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Our Team
With progressive leadership, our team is built on many years of academic and industry experience with a common goal to innovate today for a brighter, healthier tomorrow
Meet our team!
The Leadership
Dr. William E. Cullinan
Dean, College of Health Sciences
Dr. Cullinan is a professor and dean of the College of Health Sciences and director of the Integrative Neuroscience Research Center at Marquette University. He received bachelor’s degree in physical therapy from Marquette in 1981 and earned his Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of Virginia in 1991. He did post-doctoral research at the University of Michigan (1991-95) before joining the Marquette faculty in 1995. His research laboratory is dedicated to advancing the understanding of brain circuits in mental illness especially on Schizophrenia and Depression. His research has shaped critical insights into how corticosteroid regulation influences mental health, paving the way for innovative treatments. Beyond research, Dr. Cullinan is a transformative educator and mentor, recognized with Marquette’s Faculty Award for Teaching Excellence. He has trained generations of scientists in neuroscience, neuroanatomy, and anatomy, and founded the Neuroanatomical Dissection Seminar, an elite annual program attracting top professionals nationwide. With a bold vision for the future, Dr. Cullinan continues to lead groundbreaking discoveries, inspire the next generation of neuroscientists, drive progress in mental health research and development of novel therapeutics for CNS disorders.
Dr. David Baker
Executive Director, 4-CYTE
Dr. Baker is a professor and chair in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at Marquette University. He obtained his B.S. at Montana State University in 1992 and Ph.D. at Arizona State University in 1999 working in the laboratories of Dr. Michael Babcock and Dr. Janet Neisewander, respectively. He completed his postdoctoral training in the laboratory of Dr. Peter Kalivas at the Medical University of South Carolina. A major emphasis of his program is to develop novel therapeutics for neuropsychiatric disorders and other diseases. To this end, Dr. Baker has co-founded Promentis Pharmaceuticals, pharmaceutical company developing novel CNS therapeutics.
The Leadership
Dr. Bekir Altas
Director, The Collaboratory
Dr. Altas received his neuroscience training in International Max Planck Research School for Neuroscience and received his PhD in Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine, Goettingen, Germany. He completed his postdoctoral training in Department of Pharmacology, University of Maryland Baltimore, USA. He possesses experience in vast range of areas in neuroscience and scientific research. Later he joined, one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in Germany, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmBH & Co. KG. He obtained extensive experience in drug discovery project leading in early and late phase projects, working in an efficient matrix system with multidisciplinary units. 4-CYTE leverages his excellence, broad knowledge and experience in both academia and industry to develop novel CNS therapeutics.
Dr. Sashi Kesavapany
Director, BioBridge Therepautics
Dr. Kesavapany possesses over 20 years of post-PhD experience in academic neuroscience research and five and a half years of pharmaceutical drug discovery experience in neurodegenerative diseases. His academic and industrial experience places him in an excellent position to translate PI-driven research at Marquette into commercial assets.
Dr. SuJean Choi
Director, The Academy
Dr. Choi received her Ph.D. from the University of Rochester, Rochester, NY in 1995. Afterwards, she was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California San Francisco. In 1999, she joined the faculty in the psychiatry department at the University of Pittsburgh Medical School and then joined the faculty at Marquette University in October of 2007. She has significantly contributed to understand role of central nervous system in the regulation of energy homeostasis as it relates to the obesity epidemic, eating disorders, the metabolic syndrome. In addition, she is dedicated to train and mentor future generations and to provide research opportunities to instill skills.
Andrew Novotny is a visionary leader with over two decades of experience in product management, healthcare technology, and supply chain optimization. As Vice President of Product Management at Direct Supply, he leads strategic initiatives to drive innovation, enhance engineering processes, and deliver impactful solutions that improve patient outcomes while reducing healthcare costs. During his 16+ years at Direct Supply, Andrew has held multiple executive leadership roles, including Vice President, Managing Partner of the Applied Solutions Group, and Vice President of Product Development and Engineering at DSSI. His expertise in engineering management and executive leadership has been instrumental in transforming product development strategies and optimizing supply chain operations. Prior to his tenure at Direct Supply, Andrew contributed to groundbreaking advancements in medical technology at GE Healthcare, where he served as a Lead System Designer on critical Cardiology systems His work in medical devices and system design laid the foundation for his continued success in the healthcare industry. Andrew holds a Bachelor's degree in Biomedical/Medical Engineering from Marquette University. With a deep passion for innovation and efficiency in healthcare, he remains dedicated to developing solutions that enhance patient care and operational efficiency.
Andy Novotny
Director, CommUNITY Nexus
Nicholas Raddatz
Manager, 4-CYTE
Raddatz has extensive experience in laboratory management and research spanning over a decade. He has served as a Laboratory Supervisor in the Baker Lab at Marquette University since 2010, where he guides and mentors staff in various scientific techniques and maintains the lab's overall day to-day operations. In his prior role at Array BioPharma, he provided bioanalytical support, worked with HPLC-MS/MS systems, and contributed to drug metabolism studies.
Scientific Team
Academic Team
Administration and Communication
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