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Meet Our Team

Advances in medical research happen at Coriell because of the exceptional people who work here.

We have various educational backgrounds and we operate in assorted roles in many areas, such as molecular biology, genomics, information technology, facilities, finance, stem cell research, and communications.

In the end, we’re all connected in our enterprise to advance medical breakthroughs that improve people’s lives. 

Jean-Pierre Issa, MD

President and CEO

Jean-Pierre Issa, MD, is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Coriell Institute for Medical Research. As such, Dr. Issa leads all aspects of the Coriell Institute in its mission to better understand human health and disease as well as serve as a trusted supplier of high quality biomaterials to the global scientific community.

Dr. Issa is an expert in the study of epigenetics – how the turning on and off of genes affects our health – and to better understanding epigenetic changes in aging and cancerous cells.

Donna Altamuro

Associate Director, Biobanking Logistics & Customer Service

Donna oversees Coriell's Biobanking Logistics and Customer Service teams, ensuring safe sample storage and procession and quality support for Coriell's global customer base.

Denise Buscher

Interim Chief Financial Officer

As interim Chief Financial Officer, Denise oversees the financial health of the Institute, leads the organization on major strategic decisions, and manages all aspects of financial planning, analysis, reporting, and forecasting.

Ryan Cunningham

Director, Finance 

At Coriell, Ryan manages fiscal year forecasting, enterprisal-executive level reporting, and contracts management. Additionally, Ryan's team analyzes end-to-end business health from proposal to execution.

Courtney Mengel Dirks, JD

Senior Director, External Affairs

In this capacity, she works to elevate the Institution’s public image and its relationships with the public, especially elected officials, external stakeholders and community partners.  

Stacey Heil, MS, MBA

Associate Director, Business Development

Stacey connects the needs of scientists, foundations, and organizations to the product and service offerings at Coriell.

Kelly Hodges

Associate Director, Laboratory Production

As Associate Director of Laboratory Production, Kelly leads the Coriell’s cell culture and molecular biology teams.

Phill Hodges

Associate Director, IT Infrastructure

Phill is the Associate Director of IT Infrastructure    and oversees all computer infrastructure for the Coriell Institute.

Jaroslav Jelinek, MD, PhD

Chief Scientific Officer

Jaroslav is the Chief Scientific Officer at Coriell and as such oversees all research efforts and directs an epigenetic research group at the Institute.

Xing Jian, PhD

Research Scientist

Xing is a Repository Scientist for the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) Human Genetics Resource Center at the Coriell Institute.

Leo Jose, MBA

Chief Information Officer & Vice President of Innovation

Leo is the Chief Information Officer and Vice President of Innovation and is responsible for all key technology initiatives critical for Coriell’s

Jozef Madzo, PhD

Director, Bioinformatics

In his role as director of bioinformatics, Jozef steers and oversees all bioinformatics work at the Coriell Institute.

Matthew W. Mitchell, PhD

Program Manager

Matt is the Co-Principal Investigator of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences Human Genetic Cell Repository and the National Human Genome Research Institute Sample Repository.

Diego Morales, MBA, PhD

Associate Director, Laboratory Services

Diego oversees Coriell's Research and Development Department to implement new products and services for Coriell's global customer base.

Ruby O'Lexy, PhD

Vice President, Academic Affairs

Ruby helps to expand Coriell’s research capacity by pinpointing funding opportunities which align with the institute’s priorities.

Laura Scheinfeldt, PhD

Director, Repository Science 

Laura is the principal investigator of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) Human Genetics Resource Center at the Coriell Institute. 

Bob Stokes

Director, Facilities

Bob is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Institute’s facility, its infrastructure, oversees Coriell’s procurement, shipping and receiving departments.

Nahid Turan, PhD

Chief Biobanking Officer

Nahid oversees all biobanking agreements as well as all of Coriell's biobanking and laboratory operations.