ClearCast

Jim Hudson of the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology

David Karabinos — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 11:29:09 GMT

Jim Hudson is the founder and president of the newly opened HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology located in Huntsville, Al.

Jim founded a company in 1987 known as Research Genetics where he served as its CEO until 2000. The company merged that year with Invitrogen in a deal valued at $138 million. Prior to the merger, Research Genetics had become the world's leader in genetic linkage products and was a critical partner in the Human Genome Project coordinated by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health. Jim has advised and incubated multiple companies in industries ranging from internet services to genetics research. In his role as President of the biotech institute he is focused on building groundbreaking research and companies that can apply it for the benefit of society.

Jim is very well known in the biotech community and is often quoted by national, state and local media. This podcast is your opportunity to hear Jim in his own words talk about his life’s work and his newest and greatest venture.

Larry Greer of Greer Capital Advisors

David Karabinos — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 15:10:30 GMT

Larry is a venture capitalist as the Sr. Managing Partner for Greer Capital Advisors. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of many of the Fund’s portfolio companies in addition to the Biotechnology Association of Alabama and several start-up companies.

He was an early contributor to the program design of the Alabama Launchpad competition and was a judge during the inaugural 2007 season. Listen to this podcast for a Venture Capitalist’s perspective on the competitors and the program.

Lisa Williams of Alabama Launchpad

David Karabinos — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 14:20:21 GMT

Lisa was an Alabama Launchpad judge this past season. The Launchpad competition looked at over 60 business plans from the state’s top universities. Lisa was a phase III judge which means she reviewed the 12 semi-finalist companies for merit being placed into the final group.
Lisa is qualified to be a Launchpad judge due to her experience as a founder and entrepreneur of a highly successful engineering services firm known as 3D Research. Also interesting in this podcast is Lisa’s perspective on the spirit of entrepreneurism in America. What you’ll learn is that she was an immigrant from Vietnam who loves this country and the opportunities it provides all of us. Listen to this great story!

Steve Stice of Aruna Biomedical

David Karabinos — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 14:08:57 GMT

Dr. Stice is the co-founder and CEO of Aruna Biomedical. He is also a Professor at the University of Georgia and is the director of the University’s Bioscience Center. He is considered a pioneer in cloning and stem cell research.

Steve’s resume is crowded with firsts: He was the first
to clone a rabbit;
to clone bovine embryos from embryonic stem cell lines;
to clone a transgenic calf;
to clone the first human embryonic stem cells derived from discarded embryos;
to clone the first calf from a dead cow;
to clone the first motor neurons derived from human embryonic stem cells; and
to create the first human embryonic stem cell product to be commercialized.

In this podcast Steve talks to us about stem cell research and where it is going. We also learn about how his company has developed a toolkit which is designed to accelerate the pace of neurological research for scientists working on treatments for spinal cord injuries and neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, Alzheimer’s, and even depression.

Aaron Hammons of IntelCell

David Karabinos — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 13:56:57 GMT

Aaron is part of a team sponsored by the University of Alabama in Huntsville that is focused creating technologies that enable breakthroughs in pharmaceutical and biotech research.

The team founded a private company in 2006 to create a solution for neurological researchers who needed better lab equipment for their experiments – initially its focus is in developing cell culture technology. Their first commercial product will be a revolutionary lab Petri dish that will dramatically shorten research and test time while lowering costs.

Listen to the IntelCell story here.

Chris Otto of Halo Research

David Karabinos — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 13:42:09 GMT

Chris co-founded Halo Research which won the $50,000 inaugural Alabama Launchpad competition’s second prize award. Halo is a startup developing products to improve the quality of care giving for the senior population. Using innovative technology, Chris and his team have developed a wearable device and monitoring applications that allow caregivers to remotely monitor key vital signs and detect serious events, such as an elderly person, falling real time.
Listen to this story if you or someone you know has an elderly parent living alone.

Dr. Mark Byrne of OcuMedic

David Karabinos — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 13:42:01 GMT

Dr. Byrne is the Chief Technology Officer and co-founder of OcuMedic which won $100,000 for first place in the Alabama Launchpad business plan competition ending May 2008.

Incubated at Auburn University, the company has developed ground-breaking technology that allows for medicines to be taken via a person’s eye contacts instead of old-fashion eye drops. The medicines typically help with eye comfort, allergies, infections and inflammation.

This is an exciting development that could revolutionize eye care for humans and animals in the not too distant future.

Innovation Conversations 2008 Introduction

David Karabinos — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 13:19:14 GMT

David Karabinos is the host of ClearCast. Listen to this podcast where he describes his vision for ClearCast and gives a preview of the exciting slate of conversations coming up.

Innovation Conversations #20 - Jim Hayes of the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama

David Karabinos — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 11:45:54 GMT

Jim is the President of EDPA, the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama. If you want to know more about how private and public groups in Alabama come together to grow jobs and the economy, this is your podcast.
The organization is 17 years old and hase been instrumental in bringing state and local governments, academia, Alabama’s greatest corporations and entrepreneurs together for the benefit of our citizens. It has been highly successful but oddly is still one-of-a-kind in our nation.
Listen to Jim’s perspective.

Innovation Conversations #19 - Angela Wier and Glenn Kinstler of Alabama Launchpad

David Karabinos — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 11:42:34 GMT

Angela is the President of Alabama Launchpad and Glenn is the program’s Director. Together, they have designed the program along with the six universities sponsoring the program. Listen to this podcast to get a feel for why the program was developed, last’s year inaugural season and what’s coming down the pike.

Innovation Conversations #18 - Susan Matlock of Innovation Depot Birmingham

David Karabinos — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 11:38:44 GMT

This is another great incubator story. Susan Matlock is the CEO of Innovation Depot in Birmingham. Innovation Depot launches startups and early-stage companies in the high-technology, life sciences and business services industries.
Susan has been in the business incubation business for more than 20 years. She was the chairman of the National Business Incubation Association in the 1993-1994 and as a leading authority on incubators she is a prominent speaker in the industry. Susan is also a contributing author to two books on the topic.

Innovation Conversations #17 - Dick Reeves of BizTech

David Karabinos — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 10:30:53 GMT

Interested in Business Incubators and how they work? Listen in on this conversation with Dick Reeves, the Executive Director of Huntsville’s only business incubator called BizTech. Biztech helps startup and early-stage companies in the high-technology, life sciences and energy industries. Learn about the challenges of starting an incubator and creating value for its clients and community.

Innovation Conversations #16 - Steve Goldsby of Integrated Computer Solutions

David Karabinos — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 14:35:21 GMT

Interested in Information Security post 9/11? Listen in on this podcast with the President and CEO of Integrated Computer Solutions. Steve is a popular and featured speaker at national and state conferences as an Information Security subject matter expert. His Information Security articles and papers have been featured in national trade magazines and journals. Steve shares with our listeners his views, which range from the impact 9/11 has had on information security, to looming threats and risks and common misconceptions.

Innovation Conversations #15 - David Gray of DAXKO

David Karabinos — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 11:17:43 GMT

David Gray is the President and CEO of DAXKO which develops on-demand software services to nonprofits like the YMCA. What’s unique about David’s story is that he and his shareholders are not interested in a big hit exit strategy. They actually want to build a company for the long-haul that will serve the not only the interests of its customers, but the Birmingham community and its employees overall. This is excellent tale of applied long-term vision.

Innovation Conversations #14 - Mark Spencer of Digium

David Karabinos — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 20:13:12 GMT

The founder and CTO of Digium, Mark Spencer, wants to shake up the telecommunications industry, specifically telephony solutions for small businesses and mid-market enterprises. Digium is using open source software development to radically lower PBX costs and enhance features, functions and customization. Mark and his team are at the forefront of a major change in their industry, and the industry is taking notice. Listen to Mark’s story to learn more.

Innovation Conversations #13 - Kris Simmons of FireEye Productions

David Karabinos — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 17:48:45 GMT

This is a great Michael Dell story in the making. Maybe not as largesse as Dell but with more than a few similar characteristics. Kris Simmons graduated from college and decided to avoid corporate America to follow his passion. The result is a successful entrepreneur who is building an exciting and different type of media company. The backstory is that while he was strong on technical skills early on, in less than 10 years he has successfully become a savvy CEO. Every would-be entrepreneur should listen to Kris’ story.

Innovation Conversations #12 - Jay Weatherly

David Karabinos — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 09:10:08 GMT

Want to learn about what makes a hospital stay healthy? Listen to this podcast with Jay Weatherly of Salient Health Ventures. Jay has been an executive in the Hospital Management industry for 25 years. His perspective on the history and current trends of healthcare from a hospital, physician and patent perspective is insightful and likely to be different than what you think or have been told.

Innovation Conversations #11 - Neal Evans

David Karabinos — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 22:02:13 GMT

Dr. Neal Evans is PointClear’s Chief Technology Officer. Neal has deep knowledge of enterprise-class architectures with more than 15 years devoted to designing creative software solutions. He is an evangelist for the concept that software should be developed to help those who will use it, not for the gratification of the people who build it.

Innovation Conversations #10 - Preetha Pulusani

David Karabinos — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 18:09:50 GMT

Preetha Pulusani is the CEO of AdeptMedia which designs and develops intelligent marketing programs and marketing automation software. Prior to AdeptMedia Preetha was a 25 year veteran of Integraph where she was the President of a $400m business unit known as the Security, Government and Infrastructure Division. Here is a great story of a retired Fortune 500 executive being lured into the world of entrepreneurship.

ClearCast Introduction - David Karabinos

David Karabinos — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 16:32:54 GMT

David Karabinos is the host of ClearCast. In this podcast, he describes his vision for ClearCast, talks about the current line-up of ClearCast interviews, and gives a preview of the exciting slate of interviews you will be able to eavesdrop on in the first half of 2007.