Epitracker Team
Stephanie Venn-Watson, DVM, MPH
Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer
Stephanie is a serial entrepreneur who has successfully launched Epitracker, two clinical research programs within the Department of Defense and non-profit sector, and founded public health education programs in the community and at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Her novel approach to discovering therapeutic candidates for animals and humans has been featured on NPR’s Science Friday, CBS, BBC, National Geographic, Biocom’s Annual Dinner (2014), J&J Innovations: Powerful Ideas Series (2015), San Diego Venture Group's Hot Topic Series (2015) and Cool Companies (2017), LA BioMed Innovation Showcase (2016), and San Diego's Innovation Showcase (2017). She has over 60 peer-reviewed scientific publications and book chapters and is the lead inventor on over 24 issued and pending patents. For her entrepreneurial work in the health industry, Stephanie was awarded the Department of Human and Human Services Secretary's Award for Innovations in Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.
Stephanie received her B.S. in Animal Physiology and Neuroscience from UC San Diego, D.V.M. from Tufts University, M.P.H. from Emory University, and was a National Research Council Associate with the Armed Forces Medical Intelligence Center. Stephanie has worked for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, World Health Organization, and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. She is an Albert Schweitzer Fellow for Life.
Stephanie received her B.S. in Animal Physiology and Neuroscience from UC San Diego, D.V.M. from Tufts University, M.P.H. from Emory University, and was a National Research Council Associate with the Armed Forces Medical Intelligence Center. Stephanie has worked for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, World Health Organization, and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. She is an Albert Schweitzer Fellow for Life.
Eric Venn-Watson, MD, MBA
Co-Founder, Chief Operating Officer
Eric brings significant experience in creating and growing early stage biotechnology companies. Prior to Epitracker, Eric founded a healthcare analytics company and a medical device company, was CMO of a pharmaceutical startup, SVP of a digital health company and worked as a business consultant. Eric is also a US Navy Veteran, having served 21 years as a military physician, with multiple leadership roles, as well as combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. He serves in advisory roles for multiple startup companies, is a regular lecturer at the Rady School of Management, and supports entrepreneurship programs for military veterans in San Diego. He was awarded the 'Best Entrepreneur' in the Start up Company Category at the 2017 Veteran and Military Conference and Awards.
Eric attended the military medical school at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland, received his general surgery and orthopedic surgery training at the Naval Medical Center San Diego, and completed his MBA at the UCSD, Rady School of Management.
Eric attended the military medical school at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland, received his general surgery and orthopedic surgery training at the Naval Medical Center San Diego, and completed his MBA at the UCSD, Rady School of Management.
Greg Horowitt
Board of Directors
Greg Horowitt is a serial entrepreneur, investor, author, and innovation systems architect. He is a Managing Director of Jun Capital as well as a member of the Society of Kauffman Fellows. He is the Director of Innovation at the University of California, San Diego, and also serves as an adjunct lecturer at Stanford University. He has spent 25+ years working in startups, venture capital, and is one of the pioneers in the field of innovation ecosystems. He is the co-author of the bestselling book, The Rainforest: The Secret to Building the Next Silicon Valley and is a trusted advisor to such notable organizations as the US State Department, Aspen Institute, University of California, World Bank, and Inter-American Development Bank, in addition to his role as a Senior Fellow with the Global Federation of Competitiveness Councils. Mr. Horowitt has worked in several executive and investment roles including a Berkshire Hathaway operating company, and continues his work today as an investor, advisor, and board member of multiple entrepreneurial startups.
Rick Lumpkin, PhD
Lead Optimization & Preclinical Research
Rick has 30 years of broad based experience, including synthetic chemistry, in early stage biotechnology companies. Most recently he was a Sr. Director at Global Blood Therapeutics becoming the first employee of this Third Rock Ventures founded company. He was an original member of the team that spun off Portola Pharmaceuticals from Millennium Pharmaceuticals. Earlier in his career he held positions of increasing responsibility as a synthetic chemist and computer programmer at COR Therapeutics, Ribogene, Amylin and Corvas International, Inc. He received his undergraduate and graduate degrees in Biochemistry from the University of Missouri – Columbia.
John Reiner, PhD
Medicinal Chemistry
John has 30 years of experience in drug development, including identifying a lead compound through structure-activity relationships, optimizing potency and target specificity and optimizing for bioavailability and other pharmacokinetic properties. John has also been involved in other aspects of drug discovery that utilize chemistry, including the synthesis of assay reagents, development of compound library platforms, and process chemistry for the scale-up of material for preclinical studies. John has been a Senior Research Scientist for Corvas International, Inc., Director of Medicinal Chemistry for Bethany Pharmaceuticals, and consultant for startup biotechnology companies.
John's formal training as a medicinal chemist includes earning a B.S. from Emory University, an M.A. and Ph.D. at Columbia University, and an NIH Postdoctoral Fellowship at Stanford University.
John's formal training as a medicinal chemist includes earning a B.S. from Emory University, an M.A. and Ph.D. at Columbia University, and an NIH Postdoctoral Fellowship at Stanford University.
Randy Socol
Corporate Counsel
Randy is a partner at DLA Piper, LLC. Randy’s focus is on emerging companies in biotechnology and medical device sectors, and investors that finance and/or acquire these companies. Randy currently splits his time between DLA Piper's San Diego and Los Angeles offices and is the co-chair of the firm's US Emerging Growth and Venture Capital practice. Randy is also founding member of the firm's Corporate Venture Leadership Group.
Rose Thiessen
Intellectual Property Counsel
Rose is a partner at the San Diego office of Knobbe Martens LLP, where she represents individual and business clients in pharmaceutical and other life science technologies. Rose’s practice includes patent portfolio management and filing strategies in the U.S. and abroad, client counseling on issues related to licensing, infringement and trade secrets, and intellectual property due diligence in conjunction with financing, partnerships, acquisitions, and IPOs.
