Meet the Team
Building on the foundational work at UC San Diego by Melio’s co-founders, we have grown into a high-performing and inventive team, pulling together expertise across both engineering and life sciences.
MRIDU SINHA, PHD
Mridu is the Co-Founder and CEO of Melio and the inventor of the company’s core patented technology, which originated from her doctoral research in bioengineering at UC San Diego and was recognized with the department’s Best PhD Thesis award. She is a scientist-entrepreneur with a proven track record of translating breakthrough healthcare technologies into clinical practice, from licensing neurotechnology innovations to developing statewide newborn-screening tools used across California hospitals. Since co-founding Melio in 2018, she has built deep partnerships with clinicians, laboratories, and healthcare stakeholders, positioning the company for successful market adoption and scale.
WENDY WONG
Wendy brings more than 20 years of experience transforming diagnostic innovations into commercially successful products. Formerly a VP of Assay Development and VP of Portfolio Management at Cepheid, she launched over 15 IVD infectious disease and oncology products across the U.S. and Europe, including a rapid COVID-19 test, and played a key role in scaling the company from 100+ to >10,000 associates.
MARIE PICHENOT, MD
Marie is an infectious diseases physician and clinical research leader with over 15 years of experience at the intersection of patient care, antimicrobial stewardship, and diagnostic innovation. As Chief of Infectious Diseases and Antimicrobial Stewardship Program at Roubaix Hospital, she has led initiatives to optimize the use of diagnostics and antimicrobials, contributed to numerous clinical research programs, and built a global network of key opinion leaders. Her expertise ensures that Melio’s innovations align with real-world clinical needs.
ARMAN ZAND, MBA
Arman brings over 27 years of experience in startup finance and venture capital. He provides strategic financial leadership for Melio, overseeing financial planning, investor relations, and Series A readiness, while leading the company’s VC, operating, and budget-to-actuals models. He also leads Melio’s accounting function through his firm, AZ Finance, and teaches finance at UC Berkeley Haas.
CLARE FASCHING, PHD
Clare is a molecular diagnostics leader with more than 10 years of experience translating breakthrough biochemistry into robust, scalable diagnostic products. Formerly the Associate Director of Clinical and Assay R&D at Mammoth Biosciences, she led the development of CRISPR-based diagnostic assays and is named on more than 20 patents and patent applications.
KHUSHROO GANDHI, PHD
Khushroo has over 30 years of experience scaling microfluidic, biotech, and life-science technologies from concept through high-volume commercial production. He successfully took multiple platforms through scale-up and CMO-managed production while driving 50% reductions in consumables costs during his executive tenures at Curate Biosciences and Caliper Life Sciences.
LUC BOUSSE, PHD
Luc is a pioneering microfluidics innovator with more than 30 years of experience translating breakthrough technologies into commercially successful products. Through leadership roles at QuantaLife (acquired by Bio-Rad), Caliper Life Sciences, Wako, and Intabio, he has developed high-volume microfluidic platforms that supported multiple successful exits and product launches, while generating 72 issued U.S. patents and more than 90 scientific publications.
LORENA INIGUEZ
Lorena is an HR and Compliance Consultant at Melio with more than 25 years of human resources leadership experience. Since 2019, she has partnered with startups and growing companies to build compliant, scalable HR practices that support business growth. Previously, she served as Vice President of Human Resources at Nanosys and Human Resources Director for California Superstores Automotive Group. Lorena is a trusted advisor to leadership teams and holds both the PHR and SHRM-CP certifications.
CHRIS SETO
Chris brings a unique blend of scientific, operational, and investigative experience to Melio, combining her background as an assay development scientist at Roche Sequencing Solutions with leading complex background investigations and due diligence research as a private investigator manager. She applies this multidisciplinary perspective to optimize operations, strengthen cross-functional execution, and build scalable processes that support efficiency, compliance, and strategic growth in a fast-paced startup environment.
AKASH KIRANI, MS
Akash specializes in Quality and Regulatory Affairs for medical device startups, with experience in ISO 13485 quality management systems, document control, internal and external audits, FDA 510(k) submissions, and international regulatory compliance. At Melio, he plays a key role in implementing and maintaining an ISO 13485:2016-compliant QMS, managing the eQMS, supporting regulatory submissions, and helping establish a robust quality and compliance infrastructure that enabled product development, regulatory readiness, and the company’s continued growth.
KATHY PERRY, PHD
Kathy brings more than 25 years of experience in quality assurance, medical device development, and commercialization. She has built Quality Management Systems from the ground up at Mammoth Biosciences and Twist Bioscience, led quality and regulatory initiatives through FDA and ISO compliance, and championed the launch of NGS and genetic analysis products at Thermo Fisher Scientific. At Melio, she provides strategic oversight for regulatory compliance with FDA and ISO standards, manages risk throughout the product lifecycle, and ensures the effectiveness of critical quality initiatives.
SARTHAK SINGH, MS
Sarthak turns raw experimental data into reliable, decision-ready information. As a Data Engineer at Melio, he owns the full data lifecycle behind our microfluidic chip platform — ingestion, transformation, loading, and analytics — giving data scientists clean, model-ready datasets and partnering with the software team on feature engineering and analytics-driven tooling. An MS Data Science graduate from Rutgers with deep expertise in Python, Data Structures, SQL, AWS, and cloud-native pipelines, Sarthak strengthens every stage of the data flow that powers decision-making across Melio’s large-scale biological assays.
HIMANSHU CHITTORA
Himanshu is a full-stack software engineer with expertise in user experience design, data visualization, and modern web application development. He leads the development of software infrastructure for data curation and visualization at Melio, building intuitive tools that enable efficient analysis of complex diagnostic data while accelerating product development and enhancing the user experience.
SAURABH MEHTA
Saurabh is a full-stack developer specializing in scalable application development, database architecture, and cloud-based infrastructure. He drives the migration of critical databases and applications to the cloud, enhancing system performance, accessibility, and collaboration across internal teams and external R&D partners. His work supports the development of a robust technology platform that enables efficient data management, streamlines research operations, and accelerates innovation.
ADITYA NAIR
Aditya combines expertise in computer science, data analysis, and machine learning to develop computational solutions that extract meaningful information from complex datasets. After completing an internship with Melio, Aditya joined the team full-time, where he develops data-driven tools, machine learning workflows, and software infrastructure that support research and product development initiatives.
JAMIE BOBOLIS
Jamie is a clinical microbiologist and IVD development expert with over 36 years of experience translating microbial assay concepts into commercial diagnostic products. During her three decades at Beckman Coulter (MicroScan), she was the subject matter expert in bacterial and fungal identification, antimicrobial susceptibility testing, and clinical microbiology workflows. An inventor and patent-holder in rapid fluorescent microbial detection, she has co-authored and presented scientific posters at more than 20 American Society for Microbiology (ASM) conferences and brings deep expertise in microbial phenotype analysis, MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry, and clinical diagnostics.
APOORVA RAVI SHANKAR, PHD
Apoorva is a molecular biologist with expertise in assay development, CRISPR technologies, RT-qPCR, and next-generation sequencing (NGS). She earned her PhD in Biology from West Virginia University and completed postdoctoral training at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Prior to joining Melio, she led assay development and high-throughput screening initiatives at Amazon and Hexagon Bio, where she expanded pathogen detection panels and optimized genomic library workflows, increasing throughput by 70%.
JULIA WELLONS, MS
Julia specializes in molecular assay development and optimization, with hands-on experience integrating digital PCR (dPCR) assays into proprietary sample preparation and microfluidic platforms. Her expertise includes primer design for broad bacterial pathogen and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) detection, assay optimization and selection, and development of lyophilized reagent formulations that enhance assay performance and manufacturability.
SAMARPITA ROYBARDHAN, MS
Samarpita is a molecular biologist with more than 10 years of experience developing molecular diagnostics for infectious diseases. Prior to joining Melio, she was a Senior Scientist at Cepheid, where she helped lead the technical strategy and assay development for a next-generation 10-color multiplex qPCR tuberculosis test on the GeneXpert platform. Her expertise spans molecular assay development, multiplex PCR optimization, and translating complex research into robust, clinically deployable diagnostic products.
KE-CHIH LIN, PHD
KC is an interdisciplinary R&D engineer specializing in microfluidic system integration, microfabrication, and automated life science workflows. He holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering from Princeton University, where his pioneering work on cancer-on-a-chip platforms was supported by competitive NSF and institutional research funding. A prolific innovator with 9 peer-reviewed journal publications and 17 patents, his expertise spans CAD prototyping, cleanroom fabrication, multi-physics simulation (COMSOL), and cross-functional machine learning integration. KC bridges the gap between hardware engineering and complex cell biology to deliver scaled, high-impact biotechnology products.
NEIL DEEMAN, MS
Neil brings more than 40 years of expertise in manufacturing engineering, process development, and scale-up, helping translate deep-tech innovations into high-yield commercial products. With executive and engineering leadership experience at Seagate Technology, Luminit, and Intematix, he specializes in microfabrication, advanced substrates, precision coatings, and scalable manufacturing processes that drive product quality, production efficiency, and commercial success. Prior to joining Melio, Neil helped develop a cartridge-based PCR multiplexing device for Decheng Capital.
BRADEN STUBBERT, MS
Braden is an Electrical Engineer specializing in hardware development and electrical systems for advanced diagnostic platforms. He earned his MS in Biomedical Engineering from San Jose State University and joined Melio full-time after successfully completing an engineering internship with the company. His work focuses on designing and optimizing electrical architectures that enhance system performance, reliability, and scalability while supporting the development of next-generation diagnostic technologies.
ADVISORS
STEPHANIE FRALEY, PHD
Co-Founder and Advisor
CLAUDE BENCHIMOL, PHD
Business Advisor
WILLIAM “BILL” BENITZ, MD
Clinical Development Advisor
DAVID PRIDE, MD, PHD
Clinical Development and Adoption Advisor
SHRABANI BURMAN, MBA
Enterprise Platform and Software Advisor
RYAN SIMKOVSKY, PHD
Assay Development Advisor
SOWMYA ARUNKUMAR
Regulatory Affairs Advisor
RAMON FELICIANO, PHD
Product Development and Strategy Advisor
DAN SCHMITIGAL
Fluidics and Operations Advisor
TODD PETERSON, PHD
Biotech and R&D Advisor
ELLEN JO BARON, PHD
Clinical Development and Adoption Advisor
TODD COLEMAN
Advisor and Board Member
SHELLEY LAWRENCE MD, MS
Advisor and Board Member
ANULA JAYASURIYA, MD, PHD, MBA
Advisor and Board Member
RAVI MISTRY, MS, MBA
Advisor and Board Member
SRINIVAS VANGALA, MBA, MS
Advisor and Board Member