ORTHOPEDICS THIS WEEK VOLUME 13 , ISSUE 38 | DECEMBER 5 , 2017 14
COMPANY
Bob Lay New COO of AlloSource
Bob Lay , a professional with over 20 years of experience in finance and operations , is the new Chief Operating Officer of AlloSource .
“ The Chief Operating Officer role at AlloSource is critical to creating the cellular and tissue products surgeons need to help restore mobility in more patients ,” said Thomas Cycyota , Allo- Source president and chief executive officer , in the November 7 , 2017 news release . “ Bob ’ s background , as well as his open-minded approach to driving improvements , will help us identify new opportunities to advance the work we do .”
As the company wrote in its news release , “ In addition to his role as Chief Operating Officer , Bob also served AlloSource as the Director of Cost Accounting and Vice President , Operations . Prior to his time at AlloSource , he held leadership roles at both startups and large companies . Bob received his Bachelor ’ s and
Master ’ s degrees in Accounting from the University of Denver .”
Bob Lay told OTW , “ One of the most important parts of this role is understanding the impact of operations both internally and externally . The way our operations team integrates with each department to positively impact customers and patients is critical . In addition to roles with both large and small organizations , I previously served in a director role for a multinational medical device company and was involved in both finance and operations . Having that balance helps provide a unique perspective on the impact each department has on an organization and on our customers .”
“ Since I came to AlloSource , I ’ ve been impressed by the passion of the operations team and their dedication to honoring the gift of tissue donation , taking extraordinary steps to help patients heal and return to full , active lives . As one of the nation ’ s leaders in regenerative medicine therapies , we will continue to identify and capitalize on new opportunities to grow our organization and , most importantly , to impact the lives of patients every day .” — EH
Bob Lay / Courtesy of AlloSource
Electrified Scaffold Bridges Severed Nerves
With news coming almost daily of dramatic medical advances , one vital area has remained intractable to research . That is the repair of a severed nerve in the spinal column . The fault lies with the nerve cells , themselves , which stubbornly refuse to regenerate .
As one researcher bluntly put it , “ To date there are neither workable repairs nor detours that will restore signal flow between the brain and limbs .” In other words , with the severing of the nerves of the spinal cord paralysis is inevitable and is not reversible . Even hope has been in short supply .
Until now .
BIOLOGICS
Dr . Treena Arinzeh , Director New Jersey Institute of Technology / Courtesy of NJIT
Treena Arinzeh , Ph . D ., M . S . E ., director of the New Jersey Institute of Technology ’ s Tissue Engineering and Applied Biomaterials Laboratory , has proposed a solution . It is a scaffold , made of a polymer , which will coax nerve cells to extend their axons over a spine ’ s damaged section .
Piezoelectric Polymers
The novel scaffold the team developed won Arinzeh and her lab workers an
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