The BIO Ventures for Global Health team is made up of global health and biotechnology experts, research analysts, and communications & fundraising specialists who share a passion for improving global health. 

Don Joseph

CEO

Donald R. Joseph was named Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH) in February 2012. Mr. Joseph served as Chief Operating Officer (COO) for BVGH from April 2010 – January 2012. Mr. Joseph brings to the organization a wealth of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry. Before joining BVGH, he served in senior executive positions in both legal and business roles at private and publicly held biopharmaceutical companies including Renovis and Abgenix, where he played a key role in its acquisition by Amgen. He has consulted for a number of biopharmaceutical companies and previously served as COO of the Institute for OneWorld Health, a non-profit pharmaceutical company devoted to developing new and affordable medicines for neglected diseases.

Mr. Joseph has extensive business and legal experience, with more than 15 years in the biopharmaceutical industry. His industry projects have included a wide array of commercial, mergers and acquisitions, licensing, collaboration, and financing transactions, while providing business guidance for R&D, product launches, and sales and marketing. His therapeutic areas of experience include neurology, oncology, and antibody technology, as well as malaria and infectious diseases. His operations experience includes involvement with many marketed products in addition to research, preclinical, and clinical development of a number of products and technologies.

Prior to entering the biopharmaceutical industry, Mr. Joseph was an international partner in the San Francisco/Palo Alto office of Baker & McKenzie. He received his JD from the University of Texas Law School.

Jennifer Dent

Vice President, Commercialization and Alliance Management

Ms. Dent joined BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH) in September 2011 as Senior Director, Commercialization and Alliance Management. Ms. Dent comes to BVGH with more than 20 years of broad-based pharmaceutical and biotechnology experience. In her previous role, she was an alliance director at Roche/Genentech in South San Francisco. Ms. Dent has held various senior management positions in sales, marketing, global strategy, and business development at Roche and Genentech in Canada, Switzerland, New Jersey, and California.

She co-founded Sound Biotechnology, and prior to that served as vice president, business development, marketing and sales at CombiMatrix Corporation in Washington. Ms. Dent graduated from the University of Western Ontario with a BS, and she completed an MBA at Western’s Richard Ivey School of Business.

Tracy Fraas

Vice President, Finance and Administration

Ms. Fraas joined BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH) in November 2011 after consulting for the organization. Ms. Fraas has more than 25 years of business experience, including almost 15 years in nonprofit accounting, finance, and administration. She specializes in comprehensive, strategic management of financial and administrative systems, accounting, taxes, budgeting, cash management, controls, billing, and finance. In addition to her nonprofit work, Ms. Fraas has experience in the banking and private accounting sectors.

Ms. Fraas received a B.S. in business administration and finance as well as an MBA in accounting from California State University, Hayward. She also serves as a volunteer board member in Contra Costa County, California, for the Family and Children’s Trust committee.

Priya Mehta

Director, Global Health Markets

Priya Mehta joined BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH) in fall 2008 and serves as the Director of Global Markets. Priya is the author of BVGH’s case studies report and diagnostics innovation map. Prior to joining BVGH, Priya was a Senior Consultant at Dalberg Global Development Advisors, where she advised multinational corporations, UN agencies, and NGOs across several development sectors including health, governance, and public sector reform. Priya helped to build Dalberg’s Global Health practice and was heavily involved in the technical design of the Affordable Medicines Facility for malaria (AMFm).

Before joining Dalberg, Priya worked at Bain and Company, where she advised leading private sector clients on customer segmentation, growth, and market entry strategies. Priya holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Government from Harvard University.

Lindsay Moore

Associate, External Affairs

Lindsay Moore joined BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH) in April 2011 as Associate, External Affairs, bringing with her years of experience in journalism, as well as in electronic and traditional corporate communications in the global health field. Prior to joining BVGH, Ms. Moore served as Communications Associate at the International Partnership for Microbicides, a product development partnership focused on developing novel HIV prevention tools for women in developing countries.

Ms. Moore earned her B.A. in journalism and mass communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is currently pursuing her Master of Public Health with a concentration in health policy from The George Washington University.

Molly Polen

Director, Communications

Molly Polen joined BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH) in spring 2009 as the Director of Communications. Ms. Polen has an extensive background in journalism, editing, communications, and the Web. Prior to working at BVGH, she worked with the consumer medical community on patient disease magazines at The Magazine Group and with research scientists at the American Society of Hematology.

Ms. Polen received a BS in Advertising from the University of Florida and earned an MS in Publishing from the George Washington University.

Elizabeth Ponder

Associate Director, Scientific Affairs

Elizabeth Ponder joined BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH) in August 2010 as the Manager of Scientific Affairs and now serves as Associate Director of Scientific Affairs. Dr. Ponder has a broad background and interest in infectious diseases and extensive experience in the field of parasitology. Her previous scientific research as a graduate student and postdoctoral fellow focused on using small molecules to explore the biological function and drug target potential of proteases of the parasite that causes human malaria. Prior to joining BVGH, Dr. Ponder worked as a Malaria Control Intern with The MENTOR Initiative in northeastern Kenya on a program to improve malaria diagnosis, treatment, and prevention in rural communities.

Dr. Ponder completed her PhD in Microbiology & Immunology and a short postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University.

Roopa Ramamoorthi

Manager, Scientific Affairs

Dr. Ramamoorthi joined BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH) in November 2011 as Manager, Scientific Affairs, with an extensive background in drug development, bacteriology, biotechnology, and engineering. Prior to joining BVGH, Dr. Ramamoorthi was a senior research analyst with the consulting firm Strategic Perspectives. Before that, Dr. Ramamoorthi worked with Bayer Corporation for more than five years, during which she served as a scientist and senior scientist, developing purification processes for antibodies and other complex proteins and bringing in platform technologies.

Dr. Ramamoorthi received her Ph.D. in biochemical engineering from the California Institute of Technology and conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Washington and at MIT. She is a registered patent agent and holds a Project Management Professional (PMP) certification. A native of India, where she received her B.S. in chemical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in Mumbai, Dr. Ramamoorthi brings a developing world perspective to her professional endeavors.

Robert Schendle

Manager, Knowledge Systems

Robert Schendle joined BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH) as the Manager of Knowledge Systems in April 2010. Prior to joining BVGH, he co-managed the Law and Criminal Justice program at The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars (TWC), a non-profit organization that places undergrad and graduate students in DC-area internships for academic credit. At TWC, Mr. Schendle was integral in the organization’s use of technology to streamline processes and enhance the student experience, most notably by helping design and develop a web-based student information and enrollment system. Prior to TWC, he served with the National Youth Leadership Forum, where he managed educational conferences around technology and law for high-achieving high school students.

A native of Louisiana, Mr. Schendle received a BS in Management from Tulane University and a JD from Tulane Law School.

Rianna Stefanakis

Manager, Research and Policy

Rianna Stefanakis joined BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH) in November 2009, and she now serves as Manager of Research and Policy. Previously, Ms. Stefanakis worked as a Research Associate with the HIV/AIDS National Resource Center at the Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Center, where she focused on clinical guideline and curriculum development, monitoring and evaluation of HIV/AIDS training programs for healthcare workers in the U.S.; and specifically on the Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV in Nigeria and Zanzibar, Tanzania.

Ms. Stefanakis graduated from Harvard University in 2003 with a degree in Cognitive Psychology and citation in Modern Greek Literature. She subsequently completed post-baccalaureate studies in premedical sciences at Harvard. Before joining BVGH, Ms. Stefanakis was working on several translational research protocols in an endocrinology laboratory at Boston's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.