Jeanette Weiland - Board Chair

Jeanette R. Weiland is the Chief Business Officer of the School of Science & Engineering at Tulane University. Previously she was the Senior Vice President, Bio, Innovation & Special Projects at New Orleans Business Alliance. She previously served from 2015-2018 as a financial operations manager with Ochsner Health System’s retail division and as a system-wide administrative finance fellow. From 2009 to 2015, she was executive vice president of CIC Wealth, a Washington, D.C. investment advisory firm. Weiland began her finance career with the wealth advisory team at Capital One and USB Financial Services in New Orleans from 2006 to 2009 as a Series 7 and 66 license holder.

Her strong background in healthcare finance, financial management and business development allows her to step into the new role with deep-seated knowledge of the health and business community in New Orleans.

As the senior director of Bio Business & Strategy, Weiland will spearhead efforts to attract, retain, and expand businesses and investment while spurring job creation in the BioInnovation cluster in New Orleans.

Weiland is a certified Lean Six Sigma Greenbelt and has served on the board of several local nonprofits, including her current board position on the New Orleans Garden District Association. She earned a bachelor of science degree in International Trade and Finance at Louisiana State University. Additionally, Weiland holds a Masters of Arts in Arts Administration and a masters of business administration from The University of New Orleans.

Justin Hudman - Treasurer

Justin Hudman is a Senior Manager over State Affairs at Amgen. Before coming to Amgen Justin spent four years as the Division DIrector of Public Affairs for the Texas Pharmacy Association. Prior to that he has extensive experience on staff with the Texas Legislature.

He has a BA in Political Science and History from Texas A&M University - Kingsville. He is an experienced Director Of Public Affairs with a demonstrated history of working in the Hospital & Healthcare Industry, Skilled in Nonprofit Organizations, Political Communication, Public Affairs, Grassroots Organizing, and Government.

DR. JIM CARDELLI - OLEOLIVE, INC

Dr. Jim Cardelli received a B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in 1973 from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana and a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology and Molecular Oncology from the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin in 1977. Following post-doctoral training in Oncology and Infectious Disease, Dr. Cardelli joined the faculty in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at LSU Health Shreveport (LSUHS) in 1985. He was promoted to an Associate Professor in 1989 and to Full Professor in 1993. His laboratory, consisting of an annual average of 8 personnel over 30 years, focused on mechanisms of survival of intracellular pathogenic bacteria from 1985-2005. From 2005-2015, Dr. Cardelli’s laboratory studied the molecular mechanisms regulating tumor cell invasion and discovered several anti-invasion drugs. Dr. Cardelli trained over 30 graduate and post-doctoral students while on the faculty at the University of Wisconsin and LSUHS and was an author on over 130 peer reviewed papers. He was Director of Basic and Translational Research from 1997 to 2012; a division of the Feist-Weiller Cancer Center at LSUHS that consisted of five different research programs. In addition, Dr. Cardelli was Co-Director (from 2005–2011) and became Director (2011-2014) of a drug discovery and development program named Innovative North Louisiana Experimental Therapeutics.

Dr. Cardelli retired at the end of 2015 and co-founded multiple biotechnology companies. Oleolive, Inc. formed in 2017 as a nutraceutical company and merged with the other biotechnology companies founded by Dr. Cardelli in 2020 as a private preclinical biotechnology company located in Shreveport, Louisiana. Dr. Cardelli is a co-founder and Chief Technology Officer. The company is focused on developing therapeutic drugs to treat a range of human indications including brain, prostate and breast cancer, lung fibrosis, diseases involving the CNS (Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease), and traumatic blood loss in austere military environments. Oleolive has been awarded 9 Small Business Innovation Research Awards from the Department of Defense and from the National Institute of Health, including the National Cancer Institute, the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, and the National Institute on Aging to fund our research. Our most mature asset is a drug that is being positioned to treat Alzheimer’s Disease as well as other CNS disorders. The company also generates revenue by manufacturing and selling a product named Oligen to promote healthy aging and longevity. This product can be found on Amazon and contains rare health promoting extracted compounds only found in extra virgin olive oil, a major staple of the Mediterranean diet.

DR. HERNAN A. BAZAN - SOUTH RAMPART PHARMA

Dr. Hernan A. Bazan is an academic vascular surgeon and The John Ochsner Endowed Professor in Cardiovascular Innovation at Ochsner Health. With extensive expertise in treating complex aortic aneurysms, carotid disease, and peripheral arterial pathologies, he directs the Vascular Surgery Fellowship Program and spearheads translational research that has yielded novel endovascular techniques and new insights into carotid plaque vulnerability. His work has contributed to improved stroke outcomes and informed urgent carotid intervention practices, while his collaborative efforts have uncovered molecular targets driving atherosclerotic plaque rupture.

In parallel with his clinical and academic leadership, Dr. Bazan is an active biotech innovator. He is the CEO & Co-Founder of South Rampart Pharma, Inc. focused on safe, non-opioid analgesics, securing over $9M in non-dilutive and equity funding. Under his guidance, a first-in-class non-narcotic analgesic advanced through Phase 1 clinical trials and soon Phase 2 studies, earning FDA Fast Track designation for acute pain. Recognized with the 2024 NIH HEAL Director’s Trailblazer Award, Dr. Bazan continues to bridge clinical acumen with entrepreneurial vision to address unmet needs in pain management and beyond.

MOLLY CZEPIEL - MERCK

Molly Czepiel is the Government Affairs Director for the South-Central region. She has over 20 years of experience in legislative affairs and public policy.

Before joining Merck, Molly served as the Health and Human Services policy advisor for Texas Speaker of the House Dade Phelan. In this role, she advised the Speaker, State Representatives and staff on policy and fiscal matters related to health care, Medicaid, health insurance and human services. Prior to this, she was the Government Affairs Director for Medicaid at Cigna. In addition, she spent eight years at the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, where she led government and stakeholder relations, and later served as the Associate Commissioner for Policy and Performance. She began her legislative career working as a Congressional aide, before returning home to Texas to pursue her passion for state government.

Molly graduated from the University of Texas at Austin, interning throughout her undergraduate years at the Texas Capitol. She lives in Austin with her husband and two children. In her free time, she enjoys playing tennis, traveling, and cheering for the Texas Longhorns.

DAVE SMITH - EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF ENTREPRENEURIAL ACCELERATOR PROGRAM

David R. Smith is the Executive Director of the Entrepreneurial Accelerator Program who oversees services provided to high growth entrepreneurs. David has 40 years of extensive experience in government contracts and initiatives, university technology transfer, and early-stage technology development. David focuses on aligning partners to create a collaborative environment across North Louisiana where entrepreneurs, industry, small businesses, startups, and capital intersect to spark innovation, build community, and create investment in technologies, services, products, production, or processes, enabling the economic growth in our region.

KYLE KAMRATH - VERTEX

Kyle Kamrath serves as the Director of State Government Affairs for Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the south central United States. States in the covered territory include Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas. Kyle joined Vertex’s Government Affairs and Public Policy team in December 2014.

Before joining Vertex, Kyle served as former Governor Rick Perry’s advisor on health care and Medicaid policy. His past professional experience also includes working as a Government Affairs Specialist for the nonprofit Texas Apartment Association (TAA), as Senior Policy Advisor to Senator Joan Huffman and as the Legislative Director for former Representative Kelly Hancock. Kyle also previously worked on various, state legislative and Congressional campaigns in Texas and in Tennessee.

Kyle currently sits on the board of directors of the Texas Healthcare and Bioscience Institute (THBI) and Life Science Tennessee (LST). He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Rhodes College in Memphis. Kyle and his wife Jessica live in Nolensville, TN with their four children – Harper, Charlie, June and Caroline.