Meet Our Team

Andrea Agree is a Regulatory Scientist at MED Institute. As a graduate research associate, Andrea was awarded a Pre‑Doctoral Fellowship from the American Heart Association for her research focusing on understanding the mechanisms by which the body protects itself from heart disease. At MED, she has developed and implemented regulatory strategies and supported submissions to health authorities globally. She holds a BS in Biochemistry from Iowa State University and a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where she also earned her Certificate in Business Administration. Andrea completed her postdoctoral training at the Dwight Look College of Engineering at Texas A&M University, College Station.

Eric Anttila is a Research Engineer in the MRI Safety and Computational Modeling and Simulation group. He graduated from Hastings College in 2015 with his bachelor’s degree in Engineering Physics. Eric completed his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2021 in the area of cardiovascular biomechanics and devices.

Sainath Babu has several years of regulatory and laboratory experience. Prior to MED Institute, he worked as a toxicologist and as an Assistant Professor. He has authored several research publications and is a diplomate of American Board of Toxicology. He received his doctorate in Environmental Toxicology from Southern University A & M College, Baton Rouge. He is also a certified project management professional.

Grant Baker is a Research Engineer in the MRI Safety and Computational Modeling and Simulation groups at MED Institute. He graduated from the University of Michigan-Dearborn with a BS in Bioengineering in 2020 and an MSE in Bioengineering in 2021. Grant’s undergraduate and graduate research focused on using kinematics to analyze and predict sports-related injuries.

Dr. Charlebois began his professional career focusing on projects involving advanced biomaterial selection, characterization and optimization for orthopedic implant design. He has held various positions within the Cook organization over the last several years, ranging from product discovery to cell and regenerative therapies. Steve holds a BS in Metallurgy, Mechanics, and Material Science from Michigan State, a MS in Biomedical Engineering from University of Minnesota, and a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Memphis.

Brooke has over 7 years’ of experience in the medical device industry. She has held various positions within the Cook organization. She began her career focusing on clinical research and patient recruitment. Brooke’s primary role is to promote MED’s mission and services to raise brand awareness. Brooke graduated from Indiana University with a BA in Communications.

Dan has over 30 years’ experience in Regulatory Affairs with exposure to a wide variety of medical technologies, submissions types, and regulatory agencies. He has extensive work in developing non-clinical and clinical protocols and experience in interpreting the results of those studies. He holds a BS in Chemical Engineering from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and MS in Applied Statistics from Purdue University.

After ten years of academic research experience in pre-clinical studies and scientific communications, Muriel transitioned the clinical side of science. She holds a BS (cum laude) in Biochemistry from Kansas State University and PhD in Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology from Purdue University where she also earned a Certificate in Applied Management Principles and Certificate in Foundations of College Teaching. Her dissertation studying pharmacogenomic interventions in neurodevelopmental disorders was funded by a NSF Graduate Research Fellowship.

Dr. Fearnot has served as the founding President of MED Institute (1983), Cook Biotech (1995) and Cook Advanced Technologies (2009). He has lead development for commercialization of over 40 breakthrough medical products, involving engineering design, non-clinical testing, clinical studies, quality systems statistics, and a variety of regulatory submissions in several countries. Dr. Fearnot has authored over 150 scientific journal articles and abstracts, and has invented over 100 U.S. and foreign patents. Neal holds a PhD in Electrical/Biomedical Engineering from Purdue University.

Jonathan has worked on a variety of medical devices in various stages of medical device development. These experiences span the device development cycle, including concept generation, test protocol development, and manufacturing plan analysis. Jon received his MS in Biomedical Engineering from Cleveland State University.

Kirsten has been involved in various stages of medical device development during her time in the industry. She specializes in prototype design and development, design and refinement of physiologically relevant models, and test method development. Kirsten graduated with a BS in Biomedical Engineering from Purdue University.

Rob has 10 years of experience in Quality Assurance and Quality Control having previously held roles as a QC Lab Technician and GLP QA Auditor. He holds a BS in Biology from John Brown University and a MBA from the University of Saint Francis.

David Gross, PhD, PE, leads the MRI safety and computational modeling and simulation (CM&S) groups at MED Institute. Dr. Gross was awarded a Pre-Doctoral Fellowship from the American Heart Association (AHA) for his research focusing on improving the MRI safety of patients. He received the Magna Cum Laude Merit Award at the 2016 ISMRM Annual Conference. Dr. Gross holds a BS in Biomedical Engineering and MSE in Interdisciplinary Engineering from Purdue University, MS and PhD degrees in Biomedical Engineering from Ohio State University, and is a licensed Professional Engineer.

Brandon has worked in the medical device industry for 9 years and has experience in all phases of medical development, spanning from early concept generation and feasibility phases through the successful regulatory submissions. He has provided post-market engineering support on a wide range of product lines. He graduated from Michigan State University with a B.S. and M.S in Mechanical Engineering.

Dr. Heise has over 25 years of industry experience developing scientifically robust regulatory and clinical study strategies and is active in developing processes to generate real world evidence for medical devices. He participates in projects within MDEpiNet and Harmonization by Doing and leads several committees. Ted graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BS in chemistry from the University of Nebraska at Omaha and a PhD in analytical chemistry from Iowa State University.

Amy works in the MRI safety evaluations and computational modeling and simulation groups. She is active in the field as a member of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM), the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), and the American Society for Mechanical Engineers (ASME). Amy graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BS in Mechanical Engineering from The Ohio State University.

Dr. Kim has over 38 years of experience in CM&S starting with his undergraduate research. For the last 13 years, he has analyzed and designed many medical devices and has in-depth knowledge and analysis skills in multiple disciplines such as non-linear structural, vibration control, impact, CFD, FSI, fatigue, and MRI safety. Stephen holds MS and PhD degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Minnesota.

Kimberly is responsible for maintaining the documentation systems for business procedures and providing administrative support to MED staff. She has focused on dedication to customer service and quality throughout her professional career.

Dr. Alan Leewood is the Director of Advanced Engineering at MED Institute. After earning a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering at Purdue University in 1985, Dr. Leewood co-founded AC Engineering Inc., a consulting company that used the nonlinear FEA software, ABAQUS, to solve a wide variety of challenging engineering problems. Since joining MED Institute in 2004, Alan started a Discovery Engineering group, a Computer Aided Engineering team and, most recently, an MRI team that evaluates the safe use of implantable medical devices.

John is a results driven business development professional with a proven track record of growing sales revenue for companies. Having spent the last 12-years in the CRO industry, he has helped build marketing and sales strategies that delivered results and has expertise at building and leveraging key customer relationships. John graduated from The Ohio State University with a BA in Communications.

Justin has worked on many Class II and Class III medical devices over the last 19 years. He has worked with regulatory bodies around the globe, has submitted several patents, worked with various physician specialties in both the engineering lab and the operating room, and participated on standardization committees. Justin holds a BS and MS in Engineering from Purdue University.

Brian has over 20 years’ of experience in web development, graphic design, and project management.  His analytical, creative, and perceptive skills enable him to design, develop, and maintain various database solutions. Brian studied Architectural Design and Project Management at Ivy Tech State College and Architecture at Ball State University.

Tiffany is a Research Scientist involved in projects ranging from Clinical studies to Regenerative Medicine research at MED Institute. She enjoys studying medicine and learning about innovative therapies to improve the lives of patients. Tiffany graduated with her BS in Biology at the University of Texas at San Antonio and has worked in several Microbiology and Immunology labs.

Lori Nolte, PhD, RAC is the Director, Regulatory and Clinical Services for MED Institute.  Lori has 19 years of industry experience with clinical trials and regulatory work.  Her most recent experience was as the director of regulatory affairs for a major medical device company, leading a team of over 60 employees responsible for global regulatory submissions and approvals for 8,000+ products.  Prior to moving to industry, Lori was an Assistant Professor at Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, Missouri.  She is an author on 40 published scientific articles.  Lori has a Ph.D. in Clinical Physiology from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.

Joe graduated from Purdue University with a Master of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering and served in Purdue’s Hillenbrand Biomedical Engineering Center as a post-graduate research associate until joining COOK Medical in 1999. He has been active in developing medical products in the field of regenerative medicine for applications in wound care, G.I., cardiac and neurosurgical therapies, and has obtained over 40 U.S. and foreign patents. Joe has also assisted with developing COOK’s design control and medical device risk management processes and procedures.

Jon has worked in the medical device industry for 3 years and has experience in all phases of medical device development, with a focus on materials and design. He has provided significant early phase engineering design and iteration to several novel device concepts under development. He graduated from Purdue University with a BS in Mechanical Engineering.

Justin has over 15 years’ experience and is an industry leader in product development, engineering, regulatory affairs, and clinical trial services. He has held various positions within the Cook organization ranging from clinical research to contracts. As a patented inventor, he is well versed in early concept development and has spent his career focusing on working with physicians and inventors to innovate from the lab to the marketplace. Justin graduated magna cum laude from Indiana State University with a BS in Exercise Science.

Andrew Robison is a Research Engineer in the MRI Safety and Computational Modeling and Simulation group. He graduated from South Dakota State University in 2014 with bachelor’s degrees in Mechanical Engineering, Chemistry, and German. In 2016 he was awarded a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. Andrew completed a PhD in Mechanical Engineering at Purdue University in the area of machine component design and optimization in 2021.

Erick Smith is a Research Engineer in the MRI safety and computational modeling and simulation (CM&S) groups at MED institute. He graduated from Purdue University with a BS in Aeronautical & Astronautical Engineering. During his time at Purdue, Erick was on many research teams including working on Project Escalator and lead designer for the PREFER2 Project (Purdue Research & Educational Facility for Exos Rockets).

Ben Stalls is a Research Engineer at MED Institute. He graduated from The University of Akron with his bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering, while minoring in Business and Mathematics. He specializes in prototype design and development, test method development, and the design and creation of clinically relevant anatomical models.

Colleen currently leads quality system efforts and serves as the Management Representative for MED Institute.  She has over 36 years of experience in quality assurance, quality systems and quality control at MED Institute.  Colleen has experience with vendor audits and has provided quality system and internal auditing services to sister and client companies.  She has also assisted with revisions to Quality Systems for clients who are remediating or improving their Quality Systems. Colleen also serves as the company Treasurer and provides guidance and assistance with financial reporting and business system processes.