About Us

Prior to founding Elephas in 2020, Maneesh was CEO of Farcast Biosciences, a venture-backed cancer diagnostics company focused on improving treatment outcomes for cancer patients. Before joining Farcast, Maneesh served as Chief Operating Officer of Exact Sciences Corporation for ten years where he helped lead the growth of the company from 3 employees to over 3,000 at the end of his tenure there. Exact Sciences’ focus is the early detection and prevention of colon cancer. Exact’s lead product, Cologuard^®, was developed in collaboration with Mayo Clinic and is now widely available in the US as a front-line screening method for colorectal cancer, reimbursed by both Medicare and all major insurers. Prior to joining Exact, Maneesh worked for Third Wave Technologies, Inc., a molecular diagnostics company, from 2003 until its acquisition by Hologic, Inc. in July 2008. Third Wave Technologies developed an HPV product for cervical cancer screening. During his time at Third Wave, he was responsible for business strategy and commercial operations before being promoted to Chief Financial Officer in January 2006.

Maneesh earned a BA in economics from the University of Chicago and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

With over 20 years of experience in finance and accounting, Terry joined Elephas in 2020. As the Chief Financial Officer, he leads Finance, Legal and Business Analytics. Prior to joining Elephas, Terry was CFO at Farcast Biosciences, a venture-backed cancer diagnostic company. Terry also served as CFO of Freedom Graphic Systems for seven years and was responsible for Accounting, Corporate Development, Estimating, Purchasing, Insurance and Legal. Freedom was the largest privately-owned manufacturer of direct mail in the country. Terry’s experience also includes serving as partner for a leading turnaround and management consulting firm, in addition to success in public accounting at KPMG.

Terry holds both undergraduate and graduate degrees in Accounting from the University of Notre Dame as well as an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

Fred brings over 30 years of international executive leadership and management experience in commercial oncology drug development (Phase I-III), drug discovery, preclinical translational and clinical medicine, clinical pharmacology, and commercial development strategy and risk management.

Prior to Elephas, Fred held CEO and CMO positions with several biopharma companies, and was the Founder, Chairman and CEO of BioNumerik Pharmaceuticals for 24 years. He is a former NCI-Designated Clinical Investigator, NCI-Institutional Review Board voting member, and NCI-Experimental Therapeutics Study Section member, and an ad hoc external expert medical advisor for the US FDA. Some of his major awards include the American Cancer Society Fellowship Awards, the National Scientific Research Award, and the Smithsonian-ComputerWorld Award for Breakthrough Science in Medicine. Fred has over 200 scientific and medical publications and is an inventor/co-inventor on more than 400 issued United States and international patents.

Fred is US Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology. He received his MD degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia and completed his Fellowship in Medical Oncology at the Johns Hopkins Hospital and the Johns Oncology Center where his training was focused on development of investigational anticancer agents and clinical pharmacology in the Experimental Therapeutics and Pharmacology division at Hopkins. His undergraduate degree is in Biology from Graceland University and graduate degree is in Physiology and Biophysics from the University of Illinois, Champagne-Urbana.

Erin Kaminsky currently serves as VP, Chief of Staff, and has held roles of increasing responsibility since the launch of Elephas in 2020. Previously, Erin held the role of Executive Business Partner for Farcast Biosciences, a venture-backed cancer diagnostic company.

Prior to her time with Farcast, Erin spent 8 years with Wolverine Worldwide, a global footwear manufacturer with a portfolio of owned and licensed brands. During her tenure, Erin led the merchandising and operational departments for multiple brands including Chaco, Merrell, and Cat Footwear. She was responsible for the product life cycle from assortment selection through shipment to the customer, managing teams accountable for demand planning, vendor and order management, promotional plans, and sales analysis. Erin was consistently recognized for operational excellence amongst Wolverine’s brands. Erin’s experience also includes multiple corporate retail roles focused on planning and allocation with companies such as Follett Higher Education Group, Hot Topic, and Meijer.

Erin graduated Magna Cum Laude from Western Michigan University’s Haworth College of Business.

Prior to joining Elephas, Mike founded Prairie Technologies, Inc., where he served as President and Chief Systems Architect from 1995 to 2013. Prairie was successfully sold to Bruker in 2013 and Mike joined Bruker as General Manager to lead the integration of Prairie Technologies and initiate Bruker’s Fluorescence Microscopy Division. Mike led the field of laser microscopy through optical innovations leading to the first commercialized multi-photon microscope that combined electrical recording with imaging and photoactivation, helping understand neuronal signaling and microglia interactions to treat brain diseases. Mike led the first to market confocal microscopy instruments using point scanning, multipoint scanning, tandem scanning, acoustic optic and spatial light modulation techniques for biological and material science applications. Mike was also at the forefront of high-speed laser point scanning for biological imaging by pioneering the acousto-optic deflector to steer the two-photon laser beam. In addition to developing custom microscopes for research, Mike’s work has a global footprint in research labs through his early work at Bio-Rad to partnerships with Zeiss, Olympus and Nikon. Mike earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Wisconsin – Madison, and held several positions with increasing responsibility prior to starting Prairie Technologies.

Ann brings more than 25 years of Quality and Regulatory Affairs experience in medical device, biopharmaceutical, and consumer product compliance to Elephas. Prior to joining Elephas in 2020, Ann held positions of increasing responsibility with Mueller Sports Medicine and Thermo Fisher Scientific, and successfully operated an independent consulting business for nearly 10 years. Major accomplishments included establishing a Quality Management System compliant to ISO 13485 and global medical device regulations, remediation and consent decree experience, gap audits, employee training programs, product formulation and supplier quality activities. More recently, Ann led large complex QARA readiness projects in response to changes in the European Union political and regulatory landscape.

Ann earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Science from Iowa State University, a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) degree in Quality Management from Upper Iowa University, and completed a professional certificate program in International Biopharmaceutical Regulatory Affairs with Northeastern University. In addition, Ann is recognized by the American Society for Quality as a Certified Manager of Quality and Organizational Excellence.

Steve brings over 20 years of industry experience in information technology management, software development, and systems implementations.  Previously, he was the VP of IT Operations for Exact Sciences, delivering IT systems to support Cologuard^®, Oncotype DX, defining and executing the enterprise's IT strategy and managing day to day operations.  Prior to his position with Exact Sciences, he was the founder and Managing Director of Sampleminded, a software-as-a-solution provider of laboratory information systems serving the life sciences and clinical trials market.  Prior to Sampleminded, he founded a system integrator firm, called Helio, that specialized in delivering global ERP, supply chain solutions, and customer experience platforms.

Steve received his MBA, specializing in Management of Technology, from the University of Utah.

Scott brings over 20 years of industry experience in R&D and IVD development. Previously he was the Senior VP of R&D for Exact Sciences, developing the next generation of Cologuard^® and their liquid biopsy platform. Prior to his position with Exact, he was VP of R&D for Luminex Corporation responsible for bringing multiple IVD platforms and assays to market. Scott also served as VP of Product Development for EraGen Biosciences developing novel molecular technologies and ultimately incorporating them into IVDs, leading to EraGen’s acquisition by Luminex.

Scott received his PhD in Cellular & Molecular Biology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a BS in Biotechnology from the Rochester Institute of Technology. Scott also has an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Hinco brings over 25 years of experience in oncology and genomics, across academia and industry to Elephas. He previously was the VP of Product Development at Integra Connect, helping create and advance an enterprise analytical software suite tailored for clinicians and biopharma researchers. Before that, he was the Team Lead for the scientific software of Illumina's Precision Medicine Platform.

Hinco received his PhD in oncology & genomics at the University of Amsterdam and later pursued his postdoctoral research at Stanford University focused on whole genome sequencing and bioinformatic analysis. Hinco’s contributions across academia and industry have resulted in over 25 scientific publications, 6,900 citations, and a patent.

Charles brings to Elephas 20+ years of research and commercial leadership experience in the life science sector. Most recently he was VP of Global Commercial Operations at The Jackson Laboratory, overseeing financial growth and channel expansion within drug discovery and pre-clinical research markets. His leadership is characterized by robust commitment to advancing human health through innovative products and research services. Charles has broad global business development, partnering and operating experience. He has held general management and chief executive roles for wholly owned and joint venture foreign subsidiaries in established and developing biopharmaceutical research markets.

Charles’ academic & translational research background is rooted in cancer genetics, immunology & cell death. He completed his post-doctoral research in the Department of Immunology at St Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis. He received his PhD in Cell & Molecular Biology from Michigan State University and a BS in Microbiology from the University of Michigan. Charles also has an MBA from the School of Management at Yale University.

Tammy brings more than 20 years of industry experience in operations. She has led teams in manufacturing, quality control, validation and technical transfer, supply chain, distribution, warehouse and logistics, engineering, facilities, metrology, instrument production, technical services, and EHS. Prior to Elephas, Tammy was the VP, Operations at Exact Sciences where she oversaw and supported product lines including Cologuard^®, Oncotype Dx, Oncoguard Liver, LBGard, and other laboratory developed tests. Prior to her position at Exact Sciences Tammy was Site Leader and Director, Operations at ThermoFisher Scientific, formerly Life Technologies/Invitrogen, where she led the manufacturing of more than 500 life sciences products and established the SelectScreen Screening and Profiling Services. Tammy began her career in the pharmaceutical industry at Schering Plough Research Institute in the High Throughput Screening and Drug Discovery Division.

Tammy received her PhD in Organic Chemistry from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities campus and a BS in Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Kristen brings more than 25 years of healthcare industry experience.  She has led high performing sales and marketing teams in both biopharmaceuticals and in vitro diagnostics.  Prior to Elephas, Kristen was Vice President, Marketing at Exact Sciences where she oversaw all marketing teams for Cologuard®.  Prior to her position at Exact Sciences Kristen was with Abbott Laboratories/AbbVie for over 20 years in sales and marketing roles across oncology and immunology.  For most of her career at AbbVie, Kristen was a leader on HUMIRA® having successfully launched numerous new indications across specialties including Rheumatology, Dermatology, and Gastroenterology. 

Kristen received her BBA from University of Wisconsin at Whitewater in Production Operations Management and an Executive Education Certificate from Kellogg for the Chief Marketing Officer Program.

Steven K. Galson, MD, MPH, is a consultant to Amgen and serves on the Board of Directors of Insilico Medicine and Biocryst Pharmaceuticals. Until June 2020 he was a senior vice president of Research and Development at Amgen. He joined the company in 2010 as vice president of Global Regulatory Affairs. Prior to Amgen, Dr. Galson was senior vice president for Civilian Health Operations and chief health scientist at Science Applications International Corporation.

Dr. Galson spent more than 20 years in government service, including two years as acting Surgeon General of the United States. Previously, he served as director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER), where he provided leadership for the center’s broad national and international programs in pharmaceutical regulation.

Dr. Galson began his public health service career as an epidemiological investigator at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) after completing a residency in internal medicine at the Hospitals of the Medical College of Pennsylvania. He also held senior-level positions at the Environmental Protection Agency; the Department of Energy, where he was chief medical officer; and the Department of Health and Human Services.

Corey Ritter is a Partner at ARCH Venture Partners, having joined the firm in 2018. Corey’s work at ARCH focuses on new company formation and early-stage investments. He co-founded Vizgen and Scale Biosciences, and he is a director at several life science and technology companies, including Slingshot Biosciences, Enumerix, and Quantum Circuits, Inc. Prior to ARCH, Corey was an associate with the University of Chicago Innovation Fund, a seed fund that supports and invests in spinouts from U Chicago and Argonne National Lab. Previously, Corey was an active duty officer in the US Army. He holds a BA in Astrophysics from Princeton University and completed his MBA at the University of Chicago.