About Auxogyn Management Team
Lissa Goldenstein is a co-founder of Auxogyn and has more than seven years experience as President and CEO of both public and private companies in the life science industry. Most recently Lissa served as President and CEO of Artemis Health, Inc., a venture backed company focused on developing non-invasive prenatal diagnostic tests, where she defined the business strategy, broadened the product and intellectual property portfolio and secured more than $20 million in funding over a three year period. Prior to Artemis Health, Lissa served as President and CEO of Argonaut Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ; AGNT) from 2001 until June 2005, at which time Argonaut’s assets were sold to Biotage, AB. Argonaut was the leading provider of consumables, instruments and services that enable chemists in the pharmaceutical industry to accelerate and improve the development of new drugs. Prior to that Lissa had more than 20 years of worldwide sales, marketing, and service experience bringing new technology to new markets in both the life science and engineering industries.
Lissa has a B.S. in Architectural Engineering from Pennsylvania State University and received her Professional Engineers license as a structural engineer in the State of California. Lissa is currently on the Board of Directors of Argonaut Technologies and was on the Board of Directors for OtisMed Corporation which was recently acquired by Stryker Corporation.
Kevin Loewke is a co-founder of Auxogyn and serves as its Engineering Program Manager. Prior to this, he spent several years at Stanford University where he developed the imaging technologies that are an integral part of Auxogyn’s core competency. Kevin’s areas of expertise include microscopy, image analysis, computer vision, instrumentation design, and medical robotics.
Kevin received his B.S., summa cum laude, in mechanical engineering from the University of California, San Diego, his M.S. and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Stanford University, where he was an NSF Graduate Research Fellow, and his post-doctoral training at the Stanford Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine.
Jim Robbins joined Auxogyn, Inc. in August 2010 as Vice President of Finance and Administration. Previously, Jim served as Vice President of Finance at Micrus Endovascular Corporation,(NASDAQ: MEND) a company that develops, manufactures and markets both implantable and disposable medical devices used in the treatment of cerebral vascular diseases. Jim has also held Corporate Controller positions with Genitope Corporation, a biotechnology company focused on the research and development of novel immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer, as well as for Extricity, Inc. and InVision Technologies. Early in his career Jim was in the audit practice of Price Waterhouse LLP.
Jim received his Bachelor of Business Administration with a concentration in accounting from the University of Texas at Austin and is a Certified Public Accountant.
Shehua Shen joined Auxogyn as Director of Clinical Research and Development in September 2010. Shehua came to Auxogyn from University of California, San Francisco where she was Associate Professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences as well as Director of the Embryology Laboratory. Shehua has extensive experience in the field of In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) and IVF laboratory advancements. She has worked with IVF Programs at Women and Infants Hospital of Rhode Island/Brown University, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School and University of Washington.
Shehua received her medical degree at Second Military Medical University in Shanghai and is an active member of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) and the American Association of Bioanalysists (AAB).
Russell Williams joined Auxogyn, Inc. in January 2011 as Director of Human Resources. Previously, Russell served as Director of Corporate Human Resources Programs and Global Learning and Organizational Effectiveness at Acuson Corporation. Russell brings with him 25 years of high technology experience within the medical device, scientific and analytical instrumentation industry sectors. Prior to joining Auxogyn, he has held several executive leadership and senior management roles in Human Resources.
Russell received his MBA from Golden Gate University, a Lifetime Teaching Credential from the University of California Berkeley and a BA in Political Science and Sociology from San Francisco State University.
Mika Nishimura joined Auxogyn in April 2011 as Vice President of Commercial Development. Mika is a seasoned senior executive with over 20 years of leadership experience in the medical device industry. During her tenure as the Director of Global Marketing at Guidant Vascular Intervention and Vice President of International Sales, Operations and Marketing at ev3, Inc., Ms. Nishimura started and built franchises contributing significant, consistent revenue and profit growth with operations in over 30 markets. Prior to joining Auxogyn, Ms. Nishimura had founded The BLG Group, a successful consulting practice advising both investors and device companies. Her clients have sought her group’s advice on critical strategic initiatives ranging from identifying high-priority acquisition targets, developing a product/technology road map based on rigorous analyses and strategic thinking or creating and executing a geographical expansion plan.
Ms. Nishimura holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA in Economics from Yale University.
Rob Newman joined Auxogyn in April 2011 as Vice President of Regulatory Affairs. Rob began his medical device career as a systems engineer at GE Medical in the magnetic resonance imaging group. Over a 17 year period, he held a progressive set of roles in new product development, clinical applications and marketing in diagnostic imaging. Since GE, he has been involved in regulatory and leadership roles in several startups in the areas of non-invasive thermal ablation, neurostimulation and robotics. He is certified in Regulatory Affairs, and is a regular speaker on clinical and regulatory affairs at the Regulatory Affairs Professional Society and the Association for Clinical Research Professionals.
Rob has a MS in Clinical Engineering from The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, an MBA from the University of Baltimore, and a BS in Biology from the United States Air Force Academy.
