GROK TECHNOLOGIES - Key Persons
Mr. Shinbaum joined GRoK Technologies in December 2015. He has more than 26 years of experience in global pharmaceutical and biotechnology business/corporate and commercial development. Prior to GRoK, Mr. Shinbaum led corporate development, investor relations, alliance management, and sales operations at VIVUS. Previously, he held senior executive, strategic planning/M&A and investor/public-facing roles at Capstone Therapeutics and Savient Pharmaceuticals. He began his career in commercial roles of increasing responsibility at Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories. Mr. Shinbaum holds an MBA, summa cum laude, from Drexel University and a BA from Lafayette College.
Dr. Gorenstein was the Deputy Director and Distinguished Chair of the Institute for Molecular Medicine (IMM) at UT Health Science Center (UT Health) in Houston, Texas and Associate Dean for Research in the School of Medicine. He has also served UT Health as Chair, Department of NanoMedicine and Biomedical Engineering, Deputy Director and James T. Willerson Distinguished Chair, and Director, IMM Center for Proteomics and Systems Biology.
Dr. Gorenstein was Associate Dean for Research, School of Medicine, the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB) and the Charles Marc Pomerat Distinguished Professor in the Departments of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and Neurosciences & Cell Biology. He was the founding Director of the UTMB Sealy Center for Structural Biology and Director of the Gulf Coast Consortium in Magnetic Resonance, a shared facility that includes UTMB, Rice University, Baylor College of Medicine, the University of Houston, UT Health and UT M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.
Job Titles:
- President of AM Biotechnologies
Mark Shumbera is president of AM Biotechnologies, LLC and serves on its board of managers. He is responsible for formulating and executing company strategy and handles operational responsibilities for the company. In addition, Mr. Shumbera is President of AptaMed Inc., on of the two corporate entities that own majority interest in AM Biotechnologies. Mr. Shumbera was formerly the General Manager (GM) of the commercial development division at MEI Technologies, Inc. (MEIT), a NASA and Department of Defense technical services contractor, where he built and managed MEIT IP assets. Mr. Shumbera has also established and assisted several startup companies.
Job Titles:
- CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
- FOUNDER
Mr. Kushman co-founded GRoK Technologies in 2011. Prior to becoming GRoK's CEO in 2013, he served from 1998 to 2013 as the senior tax partner in the West Coast office of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, specializing in mergers and acquisitions, cross-border transactions, and financial products. From 1986 to 1998, Mr. Kushman served as a law clerk, tax associate, and Counsel to the Tax Department of the firm. In addition, he has served as Adjunct Professor, Taxation, at Loyola Law School, Los Angeles; Adjunct Professor International Taxation, California State University, Northridge; Chairman of the Committee on Corporate Taxation, Taxation Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association; and Advisory Board Member of the University of Southern California, Taxation Institute. Mr. Kushman earned his JD from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, and his MBA from University of Southern California.
Job Titles:
- Chief Science & Technology Advisor
Thomas J. Goodwin, PhD, Chief Science & Technology Advisor, is known for his work in physiology and bioengineering research, particularly three-dimensional (3D) tissues for the study of human physiology and tumor biology, 3D models as microbial hosts for infectious disease, and research into the effects of ultra-low frequency electromagnetic fields on human tissues. Dr. Goodwin serves as the Chief Scientific and Technical advisor to GRoK Technologies LLC.