Key Players Named for Triad BioNight 2019

The co-chairs, event team and awards committee have been selected for Triad BioNight, a June 20 event in Greensboro that will celebrate bioscience growth and honor industry leaders in North Carolina’s Piedmont Triad region.

The co-chairs are Elie Azzi, a research associate and academic outreach director at the Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering (JSNN) in Greensboro, and Cathy Bradford, sales operations director at CorneaGen of Winston-Salem.

Azzi, who has been the director and organizer of the Nano Manufacturing Conference for the last five years, develops the JSNN’s Nano Manufacturing Innovation Consortium by building relationships with different companies and industries that would like to access JSNN facility and equipment and the Gateway Materials Test Center.

Bradford spent the first two decades of her career in the trust and investment and wealth management industries, working in program management, project management and process improvement. Since 2008 she has worked for CorneaGen or its predecessor companies, Ocular Systems and SightLife. CorneaGen sells products and services that transform how corneal surgeons treat and care for the cornea.

Team leaders for Triad BioNight include:

• Awards Team: Amanda Wright of Javara Research and Greater Gift, both of Winston-Salem
• Hospitality Team:  Patti Church of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Carolinas Realty of Winston-Salem
• Marketing Team: Doug Barton of Trone Brand Energy and Sherry Scullion of Scullion Strategy Group, both of Greensboro
• Sponsorship Team: Michael Kelly of Piedmont Pharmaceuticals in Greensboro.

Members of the Awards Team include:

• Connie Cwik, RAC, owner, Cwik Business Connections, Archdale
• Stephanie Dance-Barnes, Ph.D., interim associate provost and dean, University College and Lifelong Learning, and associate professor of biology, Winston-Salem State University
• Gary Graham, president, Graham Personnel Services, Greensboro
• Pattie Kushner, vice president of global corporate communications and brand at LabCorp, Burlington
• Kim Littlefield, Ph.D., associate vice chancellor for research and engagement, UNC Greensboro
• Crystal Morphis, CEcD, founder and CEO, Creative Economic Development Consulting, Elkin
• Shelley Olds, senior manager, communications and community engagement, Syngenta, Greensboro
• James Patterson, director of marketing & communications, Wake Forest Innovations & Wake Forest Innovation Quarter, Winston-Salem
• Russ Read (past award winner), CPP (LERN), executive director of the National Center for the Biotechnology Workforce at Forsyth Tech, Winston-Salem
• Malay Shah, MBA, director for VentureSouth Piedmont, Winston-Salem
• Daniel Yohannes, Ph.D., MBA, Yohannes Pharmaceutical Consulting, Winston-Salem.

Call for awards nominations 

Regional Biotechnology Excellence Awards will be given in five categories: Academic Development, Biotechnology Community Leadership, Biotechnology Service/Support, Entrepreneurial, and Research & Development. Nominations are being accepted through May 23 via the event’s web page on the NCBiotech website. 

“Triad BioNight is a time when we celebrate and recognize leaders of biotechnology in the Piedmont Triad.” said Daniel Erb, PT, Ph.D., dean of the High Point University School of Health Sciences, vice chair for the Advisory Committee for Biotechnology in the Piedmont Triad and immediate past chair of the awards committee. 

Triad BioNight was first held in 2005 and has recurred every few years since then.

Triad BioNight 2019, An Evening of Spirit, Awards, and Recognition, will be held June 20 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Grandover Resort and Conference Center in Greensboro.

The event is sponsored by the North Carolina Biotechnology Center’s Piedmont Triad Office and the Advisory Committee for Biotechnology in the Piedmont Triad. 

“It is a pleasure to once again be a part of hosting this marquee event to both celebrate biotechnology in our region as well as to highlight outstanding scientific achievement,” said Michael Kelly, chief financial officer of Piedmont Pharmaceuticals and chair of the Advisory Committee for Biotechnology in the Piedmont Triad.  

Syngenta exec to speak on ag megatrends

David Hollinrake, Syngenta region director and North America president of Syngenta Seeds, will be the keynote speaker. He will talk about five megatrends in agriculture.

“We expect a powerful networking experience among 400 key community leaders from academia and industry, and investors from the region and state,” said Nancy Johnston, executive director of the Biotech Center’s Piedmont Triad Office. “It’s an opportunity to make strategic connections with leaders who are transforming our region and contributing to North Carolina’s position as a global life sciences leader.”

The Piedmont Triad is home to about 80 life science companies like Syngenta that collectively employ about 7,000 people, Johnston noted. Another 235 companies provide supporting products and services.   

Visit the Triad BioNight web page for updates, sponsorship and awards info and to register.