Leo T. Furcht, M.D. , is currently Allen-Pardee Professor of Cancer Biology and Head of the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at the University of Minnesota and a member of the Division of Molecular Pathology and Genomics. He served as Chairman of the Board of Directors for University of Minnesota Physicians, the Medical School practice plan with approximately 700 physicians, from 2004 to 2014. He was also the founding Director of the Biomedical Engineering Center from 1990 to 2001, where he led efforts to establish stem cell and molecular diagnostics expertise at the University of Minnesota. He has published more than 180 scientific papers and holds more than 30 patents in the fields of polypeptides, biomaterials and adult stem cells. His business experience includes co-founding two medical technology companies, South Bay Medical, a medical device company that was acquired by Mentor Corporation, and Diascreen, a diagnostics company, which was later acquired by Chronimed. Among other attributes, skills and qualifications, the Board believes Dr. Furcht is uniquely qualified to serve as a director based on his research in tumor cell behavior and extracellular matrix proteins, his role as Head of the University of Minnesota s Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology and his experience in several biotechnology start-ups.