Marina Damino & Alexandra de Paz

Marina Damiano is the owner of Damiano Group, a technical communications consulting practice serving the medical technology and healthcare industries, STEM researchers in academia, and non-profits. Her work and philosophy are influenced by her diverse experiences as a scientist developing nanoparticles to treat cancer, a communications specialist spreading the word about science and healthcare companies, a coach to help STEM researchers communicate clearly and confidently about their research, and as an entrepreneur building and sustaining her own business. Marina’s educational background includes B.S. and B.A. degrees in Chemistry and German from DePaul University and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Northwestern University. She is also the past-president of the Association for Women in Science, Chicago Chapter.

Alexandra de Paz is the Assistant Director of New Ventures at the Innovation and New Ventures Office (INVO) and the Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (NUCATS). Previously, she worked with Nick Maull as a N.XT Fund Venture Associate where she performed due diligence on Northwestern startup companies for N.XT investment. Prior to N.XT, she completed the INVO Practicum where she evaluated patentability, marketability, and commercialization potential for new Northwestern technologies. Alexandra also received a certificate from Kellogg’s Management for Scientists and Engineers program. She completed her synthetic biology-focused Ph.D. in Keith Tyo’s lab at Northwestern as part of the Interdisciplinary Biological Sciences (IBiS) graduate program. Prior to joining Northwestern, Alexandra obtained a B.S. in Interdisciplinary Biomolecular Engineering from the University of Florida.