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.

Abby Anttila is the Account Manager in the MRI safety and Computational Modeling and Simulation group. She graduated from Hastings College in 2017 with her bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. Abby completed her master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Purdue University in 2023. Abby uses her teaching background to effectively communicate with clients and oversee projects.

Eric Anttila is on the MRI Safety and Computational Modeling and Simulation team. 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.

Kortany began her scientific career earning her BS in Biochemistry at Indiana University in Kokomo. She went on to Purdue University to receive her PhD in Biochemistry where she studied epigenetic drug resistant mechanisms in fungal pathogens and continued her postdoctoral studies in the same field. She taught for 11 semesters and mentored 17 students while at Purdue and received the Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award from the College of Agriculture. After finishing her post graduate work, Kortany joined the clinical team at MED to pursue her interest in clinical studies.

Jacob Bell brings over five years of experience in finance, with a strong commitment to supporting financial accuracy and strategic implementation within the organization. His role includes assisting in maintaining precise financial records and ensuring effective financial processes. Jacob is currently pursuing a BS in accounting, further enhancing his expertise and dedication to the field.

Orville Bramwell is the Manager of the Translational Therapy Development Program. With over 30 years of experience in interventional medicine R&D, he has played a key role in the innovation and development of advanced medical devices that support minimally invasive, image-guided procedures—transforming how clinicians diagnose and treat disease. His work is central to advancing new therapies from preclinical validation to first-in-human clinical trials, helping to ensure that promising technologies are translated into safe, effective solutions for patients.

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 12 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.

1. 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.

Brock Folkers is an Engineer at MED Institute. He received his BS in Mechanical Engineering and MS in Biomedical Engineering from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. Brock’s undergraduate research focused on muscle fatigue and how it affects the control of an EMG prosthetic. His graduate research focused on a better understanding of the transitional stage of muscle fatigue.

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.

Lecretia Graves is a Research Engineer in the MRI Safety and Computational Modeling and Simulation group. Prior to working at MED, she worked at Cook Biotech Inc. for 15 years developing medical devices in the field of regenerative medicine and performing verification and validation testing. She has a BS in Bioengineering from the University of Toledo and an MS in Interdisciplinary Engineering, with a concentration in biomedical engineering, from Purdue University.

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.

Kyle Harvey is a Research Scientist for the Regenerative Medicine Team at MED Institute. Kyle graduated from Purdue with his PharmD in 2016 and continued his education at Purdue to pursue a PhD in Molecular Pharmacology. Kyle’s dissertation research was focused on mechanisms involved in insulin secretion and pancreatic beta-cell function.  

After 12 years of hospital-based practice in Adult Critical Care Medicine, Laura joined MED in 2001 as the first Clinical Specialist. Laura has been involved in MED’s Medical Affairs team and Clinical Events Committee program before moving into executive project and operations management. Laura holds a BS in Nursing from Purdue University, is a licensed RN, and has CCRN and CCRA certifications.

Tammi Jackson is a Clinical Research Associate on the Clinical Team at MED Institute. She graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a Bachelor of Science and Spanish minor. Prior to MED Institute, she globally monitored clinical trials in drug development. She focuses on compliance and quality throughout the clinical trial process. She is also a certified Spanish Medical Interpreter.

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.

Erdem Kucukal is a Senior Research Engineer in the MRI Safety and Computational Modeling and Simulation groups at MED Institute. He holds MS and PhD degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Case Western Reserve University. With >5 years of new product development experience within the IVD space, he has played a key role in advancing novel medical technologies. In his previous position, Dr. Kucukal successfully secured multiple STTR grants as a Principal Investigator, obtaining funding from federal organizations such as NSF and NIH. His track record in securing grants highlights his expertise in transforming research into meaningful medical innovations.

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.

Max Makar is a Research Engineer at MED Institute, specializing in MRI Safety and Computational Modeling and Simulation. He holds both a BS and MS in Biomedical Engineering from The Ohio State University. His research focused on tissue tensile testing, particularly in trauma-related cosmetic cartilage replacement, along with experience in Regulatory Affairs within the medical device and pharmaceutical sectors.

Jason is responsible for the contracting process for all of MED Institute’s service areas, and has 9 years of legal experience, including 7 years in the financial industry. Jason received a BS in Biochemistry from Purdue University in 2011, a JD from DePaul University in 2014, and is a licensed member of the Illinois Bar.

Ben McAteer holds a BS and MS in Biomedical Engineering from Purdue where he focused on Biomedical Signal Processing and the Regulatory Affairs of Medical Devices. In his previous work at Cook Medical, he focused his efforts on remediating existing devices to adhere to new EU MDR Regulations.

Justin has worked on many Class II and Class III medical devices over the last 20+ 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.

Kaitlyn is a Senior Research Engineer at MED Institute on the Engineering and Development Team. She has nearly a decade of experience in the medical device industry delivering products through all phases of development. She specializes in medical device design controls, device development, risk management and testing. Kaitlyn has her MS and BS in Biomedical Engineering from Purdue 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.

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.

Cole Reynolds is an Engineer at MED Institute. He graduated from Purdue University with a BS in Biomedical Engineering and is currently pursuing an MS in Biomedical Engineering from Purdue University. His research experiences focused on food safety testing and photonics, and he has experience in medical device design, process development, and test method development.

Luke Schepers is a Research Engineer in the MRI Safety and Computational Modeling and Simulation groups at MED Institute. He graduated from the University of Dayton with a BE in mechanical engineering and human movement biomechanics minor in 2019, and earned his PhD in biomedical engineering from Purdue University in 2024. Dr. Schepers was awarded a Pre-Doctoral Fellowship from the National Science Foundation, and his research utilized ultrasound and scanning electron microscopy to evaluate medical device performance in vivo and analyze thrombus deposition/composition in aortic aneurysms.

At MED, Samantha leads and supports clinical projects and strategies. She has over 30 years of experience in the medical field, including clinical research, medical education, regulatory affairs, sterile processing, materials management, and surgical technology. She is certified as a Surgical Technologist, Surgical First Assistant, and Clinical Research Professional. She holds a BS in Career and Technical Education from Indiana State University, an AAS in Surgical Technology from Ivy Tech Community College, and is currently pursuing an MPH degree from Purdue Global University.

Luke Stohler is a Research Engineer at MED Institute, specializing in MRI safety, as well as computational modeling and simulation. He holds both a BS and an MS in Biomedical Engineering from Purdue University. His BS and MS focused on signal processing and regulatory affairs within the realm of medical devices.

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.

After graduating from Norwich University in 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in health sciences, Logan entered the Pharmaceutical & Life Sciences industry working in a lab-based role in a Quality Control Microbiology department. He progressed into a project management role, continuing to work in the CDMO space. In 2023, Logan obtained his MBA from the University of Southern Indiana, while continuing to work in project management. Now as the Account Manager for the MED’s Regenerative Medicine team, he implements his skills to optimize business development and client relationships.

Jasmine Vu is a Research Engineer in the MRI Safety and Computational Modeling and Simulation groups at MED Institute. She graduated from the University of Washington, Seattle with a BS in Bioengineering. She completed her PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Northwestern University in the area of MRI radiofrequency-induced heating of active implantable medical devices. Jasmine also completed a Certificate in Management for Scientists and Engineers from the Kellogg School of Management and was awarded an NIH Pre-doctoral T32 Training Fellowship while at Northwestern University.

Scott has over 20 years of regulatory and clinical trial experience in the medical device industry.  In addition to having extensive involvement in pre-market and post-market activities globally, he’s had direct interaction with regulators in multiple settings.  Scott earned two degrees while attending Ithaca College (BS in Exercise Science, MS in Exercise Physiology) and has maintained his RAPS Regulatory Affairs Certification since 2003.

Tom graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy with a Bachelor of Science degree in General Science and Purdue University with a Master of Business Administration.  Tom joined Cook Biotech (now Evergen) in 2016 where he supported wound care product entry into Europe and Biodesign sales transition to Cook Biotech.  Tom transitioned to MED Institute in 2025.