Andy practices business and corporate law focused upon the representation of evolving and established life science companies. From 1987 through 1990, he was Associate General Counsel of Invitron Corporation, a publicly-held biotechnology spin-off of Monsanto Company. Invitron’s former St. Louis mammalian cell manufacturing facility is now operated by Centocor and its former California research operations evolved into Incyte Pharmaceuticals. Andy’s practice includes licensing, manufacturing, research, collaboration, financing, and venture capital agreements and relationships. He is Chair of The St. Louis Capital Alliance, a member of the Executive Committee of St. Louis Technology Gateway, a member of the Missouri State Treasurer’s Access to Capital Task Force, and listed in The Best Lawyers in America. He is a former Vice-Chair of the Biotechnology Committee of the American Bar Association Science and Technology Section, member of the Board of Directors of the Missouri Biotechnology Association, member of the Missouri Venture Capital Roundtable, and Chair of the Business Law Section of the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis. He received J.D. and LL.M. degrees from Washington University School of Law and a B.A. from Knox College.

Divergence, Inc. is a science-based company providing solutions in the prevention and control of parasitic infections. The company’s technologies have applications in plant protection, animal health, and human health. As CEO, Derek’s main responsibilities are implementing relationships with licensees and collaborators, developing and implementing the company’s strategy, ensuring suitable financing of the company, and overseeing operations. He joined Divergence in early 2001. Before joining Divergence, Derek worked for Monsanto Company for 12 years, where he held several positions. Most recently, he was Director, Mergers & Acquisitions and led divestitures with proceeds totaling roughly two billion dollars. Before this position, Derek led the company’s acquisition and licensing program in the plant biotechnology and seeds area, totaling more than $2.5B, as well as numerous licensing transactions (in-licensing, out-licensing, and cross-licensing). In the early 1990’s, Derek was Director, Investor Relations for Monsanto, responsible for fostering and maintaining relationships with the institutional investment community. Finally, in his career at Monsanto, Derek worked in strategic planning, specifically in agriculture and for the company generally. Derek holds a B.A. degree from Brown University with concentrations in Economics and German and a M.B.A. from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania with concentrations in Corporate Management and Finance.

Gian joined A.G. Edwards & Sons, Inc. in 1999 and is currently Director in the Health Care Group, where he advises medical technology, life science and health care service companies on capital raising and merger-and-acquisition engagements. Prior to joining A.G. Edwards in 1999, Gian held positions at Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation (the venture-investing arm of Johnson & Johnson Corporation), Price Waterhouse, and A.G. Edwards. Gian received his bachelors degree in finance from Washington University in St. Louis and his Master of Business Administration from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Pam joined Synergetics, Inc. as its Chief Financial Officer in May 2005, following Synergetics’ announcement that it had entered into a merger agreement with Valley Forge Scientific Corp. Following the closing of this transaction, Synergetics will become a publicly traded company. Before joining Synergetics, Pam served as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Maverick Tube Corporation. Synergetics, based in O’Fallon, Missouri, designs, manufactures and markets medical devices for use in ophthalmic surgery and neurosurgery. Synergetics’ products are designed and manufactured to support micro or minimally invasive surgical procedures. In addition to Synergetics’ surgical devices and equipment, it also designs and manufactures disposable and non-disposable supplies and accessories for use with such devices and equipment. Synergetics sells its products primarily to hospitals, clinics and surgeons in approximately 70 countries.

Sarah Steelman is the first Republican woman in Missouri history to be elected to the office of State Treasurer. Treasurer Steelman is responsible for the management of more than $19 billion in Missouri’s annual revenue. She oversees the investment of more than $3 billion in long- and short-term investments in the state’s portfolio. Treasurer Steelman is in charge of the state’s efforts to return more than $300 million in cash and valuables to citizens through the unclaimed property program. An economist, Treasurer Steelman reshaped the state’s financial priorities by correcting Missouri’s overall investment policy from simple comparative yield to a cumulative yield strategy to increase the benefits Missouri’s investments bring to all citizens. In her first months in office, she eliminated foreign-owned investment companies from the state’s preferred list of financial broker-dealers. She advocated and won passage of a comprehensive overhaul of state banking laws to bring Missouri tax dollars back to the state. She won legislative approval for changes to allow Missouri deposits to be directly invested in Missouri communities to strengthen local and state economies, create jobs and bolster Missouri farms and agricultural business. Steelman is the first treasurer in Missouri history to win approval for a plan to make the state’s Treasury self-funded. This approach freed up more than $1 million in General Revenue by adapting a private-sector model that pays for the Treasurer’s Office out of interest the office earns by managing state investments. Treasurer Steelman serves as chairman of the state’s Higher Education Savings Board, which administers the Missouri Saving for Tuition, or MOST program. This program helps citizens save for the college education of their children through a tax advantaged investment program. In 1998 and 2002, Steelman was elected to serve as the Senator for the 16th Senatorial District. As a member of the Senate, Steelman served as chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce and the Environment. She served as a member of the Senate Committee on Aging, Families, Mental and Public Health; a member of the Senate Committee on Education; and a member of the Senate Committee on Governmental Accountability and Fiscal Oversight. Steelman holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and a Master of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Missouri - Columbia.

Brian oversees a variety of legal issues with primary responsibilities for all intellectual property matters of Sigma including the preparation and prosecution of a worldwide patent and trademark portfolio, the preparation of validity and non-infringement opinions, the preparation and review of license agreements, product clearance, and litigation management. Prior to joining Sigma, he held attorney positions with Eli Lilly and Becton Dickinson, and senior attorney positions with Mallinckrodt and Monsanto. Brian has worked primarily in the fields of biotechnology and chemistry. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Molecular Biology from the University of Oklahoma and his Juris Doctor from the University of Tulsa.

Carl is responsible for all intellectual property matters at GE Healthcare, including procurement, licensing and enforcement of all patents, trademarks, trade secrets, and copyrights. Carl received a Chemical Engineering degree with honors from the University of Utah, and a J.D., cum laude, from George Washington University. Carl previously worked for four years at the IP law firm of Burns, Doane, Swecker & Mathis in Alexandria, VA and then joined GE Plastics in 1992 in Pittsfield, MA. Carl assumed the role of Senior IP Counsel for GE’s Electric Distribution & Control division in 1995, and later the Industrial Systems division in 1998. Carl currently leads a global team of over 50 IP professionals in 10 countries.

Pat concentrates his practice in the areas of patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret matters and intellectual property law. Pat’s experience includes the preparation and prosecution of patent applications as well as the preparation of clearance opinions, validity opinions and licensing agreements. He has assisted clients with litigation matters involving patents and tradesecrets as well as proceedings before the International Trade Commission. Before joining Armstrong Teasdale LLP in 1997, Pat worked for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as a Patent Examiner in the bio-mechanical/medical arts area. Pat received his J.D. from Indiana University – Bloomington and his B.S. in Genetic Engineering from Purdue University.

Kevin joined Third Wave Technolgies, Inc. as vice president of legal affairs in July 2004 and was appointed general counsel and secretary in October 2004. Third Wave Technologies, based in Madison, Wisconsin, develops and markets molecular diagnostics for a variety of DNA and RNA analysis applications. Third Wave Technologies offers a number of clinical products based on its Invader® chemistry for genetic testing related to multiple disease areas. Prior to joining the company, Mr. Conroy worked for GE Healthcare, where he oversaw the development and management of its Information Technologies group intellectual property portfolio, and developed and executed litigation, licensing, and corporate and product acquisition legal strategies. Before joining GE, Mr. Conroy was an intellectual property litigator at two Chicago law firms, McDermott Will & Emery, and Pattishall, McAuliffe, Newbury, Hilliard and Geraldson, where he was a partner. He earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at Michigan State University and his law degree from the University of Michigan.

With more than forty years of practice, Mr. Teasdale has extensive experience in courtroom litigation, governmental affairs, mergers and acquisitions, and in advising corporations at the highest levels. Mr. Teasdale is a graduate of Washington University School of Law (J.D., 1961) where he was elected Order of the Coif and received the Alumni Award for graduating first in his class and is a graduate of Amherst College (B.A., 1956). Upon graduation from law school, Mr. Teasdale was appointed by the Attorney General of the United States under the Attorney General’s Honor Program to the Department of Justice where he served in the Antitrust Division from 1961 to 1962. In 1962, he became general counsel to the Democratic Policy Committee of the United States Senate. In this position, Mr. Teasdale also served for three years as legal assistant to the Majority Leader of the United States Senate. Mr. Teasdale came directly from his position in the United States Senate to Armstrong Teasdale. He served the firm as Managing Partner from 1986 to 1993 when he was elected Chairman of the firm. Mr. Teasdale is a member of the St. Louis Coalition for Plant and Life Sciences and of the Board of Trustees of the St. Louis Science Center, as well as other civic, business and charitable boards. His clients include evolving and established life science companies, research institutions, and hospitals.

Charles recently joined the China Alliance as Managing Director. He advises and counsels clients regarding government relations in the U.S. and China, regulatory and trade matters, and investment strategies in China. Charles most recently served as Assistant U.S. Trade Representative ("USTR") for China Affairs, where he was the United States' chief China trade negotiator, responsible for the development and implementation of the United States' overall trade policy with respect to China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao and Mongolia. He served a major role in the Bush Administration's management of the unique challenges of U.S. trade with China, and its efforts to secure the benefits of China's World Trade Organization accession for American businesses, workers, farmers and service providers.

Christina Shasserre, Vice President of Marketing and Business Development joined Sigma-Aldrich in 2001. Sigma-Aldrich is a leading Life Science and High Technology company. The Sigma-Aldrich biochemical and organic chemical products and kits are used in scientific and genomic research, biotechnology, pharmaceutical development, the diagnosis of disease and chemical manufacturing. The company’s customers are in the life sciences, university and government institutions, hospitals and in industry. Sigma-Aldrich operates in 34 countries and has 6,000 employees providing service. Prior to joining Sigma-Aldrich, Christina was employed by Amoco Oil company, then Vysis, Inc. a molecular diagnostics company, where she held various roles in quality, R&D, clinical affairs, business development and marketing. Christina obtained her bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Missouri, her master’s in molecular biology from Tulsa University and her MBA from Olivet University.

Dr. Douglas works with faculty in all schools of Washington University to evaluate discovery, develop invention disclosures and license technology.  He implements the mission of the Chancellor in all areas of technology commercialization.    He maintains an active position on various civic progress and company boards in the region and west coast.  Prior to this in Saint Louis he has served as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Sigma Diagnostics, Chief Executive Officer  and Chief Scientific Officer of Novactyl Biopharmaceuticals and Executive Vice President, Chief Scientific and Operations Officer of Fleming Pharmaceuticals.   As an academic investigator he was Professor and Chairman of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of North Carolina Medical School at Chapel Hill.  He has authored articles, reviews and books in cell and molecular biology and is an active reviewer for various journals, federal and private grants. He received his PhD in Biochemistry from St. Louis University. 

Dr. Downing is Director of the Office of Technology and Industrial Relations (OTIR) in the Office of the Director at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health. In this role, he facilitates the collaboration among Federal, academic, and private biomedical research sectors to support technology development that will yield innovative diagnostic, detection, and targeted treatment strategies for cancer. Through the OTIR, he supervises the administration of grants and contracts for programs in nanotechnology, biosensors, therapeutic delivery systems, and new technology platforms and imaging systems. He currently serves on several committees, including the NCI-FDA Interagency Oncology Task Force and the Biomedical Information Science and Technology Consortium. Dr. Downing began his career at the NIH in 1994 as a fellow at the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development and subsequently served in the Office of Science Policy and Planning as a health science policy analyst and deputy director. Today, he continues to lead the implementation of training and programs that support the research policy goals of the NIH. Dr. Downing earned his medical degree from Michigan State University and his Ph.D. in pharmacology from the University of Kansas. He completed his residency in pediatrics and fellowship in neonatology before joining the faculty of the University of Missouri-Kansas City in the Department of Neonatology at The Children's Mercy Hospital. Dr. Downing is certified by the American Board of Pediatrics in pediatrics and neonatology- perinatal medicine. He sits on the editorial board of the Journal of Maternal-Fetal Investigation and is Associate Editor of Disease Biomarkers. He has published numerous articles and research in the fields of pharmacology and medicine and has contributed to three books.

Bill serves as the Government Relations Director for Armstrong Teasdale's Washington, DC office. Over the past 14 years, he has worked successfully with a variety of physicians, patients, allied health and corporate clients to assist in achieving their public policy and government relations goals. In both the legislative and regulatory arenas, Bill specializes in developing and implementing effective strategies to accomplish client objectives. He works with key congressional, regulatory, and executive branch decision-makers on important public policy issues in areas including: Medicare and Medicaid; medical research funding; health care fraud and abuse issues; and pharmaceutical development. Throughout his professional career, Bill has assisted many health care associations and corporate clients to impact and shape the development of national health care public policy. In addition, Bill has assisted a variety of congressional campaigns as a health care policy advisor and began his career in Washington as a political staff aide with the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. He received his B.S. degree from Radford University.

Dr. Roger Beachy is the founding president of the not-for-profit Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, a position he has held since January 1999. In this role, Dr. Beachy has been responsible for developing and implementing the Danforth Center’s strategic direction, recruiting its staff, and formulating its research programs. Recently, he was appointed chairman of the Missouri Governor's Advisory Council on Plant Biotechnology who is charged with analyzing the state's current life-sciences environment. Dr. Beachy is also a member of the National Academy of Sciences and is internationally known for his groundbreaking research on developing virus-resistant plants through biotechnology. From 1991 to 1998, he headed the Division of Plant Biology at The Scripps Research Institute, a leading biomedical research center in La Jolla, California. Dr. Beachy was also Professor and Scripps Family Chair in Cell Biology and co-director of the International Laboratory for Tropical Agricultural Biotechnology (ILTAB) at Scripps. He was a member of the Biology Department at Washington University in St. Louis from 1978 to 1991, where he was Professor and Director of the Center for Plant Science and Biotechnology. Dr. Beachy's work at Washington University, in collaboration with Monsanto Company, led to the development of the world’s first genetically modified food crop, a variety of tomato that was modified for resistance to virus disease. His technique to produce virus resistance in tomatoes has been replicated by researchers around the world to produce many types of plants with resistance to a number of different virus diseases. Research under Dr. Beachy’s direction has led to a number of patent applications. He has edited or contributed to 50 book articles, and his work has produced more than 200 journal publications. Dr. Beachy holds a Ph.D. in plant pathology from Michigan State University and earned a B.A. in biology from Goshen College in Goshen, Indiana.

Congressman Carnahan was elected to the United States House of Representatives on November 2, 2004, to represent the citizens of Missouri's 3rd Congressional District. The district includes parts of St. Louis City and County, as well as all of Jefferson and St. Genevieve Counties. In the House of Representatives, Congressman Carnahan serves on the Transportation & Infrastructure and Science & Technology Committees. He is a member of the Transportation Subcommittees on Highways, Waterways and Aviation, as well as the Science Subcommittee on Research. He was appointed as an Assistant Minority Whip in January 2005, one of few freshman legislators to hold this leadership position. Before serving in Congress, Congressman Carnahan was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives, worked in the healthcare field, and was in private law practice, including serving on the legal aide panel representing low-income clients. In the Missouri House of Representatives, he was instrumental in passing the Women's Health Initiative, resolving the public school funding crisis, and fighting for the reauthorization of the State's Children's Health Insurance program (CHIPS). Congressman Carnahan also fought to preserve funding for Medicaid and historic preservation tax credits, helping to revitalize the Greater St. Louis region. He attended the University of Missouri-Columbia and received a B.S. degree in Public Administration with an emphasis in Public Service and earned his J.D. degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law.

Dr. Crippin is Professor of Medicine at the Washington University School of Medicine where he serves as medical director of liver transplantation. Dr. Crippin is secretary-treasurer of the American Society of Transplantation and chairman of the AST's Public Policy Committee. He also serves on committees in the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. He attended medical school at the University of Kansas, then completed a residency in internal medicine at the Kansas University Medical Center in 1987. After serving as chief resident for a year, he started a fellowship in gastroenterology at the Mayo Clinic, which he completed in June 1991. He served as director of hepatology and medical director of liver transplantation at Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas, through July 2000, when he joined Washington University.