Nicole Wagner,
President and CEO
Dr. Wagner obtained her PhD in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of Connecticut under the advising of Dr. Robert Birge. Nicole entered the graduate program in 2007 and spent the majority of her graduate career working on optimizing retinal-containing proteins for application in devices. During the course of her PhD research, she played a critical role in the proof-of-concept experiments, which helped to found LambdaVision in May 2009. Through the use of site-directed mutagenesis, site-specific saturation mutagenesis, and directed evolution, Nicole was able to genetically engineer the protein, bacteriorhodopsin, for a variety of device applications, including protein-based holographic and 3-dimensional memories, a chemical detection sensor, and, most recently, a protein-based retinal implant. Nicole is an accomplished scientist and entrepreneur with numerous peer-reviewed publications, and has presented her research at both National and International meetings. Her accolades include the Connecticut Technology Council’s Women of Innovation Award, Connecticut Magazine’s 40 Under 40, the 2020 Women in Aerospace (WIA) Achievement Award, the 2021 BioCT Rising Entrepreneur of the Year Award, as well as being listed as one of the Healthcare Technology Report’s Top 25 Women Leaders in Biotechnology for 2021. Dr. Wagner serves on the Board of Directors of the New England Women in Science Executives’ Club, the Connecticut Technology Council, and CTNext, and she recently joined the ISS National Lab User Advisory Committee as Chair of the Applied R&D Subcommittee. Dr. Wagner currently serves as president and CEO of LambdaVision, a biotechnology company developing a protein-based artificial retina to treat patients blinded by retinal degenerative diseases. Dr. Wagner has secured >$9M in funding to accelerate research, development, and commercialization of the technology. Her research has recently involved the production of artificial retinas on the International Space Station (ISS), which is establishing new commercial opportunities to manufacture products in microgravity with direct clinical benefit.
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