Steven Bloembergen, Ph.D.
Founder, Chairman and CEO

Dr. Steven Bloembergen founded GreenMark Biomedical in Michigan in 2016, with a vision to deliver health based benefits to society through biobased targeting technologies. GreenMark’s mission is to “Enable oral healthcare professionals to preserve teeth through early diagnosis and treatment”. Steven has 30 years of leadership experience in the development and commercialization of biomaterials. He started a company called EcoSynthetix (ECO) in Lansing, Michigan in 1996, now a global corporation. He and his team built a manufacturing capacity for starch nanoparticles in excess of 200 million lbs/yr at production sites in the US and Europe. The company held its IPO in August 2011 (TSX: ECO) and was Canada’s largest IPO in the Cleantech sector. Steven received the Ernst and Young “2012 Entrepreneur of the Year Award”. He developed a broad global IP portfolio and established a network of university collaborators, including the use of starch nanoparticles for dental and medical applications, which resulted in the foundational technology for GreenMark. Steven is the inventor of over 25 patent families related to biomaterials. He received his Ph.D. in Polymer Science and Engineering from the University of Waterloo, Ontario.

Joerg Lahann, Ph.D.
Director and Advisor

Dr. Joerg Lahann is a Professor of Chemical Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Michigan (UM). He also serves as the Director of the UM Biointerfaces Institute and as the co-Director of the Institute for Functional Interfaces at the Karlrsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany. Joerg is a co-inventor of GreenMark’s dental technology. He is a co-author of more than 190 papers and has contributed to more than 30 patents and patent applications. He has been selected by Technology Review as one of the top 100 young scientists and is the recipient of the 2007 Nanoscale Science and Engineering Award, an NSF-CAREER award, and both a single-PI and a team Idea award (2006 & 2011) from the US Department of Defense. He serves on the board of Seventh Sense, a health technology company. Joerg received a Ph.D. from the RWTH Aachen in Germany and completed postdoctoral training in the research group of Prof. Robert S. Langer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He joined the University of Michigan in 2003.

Frank van Luttikhuizen, CPA
Director and Advisor

Frank van Luttikhuizen is a Chartered Professional Accountant. Frank was CFO of EcoSynthetix Inc. from its inception in 1996 until he retired in 2009. Prior to that he was a CFO for a venture company which made numerous investments in software ventures and a biotechnology venture in 1996. He possesses strong intuitive and analytical skills and has experience in leading negotiations with customers, regulators, and stakeholder groups. He was a board member for various private and public companies. He has successfully managed organizations through significant strategic change through the development of key operating plans and by providing “hands-on” management, direction, coaching, and mentoring as required. He has a Bachelor of Science degree from The University of Western Ontario and an Honors Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Windsor.

Mike Snyder, PE, CSP, CFPS
Director and Advisor

Mr. Michael (Mike) Snyder is a member of the BlueWater Angels Investment Network (see http://bluewaterangels.com/), and serves as their representative on the GreenMark Board. Mike is the Executive Vice President for DEKRA Process Safety (Americas), a Trusted Advisor in Chemical Process Safety Science. He previously served in a number of Supply Chain and EHS related roles for Dow Corning Corporation in a career spanning over 31 years.

Mike obtained a BS degree in Chemical Engineering from Cornell University and a MS in Occupational Safety and Health from Columbia Southern University. He is a Registered Professional Engineer, and currently serves as an Advisory Board Member for the Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS) and as a member of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standards Council. He also serves on several regional non-profit boards.

Kenneth J. Pienta, MD
Former Director and Advisor (2016-2020), Continued Collaborator

Dr. Kenneth J. Pienta is the Donald S. Coffey Professor of Urology and Director of Research at the Brady Urological Institute of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He is also a Professor in the Departments of Oncology and Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences and serves as a faculty member in the Cellular and Molecular Medicine and Pathobiology Programs at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He is also a Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering in the Whiting School of Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. Ken is a two-time American Cancer Society Clinical Research Professor Award recipient. Ken has a proven, peer-reviewed track record in organizing and administering a translational research program that successfully incorporates bench research, agent development, and clinical application. He has international expertise in the development of novel therapeutic programs for prostate cancer. He is the author of more than 400 peer-reviewed articles, and been the principal investigator on numerous local and national clinical trials. Ken is the holder of multiple patents, is co-founder of OncoFusion where he serves on the Scientific Advisory Board and he has served as a Scientifc Advisory Board member or consultant to biotechnology companies including Curis, Amgen, J&J, Millenium, Gtx, Myriad Genetic Labs and Compendia.

Jeff Wesley
Former Director and Advisor (2020-2024)

Jeff Wesley serves as the Executive Director of Red Cedar Ventures. Red Cedar Ventures (RCV) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Michigan State University Foundation. Prior to joining RCV in 2018, Jeff was the CEO of Two Men and Truck International, the largest international franchise moving company. During his tenure he and the company received an A plus ranking by Franchise grade, 93 CEO Glassdoor rating, “Crain’s Detroit Business Coolest Places to Work”, Inc. 5000 award winner, recognized nationally as a leading franchise system, a leading innovation franchise system, Franchise Times Top 200 Franchise System and he received national recognition as a top franchise executive. Jeff also has served as the President of Accu Bite Dental Supply, an Inc. 100 company, that was acquired by a Fortune 500 company. Jeff led this early startup to a recognized leading national full-service dental distributor. He began his career as an Audit Manager at Deloitte. Jeff has had significant experience in leading and scaling private companies to record success and has contributed to several startups throughout the state providing mentorship, coaching, operational experience and startup capital. Jeff has also been an Angel Investor for over 15 years and currently is a member of the Capital Community Angels and the Michigan Angel Fund. Hey is a prior Vice Chairman for the Lansing Economic Area Partnership and has served on various economic and community boards. Jeff is currently an observer and Board Member of several boards including AvidHrt, SU2 Systems, TheraB Medical, and Phenometrics to name a few. He is a frequent judge and speaker at events related to leadership, franchising and startups.