Board of Directors

Robert Calcaterra, DSc, Investor Director, Interim President and CEO – is a principal of Startup Midwest Management LLC.  Until 2008, he was President and CEO of the Nidus Center for Scientific Enterprise, a non-profit plant and life sciences incubator, where he worked with over 20 client companies and helped  raise more than $140 million in capital.  Previously, he had been founder, President and CEO of the Arizona Technology Incubator and held engineering positions with Monsanto, Coors, and Amoco.  He also taught graduate courses in entrepreneurship at the University of Colorado, Arizona State University, and Washington University. Bob Calcaterra earned bachelor and master degrees in chemical engineering from the University of Nebraska and a doctorate in engineering from Washington University. He later completed Harvard University’s Industrial Research Institute Executive Management Seminar.

Igor Efimov, PhD – Director, Chief Scientific Advisor – is the Lucy & Stanley Lopata Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Cell Biology and Physiology, and Radiology at Washington University in Saint Louis.  He obtained his Ph.D. in Biophysics and Biomedical Engineering, at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology in 1992, and his M.Sc., at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, 1986.  Prior to joining Washington University Biomedical Engineering School in 2004, he was a professor at Case Western Reserve for four years.  He also held positions at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Medicine and the Institute of Biological Physics in Puschino, Russia.  Professor Efimov investigates bioelectric mechanisms of cardiac normal conduction and arrhythmia and has developed novel anti-arrhythmia therapies, including low-energy defibrillation therapy. Using molecular biology, tissue engineering and multimodal imaging techniques, the Efimov lab works to engineer the pacemaker and conduction system of the heart.  Professor Efimov serves as Chief Scientific Advisor and Chairperson of the CardiaLen Scientific Advisory Board.

Eric Gulve, PhD – Investor Director – is Interim President of BioGenerator, a private non-profit that provides pre-seed/seed funding and commercialization support for life science companies in the St. Louis area.   Eric joined BioGenerator in 2007 to expand outreach to universities, increase the technologies reviewed, drive technical aspects of due diligence, and leverage his industry experience in shepherding technologies to commercial feasibility.  His experience in the pharmaceutical industry in drug discovery research and licensing includes cardiovascular research at G.D. Searle, Pharmacia and Pfizer.  Dr. Gulve received an A.B. in Chemistry from Occidental College and a Ph.D. in Physiology from Harvard University.  He served as a post-doctoral fellow and on the research faculty at Washington University School of Medicine.

Paula Skjefte – Investor Director – is President and CEO of Waterford Consulting, a company focused on driving strategic growth in medtech through innovation, disruptive market approaches, and creative commercialization.  Paula has over 25 years of medical/healthcare experience, a major portion at senior executive and VP levels with Medtronic, Inc.  She serves on numerous medtech boards in the US and internationally, is a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) and Women Corporate Directors (WCD), and is a frequent speaker on successful strategies for building high growth businesses in regulated medical markets.  She earned a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Minnesota and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Wisconsin.