Board of Directors
Bill Niland, President & CEO
Mr. Niland’s 30-year career has been entirely in the healthcare industry. Most recently he was Founder and Chief Business Officer of Vapotherm, Inc. a non-invasive ventilation company that pioneered a new treatment modality now known as “high flow nasal cannula therapy.” Prior to his position as chief business officer at Vapotherm, Mr. Niland started and successfully managed two other healthcare companies, which were eventually sold to Mediq Mobile X-ray and Vital Signs, respectively. Mr. Niland spent his first ten years in medical sales with Mediq/PRN, Becton-Dickinson where he held various sales and marketing positions. He is also an inventor and holds 10 patents for medical devices. Mr. Niland holds a Bachelors degree in Law/Justice from Rowan University Glassboro, NJ.
James Cox, MD
Dr. Cox is Emeritus Evarts A. Graham Professor/Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Washington Univ. St Louis. He was previously an Associate Prof. of Surgery Duke University and Professor/Chairman of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Georgetown University Medical Center. Dr. Cox is best known for his development on the Maze procedure for the treatment of atrial fibrillation. He is also the inventor of the Medtronic 3f tissue heart valve. Dr. Cox was the 81st President of The American Association for Thoracic Surgery, Editor of the Seminars in Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Founder and Editor of Operative Techniques in Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery and member ofthe Editorial Board for over 20 scientific medical journals. He is also a Founding Member of the Board of Directors of CTSNet, Founding Member of the Board of Directors of the Thoracic Surgery Foundation for Research and Education, a pas Director of the American Board of Thoracic Surgery, and a past Chairman of the Residency Review Committee for Thoracic Surgery. Dr. Cox is the only American cardiac surgeon who is a member of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences.
James Gammie, MD; Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board
Dr. Gammie, an expert in mitral valve repair, is a Professor of Surgery and Chief of Cardiac Surgery at the University of Maryland. He joined the University of Maryland Heart Center from the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, where he was an assistant professor of cardiothoracic surgery and surgical director of cardiac transplantation and mechanical circulatory support. He received his medical degree from the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Dr. Gammie completed his general surgery residency at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, where he also completed a research fellowship in the Divisions of cellular therapeutics and cardiothoracic surgery. His clinical and research interests include mitral valve surgery, beating heart mitral valve repair, surgical treatment of infective endocarditis, and surgical ablation of atrial fibrillation.
Dr. Gammie performs over 200 mitral valve operations a year and is an author on more than 100 peer reviewed journal articles. He serves on the Access and Publications Committee for the Society of Thoracic Surgeons National Cardiac Database and is a member of the Editorial Board of the Annals of Thoracic Surgery. Dr. Gammie is also a co-founder of Correx, Inc and an inventor on 9 patents.
Kyparissia Sirinakis, Managing Partner Epidarex Capital
Ms. Sirinakis has more than twenty years of experience in creating and growing companies. She has a proven track record as an early-stage investor and senior executive in various technology and life science companies. Prior to co-founding Epidarex Capital, Ms. Sirinakis was part of the senior management team of MASA Life Science Ventures (MLSV), where she led MLSV’s strategy and managed several MLSV portfolio investments through successful exits. Ms. Sirinakis was the Founder and Managing Director of WomenAngels.net LLC (“WAN”), a successful early-stage venture fund focused on the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region. Launched in 2000, WAN successfully invested in highly disruptive technology platforms developed by strong management teams targeting large and unmet market needs across a variety of industry sectors.
Ms. Sirinakis has extensive experience working in the university environment as the Director of a technology accelerator and Adjunct Professor at George Mason University. She was the CFO of Oncologix, a venture-backed, early-stage biotechnology company subsequently sold to Antigenics, Inc. Ms. Sirinakis has held numerous directorships of start-up companies throughout her career.