Our team

Chief Business Development Officer

Andrew Danielsen

Andrew (Andy) Danielsen serves as chief business development officer for Mayo Clinic’s Department of Business Development (BD) where he oversees the licensing of Mayo Clinic’s intellectual property and the creation of collaborations and partnerships within the industry.

Andy serves on several committees throughout Mayo Clinic, including the Executive Subcommittee of the Medical-Industry Relations Committee. He is also a member of multiple groups responsible for funding innovative new technologies or startup companies to include the Mayo Clinic Venture Fund Investment Committee, the Discovery Translation Program, and the Department of Business Development Investment Committee.

Prior to joining Mayo Clinic Ventures in 2002, Andy conducted research at Mayo Clinic to identify therapeutic targets in breast and ovarian cancer.

Andy received his BS in biochemistry and molecular biology from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and his MS in molecular biology from Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.

Medical Director, Business Development

Peter Noseworthy, MD, MBA

Peter A. Noseworthy, MD, MBA, is a Professor of Medicine, Chair of the Division of Heart Rhythm Services (Cardiac Electrophysiology), and Medical Director of Business Development.

In his role as Medical Director, Dr. Noseworthy oversees proactive business partnerships and strategic collaborations, mergers and acquisitions, equity investing and the commercialization of Mayo Clinic technologies for the benefit of patients worldwide while generating revenue to support clinical practice, research, and education at Mayo Clinic.

Dr. Noseworthy joined the Mayo Clinic faculty in 2013 after completing his internal medicine, cardiology, chief residency and electrophysiology training at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, MA. He completed his Master of Business Administration from MIT in 2023.

He has closely partnered with Mayo Clinic Robert D. and Patricia E. Kern Center for the Science of Health Care Delivery to maintain a federally funded research program that leverages cutting-edge research methods as well as emerging data and technologies. This work has led to a series of high-impact publications that address questions important to patients, clinicians and health systems.

He also helps to lead a multidisciplinary team develop novel ECG software-based analysis tools, many of which have resulted in the filing of intellectual property disclosures and several patents.

Associate Chief Business Development Officer

Manu Nair

Manu Nair is the Associate Chief Business Development Officer. Mr. Nair leads business development efforts that are of the highest strategic importance to Mayo Clinic.

Prior to assuming this role, Mr. Nair served as Vice President of Technology Ventures for the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF) in Oklahoma City. He was in charge of developing and commercializing OMRF’s technologies, establishing strategic industry collaborations, and managing the innovation fund dedicated to such development efforts. Appointed by the Governor of Oklahoma, Mr. Nair served as Vice Chair of the Oklahoma Science and Technology R&D Board. He currently serves on the boards of IBIS Therapeutics, Jupiter Bioventures, Nucleus Radiopharma, USA Healthcare Alliance and Volnay Therapeutics, and is a member of the External Advisory Committee for the NIH-funded SE XLerator Network Hub. In addition, Mr. Nair serves as a business consultant for several U.S. and international entities, including prominent research institutes and technology companies.

Mr. Nair received his MBA from Lamar University in Texas and LL.M from the University of New Hampshire School of Law focusing on intellectual property, commerce and technology laws.

CHAIR-BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Lisa Carmel

Lisa is a Chair in the Department of Business Development  and leads strategic partnerships across Mayo Clinic’s global enterprise, encompassing medtech, biopharma, diagnostics, healthcare IT and AI, as well as health services, automation and robotics. In her role, she is focused on developing and expanding transformative partnerships and business deals, with a keen interest in mission critical initiatives, such as Mayo Clinic’s Bold. Forward. Unbound. Hospital of the Future.

Lisa brings over 30 years of experience in healthcare product commercialization and innovation, working with companies across the U.S., Europe, and China. She has advised numerous startups and accelerators, including California Life Sciences’ FAST program and MedTech Innovator. She co-chairs the MedtechWOMEN’s Advisory Board, serves on Marin Health UCSF’s Board, and is an advisor to the Cleveland Clinic MedTech Advisory Board and UCLA Biodesign. Passionate about emerging healthcare innovation trends, Lisa frequently speaks at industry events, authored a blog and podcast, and chairs key healthcare conferences.

Chair - Business Development

Julie Henry, MBA

Julie is a chair in the Department of Business Development where her responsibilities involve collaborating with internal and external customers as a resource for guidance, oversight, coordination, and execution of unique and complex legal and contract agreement work related to agreements/opportunities emanating from Mayo Clinic Executive leadership and Mayo Clinic’s respective governing boards. Julie has been with Mayo Clinic for more than thirty years and has experience in all facets of the commercialization process including drafting, negotiating and management of agreements.

She received her BA in Biomedical Science from St. Cloud State University in St. Cloud, Minnesota and her MBA from University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

CHAIR-BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT - FL

Caroline Russell, FACHE

Chair, Corporate Development - International & Mayo Clinic Labs

Sami Yusuf

Sami Yusuf serves as Chair of Corporate Development for International where he is responsible for driving partnerships, strategic collaborations and strategic alliances by coordinating, negotiating, and executing strategic transactions in support of Mayo Clinic and its International business.

Sami has robust experience across leadership positions in research and development, alliance management, portfolio strategy, corporate strategy, and corporate development from small cap privately held companies to fortune 500 public companies. In addition to his extensive experience in the life science and pharmaceutical industry, he has held an adjunct faculty position and has experience in direct health care delivery. Sami has held various board membership positions in health care companies including in industry associations. Sami also serves on venture catalyst advisory boards.

Sami holds a BS in Microbiology and a BS in Molecular Genetics from UCLA, an MS in Biological Chemistry from Purdue University, a Pharm D from Creighton University, and an MBA from University of Michigan.

Assistant Medical Director

Waleed Brinjikji, MD

Waleed Brinjikji is an interventional neuro radiologist and professor of Neurosurgery and Radiology, at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester Minnesota. He completed his medical training at both the Mayo Clinic and University of Toronto. He is an entrepreneur and inventor with patents for devices and stroke, spine, augmentation, and CSF disorders. He is currently assistant medical director of business development and medical director of research innovation at the Mayo Clinic where he is focused on facilitating employee, entrepreneurship, and kickstarting early-stage innovation activities.

Assistant Medical Director - AZ, Business Development

Rahul Pannala, MD

Dr. Pannala is a Professor of Medicine, and Consultant gastroenterologist at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona. He received his medical training at Gandhi Medical College, Hyderabad India. He subsequently did a master’s in public health at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He did his internal medicine residency at Bridgeport hospital/Yale University and Gastroenterology fellowship at Mayo Clinic Rochester followed by a therapeutic endoscopy fellowship at Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle.

Dr. Pannala has been on staff at Mayo Arizona for the past 13 years. He is the Director of the Pancreas clinic and the endoscopic bariatric therapeutics program at Mayo Clinic in Arizona. His research interests include pancreatobiliary diseases and endoscopic bariatric therapies. He also has a strong interest in medical innovation and has several ongoing collaborations in the medical device development space to address unmet clinical needs.

Medical Director for Research Innovation

Janani Reisenauer, MD

Associate Medical Director - FL, Business Development

Olayemi Sokumbi, MD

Olayemi (Yemi) Sokumbi, MD, serves as Associate Medical Director for the Department of Business Development at Mayo Clinic Florida, as well as an Associate Professor of Dermatology and Laboratory Medicine & Pathology in the Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine, Director of Clinical Practice in the Department of Dermatology, Chair for the Florida Mayo Medical School DEI Council, and Associate Program Director of the Mayo Clinic Florida Dermatology residency program.

Dr. Sokumbi is board-certified in dermatology and dermatopathology. She received her medical degree from Mayo Medical School in Rochester, Minnesota, where she also completed her preliminary year in internal medicine, her residency in dermatology and served as chief resident in her final year. Following residency, Dr. Sokumbi completed a fellowship in dermatopathology at the University of Texas Southwestern medical center in Dallas, Texas.

Her clinical and research interests include clinical-pathologic correlation of complex inflammatory skin disorders, quality improvement in dermatopathology, hidradenitis suppurativa, cutaneous lymphoproliferative disorders, and the development and assessment of deep neural network algorithms for diagnosis and image classification in dermatology and dermatopathology.