Russell Cole Email and Phone Number

Founder and leader of startup commercializing a best in class single-cell manipulation technology. Proven track record of driving product growth, securing financing, and managing technical teams within the life sciences industry. Expertise in strategic business development, intellectual property management, and legal compliance. •Raised $6M in seed round financing from angel and venture capital investors within a three-year period, demonstrating a strong ability to secure funding and drive financial growth.•Awarded multiple SBIR grants from prestigious organizations such as NIH, DARPA, and NSF, resulting in $3M in non-dilutive capital.•Directed a multidisciplinary technical team to execute scientific research and product development activities, ensuring alignment with business objectives and customer requirements.•Co-invented Microenvironment On Demand, the core microfluidic cell manipulation technology, driving innovation and differentiation within the product portfolio.•Developed a comprehensive data strategy to handle new, multiplexed data types , ensuring effective data management and analysis capabilities.•Presented scientific posters and delivered talks at national industry conferences.•Licensed key IP from academic institutions and managed the company's internal IP pipeline.•Negotiated collaboration agreements with early partners with the assistance of corporate counsel.

Worked with the Abate and Gartner labs to develop innovative research tools in the functional cell biology space.•Invented a droplet microfluidic method (PDM) that combines high throughput single-cell sorting and combining on a printed nanowell array for high throughput assay screening.•Led team of 3 grad students and postdocs to build out hardware, software, and informatics capabilities.•Built out high-throughput imaging analysis workflows to quantify system performance.•Managed external academic-industrial projects with a large biotechnology company.•Presented technology at conferences and published journal articles.•Wrote grant applications for funding by NIH, DARPA, and internal UCSF mechanisms.

Led avanced technology development at startup developing grid-scale battery systems based on a flowing electrolyte format.•Mathematical Modeling Lead - Built system-level model used to optimize battery function and assess high level design trade-offs. Built detailed electrochemical model with Comsol to understand and improve cell-level battery performance.•Flow architecture Lead – Engineer in charge of fluidic architecture development for Primus' metal-halogen flow battery, including design of the reactant separation system. Defined and directed relevant bench experiments.•Advanced Concepts Engineer – Evaluated advanced technology concepts for hand-off to electrochemical and mechanical engineering teams. Synthesized ideas from literature and technical brainstorming sessions into working proof of concept systems. Provided technical guidance for ongoing system design and electrochemical testing. Directed team of 2 Jr. engineers to perform pilot experiments.

Performed R&D work on commission. Some project examples:•Advanced concepts modeling – Used Comsol to model the thermal performance of next generation radiofrequency- and light-based tissue heating devices. •Test engineer – Designed and built test rigs for use by electromechanical component manufacturers. Built and troubleshot instruments for clinical testing and initial product release.•Performed cellular biology assay development and wrote a SBIR phase I grant for funding.

Various R&D activities for a startup developing hemoglobin-based oxygen carriers as blood substitutes.•Developed instrument to measure the oxygen affinity of blood and chemically-modified hemoglobins. Wrote a successful SBIR phase I grant for funding. •Performed mathematical investigations of physiological gas transport at microvessel and whole organ levels. •Experimentally investigated the release of signaling molecules from blood in vitro.•Automated benchtop experiments performed by laboratory scientists.

Performed a combined experimental and computational dissertation project.•Experimentally investigated the fluid dynamics of flowing suspensions. Built flow system. Configured homebrewed laser imaging system. Wrote image analysis code. Analyzed data.•Numerically investigated oxygen delivery from blood substitutes flowing through microvessels. Utilzied Comsol to understand microvascular gas transport in the presence of various blood substitute candidates.•Also perfromed larger-scale blood vessel fluid mechanics experiments releated to diseased carotid arteries and intracranial aneurysms.