SEBA Board of Advisors
Connie Bourass-Shaw
Director of the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) at the University of Washington
Peter Dunbar, MD, MBA
Founder and CEO of Talaria Inc.
Jack Faris
Jack Faris has been president of the Washington Biotechnology & Biomedical Association (WBBA) since February 2005. Dr. Faris earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington and a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. He was an associate professor with tenure at Towson University in Maryland until returning to Seattle. He joined advertising agency Cole & Weber in 1985. He was team leader for the Boeing advertising account for 12 years and was executive vice president and general manager of the agency. In 2000, Dr. Faris was appointed vice president for University Relations at the University of Washington.
Dr. Faris also serves on the executive committees of the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce and the Alliance for Education. He serves on the boards of United Way of King County, Rural Development Institute, Pacific Northwest Diabetes Research Institute, Global Partnerships and IslandWood.
As the president of WBBA, Dr. Faris is working with leaders across Washington to implement a statewide bioscience strategy that will contribute to better health for people everywhere.
Janis Machala
Before founding Paladin Partners in 1995, Janis Machala served as President & CEO of Pinnacle Publishing, a leading provider of component software and technical newsletters for developers. After seven years of operating losses, Pinnacle achieved profitability for seven straight quarters under her leadership.
Prior to Pinnacle, Janis held senior management positions in marketing and business development at major technology companies, including Microsoft, Sun Microsystems, and Wang Laboratories, often working in a mentoring or start-up capacity.
She also helped form the Seraph Capital forum, women’s angel investing group, and FEW Seattle, which supports women entrepreneurs. From 1994-1998, she served on the board of the Northwest Entrepreneur Network, which helps advance entrepreneurship in the Northwest.
Janis received an M.B.A. in marketing from the University of Iowa, and a B.A. in English and Psychology from Augustana College in Illinois. In her spare time, she plays social bridge, reads voraciously, and travels as much as possible.
Pierre Mourad, PhD
Pierre D. Mourad, Ph.D. – Dr. Mourad holds joint appointments within the Applied Physics Laboratory and the Departments of Neurological Surgery and Pediatric Dentistry (Adjunct) at the University of Washington.
He received a BA in Mathematics from Rutgers University and MSc and Ph.D. degrees in Applied Mathematics from the University of Washington. He has performed and published basic and applied research in oceanography, atmospheric sciences, sonoluminescence, arctic and ocean acoustics, acoustic holography and medical acoustics. Supporting this work have been organizations such as DARPA, NASA, NIH, NSF, ONR as well as from private industry. The medical application of ultrasound has been his professional emphasis for about the last ten years. In addition to peer-reviewed publications, he has generated new ideas of a more translational-research nature. For example, he is listed as an inventor on four issued patents and another thirteen patent applications, all having to do with means of diagnosing or treating a variety of diseases and disorders. Much of his research is collaborative in nature, residing as it does at the interface of physics and medicine; some of that research has motivated industrial interactions. For example, his research on novel means of facilitating drug delivery has been incorporated into two recent startup companies in the NorthWest, specifically Inson Medical and PhaseRx Pharmaceuticals. His research on a novel power toothbrush that also uses ultrasound resides in Ultreo Inc, a company he co-founded. Finally, he co-founded Allez PhysiOnix Ltd, based on his research on monitoring intracranial pressure non-invasively, automating ultrasound Doppler systems, and improving physician’s ability to localize painful tissues and organs.
Buddy Ratner, PhD
Dr. Buddy D. Ratner is the Director of the University of Washington Engineered Biomaterials (UWEB) Engineering Research Center and the Michael L. and Myrna Darland Endowed Chair in Technology Commercialization. He is Professor of Bioengineering and Chemical Engineering at the University of Washington. Dr. Ratner received his Ph.D. (1972) in polymer chemistry from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn. From 1985-1996 he directed the NIH-funded National ESCA and Surface Analysis Center for Biomedical Problems (NESAC/BIO). In 1996, he assumed the directorship of University of Washington Engineered Biomaterials (UWEB). He is the editor of the Journal of Undergraduate Research in BioEngineering, an Associate Editor of Journal of Biomedical Materials Research, on the advisory board of Biointerphases and serves on the editorial boards of ten other journals. He is a past president of the Society For Biomaterials. He has authored over 400 scholarly works and has 17 issued patents. Ratner is a fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), the American Vacuum Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the International College of Fellows Biomaterials Science and Engineering (IUS-BSE). Ratner has served as president of AIMBE, 2002-2003. In 2002 Ratner was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering, USA. In 2003 he was elected President of Tissue Engineering Society of North America (TESNA). He is now on the council of the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS). He has launched three companies. His research interests include biomaterials, tissue engineering, polymers, biocompatibility, surface analysis of organic materials, self assembly, nanobiotechnology and RF-plasma thin film deposition.
Former SEBA Presidents
Andrew Chen
Vikrant Duggal
Michael Quinn
About SEBA
