Who We Are
The MPDC is a newly formed consortium lead by a passionate group of health care professionals, entrepreneurs, MedTech and Industry partners and investors focused on advancing pediatric device development across the Midwest. Our members include Nationwide Children’s Hospital, The Ohio State University, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and Cleveland Clinic Children’s.
Meet the Team
LEADERSHIP
• Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics and Surgery at NCH and The Ohio State University.
• Co-Principal Investigator and Contact PI, Midwest Pediatric Device Consortium.
• Director, Innovation Center at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, a MedTech incubator NCH focused on creating resources, education and mentorship for clinical innovators.
• Co-Principal Investigator and Contact PI, Midwest Pediatric Device Consortium.
• Director, Innovation Center at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, a MedTech incubator NCH focused on creating resources, education and mentorship for clinical innovators.
• Founding Director of the Center for Medical and Engineering Innovation (CMEI) at The Ohio State University.
• Vice Chair for Academic Affairs and Professor of Anesthesiology and Professor of Biomedical Engineering at The Ohio State University.
• Has over 30 years of continuous extramural grant funding, serving as the PI on multiple NIH, NSF, DoD, ONR, NASA, foundation and industry grants.
• Vice Chair for Academic Affairs and Professor of Anesthesiology and Professor of Biomedical Engineering at The Ohio State University.
• Has over 30 years of continuous extramural grant funding, serving as the PI on multiple NIH, NSF, DoD, ONR, NASA, foundation and industry grants.
• Currently is the Chief Pediatric Surgeon at NCH-Toledo and Professor of Surgery at The Ohio State University.
• Founder of the University of Michigan Medical Innovation Center and the Michigan Pediatric Device Consortium.
• Founder and CEO of FlexDex Surgical that is developing and commercializing advanced laparoscopic technology.
• Founder of the University of Michigan Medical Innovation Center and the Michigan Pediatric Device Consortium.
• Founder and CEO of FlexDex Surgical that is developing and commercializing advanced laparoscopic technology.
• Dr. Gerhardt is the Morrow Endowed Chair for Pediatric Behavioral Health, Chief Clinical Research Officer at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, and Professor of Pediatrics and Psychology at The Ohio State University.
• As Pediatric Director of The Ohio State University’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute and Co-Director of the Community and Stakeholder Engagement Program, she is a strong advocate for inclusion of underrepresented individuals in clinical research.
• With over 200 publications and continuous external funding for 25 years, Dr. Gerhardt has enjoyed mentoring numerous trainees on career development awards and diversity supplements.
• As Pediatric Director of The Ohio State University’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute and Co-Director of the Community and Stakeholder Engagement Program, she is a strong advocate for inclusion of underrepresented individuals in clinical research.
• With over 200 publications and continuous external funding for 25 years, Dr. Gerhardt has enjoyed mentoring numerous trainees on career development awards and diversity supplements.
• Managing Director for the MPDC leading the infrastructure, awards, company interactions and PDC initiatives.
• Engineer with almost a decade of professional experience across medical device development, consumer electronics, regulatory and systems engineering.
• Graduate education focused on the intersection of medical device development, systems engineering and business.
• Engineer with almost a decade of professional experience across medical device development, consumer electronics, regulatory and systems engineering.
• Graduate education focused on the intersection of medical device development, systems engineering and business.
• Community Engagement Program Manager for the MPDC using real-world evidence to strengthen our projects and work, supporting clients’ clinical trials and fostering collaborations with inventors, community advocates, patients and their families.
• For over 20 years, has been an advocate, trainer and supporter of youth, their families, staff and volunteers in the nonprofit field of mentoring.
• For over 20 years, has been an advocate, trainer and supporter of youth, their families, staff and volunteers in the nonprofit field of mentoring.
CHILDRENS HOSPITALS
Animesh Tandon, MD, MS
Director — Cleveland Clinic Children's (CCC) and Cleveland Clinic Innovations (CCI)
• Has advised device companies on how to increase their total addressable market and improve clinical utility and practicality.
• Has worked to improve image processing for cardiovascular MRI.
• Aims to bring AI/ML, wearable biosensors, virtual reality, digital health and other health tech solutions to patients, especially for rare diseases.
Jon Campbell
Director — Nationwide Children’s Hospital (NCH) and Innovation Center at Nationwide Children’s
• Managed the Michigan Pediatric Device Consortium assisting innovators in pediatric-specific technologies.
• Director of the Nationwide Children's Hospital Innovation Fellowship, bringing engineers into the clinic to solve pediatric specific clinical needs.
Angela Lorts, MD, MBA
Director — Clinical Trials at ACTION, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
• Director, Ventricular Assist Device Program at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.
• Driven to find new innovative therapies for children with cardiac disease. Also focused on using existing data to ensure existing therapies are safe for children.
DIRECTORS
• Works with inventors, entrepreneurs and capital providers to create exciting startup companies offering cutting-edge technology.
• Has 20+ years of investment experience in private equity, mezzanine financing and venture capital.
• Focuses on building an entrepreneurial ecosystem that enables success.
• Has 20+ years of investment experience in private equity, mezzanine financing and venture capital.
• Focuses on building an entrepreneurial ecosystem that enables success.
• Director of Entrepreneurial Education in the Keenan Center for Entrepreneurship.
• Co-founder and Vice President of Operations for Minimally Invasive Devices, Inc, a venture-backed medical device startup.
• Has navigated the complete gamut of product development from the identification of an unmet need all the way to global commercialization of a finished product.
• Co-founder and Vice President of Operations for Minimally Invasive Devices, Inc, a venture-backed medical device startup.
• Has navigated the complete gamut of product development from the identification of an unmet need all the way to global commercialization of a finished product.
• Distinguished Professor in the Department of Pediatrics and Psychiatry of The Ohio State University College of Medicine.
• Holds the Chlapaty/ADS Endowed Chair for Innovation in Pediatric Practice.
• Vice President of Community Health at Nationwide Children's Hospital.
• Holds the Chlapaty/ADS Endowed Chair for Innovation in Pediatric Practice.
• Vice President of Community Health at Nationwide Children's Hospital.
• Otolaryngologist who specializes in treating tumors and cancers of the head and neck, with a particular focus on tumors of the skull base and sinonasal cavity.
• Associate professor in the Department of Otolaryngology at The Ohio State University and member of the American College of Surgeons and North American Skull Base Society.
• Accomplished author with over 50 articles in such peer-reviewed publications as Annals of Surgical Oncology, BMJ Innovations and Journal of Neurosurgical Sciences.
• Associate professor in the Department of Otolaryngology at The Ohio State University and member of the American College of Surgeons and North American Skull Base Society.
• Accomplished author with over 50 articles in such peer-reviewed publications as Annals of Surgical Oncology, BMJ Innovations and Journal of Neurosurgical Sciences.
• Manages the assessment, protection, valuation and out-licensing of a portfolio of intellectual property assets owned by Nationwide Children’s Hospital as Director of Licensing.
• Instrumental in negotiating deals that led to the hospital’s first gene therapy startups.
• Currently oversees the OTC’s licensing efforts, managing an integrated team of licensing professionals, agreements specialists and an alliance manager.
• Instrumental in negotiating deals that led to the hospital’s first gene therapy startups.
• Currently oversees the OTC’s licensing efforts, managing an integrated team of licensing professionals, agreements specialists and an alliance manager.
• Pediatric surgeon at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.
• Associate professor in the Division of Pediatric Surgery at The Ohio State University College of Medicine.
• Co-director of the Center for Surgical Outcomes Research and a principal investigator in the Center for Child Equity and Outcomes Research at the Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital.
• Associate professor in the Division of Pediatric Surgery at The Ohio State University College of Medicine.
• Co-director of the Center for Surgical Outcomes Research and a principal investigator in the Center for Child Equity and Outcomes Research at the Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital.
• Director of the Center for Regenerative Medicine at Nationwide Children's Hospital.
• Nationwide Endowed Chair in Surgical Research and director of Tissue Engineering in The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center's new Center for Regenerative Medicine and Cell-Based Therapies.
• Working with Dr. Toshiharu Shinoka, he was the first in the world to tissue engineer blood vessels and implant them in human infants.
• Many honors recognizing his contributions, including the Jacobson Promising Investigator Award from the American College of Surgeons, which is given to the most innovative young surgical investigator in the country.
• Nationwide Endowed Chair in Surgical Research and director of Tissue Engineering in The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center's new Center for Regenerative Medicine and Cell-Based Therapies.
• Working with Dr. Toshiharu Shinoka, he was the first in the world to tissue engineer blood vessels and implant them in human infants.
• Many honors recognizing his contributions, including the Jacobson Promising Investigator Award from the American College of Surgeons, which is given to the most innovative young surgical investigator in the country.
• Director of the Office of Regulatory Affairs at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.
• RAC-certified regulatory professional that advises the development and regulatory strategy of novel drugs, biologics, and devices under the Cellular Therapy and Cancer Immunology Program, as well as with other researchers both at NCH and at The Ohio State University.
• Assists through the full spectrum of regulatory submissions from preliminary meeting requests with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to Investigational New Drug (IND) and Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) filings and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) coverage.
• RAC-certified regulatory professional that advises the development and regulatory strategy of novel drugs, biologics, and devices under the Cellular Therapy and Cancer Immunology Program, as well as with other researchers both at NCH and at The Ohio State University.
• Assists through the full spectrum of regulatory submissions from preliminary meeting requests with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to Investigational New Drug (IND) and Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) filings and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) coverage.
• Dr. Huang is the Director of IT Research & Innovation at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.
• She leads the R&D arm of the hospital Information Services department to accelerate research discovery and clinical innovation to improve patient outcomes using data, analytics, technology and user experience design.
• She is an informatics researcher and digital technology innovator, playing investigator roles on multiple NIH/PCORI research grants, with over 60 peer-reviewed journal publications in the areas of genetic disease mapping, research informatics, NLP, data science and technology innovation.
• She leads the R&D arm of the hospital Information Services department to accelerate research discovery and clinical innovation to improve patient outcomes using data, analytics, technology and user experience design.
• She is an informatics researcher and digital technology innovator, playing investigator roles on multiple NIH/PCORI research grants, with over 60 peer-reviewed journal publications in the areas of genetic disease mapping, research informatics, NLP, data science and technology innovation.
Aniruddha Puntambekar, PhD, MBA
Director — Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC) and Cincinnati Children's Innovations Ventures (CCIV)
• Co-founded a biotech firm focused on microfluidic ELISA (immunoassay) technology and IVD applications.
• Invented the Optimiser™ microfluidic ELISA technology that serves as our core product platform.
• Has two issued U.S. patents, four pending U.S./PCT patents, and 40+ scientific publications.
• Managing Director, Growth at Ohio Life Sciences.
• Working with Ohio’s Gene and Cell Therapy Industry Council to help deliver its key initiatives.
• Has held leadership positions with companies including Battelle, Hill-Rom, Philips Respironics and Roche Diagnostics.
• Working with Ohio’s Gene and Cell Therapy Industry Council to help deliver its key initiatives.
• Has held leadership positions with companies including Battelle, Hill-Rom, Philips Respironics and Roche Diagnostics.
Partners & Advisors
The MPDC is supported by the expertise and experience of groups throughout Ohio and the Midwest. Our partners advise, collaborate, and contribute resources to our goals and initiatives to optimize pediatric medical device development across the country.
CONSORTIUM MEMBERS
INSTITUITONAL PARTNERS
We support innovators, inventors, clinicians, pediatric partners, advisers, investors and MedTech professionals.