LionBird 2026 LP Meeting: Boston

Ed worked for 25 years at Abbott Laboratories where he served as Executive Vice President of Diagnostic Products. In this capacity, he oversaw $4B in revenues and 13,000 employees.

Having formed many strategic alliances and research partnerships during his long career, Ed is closely connected with numerous leading companies and customers in the healthcare industry.

From 2012 to 2013, he served on the Board of Directors at Cook County Hospitals System. Ed also currently serves on the Quidel Corporation Board of Directors and is a member of Chicago’s healthcare start-up community, MATTER.

Ed holds a bachelor’s degree in politics and government and a juris doctorate from Indiana University in Bloomington.

Gal previously co-founded and served as CEO of NeuroLabs AI, an opioids dependence prevention platform, tackling the opioid epidemic through ongoing assessment of pain and mood symptoms at home. Gal also previously served as VP Business Development and Director of Healthcare at a multinational AI expert firm, and as an investment analyst at aMoon, the largest venture capital fund in Israel.

Gal holds a PhD in Clinical and NeuroPsychology in chronic pain (for which she was awarded the national Wolf Scholarship) and has frequently published in top tier medical journals such as Vaccine and Psychiatry.

Moran Snir is the founder and CEO of Nest Genomics, an AI-enabled platform that helps health systems launch and scale longitudinal genomic programs. Nest is used by major health systems, primary care networks, and patient advocacy organizations across the U.S. to integrate genomic-based care into provider workflows and bring personalized disease management into routine clinical care.
Moran has spent her career expanding access to genetic services. Prior to Nest, she founded Clear Genetics, creator of the GIA™ chatbot platform for scaling genetic service delivery, which was acquired by Invitae (NVTA) in 2019. At Invitae, she led the Software and Data organization. Earlier, she founded MorNetware, which developed Genometer—a platform that supported ethnic-based carrier screening for more than 90% of pregnancies in Israel over two decades. Moran also held leadership roles in business development and strategy at Medtronic (MDT). She served as an officer in the Israel Defense Forces’ elite software unit and holds a B.S. and M.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Tel Aviv University, as well as an MBA from the Wharton School. She is a two-time Y Combinator alum.

Luis is the co-founder and CEO of Jimini Health, a company transforming mental healthcare by combining clinician-led therapy with Sage, its AI-driven virtual assistant.​ Prior to Jimini, Luis was the founding CTO of Immunai, an AI-driven immune system mapping company. He is also a lecturer at Stanford GSB in Management and Entrepreneurship for Al companies and holds a BSc, MSc from MIT.

Itschak co-founded and served as the CEO, president, and Chief Architect of STARLIMS, a global scientific informatics software provider, selling to Fortune 500 companies and governments.

Itschak leads LionBird’s Advisory Councils, assisting portfolio companies from product ideation and technological roadmap through first sales and delivery.

Itschak holds a B.Sc. degree in Geology from the Hebrew University.

Born in Rama, an Israeli Palestinian-Arab village in the Galilee region of Israel, Prof. Jacob (Yaqub) Hanna earned his BSc in medical science (2001), PhD in immunology (2007), and MD in clinical medicine summa cum laude (2007) from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He conducted postdoctoral research at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research at MIT. He joined the department of Molecular Genetics at the Weizmann Institute in 2011.
Prof. Hanna is pioneering techniques in induced naïve pluripotency from adult cell and synthetic whole embryo-like developmental models made solely from stem cells ex utero for regenerating new organs and tissues. Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells have regenerative properties almost identical to those of embryonic stem cells but can be created from adult cells without using an egg or fetal material. Prof. Hanna was the lead researcher in a study that showed how further-modified iPS cells could be used to treat sickle-cell anemia in mice, the first proof of concept of the therapeutic application of iPS cells. Prof. Hanna has uncovered novel pathways regulating the reprogramming process and was the first to derive pristine “naïve” human pluripotent cells equivalent to those derived from mice and (i) can generate “cross-species humanized chimeric” mouse models that have human derived tissues (ii) can give rise to human primordial germ cell (progenitors of egg or sperm) and restore fertility or (iii) to all extra-embryonic compartments (placenta and yolk-sac). He was the first to expand prolonged periods of advanced and normal mammalian embryo development from pre-gastrulation until late organogenesis in an “artificial uterus” environment outside the maternal womb. The latter platform enabled him to demonstrate the ability to be the first to generate advanced stage & whole stem cell derived developmental models made entirely from naïve pluripotent stem cells in the petri dish, that can complete gastrulation and demonstrate organ formation within adequate extra-embryonic compartments. He adapted these approaches and was able to derive the first complete human embryo-like developmental models equivalent to day 14 made from human naïve stem cells. In addition to demonstrating the power of cell reprogramming and ex utero advanced embryogenesis, his work offers the promise of new research models for restoring and rejuvenating organs, infertility, pregnancy failure and human tissue development.
During his postdoctoral work, Prof. Hanna received a prestigious Novartis Fellowship from the Helen Hay Whitney Foundation. In 2010, he was awarded the Sir Charles Clore Prize for Outstanding Appointment in the Weizmann Institute. He received an EMBO young investigator award (2012), a Rappaport Prize in biomedical research (2013), a Krill Prize by the Wolf Foundation (2013), and the Helen and Martin Kimmel Award for Innovative Investigation (2014). In 2014, he was featured among “40 under 40” innovative scientists by the prestigious journal Cell and was elected as a member of EMBO in 2018. In 2021, he ranked at the top of the list of 50 leading world thinkers by Prospect magazine. In 2025 he received the Nakasone award by the Human Frontiers Science Program (HFSP) for his groundbreaking work on naïve stem cell derived high fidelity developmental embryo models.

Toby King is a Senior Managing Director in Investment Banking at Leerink Partners, focused on the Healthcare Provider continuum. With over 20 years of Healthcare Investment Banking experience, he has advised some of the industry’s leading healthcare providers and private equity firms across a wide variety of situations.

Toby joined Leerink Partners in 2021 from Citigroup, where he spent more than a decade, most recently as Managing Director and Head of North America Healthcare leading efforts with individual coverage across hospitals, alternate-site providers, behavioral health, outsourcing and post-acute care. Prior to Citigroup, he spent over ten years in the Healthcare Group at Merrill Lynch. Prior to investment banking, he worked at HCA’s Corporate Finance and Development group.

He holds a B.A. from Bellarmine University and an M.B.A. from The University of Chicago, Booth School of Business.

Prior to co-founding LionBird, Jonathan worked for the CEO of Azzorti, a multi-national consumer products company, managing new product launches, sales operations and other cross-functional projects.

He is a member of The Kauffman Fellows Program (Class 24) and a graduate of the University of Michigan and of IDC Herzliyah’s MBA in Entrepreneurship and Innovation. He has been frequently featured on TechCrunch and VentureBeat, and also compiles the popular LionBird Bites newsletter, which is read by most of the VC industry in Israel.

David Talinovsky is the Co-Founder and CEO of Bluespine. For the last 20 years, he has led global operations for a number of leading, multinational tech companies. As the former SecuPi COO, David created and promoted the company’s business growth strategy, sales and marketing initiatives, business development activities, field operations, R&D operations, partner relations, finance, and more. Before joining SecuPi, David served as Director of Field Operations at CyberBit, managing 40+ engineers responsible for 4 different product lines. He also served as Head of COST and Field operations at Imperva, the global leader in Web Application Firewall services, and as a Senior R&D Group Leader and Product Manager at Varonis.

Assaf has over 20 years of experience in the tech world and was most recently a Venture Partner at UpWest, heading the Israel office. Prior to UpWest, he was a Partner at Viola Credit, part of Viola Group, Israel’s largest multi-strategy tech investment group. During the seven years with Viola, Assaf worked closely with great companies to provide them with the growth capital needed to reach their next step. Before Viola, Assaf was a corporate lawyer and prior to that he held various product and project management positions at iMDsoft, a leading digital health company providing Clinical Information Systems (CIS) for critical care. The company was later acquired by TPG Growth.

Assaf is passionately involved with helping Israel’s new generation of entrepreneurs. He serves on the board of Unistream, an education not-for-profit dedicated to improving the lives of children from Israel’s periphery through technology. He holds an LL.B. (Law), a B.A. (Business Administration) and an LL.M. (Magna Cum Laude) from the Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya, Israel and an MBA from the Kellogg-Recanati Executive Program. In 2018, he was named as one of 40 promising young leaders under the age of 40 by Globes Magazine.

Mohamed oversees TELUS Health in delivering world-leading, transformative health solutions covering more than 150 million lives across 200 countries and territories.
Mohamed El-Demerdash brings over 25 years of global healthcare technology leadership to his role as President of TELUS Health. Prior to joining TELUS, he spent 27 years at GE HealthCare, where he held a series of senior leadership positions across technology innovation, commercial operations and global market expansion.
In his current role as President of TELUS Health, Mohamed leads a global team of nearly 10,000 team members who are on a mission to leverage our world-leading technology innovation to improve the health and wellbeing of individuals around the world. His passion for improving global health outcomes – shaped by his diverse international experiences – is what led him to TELUS Health and its holistic approach to primary and preventive health and wellbeing. By integrating advanced healthcare technology with comprehensive employee support services, he is focused on scaling TELUS Health’s innovative digital health platforms that empower healthcare professionals, employers and governments to deliver personalized care efficiently, expanding access for all, and driving innovation that enhances care and wellbeing worldwide.
Mohamed also directly oversees TELUS Health’s extensive Electronic Medical Records, Pharmacy Management Software, and claim adjudication and claims transport businesses. Our focus on a trusted, client-centric approach is critical in shaping how Payor & Provider Solutions is evolving to meet the ever-changing needs of our clients and the industry, and improving patient care across Canada.
Prior to joining TELUS Health, Mohamed led GE HealthCare’s service business across the U.S. and Canada. Under his leadership, the business delivered sustained profitable growth and introduced transformative operational solutions that improved efficiency and care delivery for large hospital networks.
Earlier in his career, Mohamed served as Chief Technology Officer for GE HealthCare’s MRI business, where he led global R&D teams in launching award-winning innovations. These included the industry-first air coil technology – recognized as Best New Radiology Device – and the first FDA-approved AI-based deep learning reconstruction for MRI.
A seasoned international executive, Mohamed has lived and worked across Africa, the Middle East, India, Turkey, Russia and Southeast Asia. He successfully established new operations and go-to-market strategies in multiple regions, managing both direct and indirect commercial channels.
He holds advanced degrees in Engineering Management from Marquette University and is widely recognized for his ability to lead cultural transformation, build high-performance teams, and translate vision into scalable impact.

Michael Kalishman is the Chief Venture Officer for Sentara Health, a Virginia-based, integrated, not-for-profit health care delivery system. Sentara is one of the largest health systems in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic and Southeast, and among the top 20 largest not-for-profit integrated health systems in the country. In his role he is responsible for Venture and Innovation including investments, partnerships, co-development, and new product and service creation. Michael joined Sentara in 2023.

Prior to joining Sentara, Michael served as Executive Director, Strategic Investments for AdventHealth, Director, Innovation & Incubations for Ascension, and has co-founded multiple companies.

Itamar Perlov is co-founder and CEO of ecton, leveraging his extensive experience in product strategy and global partnerships. Previously, he held senior roles at JPMorgan Chase & Co., including Vice President and Executive Director, where he led digital financial health initiatives. His career spans across major financial institutions like UBS and the Bank of Israel, with a strong foundation in economics and business administration from Harvard Business School and The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Raviv is the co-founder & CEO of PhaseV, a technology company that empowers biopharma sponsors and CROs with AI/ML-driven solutions for fast, efficient, and accurate clinical development decisions. Raviv holds a B.Sc. and M.Sc. in engineering from the Technion (Cum Laude) and Ph.D. in computational neuroscience from the Weizmann Institute (Magna Cum Laude, John F. Kennedy Prize). For over 15 years, Raviv was a technological leader in the defense and tech industries, leading top intelligence technological developments, and won several prestigious awards. He transitioned into the health-tech industry and joined Immunai as SVP of Operations and Analytics, before founding PhaseV. In his spare time, Raviv loves running long distances and has completed a few full marathons and triathlon.

Dr. Ittai Dayan is the Co-Founder and CEO of Rhino Federated Computing, a company transforming the way data is used for creating and deploying Artificial Intelligence solutions in regulated industries. A pioneer of bringing privacy preservation technologies into regulated industries, Dr. Dayan previously served as the Executive Director at Mass General Brigham’s Center for Data Science and held managerial roles at Boston Consulting Group. Dr. Dayan graduated from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and earned his MD and his Bachelor of Science degrees from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He also serves on the Editorial Board of Nature Digital Medicine.

Chaim co-founded and served as the CFO of STARLIMS, a global scientific informatics software provider, selling to Fortune 500 companies and governments.

In this role, Chaim directed the company’s financial and commercial operations including the company’s 2007 Nasdaq IPO and subsequent $123 million acquisition by Abbott in 2010.

Chaim holds a B.Sc. degree in economics and management from Technion.