Daniel Reda, Co-Founder

Daniel brings 15 years of experience as a bio-IT entrepreneur to CureTogether. He co-founded Redasoft in 1997 with Alexandra Carmichael to help life scientists visualize complex genetic information and design molecular biology experiments in a simple, visual way, with applications ranging from cancer and AIDS research to potato crop research. Redasoft’s software has been licensed by more than 450 research organizations in 37 countries and was acquired by Hitachi Software in 2006. Daniel also designed the first social web application for bioinformatics.

A former molecular biologist and self-taught programmer, he was named a “Bio-IT Champion” by Bio-IT World and was nominated for MIT Technology Review’s Top 35 under 35 award. Daniel is also co-Chair of the Biotechnology & Bioinformatics track at Singularity University at NASA Ames, co-founded by Peter Diamandis and Ray Kurzweil.

Alexandra Carmichael, Co-Founder

Alexandra Carmichael is co-founder of CureTogether, a Health 2.0 company that brings patients with hundreds of conditions together in overlapping data communities. Alexandra has spent 15 years bridging gaps between life science research, internet technologies, design, and business. She previously co-founded bioinformatics software company Redasoft with Daniel Reda. Redasoft’s Visual Cloning technology was acquired by Hitachi Software. Alexandra also helped to design the first social web application for bioinformatics.

She is currently an advisor on the Biotech/Medical Board of the Lifeboat Foundation, a guest blogger at The Quantified Self, and a prolific Tweeter on topics of health and chronic conditions @accarmichael. Alexandra lives with a chronic condition herself, and is dedicated to changing the way health decisions are made, using the power of the crowd.

Geoffrey Shmigelsky, Angel Investor and Incredible Advisor

Geoffrey Shmigelsky is CEO at Appien Logic, a mobile application consulting company, and Associate Founder at Singularity University. Geoff was previously CEO at LaunchVision, Board of Director at Stem Cell Therapeutics, Entrepreneur in Residence at University of Calgary, and CEO at CADVision Internet.

His honors include: Entrepreneur of the Year, Top 40 under 40 (3 times), and Alberta’s Most Influential People. He advises and invests in a number of startups, and he loves everything about life!

Faren Inglett, Community and Medical Outreach

Faren brings a diverse set of talents to CureTogether. She has a degree in Genetics from the University of California, Davis, international experience in community outreach, and a drive to bridge the gap between achievable health and what is thought to be un-curable. Faren has worked on scientific research in genomics and cancer biotherapeutics at Genentech and has been personally researching medical treatments, analyzing data, and meeting with doctors and patients for over 10 years. In concert with her work at CureTogether, she is striving towards a medical degree that will allow her to connect with and personally help as many people as possible. In her free time Faren enjoys reading and learning about nutrition, exercising, salsa dancing, spending time with family, and maintaining a balanced life.

Allen Liu, Web Developer

Allen comes from a diverse background that began in the wet labs of the University of Pennsylvania. He then pursued his passion for programming and obtained a Masters in bioinformatics. After working at the Boston Biomedical Research Institute and Stanford University, he settled down with the life science group of Hitachi Software Engineering where he is the lead developer for the first social web application for bioinformatics. He also manages all of the group’s web applications.

During his spare time, he enjoys reading, running and helping other programmers through his blog.

Clarence Chandran, Advisor
Chairman of Chandran Family Foundation Inc.

Mr. Chandran is Chairman of The Chandran Family Foundation Inc, focusing on Healthcare Research and Education. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Novelis Inc, the world’s leading aluminum rolled products producer, and Marport Deep Sea Technologies Inc., a global leader in deep-ocean 3D acoustic imaging and visualization. He is a former member of the Board of Directors of Web Tech Wireless (TSX), MDS Inc. Life Sciences (NYSE/TSX), and Alcan Inc. (NYSE/TSX).

He retired from CGI Inc. as President of Business Process Outsourcing in 2004 to recover from prostate cancer. He retired as Chief Operating Officer of Nortel Networks in 2001 to recover from repetitive surgeries due to the after-affects of a stabbing attack in Singapore in 1997. He is now in excellent health. He is a member of the Board of Visitors of the Pratt School of Engineering at Duke University and a member of the Pratt Circle of Fellows. He is Executive Chairman of ChantRa Group LLC, and a Board Member of The Parikrma Foundation in Bangalore India, providing free education and nutrition to underprivileged children. He is a Canadian International Fellow of HRH The Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards and a recipient of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal in Canada

Professor Ursula Wesselmann, Scientific Advisor
University of Alabama at Birmingham

Ursula Wesselmann is Professor of Anesthesiology and Neurology in the Department of Anesthesiology/Division of Pain Management at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She is a Senior Scientist at the Civitan International Research Center and a Committee Member of the Translational Research Task Force of the American Pain Society. She is also a member of the Committee on Research of the International Association for the Study of Pain, and a member of the Medical Advisory Board for the National Vulvodynia Association.

From 1994 to 2008, she was an Attending Physician (Neurology) at Johns Hopkins Hospital and a member of the Johns Hopkins Blaustein Pain Treatment Center. Her translational research laboratory focuses on the pathophysiological mechanisms of urogenital, visceral and neuropathic pain syndromes in females and gender differences in the processing of nociceptive information. Her clinical practice centers on the treatment of chronic urogenital, visceral and neuropathic pain syndromes.

Melanie Swan, Advisor
Principal, MS Futures Group

Melanie Swan is an entrepreneur and hedge fund manager based in Silicon Valley. Her work focuses on evolving science and technology development models and a variety of life science technologies including genomics, synthetic biology, biocomputing, longevity research, math biology, open source communities, simulation and virtual reality. Melanie founded a health services aggregation company GroupPurchase and previously held positions at RHK/Ovum, iPass, J.P. Morgan, Fidelity and Arthur Andersen. She has an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a BA from Georgetown University.