REALIZE Demo Day

Brian is a seasoned medical device executive with over 25 years of experience spanning marketing, business development, and engineering. Currently serving as Vice President of Marketing at Bolt Medical (acquired by Boston Scientific in April of 2025), Brian leads strategic initiatives to drive innovation and growth in cardiovascular technologies. Prior to this, he spent nearly 24 years at Medtronic, where he held multiple leadership roles in business development, pipeline strategy, and global marketing across both peripheral and coronary vascular divisions. Brian has successfully led numerous acquisitions and investments totaling over $500 million, and has launched global product campaigns that achieved significant market share growth. His expertise includes portfolio strategy, M&A, product development, and cross-functional team leadership. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering from Arizona State University and is the inventor on three U.S. patents related to vascular technologies.

Charla created and leads the REALIZE Accelerator Program at ULP. She has over 25 years of experience and is a dynamic leader skilled at bridging academia, startups, non-profits, and venture capital. With her background in bioengineering, she has driven advancements in digital health, biosensors, medtech, and life sciences.

Jinny Lee is the Senior Vice President of Exploration, Strategy and Marketing for the Advanced Technology division of Edwards Lifesciences. She joined the company in 2001 where she was responsible for overseeing product development and global marketing for all areas in heart valve therapy including repair and replacement initiatives for the mitral, aortic and tricuspid valves. Previously she held positions of increasing responsibility in marketing and product development at Biocoll Laboratories and later GenSci Orthobiologics where she helped develop and launch multiple products for the spine and orthopedic markets and partnered with Depuy Acromed, a Johnson and Johnson Company, in the sales efforts.  She started her curiosity in medicine as a researcher at the Long Beach VA Hospital and at the US Food and Drug Administration in the public affairs group located in Southern California.  She earned her Bachelor of Science degrees in Biological Sciences and Environmental Analysis and Design and a MBA from the University of California, Irvine.  She also serves as a board member for Casa Teresa and UCI Beall Applied Innovation.

Joe Harsany is the Co-CEO of Andrews Cooper, a leading engineering services firm specializing in technology development across medtech, consumer tech, and robotics. With over 25 years of experience in product development, Joe has helped bring to market a wide range of technologies—from complex medical devices to high-volume consumer electronics and custom automated systems. Throughout his career, Joe has partnered with clients ranging from early-stage startups to Fortune 50 tech companies, providing strategic guidance and technical leadership through every phase of the product lifecycle. At Andrews Cooper, he has played a key role in scaling the company’s consulting capabilities while staying true to its mission of building fulfilling careers for engineers and delivering outstanding value to clients. Joe brings a unique perspective to the ULP Accelerator panel, combining deep technical expertise with a proven track record of helping MedTech innovators navigate the path from concept to commercialization.

Aya Naimi is a Venture Associate at UCI Health Ventures, the $50M corporate venture arm backed by UC Investments and UCI Health. She works closely with founders in digital health, medtech, and biotech, evaluating opportunities through a health-system lens. At UCI Health Ventures, Aya leads sourcing, diligence, and portfolio analytics, and collaborates with clinical and operational leaders to bring external innovation into care delivery. Her focus is helping early-stage companies navigate go-to-market inside academic medical centers and translate innovation into measurable impact.

Nola Elizabeth Masterson, MSc. is a biotechnology industry leader and forward thinker with more than 45 years of business experience in the life sciences industry and in venture capital investments. She founded Science Futures Management Co LLC in 1983. Masterson was the first biotech analyst on Wall Street working for Drexel Burnham Lambert and Merrill Lynch. She has served as a consultant at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Oak Investments and IVP to create companies such as IDEC, Resound, and InSite Vision. She is the co- founder and first CEO of Sequenom, Inc. (SQNM), which pioneered the use of mass spectrometry to get the mass weight of DNA, She has served on the Board of Directors at Omicia, Inc. now called Fabric Genomics. She served as a member of the Board and then Chairman of Repros Therapeutics Inc. (RPRX) until its sale to Allergan. Ms. Masterson started her own venture fund in 1998, as a fund of fund into TVM Medical Ventures. She served as an advisor at TVM Capital GmbH and a Venture Partner from 2000 to 2005. She opened the San Francisco office of TVM and was part of their fifth fund raise. She serves as a Member of Global Advisory Board and is a Mentor at Astia, Inc. She is on the board of directors of Lynx Biosciences in San Diego and is on the Board of Directors of Zivo BioSciences (ZIVO) and Pacylex Bioscience She is the co-chair of the Northern California chapter of the Women Corporate Directors. The American College of Corporate Directors awarded her the Advanced Professional Director Certificate.