Management Team
Confluence has assembled an experienced management team, Business and Science Advisory Boards, and attracted various other important collaborators to our effort. The management team's experience spans from the launch of new businesses, through capitalization, commercialization and exit.
Steven L. Johns, President and Founder
Steve Johns has built a reputation as a Visionary Innovator and Leader through a variety of diverse experiences acquired in a number of successful start-ups and early stage companies. His work career includes 10 years in Banking / Financial Management and 15 years in his own business ventures. Steve’s business experience extends in these key areas; Strategic Planning, Building Management Teams, Transforming Business Models, Mergers & Acquisitions, and Capital Formation. Mr. Johns holds a B.S. degree from the University of Illinois and an M.B.A. from Indiana University. He currently sits on the board of the Venture Club of Indiana.
Dr. Craig A. Erickson, Lead Scientific Advisor
Dr. Erickson is the Chief of the Fragile X Research and Treatment Center at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Indiana University School of Medicine, Former Chief of the Christian Sarkine Autism Treatment Center and Former Chief of Fragile X Research and Treatment Center, Riley Hospital for Children, Indiana University School of Medicine. He is currently directing several research projects with patients being treated at Indiana University and is involved with other national Fragile X Syndrome and Autism Spectrum Disorder related research.
Boyd W. Sturdevant, Jr., Chairman and Founder
Boyd Sturdevant, Jr. has been associated with the mental health industry most of his 40 year career. He developed and recently sold Indiana’s largest freestanding Employee Assistance business and pioneered per-capita mental health managed care programs with employers. Boyd brings a depth of working knowledge in the areas of commercializing mental health services, engaging mental health advocate/consumer groups, measuring perception of treatment outcomes, and, executives coaching and consultation. He has served on his national professional board and chaired the State of Indiana Mental Health Advisory Council. He has a BS from Indiana University and Master of Ministry from Christian Theological Seminary.
Timothy F. Parshall, Vice President of Corporate Affairs
Mr. Parshall has over 25 years experience in global healthcare strategy, marketing and business development. Mr. Parshall has been a Director of Strategic Marketing at both Guidant and Eli Lilly & Company. He led product marketing and technology acquisition efforts on a national and international level. His current focus is on the development of start-up and early-stage revenue companies in both the medical device and biotechnology fields. Mr. Parshall is the founder of Pivotal Strategies—a strategic marketing and business development organization based in Indianapolis, IN. He has a Bachelors Degree in Pharmacy from the University of Sydney and a Master of Business Administration from the University of New South Wales, Australia.
Kenneth G. Payie, Ph.D., RAC- Director of CM&C
Dr. Ken Payie has almost a decade in the large pharma industry in a variety of research and development positions. With a background in large and small molecule Chemistry Manufacturing & Controls (CM&C) development, virtual drug development experience, and Six Sigma black belt execution, Dr. Payie has developed a number of large and small molecule CM&C programs in the Candidate Identification to Phase II space for both large pharma and small drug discovery companies. Dr. Payie has designed and directed drug development programs through outsourcing to Asia, Europe and North American vendors, and dramatically reduced costs to develop assets without compromising Quality. In 2011, Dr. Payie founded KGP-Biotech Consulting LLC to bring his expertise to the scientific and drug development communities. In addition to his involvement with KGP and Confluence, Dr. Payie has held senior positions at Chorus Europe, Vanthys Pharmaceutical Development and Eli Lilly.
Steven L. Johns, President and Founder
Steve Johns has built a reputation as a Visionary Innovator and Leader through a variety of diverse experiences acquired in a number of successful start-ups and early stage companies. His work career includes 10 years in Banking / Financial Management and 15 years in his own business ventures. Steve’s business experience extends in these key areas; Strategic Planning, Building Management Teams, Transforming Business Models, Mergers & Acquisitions, and Capital Formation. Mr. Johns holds a B.S. degree from the University of Illinois and an M.B.A. from Indiana University. He currently sits on the board of the Venture Club of Indiana.
Dr. Craig A. Erickson, Lead Scientific Advisor
Dr. Erickson is the Chief of the Fragile X Research and Treatment Center at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Indiana University School of Medicine, Former Chief of the Christian Sarkine Autism Treatment Center and Former Chief of Fragile X Research and Treatment Center, Riley Hospital for Children, Indiana University School of Medicine. He is currently directing several research projects with patients being treated at Indiana University and is involved with other national Fragile X Syndrome and Autism Spectrum Disorder related research.
Boyd W. Sturdevant, Jr., Chairman and Founder
Boyd Sturdevant, Jr. has been associated with the mental health industry most of his 40 year career. He developed and recently sold Indiana’s largest freestanding Employee Assistance business and pioneered per-capita mental health managed care programs with employers. Boyd brings a depth of working knowledge in the areas of commercializing mental health services, engaging mental health advocate/consumer groups, measuring perception of treatment outcomes, and, executives coaching and consultation. He has served on his national professional board and chaired the State of Indiana Mental Health Advisory Council. He has a BS from Indiana University and Master of Ministry from Christian Theological Seminary.
Timothy F. Parshall, Vice President of Corporate Affairs
Mr. Parshall has over 25 years experience in global healthcare strategy, marketing and business development. Mr. Parshall has been a Director of Strategic Marketing at both Guidant and Eli Lilly & Company. He led product marketing and technology acquisition efforts on a national and international level. His current focus is on the development of start-up and early-stage revenue companies in both the medical device and biotechnology fields. Mr. Parshall is the founder of Pivotal Strategies—a strategic marketing and business development organization based in Indianapolis, IN. He has a Bachelors Degree in Pharmacy from the University of Sydney and a Master of Business Administration from the University of New South Wales, Australia.
Kenneth G. Payie, Ph.D., RAC- Director of CM&C
Dr. Ken Payie has almost a decade in the large pharma industry in a variety of research and development positions. With a background in large and small molecule Chemistry Manufacturing & Controls (CM&C) development, virtual drug development experience, and Six Sigma black belt execution, Dr. Payie has developed a number of large and small molecule CM&C programs in the Candidate Identification to Phase II space for both large pharma and small drug discovery companies. Dr. Payie has designed and directed drug development programs through outsourcing to Asia, Europe and North American vendors, and dramatically reduced costs to develop assets without compromising Quality. In 2011, Dr. Payie founded KGP-Biotech Consulting LLC to bring his expertise to the scientific and drug development communities. In addition to his involvement with KGP and Confluence, Dr. Payie has held senior positions at Chorus Europe, Vanthys Pharmaceutical Development and Eli Lilly.
Business & Scientific Advisory Boards
Represented in alphabetical order by last name:
Leonard Abbeduto, PhD (SAB emeritus)
Dr. Abbeduto is professor of educational psychology, communicative disorders, and psychology and a director of the internationally recognized MIND institute at University of California, Davis Campus. He is the former associate director for Behavioral Sciences and director of the University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities at the University of Wisconsin's Waisman Center. He is considered one of the leading scholars investigating the language problems of children with intellectual disabilities, including fragile X syndrome, Down Syndrome, Autism, Language Disorders, and family impacts of these developmental disabilities.
He has published over 80 articles, chapters, and reviews, as well as seven books. His research has been supported by the NIH almost continuously since 1984. Among his many notable achievements, Abbeduto has received the Charles J. Anderson Professor of Education in 2008, the UW-Madison Kellett Mid-Career Research Award in 2008, the UW-Madison School of Education Distinguished Faculty Achievement Award in 2008, the Emil A. Steiger Distinguished Teaching Award in 1996, and is a Fellow, American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, and is a past chair of the Department of Educational Psychology. He is the president-elect of the Academy on Mental Retardation and the co-director of the NIH-funded Gatlinburg Conference on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. Dr. Abbeduto earned his PhD in psychology from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1982. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Vanderbilt University before joining the faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1987.
Michael Aman, PhD (SAB)
Dr. Michael Aman is a Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at Ohio State University, where he directs one of eight NIMH Research Units on Pediatric Psychopharmacology. Dr. Aman was a co-developer of the Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC) and of the Nisonger Child Behavior Rating Form (NCBRF). The ABC has been used extensively in pharmacological and other research in people with autism spectrum disorders and other developmental disabilities. To date, there are over 275 studies with the ABC, and it has been translated into at least 26 foreign languages. Dr. Aman has over 220 scholarly publications, including two editions of the popular text, Practitioner's Guide to Psychoactive Drugs for Children and Adolescents. Dr. Aman is on the editorial boards of seven scientific journals. In 2003, Dr. Aman received a Career Scientist Award from the American Academy on Mental Retardation.
Bradley W. Fravel, PhD (BAB, SAB)
Dr. Fravel is a Business Development Manager at the Indiana University Research & Technology Corporation. Brad’s responsibilities include technology evaluation, marketing, intellectual property strategy & management, and technology commercialization. Having held positions as an Academic and an Industry scientist, he understands the benefits of strong relationships between faculty researchers and the private sector. Prior to joining the IURTC, Brad taught Chemistry at Butler University and worked with the Butler Business Accelerator. Brad came to Butler after spending two years in Washington, D.C. evaluating large national and international capital projects as an analyst for the consulting firm, Independent Project Analysis. Prior to IPA, Brad was a research chemist and project manager for Indianapolis-based Reilly Industries, a global specialty chemicals company.
An Indiana native, Brad earned a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Indiana University after graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX. He also has an M.B.A. in Finance from Butler University.
Bryan H. King, M.D. (SAB)
Dr. King is Professor and Vice Chair of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Director of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Washington and Seattle Children’s Hospital. Dr. King’s clinical and research interests have been focused on psychiatric aspects of developmental disorders, repetitive movements, and upon the pathogenesis and treatment of behavioral disturbance in autism. He currently chairs a multi-site psychopharmacology network for the National Institutes of Health funded STAART (Studies to Advance Autism Research and Treatment) Centers formed to examine the potential role for an antidepressant medication in the treatment of children with autism who have significant problems with repetitive behaviors. He is also Director of the NIH funded UW Autism Center of Excellence and the Seattle Children’s Autism Center.
Dr. King completed his medical training at the Medical College of Wisconsin, and subsequently did his medical internship and psychiatric training at the UCLA Medical Center and Neuropsychiatric Institute. He obtained his clinical and research training in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at UCLA and at the Merck Neuroscience Research Center in England with sponsorship of the National Institutes of Health. Dr. King is a co-author on the practice parameters for children and adults with developmental disorders and mental illnesses by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. He has written extensively in the medical literature relating to this field, and has received lifetime achievement awards from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and from the American Psychiatric Association, for his work in the field of Developmental Disabilities.
Elizabeth Berry-Kravis, M.D., PhD (SAB) Dr. Berry-Kravis is the Professor, Department of Pediatrics at Rush Medical College, She is the Co-Director, Molecular Diagnostics Section of the Genetic Laboratory, Rush University. Her medical specialization is psychiatry & neurology (neurology with special qualifications in child neurology). She studies genotype- and phenotype-related neurodegenerative and neurogenetic diseases. Dr. Berry-Kravis has a history of studying Fragile X and established the comprehensive Fragile X Clinic and Research Program at Rush University in 1992. She graduated from University Of Chicago, Pritzker School Of Medicine in 1985. Dr. Berry-Kravis established the comprehensive Fragile X Clinic and Research Program at Rush in 1992, through which she provides care and support to over 400 patients with Fragile X syndrome (FXS) for management of neurological, medical, and behavioral and genetic issues.
Dr. Berry-Kravis has clinical research projects involve studies of epilepsy and psychopharmacology in Fragile X, clinical trials of new promising medications in FXS and development of outcome measures and biomarkers for such trials in the FXS population. She is also involved in research to characterize neurological problems in Fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS) and relate clinical and radiological findings to molecular measures in Fragile X carriers. Her laboratory research involves studies of effects of Fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP) on signal transduction mechanisms in neural cells as well as molecular studies aimed at identifying genetic risks and genotype-phenotype relationships in neurological disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, vascular dementia, congenital central hypoventilation syndrome, and SIDS. She is on the advisory board for both the FRAXA Research Foundation and the National Fragile X Foundation and received the Jarrett Cole Award for clinical work with individuals with Fragile X in 2002 and The Hagerman Award for FXTAS research in 2004 and the FRAXA Champion Award in 2011.
Legal, Regulatory and Other Collaborators
Confluence has retained the services of the following professionals to assist in the Company’s legal, regulatory and other affairs.
Martin Zivitz (Legal Advisor)
Attorney-at-Law
Quarles & Brady LLP
135 North Pennsylvania Street, Suite 2400
Indianapolis, IN 46204-4404
Veristat, LLC (Regulatory Advisor)
134 Turnpike Rd, Suite 200
Southborough, MA 01772
Dr. Abbeduto is professor of educational psychology, communicative disorders, and psychology and a director of the internationally recognized MIND institute at University of California, Davis Campus. He is the former associate director for Behavioral Sciences and director of the University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities at the University of Wisconsin's Waisman Center. He is considered one of the leading scholars investigating the language problems of children with intellectual disabilities, including fragile X syndrome, Down Syndrome, Autism, Language Disorders, and family impacts of these developmental disabilities.
He has published over 80 articles, chapters, and reviews, as well as seven books. His research has been supported by the NIH almost continuously since 1984. Among his many notable achievements, Abbeduto has received the Charles J. Anderson Professor of Education in 2008, the UW-Madison Kellett Mid-Career Research Award in 2008, the UW-Madison School of Education Distinguished Faculty Achievement Award in 2008, the Emil A. Steiger Distinguished Teaching Award in 1996, and is a Fellow, American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, and is a past chair of the Department of Educational Psychology. He is the president-elect of the Academy on Mental Retardation and the co-director of the NIH-funded Gatlinburg Conference on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. Dr. Abbeduto earned his PhD in psychology from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1982. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Vanderbilt University before joining the faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1987.
Michael Aman, PhD (SAB)
Dr. Michael Aman is a Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at Ohio State University, where he directs one of eight NIMH Research Units on Pediatric Psychopharmacology. Dr. Aman was a co-developer of the Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC) and of the Nisonger Child Behavior Rating Form (NCBRF). The ABC has been used extensively in pharmacological and other research in people with autism spectrum disorders and other developmental disabilities. To date, there are over 275 studies with the ABC, and it has been translated into at least 26 foreign languages. Dr. Aman has over 220 scholarly publications, including two editions of the popular text, Practitioner's Guide to Psychoactive Drugs for Children and Adolescents. Dr. Aman is on the editorial boards of seven scientific journals. In 2003, Dr. Aman received a Career Scientist Award from the American Academy on Mental Retardation.
Bradley W. Fravel, PhD (BAB, SAB)
Dr. Fravel is a Business Development Manager at the Indiana University Research & Technology Corporation. Brad’s responsibilities include technology evaluation, marketing, intellectual property strategy & management, and technology commercialization. Having held positions as an Academic and an Industry scientist, he understands the benefits of strong relationships between faculty researchers and the private sector. Prior to joining the IURTC, Brad taught Chemistry at Butler University and worked with the Butler Business Accelerator. Brad came to Butler after spending two years in Washington, D.C. evaluating large national and international capital projects as an analyst for the consulting firm, Independent Project Analysis. Prior to IPA, Brad was a research chemist and project manager for Indianapolis-based Reilly Industries, a global specialty chemicals company.
An Indiana native, Brad earned a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Indiana University after graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX. He also has an M.B.A. in Finance from Butler University.
Bryan H. King, M.D. (SAB)
Dr. King is Professor and Vice Chair of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Director of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Washington and Seattle Children’s Hospital. Dr. King’s clinical and research interests have been focused on psychiatric aspects of developmental disorders, repetitive movements, and upon the pathogenesis and treatment of behavioral disturbance in autism. He currently chairs a multi-site psychopharmacology network for the National Institutes of Health funded STAART (Studies to Advance Autism Research and Treatment) Centers formed to examine the potential role for an antidepressant medication in the treatment of children with autism who have significant problems with repetitive behaviors. He is also Director of the NIH funded UW Autism Center of Excellence and the Seattle Children’s Autism Center.
Dr. King completed his medical training at the Medical College of Wisconsin, and subsequently did his medical internship and psychiatric training at the UCLA Medical Center and Neuropsychiatric Institute. He obtained his clinical and research training in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at UCLA and at the Merck Neuroscience Research Center in England with sponsorship of the National Institutes of Health. Dr. King is a co-author on the practice parameters for children and adults with developmental disorders and mental illnesses by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. He has written extensively in the medical literature relating to this field, and has received lifetime achievement awards from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and from the American Psychiatric Association, for his work in the field of Developmental Disabilities.
Elizabeth Berry-Kravis, M.D., PhD (SAB) Dr. Berry-Kravis is the Professor, Department of Pediatrics at Rush Medical College, She is the Co-Director, Molecular Diagnostics Section of the Genetic Laboratory, Rush University. Her medical specialization is psychiatry & neurology (neurology with special qualifications in child neurology). She studies genotype- and phenotype-related neurodegenerative and neurogenetic diseases. Dr. Berry-Kravis has a history of studying Fragile X and established the comprehensive Fragile X Clinic and Research Program at Rush University in 1992. She graduated from University Of Chicago, Pritzker School Of Medicine in 1985. Dr. Berry-Kravis established the comprehensive Fragile X Clinic and Research Program at Rush in 1992, through which she provides care and support to over 400 patients with Fragile X syndrome (FXS) for management of neurological, medical, and behavioral and genetic issues.
Dr. Berry-Kravis has clinical research projects involve studies of epilepsy and psychopharmacology in Fragile X, clinical trials of new promising medications in FXS and development of outcome measures and biomarkers for such trials in the FXS population. She is also involved in research to characterize neurological problems in Fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS) and relate clinical and radiological findings to molecular measures in Fragile X carriers. Her laboratory research involves studies of effects of Fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP) on signal transduction mechanisms in neural cells as well as molecular studies aimed at identifying genetic risks and genotype-phenotype relationships in neurological disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, vascular dementia, congenital central hypoventilation syndrome, and SIDS. She is on the advisory board for both the FRAXA Research Foundation and the National Fragile X Foundation and received the Jarrett Cole Award for clinical work with individuals with Fragile X in 2002 and The Hagerman Award for FXTAS research in 2004 and the FRAXA Champion Award in 2011.
Legal, Regulatory and Other Collaborators
Confluence has retained the services of the following professionals to assist in the Company’s legal, regulatory and other affairs.
Martin Zivitz (Legal Advisor)
Attorney-at-Law
Quarles & Brady LLP
135 North Pennsylvania Street, Suite 2400
Indianapolis, IN 46204-4404
Veristat, LLC (Regulatory Advisor)
134 Turnpike Rd, Suite 200
Southborough, MA 01772