Board of Directors & Staff

Chris Aageson

Director

About Chris Aageson

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Director of Business Development at Cushing Terrell

Mr. Aageson is the Director of Marketing and Business Development at Cushing Terrell. He previously served in the Montana Governor’s Office of Economic Development as the Deputy Business Development Officer. During that time, he guided economic development efforts for the State of Montana and communities within. He coordinated state and federal agencies engaged in private and public sector projects, developed and led marketing and business recruitment efforts, and advised on policy related to economic development.

Today, Mr. Aageson’s business development leadership is defined by intuitive and empathetic client experience, underlined by the ability to strategically capitalize on growth and partnership opportunities. He bridges gaps across markets, geographies, and public and private sector clients to ensure Cushing Terrell’s talents and services are serving their highest purpose. His background in economic development provides technical knowledge that complements a high EQ. With nearly ten years of experience in the AEC industry, he understands the nuances of a high-stakes industry fueled by collaboration and trust.

Mr. Aageson holds a Bachelor’s in Business Administration from Pacific Lutheran University.

Richard Bridges, Ph.D.

Director

About Richard Bridges, Ph.D.

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Professor & Director, Neuroscience Program Division of Biological Sciences at University of Montana

Dr. Bridges is a Regents Professor in the Neuroscience program at the University of Montana and holds a faculty appointment in the Division of Biological Sciences in the College of Humanities & Sciences. Before moving to Biology, Dr. Bridges held a faculty position in the Skaggs School of Pharmacy for more than 20 years. After completing an undergraduate degree in Biochemistry at the University of California at Davis, Bridges received a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Cornell Medical College in 1984. Following faculty positions in the Department of Neurology at the University of California at Irvine, he moved to the University of Montana as an Associate Professor in 1993.

Dr. Bridges served for eight years as the founding Director of the NIH-COBRE Center for Structural and Functional Neuroscience. He was also a founding member of the Montana BioScience Alliance and the Montana Neuroscience Institute where he served for several years as Chairman of the Board. Dr. Bridges also served as the Chair of the Department of Biomedical & Pharmaceutical Sciences within the Skaggs School of Pharmacy from 2008 until 2015. He recently returned to his role as Director of UM’s Center for Structural & Functional Neuroscience and in 2019 became the Director of UM’s Neuroscience Program.

Research in the Bridges lab group focuses on the molecular pharmacology of membrane transport proteins that regulate the movement of signaling molecules into and out of cells within the brain and spinal cord. Emerging evidence suggests that these systems, as well as the novel drugs that regulate their activities, are relevant to a wide range of CNS diseases and insults, including ALS, traumatic injury, drug addiction, epilepsy, and brain tumors.

Chad DeLong

Director

About Chad DeLong

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College and Career Readiness Coordinator at Hamilton High School

Mr. DeLong is a native Montanan. He grew up in Helena and attended the University of Montana where he studied Business Administration and Marketing. He then embarked on a 25-year career in economic development in New Mexico, Kansas, and Colorado. His focus was on retooling organizations and creating regional partnerships. In his time in Colorado, he ran the Metro Denver Network, a regional organization encompassing seven counties, over 100 companies, and 50 economic development organizations in the Metro Denver area. He oversaw strategic planning and fundraising efforts that led to unprecedented growth in focus areas of biotechnology, medical devices, and the launching of the Colorado Biotechnology Association and the development of a biotechnology incubator.

Mr. DeLong then moved his family back to Montana where he was Vice President of the Missoula Economic Corporation and then moved into his passion project at Hamilton High School, working to educate kids on careers and developing partnerships with business, public sector, and secondary and higher education to expand workforce development opportunities. Over his career, Mr. DeLong has developed a belief that Montana has a huge potential to develop a strong biotechnology industry and feels privileged to serve on the Board of the Montana BioScience Alliance.

Jay T. Evans, Ph.D.

Director

About Jay T. Evans, Ph.D.

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Director, Center for Translational Medicine at University of Montana

Dr. Evans, is Director of the Center for Translational Medicine at the University of Montana and CEO of Inimmune Corporation in Missoula, MT. Prior to joining the University of Montana and co-founding Inimmune, Dr. Evans spent 16 years at GSK Vaccines (formerly Corixa Corporation and Ribi Immunochem) working on the identification, characterization and development of novel vaccine adjuvants, immunomodulators, and delivery systems.

Because of their unique ability to enhance innate and adaptive immune responses, pattern recognition receptor (PRR) ligands are being developed as both vaccine adjuvants and as stand-alone immunomodulators. Interest in PRRs has increased steadily over the past 20 years because of promising clinical data, licensed products, and increased understanding of structure activity relationships among several families of PRR ligands. Dr. Evans’ team is focused on the discovery and advancement of novel synthetic PRR ligands across a broad range of prophylactic and therapeutic vaccine targets including SARS-CoV-2, influenza virus, pertussis, tuberculosis, pseudomonas, cancer immunotherapy, opioid addiction, and allergy.

Dr. Evans holds a B.S. in Biology from Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, WA and a Ph.D. in Molecular and Cellular Biology from Oregon State University in Corvallis, OR.

Teresa Gunn, Ph.D.

Director

About Teresa Gunn, Ph.D.

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Associate Professor and Transgenic Facility Director at McLaughlin Research Institute

Dr. Gunn earned her Ph.D. in Genetics from the University of British Columbia, completed her post-doctoral training at Stanford University, and was the Robert Hovey Udall Assistant Professor of Genetics in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at Cornell University. She moved to Montana in 2009 to join the McLaughlin Research Institute as an Associate Professor.

Her research focuses on cellular mechanisms that contribute to neurodegeneration. As Director of McLaughlin’s Transgenic Core facility, Dr. Gunn also uses CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing to engineer novel mouse mutants for studies that promote the understanding of human disease and preclinical testing of therapeutic approaches.

Mark Jutila, Ph.D.

Director

About Mark Jutila, Ph.D.

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Regents Professor, Microbiology and Cell Biology at Montana State University

Dr. Jutila grew up in Bozeman and received his B.S. from Montana State University in 1982 and a Ph.D. from the School of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University in 1986. He then pursued a postdoctoral fellowship in pathology at the Stanford School of Medicine from 1986-1989.

Dr. Jutila came home to Montana and joined the faculty at MSU in fall 1989. His research has focused on the study of inflammatory disease and immunology/host defense in humans and animals. He has more than 130 publications and book chapters, has served as principal investigator on more than $24 million in competitive grants from the USDA, NIH, and DoD, among other funding sources, since 1990. He was awarded the National Distinguished Veterinary Immunologist Award in 2006.

In 2017, Dr. Jutila was named a Montana University System Regents Professor. He has served as department head at MSU on three different occasions during his career. Dr. Jutila, along with four other founders, including his father John Jutila, a noted immunologist, started a company (originally named Montana ImmunoTech and later LigoCyte Inc), which began with a focus on treatments for inflammatory disease but later transitioned to vaccine development.

Dr. Jutila has served on the Montana BioScience Alliance Board since its inception.

Mike Kauffman

Director

About Mike Kauffman

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Site Controller, Vaccines GIO Finance at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)

Mr. Kauffman holds a degree in accounting from Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas. Following graduation, he held various accounting and finance positions in several non-pharma companies until June 2007, when he began his career with GSK Vaccines in Hamilton, MT.

He found his niche with GSK and the life sciences industry and has been happily employed as the site controller in Hamilton ever since. He finds this industry and his work to be meaningful and impactful. Living and working in the Bitterroot Valley is a big added bonus.

The Hamilton site is nearing completion of a new manufacturing facility from which it will produce the QS-21 adjuvant for use in GSK’s proprietary AS01 adjuvant system. This adjuvant system is used in a new shingles vaccine and is also in a number of pipeline vaccines. Volume at the site is expected to increase substantially in the coming years. Mr. Kauffman reports that “it’s an exciting time for our site, and the knock-on effects to our surrounding community are significant.”

Tim Layton

Director

About Tim Layton

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Senior Manager, State Government Affairs at Genentech

Mr. Layton is the State Government Affairs lead for Genentech, Inc. in Montana. Genentech is a biopharmaceutical company that for more than 40 years has been following the science and seeking solutions to unmet medical needs in order to make medicines for patients with serious medical conditions. Mr. Layton is responsible for advocating for legislative and regulatory policies that ensure patient access to innovative biopharmaceuticals and a business climate that supports new biopharmaceutical innovation.

Prior to joining Genentech, he spent seven years as a Senior Director for the Washington State Medical Association where he was in charge of the association’s legal, regulatory, and legislative activities. Mr. Layton is an attorney and spent the early part of his career practicing law in New York City and Washington, DC.

Mr. Layton holds a B.A. in Political Science and Government from the University of Washington, an M.P.A. from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, and a Juris Doctorate from Syracuse University.

Greg Meiselbach

Director

About Greg Meiselbach

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Founder and Principal at The Shelburne Group

Mr. Meiselbach is the founder and principal of The Shelburne Group, a strategic advisory firm in the biotechnology arena, where he advises companies on capital raising and government affairs. He also serves as a Senior Advisor to Tonix Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ : TNXP) which plans to build a large commercial-grade manufacturing facility in Hamilton, MT.

Prior to starting The Shelburne Group, Mr. Meiselbach was Director for International Affairs at the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) for five years. In his role, he managed BIO’s international government affairs portfolio for the Asia Pacific and worked with BIO’s members to craft engagement strategies to promote member companies’ business interests abroad. Before joining BIO, while based out of Singapore, he built and managed the Asia Pacific portfolio of Frontier Strategy Group’s Expert Advisory Network, a broad network of in-market experts, professionals, and former officials who supported the company’s clients’ expansion into emerging markets. He also worked for United Parcel Service (UPS) early in his career on its corporate public affairs team in Washington, DC, where he supported a portfolio of legislative and regulatory issues focused on international trade, customs, and transportation.

Mr. Meiselbach has worked and traveled abroad extensively and as a child grew up in Tokyo, Japan and Beijing, China. He holds a B.A. in Political Science from Tufts University in Medford, MA and speaks conversational Mandarin.

Kole Mickolio, D.O.

Director

About Kole Mickolio, D.O.

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Resident at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center

Dr. Mickolio is a current resident at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center training in both interventional and diagnostic radiology. Before medicine, he trained in biomedical engineering at the University of Utah and also attained an M.Sc. in Molecular Medicine from Montana State University.

Dr. Mickolio was born and raised in the Gallatin Valley before being recruited as a Division 1 baseball player to the state of Utah. After suffering career-ending injuries in baseball, along with a stroke while working as a biomedical engineer, he simultaneously pursued his passion for both biomedical engineering and medicine.

Dr. Mickolio founded Titin KM Biomedical while in medical school. Headquartered in Bozeman, Titin has significantly grown in workforce and market demand within large academic medical centers, the NCAA, MLB, and the NFL. Titin has organically developed its in-house manufacturing facility including software, hardware, and mechanical engineering. Titin is currently in luminary site testing with notable universities and professional sports franchises. Dr. Mickolio has persevered and worked hard to not only bring but keep this industry in Montana. Titin currently has many Montana graduates and interns on its workforce and leadership council.

Monica Serban, Ph.D.

Director

About Monica Serban, Ph.D.

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Director, Montana Biotechnology Center at University of Montana

Dr. Serban is the Director of the Montana Biotechnology Center (BIOTECH) at the University of Montana and a Professor in the Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences Department. She is also the President and Co-founder of Maana Discoveries, a university spin-off focused on advancing technologies developed in academia to commercialization.

Dr. Serban has more than five years of biotech and medical device industry experience. After completing her postdoctoral training in Biomedical Engineering at Tufts University, she joined Tengion, a development-stage regenerative medicine company.

Subsequently, she gained substantial medical device expertise when she joined Allergan Medical where, as Senior Scientist, she was part of the company’s product development/innovation team and involved in products’ lifecycles from feasibility to design transfer and commercial launch. At Allergan, she received substantial training in front-end innovation, project management, and leadership. In 2014, she was the recipient of Allergan’s Award for Excellence for her contributions to the successful launch of SERIÒ Surgical Scaffold, the first-ever silk-based soft tissue support medical device in the market.

In 2015, Dr. Serban joined the University of Montana. Her academic research was featured on local news and selected for media distribution by the American Chemical Society in September 2020. She has authored numerous publications and book chapters and has multiple patents and patent applications. Dr. Serban holds a Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry from the University of Utah, an M.S. in Organic Chemistry, and a B.S. in Chemistry and Physics from Babes-Bolyai University in Romania.

Joseph Thiel, Ph.D.

Director

About Joseph Thiel, Ph.D.

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Interim Deputy Commissioner for Academic, Research and Student Affairs at Montana University System

Dr. Thiel is currently Interim Deputy Commissioner for Academic, Research and Student Affairs for the Montana University System. Previously he was the Director of Academic Policy and Research where his responsibilities included coordinating the development of the state science and technology plan and organizing Montana’s Science and Technology Committee.

He also has served as a junior consultant at the Natural Resource Governance Institute and as a research assistant in the Department of Economics at Montana State University.

During his time as a student at MSU, Dr. Thiel was appointed by Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer to two terms as the lone student representative on the seven-member Board of Regents governing the Montana University System. He chaired the board’s Two-year and Community College Education Committee, acting as the first student to chair one of the board’s core committees.

Dr. Thiel holds both a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Education and a Master of Public Policy from the University of Oxford. He earned two bachelor’s degrees from Montana State University, one in Chemical Engineering and one in Liberal Studies.

Kurt Toenjes, Ph.D.

Director

About Kurt Toenjes, Ph.D.

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Dean, College of Health Professions and Science at Montana State University Billings

Dr. Toenjes is the Dean of the College of Health Professions and Science at MSU-Billings and currently also serves as the deputy commander for the MSU-Billings COVID Incident Command. He started at MSU-Billings in 2005 as a faculty member and then served as Chair of the Department of Biological and Physical Sciences and Professor of Cellular Biology before transitioning into his current role as Dean.

His research over the last 20 years has revolved around efforts to identify and characterize small organic compounds that inhibit the transition between budded and filamentous growth of dimorphic fungi and the conidia germination and filamentous growth of filamentous fungi. The dimorphic fungi include members of the Candida genera with particular emphasis on C. albicans. The work with filamentous fungi includes members of the Aspergillus genera and various Bark Beetle fungal symbiotes. He also seeks to increase our understanding of the role that post-translational modifications, particularly, ubiquitination, play in regulating cellular morphogenesis.

Dr. Toenjes earned a B.S. in Genetics from the University of California, Davis and a Ph.D. in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Arizona. He was a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Vermont Medical School and also held a research faculty position in the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics.

Blake Wiedenheft, Ph.D.

Director

About Blake Wiedenheft, Ph.D.

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Professor, Microbiology and Cell Biology at Montana State University

Dr. Wiedenheft received his Ph.D. in the joint laboratories of professors Mark Young and Trevor Douglas at the Thermal Biology Institute at Montana State University. His work there focused on the identification and isolation of viruses that infect microorganisms that thrive in boiling-acid environments. After completing his Ph.D. in 2007, Dr. Wiedenheft joined Jennifer Doudna’s lab at UC-Berkeley as a Life Sciences Fellow of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. In 2012, he returned to Bozeman and launched the Wiedenheft Lab at MSU, which is now a leader in CRISPR research.

Dr. Wiedenheft’s career has been dedicated to understanding the mechanisms that viruses use to manipulate their hosts and the counter-defense systems that microbes employ to defend themselves from infection. Today, his research team works to understand the evolutionary outcomes of that genetic conflict.

Citing his work on CRISPR, President Obama presented Dr. Wiedenheft with the prestigious Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers in January 2017. In addition to his scientific accomplishments, the award recognized his mentoring of Montana’s aspiring scientists, many with rural Montana roots.

Dr. Wiedenheft was initiated into the Montana BioScience Hall of Fame in 2023.

Sharon Peterson

Director

About Sharon Peterson

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Executive Director at Montana BioScience Alliance

Ms. Peterson assumed the role of executive director when the Montana BioScience Alliance was formed in 2004. In addition to her work of developing the Montana organization, she has also collaborated with and mentored other bioscience organizations in the mountain and plains states.

Ms. Peterson also served from 2004-2011 as the director of Leadership Montana, a statewide effort to develop a sustainable network of leaders who share a passion for Montana and a commitment to the future of the state. Her work with both the Alliance and Leadership Montana involved extensive relationships with the various tribal nations in Montana. She has coordinated with tribal colleges on issues relevant to bioscience as well as broader issues in education and workforce development.

Ms. Peterson served as state director during a 25-year career with U.S. Senator Max Baucus. During that time, she organized Montana Economic Development Summits in 2000, 2001, and 2003. She also organized and participated in trade missions to Taiwan, South Korea, China, and Mexico City.

Before her Senate service, Ms. Peterson was one of the owners and operators of the Peterson Ranch, feedlot, and trucking business at Winifred, Montana. She was a charter officer of Women Involved in Farm Economics (WIFE) and in 1979 was appointed by President Jimmy Carter to the National Alcohol Fuels Commission.

Ms. Peterson is past Chair of the Board of Directors of the Montana State University-Billings Foundation. She currently serves on the Board of Directors at the Yellowstone Art Museum.

Melanie Schwarz

Director

About Melanie Schwarz

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Marketing & Communications at Montana BioScience Alliance

Ms. Schwarz is currently the CEO of Corridor Management Group (CMG), an external affairs firm creating communication pathways and strategies for regional companies. Ms. Schwarz has over 25 years of experience in managing complex coalitions, establishing and implementing strategic communication plans and building external networks to maximize impact for CMG clients.

Prior to founding CMG, Ms. Schwarz was the Director of Business Development at Big Sky Economic Development from 2013-2021. During her time at BSED she increased awareness and engagement with the community in support of statewide economic development. Prior to her time at BSED, Ms. Schwarz was the managing partner of Hayden Marketing & Public Relations and the Marketing & Public Relations Director for the Center for Children and Families.

Ms. Schwarz earned a B.S of Science in Marketing and Management from Montana State University.

Jennifer Hansen

Director

About Jennifer Hansen

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Operations Support at Montana BioScience Alliance

Jennifer Hansen is a Montanan who returned to the state after spending 30 years in the Midwest where she farmed with her husband and raised their son. Jennifer is new to bioscience but has strong agricultural ties. She grew up on her family’s ranch in the Bull Hills north of Billings and served as an ag loan officer before moving to the Midwest. She has a B.S. in Natural Resource Economics from Montana State University and a Master’s in City Planning, Regional Economic Development from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.