Meet Our Team

We’re a cross-disciplinary team that has grown to include experts in medicine, business, and engineering. We are committed to bringing sound solutions through sound science.

Leadership

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  Joe Kilroy, PhD

  CEO, Cofounder, Board Member

  

  SoundPipe’s CEO and cofounder, Joe Kilroy, is an expert in intravascular ultrasound and microbubble-based drug delivery. Since co-founding SoundPipe, Joe has led the development of Penello, coordinated the regulatory strategy formation, managed SoundPipe’s intellectual property, and secured over $4M in grant funding, including four Small Business Innovation Research grants. Prior to founding SoundPipe, Joe received his doctoral degree in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Virginia.

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  Jonathan Sackier, MB, ChB, FRCS, FACS, DSci [Hon]

  Non-Executive Chairman of the Board

  

  SoundPipe’s Non-Executive Chairman of the Board, Jonathan Sackier, is a surgeon and serial entrepreneur with multiple commercial successes. Jonathan has participated in the development of breakthrough medical technologies including laparoscopic surgery, amniotic stem cells, and the first commercial surgical robot (AESOP). He has served as a director and board member for multiple biotechnology startups. He has had experience bringing innovations from the bench to bedside, working to create robust intellectual property portfolios, raise money and bringing devices through the regulatory pathways in several countries.

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  Gary Henry

  Board Member

  

  A successful serial founder, principal, and angel investor, Gary Henry’s career includes 26 years with GE during which he started two businesses, one in Europe and one in the United States. Since then he has been a CEO and COO for startup and growth companies and founder and Executive Director of the Charlottesville Technology Incubator.

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  Paul Magnin, PhD

  Board Member

  

  A serial entrepreneur and advisor, Paul Magnin has over 40 years experience in the medical ultrasound field. After 17 years as a key contributor to Hewlett-Packard’s Imaging Systems business, Paul was the CEO of two intravascular imaging device companies, LightLab Imaging and Novelis, that were sold to Goodman Ltd and Volcano Corporation.

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  Brian Wamhoff, PhD

  Cofounder

  

  A serial biotechnology entrepreneur and former UVA professor, Dr. Wamhoff is a cofounder of SoundPipe Therapeutics. Selected as one of the PharmaVOICE 100 most inspiring people in the industry, he is also a cofounder of HemoShear and served as head of innovation and chief operating officer before being appointed as interim CEO. He co-invented HemoShear’s REVEAL-TXTM platform, which enabled the company to launch proprietary drug discovery programs in several rare diseases. HemoShear’s development of human models of the vascular system and liver diseases was achieved in part by Dr. Wamhoff’s role in securing significant NIH Small Business Innovation Research funding from five NIH institutes. His passion and scientific vision have fueled the formation of productive partnerships with Takeda and Horizon. As a former associate professor at the University of Virginia, he co-founded multiple medical device and therapeutics companies. He has authored or co-authored 70 papers and has been issued 18 patents. Dr. Wamhoff obtained a B.S. in biology with a minor in business administration from Rhodes College, where he was the 2011 Distinguished Alumnus; he received his Ph.D. in medical physiology from the University of Missouri.

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  John Hossack, PhD

  Cofounder

  

  A UVA professor and leader in the field of ultrasound imaging and microbubble-based drug delivery, John Hossack has over 28 years experience developing ultrasound technologies including as a Fellow at Acuson and as a co-founder of PocketSonics, which was sold to Analogics in 2013. John is a member of the National Academy of Inventors, IEEE Fellow, and 2016 recipient of the University of Virginia Licensing and Ventures Group’s Edlich-Henderson Innovator of the Year award.

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  William Mac Thompson Jr., J.D.

  Legal Counsel

  

  Mac Thompson practices business and corporate law representing companies in diverse fields including biotechnology, high-tech, education, energy, and manufacturing. Mac serves on the boards of a number of privately held companies and has been active in numerous nonprofit organizations in Charlottesville.

Staff

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  Alyssa Becker, PhD

  Director of Research and Development

  

  Alyssa joined SoundPipe in 2019 after completing a PhD in biomedical engineering at UVA. Alyssa is responsible for leading the development of the drug-loaded microbubbles and evaluating the technology in pre-clinical models.

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  Michael Jennings

  Chemical Engineer

  Michael is an experienced Process Engineer with a specialization in Research and Development. Since joining SoundPipe in August 2022, Michael has worked on the microbubble team to make improvements in the formulation, stability, and efficacy of our technology.

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  Lauren Soleo

  Biomedical Engineer

  

  Lauren graduated from James Madison University with a background in biotechnology and experience developing and evaluating novel molecules as a part of clinical trials and research groups. As a part of the SoundPipe team, Lauren conducts ex vivo experiments and develops assays testing the effectiveness of Penello’s treatment.

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  Mohamed Lahlou

  Lead Biomedical Engineer

  

  Mohamed is a graduate of George Mason with a degree in Bioengineering, focused on systems and signals. Since joining SoundPipe, Mohamed developed standard ex vivo and in vivo treatment protocols, leads transducer and catheter development and manages Penello’s backend system.

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  Leslie Hancock Talbott

  Laboratory Technician

  

  Leslie graduated from the University of Virginia with a degree in molecular biology. She has a diverse background in patient care, laboratory management, and scientific research in the fields of internal medicine, emergency medicine, radiology, gastroenterology, and hepatology. Leslie manages laboratory operations at SoundPipe and performs benchtop research on producing, refining, and implementing the use of drug-loaded microbubbles that work together with Penello to create a novel targeted drug delivery system.

Thanks to our funders and partners

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News

• September 30 2022

  SoundPipe awarded VBHRC Catalyst Grant

  SoundPipe Therapeutics LLC announced that it received a $600,000 award in grant funding from Virginia Catalyst. The funding will further the commercialization of SoundPipe’s flagship therapeutic device, Penello.

• September 10 2019

  SoundPipe awarded CVille Match grant for $25,000 by the City of Charlottesville

  SoundPipe was awarded a matching grant from the City of Charlottesville to support the development of Penello.

• September 1 2018

  SoundPipe awarded $750,000 SBIR Phase II grant by the NSF

  After successfully completing its SBIR Phase I grant from the NSF, SoundPipe was awarded an SBIR Phase II grant from the National Science Foundation for the project “IVUS Drug Delivery for Critical Limb Ischemia.”

• August 22 2017

  SoundPipe awarded $1.9 million SBIR Phase II grant by NHLBI

  SoundPipe was awarded an SBIR Phase I grant from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health for the project “Ultrasound Catheter for Guiding and Effecting Neointimal Hyperplasia Prevention.

• July 2 2017

  SoundPipe featured in Charlottesville Tomorrow and the Daily Progress

  Charlottesville Tomorrow reported on SoundPipe’s mission to provide better drug delivery for critical limb ischemia patients with ultrasound.

• July 1 2016

  SoundPipe awarded a $225,000 SBIR Phase I grant from the NSF

  SoundPipe was awarded an SBIR Phase I grant from the National Science Foundation for the project “Dose control of intravascular ultrasound guided and enhanced drug delivery with microbubbles.”

• June 10 2016

  SoundPipe awarded $80,000 in grants by CIT’s CRCF program

  The two matching grants will provide an additional $80,000 of support for the development of SoundPipe’s Penello.

• March 12 2016

  SoundPipe accepted into the iCorps@NIH customer discovery program

  SoundPipe will participate in the iCorps@NIH, an entrepreneurship training program specifically designed for companies that received Small Business Innovation Research or Small Business Technology Transfer funding from NIH and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

• December 1 2014

  SoundPipe awarded $40,000 grant by CIT’s CRCF SBIR Matching Grant Program

• November 1 2014

  SoundPipe awarded NHLBI SBIR Phase I Grant to develop ultrasound catheter for better drug delivery

  SoundPipe was awarded an SBIR Phase I grant from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health for the project “Ultrasound Catheter for Guiding and Effecting Neointimal Hyperplasia Prevention.