Management

Jeffrey H. Lawson, MD PhD
CEO

Dr. Lawson received his MD and Ph.D. in Cell and Molecular Biology from the University of Vermont and then completed his residency in General and Thoracic surgery and a fellowship in Vascular Surgery at Duke University.  He then joined the faculty serving as Professor and Vice Chair of Research in the Department of Surgery at Duke with a robust clinical practice and basic science laboratory.  His research has been funded by the NIH, NSF, DoD, AHA and various biotechnology companies with over 150 publications. As a physician, scientist, innovator and entrepreneur, Dr. Lawson has helped to raise significant capital to fund emerging technologies and has been a strategic advisor for early-stage start-ups, large publicly traded companies and governmental agencies. He also served in the leadership roles of CMO, CSO and CEO for several biotechnology and medical device companies, including InnAVasc, Humacyte, Atlantic Research Group, VarmX, and Vascudyne and has successfully helped manage these companies through strategic growth, financing and exits to both the public and private sectors.  Dr. Lawson is a Co-founder and General Partner at Swift Street Capital.

Blake Long, MD MBA
COO

Dr. Long received his BA in Economics and MD from Duke University.  He completed residency training at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, and following active-duty service, completed pediatric cardiology fellowship training at Duke University.  He then served as Assistant Director for Savannah Children’s Heart Center and Assistant Clinical Professor for Mercer School of Medicine with an active clinical and teaching practice.  Subsequently upon receiving his MBA from Duke Fuqua School of Business, he has had roles in both venture capital as CMO of Echo Health Ventures, and consulting as CMO of Alva10, a firm focused on commercialization strategy for diagnostic companies. He is an Adjunct Professor in the Health Sector Management Program at Duke Fuqua School of Business.  As a physician, investor and entrepreneur, he has worked to develop the necessary entrepreneurial ecosystem from the clinical, health economic and strategic capital perspectives, serving as an angel investor, strategic advisor and board member for several health care startups.  Dr. Long is a Co-founder and General Partner at Swift Street Capital.

Robert R. Bonczek, MBA, JD
CFO

Mr. Bonczek has been instrumental in helping companies through IPOs, secondary equity offerings, private placements, transactional advice for M&As, strategic planning, and collaboration agreements.  He has served as President, Director, CFO and General Counsel of b3 bio, Inc.; CFO, General Counsel and Chief Administrative Officer of Trimeris, Inc.; and Chief Counsel and Global Director of Safety, Health and Environment, Dupont.  Mr. Bonczek is founding partner, Director and President of Aspen Tree Capital. He also serves on the boards of several other life science-related companies including NeurOp, Inc., Senex Biotechnology, Upstream Therapeutics, Inc., Deep Blue Medical Advances, Inc., Track X Technology, Cellective Biotherapy, Inc., and Istari Oncology, Inc.  He also serves on advisory boards for several companies, including Valence Advantage Life Sciences Fund, and Centre Partners. Mr. Bonczek received an AB in chemistry and a JD degree from the University of North Carolina. He also holds an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Bud Nelson, PhD, JD
Chairman, Technology Review Committee

Dr. Nelson is focused on building an innovative, technology-based culture around life sciences in North Carolina through his previous roles as Co-Managing Director of the Hamner Institutes’ Biosciences Accelerator and Executive Director for Technology Development at the Hamner Institutes. He is currently a member of the management team at a life science-related software company and previously held senior leadership roles at several life science companies, including biotech and medical device start-ups. Dr. Nelson has more than 20 years’ experience with intellectual property matters and has served as IP counsel for several companies, as well as an inventor on several patents and published patent applications. He holds a JD degree and master’s and PhD degrees, with a concentration in immunology and microbiology, from the University of Buffalo. He also has bachelor’s degrees in medical technology and biology.