Dr. Kathryn C. Worrilow, founder and CEO of LifeAire Systems, received her doctorate in Anatomy and Cell Physiology from the University of Virginia School of Medicine. She completed her postdoctoral fellowship in Reproductive Biology and Infertility at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, working with renowned and esteemed University of Pennsylvania reproductive physiologists recognized for their work globally.
Over the last 20 years, she has served as the Scientific Director of In Vitro Fertilization Programs and has performed extensive work specific to molecular signaling between the sperm and oocyte, the contribution of the paternal genome to the embryo, and the impact of ambient air on successful human embryogenesis and preimplantation toxicology. Her work, with that of her colleagues, led to the development and design of the LifeAire Systems patented air purification technology and System, Aire~IVF®. The Aire~IVF System delivers the most pristine air quality available for IVF environments through an in-duct system by inactivating biologicals and eliminating embryotoxic volatile organic compounds using revolutionary and proprietary air purification technologies. One of the most unique features of the LifeAire System is the extensive data supporting the design, the specificity of its design towards the human embryo and the results from over four years of clinical implementation. Dr. Worrilow has been invited to present and publish her research both nationally and internationally, and enjoys sharing the data with her colleagues.
LifeAire Systems is dedicated to improving patient care. Although the proprietary System was developed specifically for the human embryo, LifeAire Systems is excited and positioned to offer their technology to improve patient care along the continuum of care, to infants in the NICU, the child in the PICU and the elderly in long term care. The LifeAire System’s proprietary technology has been tested and confirmed to provide a 9-log reduction of airborne pathogens responsible for hospital acquired infections in operating rooms, intensive care units, burn units, pharmacies, and long-term care facilities, thereby improving patient outcomes and healthcare economics while reducing overall cost.
The team at LifeAire Systems is proud of the contribution its air purification technology is making to provide clean, contaminant-free air for health, wellness and life.
Based in Pennsylvania, LifeAire has been closely supported by Ben Franklin Technology Partners for several years, benefiting from the organization’s support for entrepreneurial development in the state.
As an advocate of science education and the role of science in our community, she enjoyed her position on the Board of Trustees of The Da Vinci Science Center in Allentown, PA. Dr. Worrilow’s career has always involved a great deal of teaching and she has enjoyed her participation as an Adjunct Professor with the Emerging Health Professionals Program at Pennsylvania State University Lehigh Valley.
Christy John (Chris) Sutton CHAIRMAN – ADVISORY BOARD
About Chris
Chris brings four decades of diverse business experience to the LifeAire Systems. He has direct, hands on experience with business start-ups, existing business growth initiatives, plant operations, research and development, sales and marketing, and global business management. Mr. Sutton is Managing Principal of CIS Consulting LLC, of Palm Beach Gardens, FL, a firm he founded to guide clients in business startups and existing business growth initiatives. In addition, he is a principal and the growth engagement lead for the consulting firm LFG Resources, Inc., in Allentown, PA.
Chris spent his early career with GTE in plant operations before moving to Air Products’ Applied Research and Development Group. Over a thirty year period, he advanced through a number of management positions culminating in several global, executive positions including Vice President of Environmental/Energy Systems, Vice President of New Business Development, and Corporate Growth Champion. Chris’ P&L management experience covers a wide range of businesses from producing discrete physical products or devices for the production of industrial gases to the production and sales of electricity from highly efficient, leading edge technology, cogeneration facilities. The latter position required leadership through all business development phases including technology selection, facility design, plant commissioning and operations, and the arrangement of project specific debt and equity financing. He has worked directly with a number of teams to develop commercialization processes for new products and innovative business models. In addition, he created and managed the first venture capital board for a Fortune 250 company. Chris has been consulting for the past six years.
Mr. Sutton holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Metallurgical Engineering from Lafayette College and completed a case study based, continuing executive education program at the Darden School of Business, University of Virginia. He is a member of the American Society for Metals and the co-inventor of the system described in U.S. Patent Number 7,216,040 “An Intelligent Network of Hydrogen Supply Modules”. For a number of years, he served on the board of directors for a fuel-cell applications start-up company located in Vancouver, BC.
Erik J. Marsh VICE PRESIDENT OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
About Erik
Erik J. Marsh is the Vice President of Business Development for LifeAire Systems, LLC. With over twenty five years of broad sales and business management experience, he has been an integral team member of both startup organizations and Fortune 500 companies. Having worked for companies such as Zimmer Orthopedics and Medtronic, Inc., he has extensive sales and sales management experience in the medical device industry. Erik spent much of his professional career specializing in orthopedic and neurosurgery sales, where he developed a deep passion for maximizing the operating room experience for both surgeons and hospital staff alike.
Throughout his career in the medical device industry, Erik has gained extensive experience in the management of distributor networks. In particular, Erik advanced to the Director of National Sales Distribution for the craniofacial division of Bionx Implants, Inc., where he was responsible for overseeing the hiring and training of the distributor network throughout the U.S. Bionx Implants, Inc. specialized in the manufacturing of bio-absorbable surgical products for orthopedic and craniofacial surgery, and was acquired by ConMed, Inc. in 2003
In addition to his experience within the medical device industry, Erik also has a broad background in real estate sales and development. He possesses a firm understanding of the design-build process, and has worked closely with architects, civil engineers, and government officials to move projects from conception to implementation. For Erik, LifeAire Systems represents a perfect synergy between his experience in the medical device industry and his knowledge of the design-build process within the real estate market.
Mr. Marsh earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Business & Economics from Lafayette College, where he was an All-American football player, setting several school records that stand today. Erik is also a member of the National Association of Realtors.
Chuck Kimble is the VP of Market Development for LifeAire Systems. Chuck is responsible for expanding LifeAire Systems’ critically important technology into the Healthcare and LifeScience markets. He will also be identifying and developing new verticals and opportunities.
Prior to joining LifeAire, Chuck built an 18-year sales and marketing career across the pharmaceutical and cardiac medical device industries. He began his healthcare career working for Pfizer Inc. Most recently, he held numerous positions at Boston Scientific across the Cardiac Rhythm Management / Electrophysiology division.
In his most recent role as Strategic Account Manager at Boston Scientific, Chuck implemented national customer, educational initiatives, created targeted business growth objectives, and was instrumental in new product launch planning. While he maintained a high level of responsibility for the business side, he also worked alongside cardiologists in delivering direct patient clinical care. Chuck assisted in hundreds of pacemaker and defibrillator surgeries, troubleshooted/reprogrammed devices, and took 24/7 emergency calls to assist cardiologists and their patients.
Mr. Kimble earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Business Marketing from Penn State University. He is extremely proud to have had the honor to serve as the Nittany Lion Mascot for several years. He is still known to don the costume from time to time and make surprise appearances at local charity events and children’s hospitals.
Alicia R. Urrutia is the Vice President of Engineering for LifeAire Systems, LLC.
In her role, Alicia manages new product development, replacement component processes, and oversees QC and installation of system technology. She also provides testing and interpretation of data for publication, design, and maintenance.
Alicia previously worked at Heidelberg Cement as the Plant Process Engineer and has extensive experience in system optimization and asset management. In this position, Alicia was responsible for a multi-million dollar budget while developing, executing, and managing action plans including annual plant turnarounds.
Ms. Urrutia earned a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Cornell University. During her undergraduate studies, Alicia interned with LifeAire Systems and conducted research on various remediation methods of volatile organic compounds.
Lars Johansson, Ph.D. INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC ADVISOR
About Lars
Lars Johansson, Ph.D., has over 30 years of experience in human assisted reproductive technology (ART), working as a Clinical Embryologist, Lab Director and Director of Embryology at CooperSurgical.
Throughout his career, he has developed specialties in improving outcomes through the optimization and troubleshooting of techniques, selecting disposables and equipment, and reducing the exposure of the culture media, gametes and embryos to environmental toxins—authoring several book chapters on the subject. He has also been actively involved in the research, design and development of new equipment for human ART.
In addition, Dr. Johansson developed training laboratories in Denmark and India and has lectured—and trained—embryologists in thousands of ART clinics and many international reproductive congresses worldwide. This global experience has given him a deep understanding of total quality management (TQM) and the need for standardization of techniques, which facilitates troubleshooting.
He holds a Ph.D. in Developmental Biology and had scholarship for post-doctoral education at CEHD in Monash, Melbourne, under the supervision of reproductive medicine pioneer, Professor Alan Trounson.
Jason Russack is the Air Quality Engineer for LifeAire Systems. In his position, he oversees the execution and development of the Aire ~ Analysis program, providing clients comprehensive air quality data reporting and expert interpretation. Among various other roles, he also supports QC/QA in the manufacturing and systems installation divisions and contributes to research and development of new products/offerings for LifeAire Systems.
Jason completed his Bachelor of Science degree at Rowan University, majoring in Civil and Environmental Engineering. Through his work at Rowan, he has co-authored scientific journal publications related to alternative fuel development and sustainable community planning. He also spent two summers interning with Covanta in their Environmental Team managing air quality data reporting. Jason went on to complete a Master of Science degree in Environmental Engineering at Lehigh University, focusing on indoor air quality in healthcare settings. His Master’s thesis entitled Predicting the Impact of VOCs in Highly Sensitive Medical Processes Using Kinetic and Equilibrium Modeling explores novel modeling approaches to describe the principles that guide airborne contaminants into cell cultures, where they are shown to cause adverse patient outcomes. During his time at Lehigh, Jason interned with LifeAire Systems, focusing on building out a robust, data driven Aire ~ Analysis program. He is actively contributing to publishing research in leading journals to further the global understanding of air quality’s crucial impact on healthcare.
Huey T. Huynh, MSc CLINICAL APPLICATIONS PRINCIPLE
About Huey
Huey pursued his undergraduate and graduate work in Biological Sciences and Developmental Biology at Temple University. In addition, he earned a master of science degree at the Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences in health education. He received micromanipulation (ICSI and AHA) training at the Jones Institute of Reproductive Medicine, in Norfolk, VA.
In addition to his responsibilities as an embryologist, Huey was an active participant in FDA clinical trials and ongoing research studies and served as a consultant to both colleagues throughout the country and to several biomedical companies. Huey excels in improving the protocols and preimplantation environment of the IVF laboratory such that the highest level of patient care can be offered.
