and a post-doctoral fellowship in molecular neurobiology at Harvard Medical School's Massachusetts General Hospital he joined the faculty of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. In 1995 he joined the University of Rochester faculty. During his tenure at Rochester, Howard founded the Division of Molecular Medicine and Gene Therapy, the Center for Aging and Development and also served as Senior Associate Dean for Basic Research. In 2007 Howard joined the Georgetown University Medical Centers as Executive Vice President of Health Sciences and Executive Dean for the School of Medicine. His research is on novel treatments for neurodegenerative diseases. He serves on four editorial boards, two foundation boards, has chaired NIH Study Sections, was a member of the Board of Scientific Counselors of NIDCR, was a member of the SMA NINDS Scientific Advisory Committee and was Chair of the NIH Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee. He has published numerous papers, chapters and editorials. Howard has received a number of awards including the Arthur Kornberg Research Award, the Society for Neuroscience Grass Lectureship, the Abreu Memorial Lectureship, induction into Alpha Omega Alpha, and the Bernard Sandberg Award. Dr. Federoff has co-founded two biotechnology start-up companies and has been awarded numerous patents. He and his wife Wendy Solovay, an immigration attorney, reside in the metro DC region. Their two daughters, Allison and Monica, are pursuing graduate studies in law and medicine.

Shyam S. Mohapatra, Ph.D., is Distinguished Health Professor, vice chair of Basic Research for Internal Medicine, and director of the Translational Medicine-USF Nanomedicine Research Center at the University of South Florida, and a research career scientist at the James A. Haley VA Hospital in Tampa, Fla. He received the Alexander von Humboldt research fellowship (Germany) and Pharmacia Allergy Research Foundation Award (Paris). He is recognized nationally and internationally as an expert in biotechnology, immunology, infectious disease and translational nanomedicine. His research focuses on molecular and immunologic mechanisms of inflammation in respiratory diseases, cancers, viral infections and traumatic brain injury. He has received more than $19 million dollars in extramural funds including NIH, DOA, ONR, VA Merit Review Award and Florida Department of Health. He has published over 160 papers, some in journals such as Nature Medicine, and has 12 U.S. patents and numerous pending patent applications.

Dr. Sudeep Sarkar is associate vice president for research and innovation and professor of computer science and engineering at the University of South Florida in Tampa. Dr. Sarkar received his B.Tech. degree in electrical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering, on a University Presidential Fellowship, from The Ohio State University. He is the recipient of the National Science Foundation CAREER award in 1994, the USF Teaching Incentive Program Award for Undergraduate Teaching Excellence in 1997, the Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award in 1998, and the Theodore and Venette Askounes-Ashford Distinguished Scholar Award in 2004. He has served on the editorial boards for the IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, the Pattern Analysis and Applications Journal, the Pattern Recognition Journal and the IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics. He is a charter member of the National Academy of Inventors. Dr. Sarkar's research interests include perceptual organization in single images and multiple image sequences, biometrics, gait recognition, color-texture analysis, and performance evaluation of vision systems. He has co-authored one book and co-edited another book on perceptual organization.

Nasser Arshadi is vice provost for research and professor of finance at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. He received his Ph.D. in financial economics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He has published extensively in top economics and finance journals on capital markets and the microeconomics of corporations with an emphasis on assessing and managing risk. He has published two books on financial intermediation (Prentice Hall) and insider trading (Kluwar Academic Publishing). He served as an economist and policy analyst at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in Washington, DC, and as a consultant to the American Bankers Association (Washington, DC), Treasury Management Association (Washington, DC), Securities Industry Automation Corporation (NYC), Deutsche Financial Services (St. Louis), and Commerce Bancshares (St. Louis). He serves on several boards.

Dr. Larry Dunleavy, along with four faculty colleagues established University of South Florida's innovative Center for Center for Wireless and Microwave Information Systems (WAMI Center). In 2001, Dr. Dunleavy co-founded Modelithics, Inc. a USF spin-off company to provide a practical commercial outlet for developed modeling solutions and microwave measurement services where he is currently serving as its President. Dr. Dunleavy received the B.S.E.E. degree from Michigan Technological University in 1982, and the M.S.E.E. and Ph.D. degrees in 1984 and 1988, respectively, from the University of Michigan. He has worked in industry for E-Systems (1982-1983) and Hughes Aircraft Company (1984-1990) and was a Howard Hughes Doctoral Fellow (1984-1988). In 1990 he joined the Electrical Engineering Department at the University of South Florida. He maintains a position as Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering.

Dr. Felix A. Okojie is the Vice President of Research and Federal Relations and Professor of Public Health at Jackson State University. He has been proactive in providing administrative, academic and research leadership in several disciplines including Science and Technology, Health Sciences, Liberal Arts, Business, Education, and Social Sciences. Dr. Okojie has devoted considerable energies to the growth of research programs at Jackson State University and plays leadership roles in the funding and ongoing implementation of several research centers including National Center for Biodefense Communications, Center for Defense Integrated Data, Institute for Epidemiology and Health Services Research, Jackson Heart Study Coordinating Center, Center for Nanotoxicity, and Center of Excellence for the Study of National Disasters, Coastal Infrastructure and Emergency Management. A Certified Research Administrator and academician, he is active in several academic and research organizations, published, and serves on several regional and national research and education boards.

Shankar Sundaram is the Director of Draper Laboratory’s Bioengineering Center located on the campus of the University of South Florida in Tampa. He received a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Pennsylvania State University and a Bachelor’s degree, also in Chemical Engineering, from Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. His research interests are in the area of BioMEMS, microfluidic systems and computational modeling of biological/bioengineered systems. Previously he was Vice President, Biomedical Technology Division at CFD Research Corporation. He has previously held appointments as Adjunct Faculty of Biomedical Engineering at Vanderbilt University and Chemical Engineering at the University of Alabama, Huntsville.

John D. Weete, Ph.D. is currently the Executive Director of the Auburn Research and Technology Foundation (ARTF) and Assistant Vice President for Technology Transfer and Commercialization at Auburn University. For the non-profit ARTF, he oversees development and operations of the Auburn Research Park and the Auburn Business Incubator and, for AU he is responsible for managing the intellectual property portfolio. Previously, Dr. Weete served as the Vice President for Research and Economic Development at West Virginia University and President of the West Virginia University Research Corporation from 1998 to 2007. As Vice President, he provided the institution-wide leadership for strategic planning for the research enterprise and growing the institution’s research programs, including university-centers and institutes. As President of the WVU Research Corporation, he oversaw budget, personnel, and activities of the WVU Research Office relating to federal compliance, technology transfer, economic development, and sponsored programs.. He also served as the liaison between the university and West Virginia federal congressional delegation in Washington, D.C. He also served on several corporate boards in West Virginia and Texas. Prior to going to West Virginia University, Dr. Weete served on the faculty and as an administrator at Auburn University from 1973 to 1998. He was a Professor in the Department of Botany and Microbiology and Associate Dean for Research in the College of Science and Mathematics. He was an Alumni Professor, and currently has professor and associate dean emeritus status. During his tenure at Auburn University, he held invited and visiting professorships at universities in Canada, Switzerland and France. He authored two books and has authored or co-authored numerous book chapters and other scientific publications in the field of plant and fungal biochemistry. He has several U.S. and international patents.