Steering Committee Bios
Arlen Meyers, MD, MBA Chairman of the Club Steering Committee is Professor of Otolaryngology, Dentistry and Engineering at the University of Colorado Denver and was the former director of the Bioentrepreneurship Education Program at the University of Colorado Denver Bard Center for Entrepreneurship. He is the cofounder of two medical device companies and is a consultant to several life science and investment firms, including Ventruequest, Sentegra, Axisthree, Cynergy Healthcare Fund, Paleotechnology, UST Inc, and Covidien.
Dr. Don Gonzales, MD graduated from Gordon College and Cornell University Medical College, and then completed his residency in otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at Tulane University School of Medicine. In 2004, he formed the first of several companies including Xorbent Technologies, Xorbent L.L.C. and Xorbent, Inc., each company focused on specific devices for surgical procedures utilizing biomaterials. In 2007, all of the companies merged to become ENTrigue Surgical Inc. ENTrigue Surgical has raised approximately $13M through two rounds of funding led by Prism VentureWorks and The Vertical Group. The company has expanded its focus to include proprietary instruments to increase access. He is also listed as an inventor on ten patents for devices and methods in ENT surgical applications.
Rodney Lusk, MD Director Boys Town National Research Hospital ENT Institute. Rod has been interested in collecting data for outcomes research for many years. His efforts led to the development of an electronic medical record that was eventually purchased by a Fortune 500 company.
Patrick Melder, MD is founder and CEO of Envisionier. Dr. Melder is the former Chief of Otolaryngology at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Dr. Melder is board certified in Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery. He currently practices in Bethesda, MD.
Ravi N. Samy, MD, F.A.C.S.- Assistant Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology at the University of Cincinnati / Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. His area of interest includes pediatric and adult otology / neurotology / and skull base surgery. He is the director of the adult cochlear implant program at UC. His research interest involves robotic applications to the head and neck. He is working on SBIR proposals with Robotics Research Corporation.