Experienced vaccine Development Team
Ursula Bechert, DVM, PhD [Cofounder]
VP, Research and Development
Dr. Bechert worked as a veterinarian in private practice and at a free-ranging wildlife park for several years prior to earning her PhD in reproductive endocrinology. She has been conducting research for the past 30 years with interests in the reproductive physiology of endangered species, development of novel diagnostic and population management tools, as well as nutritional and pharmacokinetic studies with wildlife. Dr. Bechert and Mr. Fraker have collaborated on research to explore the effects of SpayVac in wild horses and African elephants. Dr. Bechert also worked in academia for 25 years developing new professional graduate programs in science. LinkedIn Profile
Mark A. Fraker, CWB, RPBio [Cofounder]
VP, Operations
Mr. Fraker has worked for more than 40 years as a wildlife biologist in Canada and the USA. He spent much of the first half of his career researching the ecology and behavior of Arctic marine mammals, particularly bowhead and beluga whales. Since 1998, he has focused on applications of fertility control to manage the growth of populations of large mammals. Mr. Fraker conducted the first trials of SpayVac contraceptive pZP vaccine on a terrestrial wildlife species, fallow deer, later extending this work to white-tailed and black-tailed deer, wild horses, and African elephants. Following the first trial—no treated fallow deer became pregnant over three years—he became convinced that SpayVac, as a long-lasting, single-dose contraceptive vaccine, has great potential for addressing significant wildlife management issues. His research on wild horses and African elephants has been in collaboration with Dr. Bechert.
Tom D'Orazio, MBA
CEO
Mr. D'Orazio has spent the last twenty-plus years in business development, sales, marketing and strategic planning. He has co-founded two pharmaceutical companies and recently led an IPO with a life sciences company. He started his career as a chemist with Pfizer, later worked for Merck selling vaccines, and has been involved with several pharmaceutical start ups. In his most recent position he was CEO of Phoenix LLC, a company specializing in nuclear testing services where he led the company to profitability.
Jeff Rusinow, MA
Chairman
Jeff Rusinow has been interested in early stage healthcare businesses since leaving corporate mainstream after a 23-year career in retail, founding Milwaukee's first angel network in 2000. Over the past 22 years, he has invested in over 60 early stage startups, with nine successful exits, including two healthcare companies acquired by Fortune 500 companies: ModernMed (acquired by DaVita in 2012) and Propeller Health (acquired by ResMed for $225M in 2019). In November 2015, Jeff was inducted into the Wisconsin Investors Hall of Fame. In 2022, he partnered with SpayVac-forWildlife, Inc., serving as Chairman and lead investor.
Shannon Johnston
Laboratory Technician
Shannon has worked in various labs ranging from large corporations to startups. Shannon has experience from GLP, non-GLP, and GMP labs, where she focused on early drug development studies. Specializing in pharmacokinetic drug metabolism research and medical device creation, Shannon also managed scientific records and oversaw customer cell vial inventories and locations.
Marc Mansour, PhD
Vaccine Manufacturing and Methods Contractor
With 20 years of experience in developing novel vaccines for cancer, fertility control and infectious diseases, Marc is one of the early developers of Spayvac and later oversaw the implementation of Spayvac in the field with multiple collaborators. Over his career he held various positions of in
Vaccine Manufacturing and Methods Contractor
With 20 years of experience in developing novel vaccines for cancer, fertility control and infectious diseases, Marc is one of the early developers of Spayvac and later oversaw the implementation of Spayvac in the field with multiple collaborators. Over his career he held various positions of increasing responsibility including Chief Science Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Executive Officer at IMV, publicly traded vaccine development company. He has experience in immunology, immune therapies and vaccine development from design to preclinical testing, applying regulatory requirements and phase 1-2 clinical trials. He currently is a technical and strategic consultant for immunotherapy and vaccine companies.
David Kroeger PhD
Consulting Director of Immunology
An immunologist, Dr. Kroeger brings expertise in vaccinology and antibody technology to SpayVac. Prior to joining Spayvac for Wildlife Inc., Dr. Kroeger directed a lab that generated monoclonal antibodies for research and commercial purposes. He earned his Ph.D. in immunology from the University of Saskatc
Consulting Director of Immunology
An immunologist, Dr. Kroeger brings expertise in vaccinology and antibody technology to SpayVac. Prior to joining Spayvac for Wildlife Inc., Dr. Kroeger directed a lab that generated monoclonal antibodies for research and commercial purposes. He earned his Ph.D. in immunology from the University of Saskatchewan in 2012, where he focused on mechanisms of immune activation. Following this training, he received postdoctoral training in cancer immunotherapy at the BC Cancer Agency Deeley Centre in Victoria, BC. Dr. Kroeger will be working on laboratory testing methods, release specifications for vaccines, developing new fertility-control vaccines, and different formulations of current vaccines.