Our Team
Dr. John Morehead, MD, FACOG
Inventor, President, CTO
Dr. Morehead has been a board certified obstetric and gynecologic physician for 38 years, with a concentration in high-risk obstetrical care. He is the inventor of Avana Health’s HemmoStat system. He received his degree in medicine from The University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center. Dr. Morehead has previously served as the director of women’s and children’s services at Baptist Memorial Hospital and was the Ob/Gyn department chairman for eight years at St. Francis Hospital. Dr. Morehead currently practices as an Ob/Gyn hospitalist.
Peter Pacult, MBA
CEO
Mr. Pacult has 20 years of experience in finance and life sciences. With extensive operational experience, he has previously built organizations from the ground up and assembled high-performance teams. Mr. Pacult served as the Vice President, Research and Development, for a commodities firm. Attracted to making a positive impact on human health, he transitioned to life sciences where he has led multi-million dollar drug and clinical development programs in cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. He has consulted across a number of industries, having a passion for health, sustainability, and education, and served as a Graduate Student Instructor at University of Michigan. He holds an MBA, with a focus on strategy and leadership, from University of Michigan Ross School of Business and a BA from Northwestern University.
Michael Royals, DVM
CSO
Dr. Royals trained as a translational medicine specialist in the DVM/Ph.D. program at Colorado State University. He subsequently managed a California-based contract research laboratory for B. Braun Medical, serving as PI for GLP safety and toxicology studies, and developing complex animal models for a wide range of medical applications. From there he founded Bio-Logistics Medical, and codeveloped wound care, ophthalmic, cardiac, and drug delivery technologies with corporate partners. During this phase he became deeply involved in the development of vaccine technologies for global public health applications. His current skill set includes management of international clinical trials, product regulatory approvals, extensive stakeholder relationship management, and business development.
Kristina Cabala
Advisory Board
Ms. Cabala has 30+ years senior executive experience. She formerly served as Pfizer’s Director of Clinical Research and Strategic Alliances, Australia and New Zealand, and Sanofi’s Head of Clinical Research Unit, Australia and New Zealand. Additionally, Ms. Cabala has extensive experience in the not-for-profit research sector. She brings comprehensive clinical development experience in global Phase I-IV, having led pivotal registration trials at the regional level for flagship products including Plavix, Viagra, Caduet and Lyrica.
Howard Settle, CPA
CFO
Mr. Settle has 50 years’ experience in business, entrepreneurship, and philanthropy. He previously founded a $500mm company and has successfully raised $250mm for different ventures over his career. He was Avana’s initial angel investor. Mr. Settle received his BA in Accounting from University of Kentucky.
Angela Morehead, DNP, FNP
Research Director
Dr. Morehead has been a women’s healthcare provider for more than 15 years and is the Research Director for Avana Health. She received a BSN and MSN from Middle Tennessee State University, and her DNP from Belmont University. Dr. Morehead has cared for patients in both inpatient and outpatient settings, and has taught nursing students at the undergraduate and graduate level. She is an adjunct professor at Franklin University, and currently serves on the Tennessee Maternal Mortality Review Committee and National Association for Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health Competency Committee. Dr. Morehead has published and presented on a wide variety of women’s health topics.
Partners and Collaborators
Gilero
Medical Device Engineer
Gilero works with some of the most trusted brands in the world to design innovative medical devices, drug delivery systems, and combination products. Our medical device manufacturing services integrate years of design, engineering, and manufacturing expertise. With a proven capacity to innovate, scale and commercialize, Gilero’s domestic and international facilities are equipped to develop unique manufacturing solutions and accelerate device commercialization timelines. Gilero is FDA registered, ISO 13485 certified and compliant with cGMPs.
www.gilero.com
The Gnomon Group
Regulatory
The Gnomon Group is a network of 15 regulatory consultants with over 200 years of combined pharmaceutical development experience in large and small companies, CROS, and as consultants. They have provided regulatory support for over 150 Investigative New Drug (IND) applications, including 15 compounds from early development to approved New Drug Application (NDA). Their expertise spans chemistry, manufacturing and controls (CMC), good manufacturing/laboratory/clinical practices (GMP, GLP, GCP), biostatistics, data management, medical writing, data safety medical board (DSMB) support), clinical operations, pharmacokinetics, pharmacology/toxicology, medical monitor and drug safety, esubmissions, and project management. The Gnomon Group has US and International regulatory experience across all phases of development for drugs, biologics, and medical devices.