Eric H. Ledet, Ph.D.
is Vice President of Research & Development and Director of the Health Innovation Incubator & Technology Center. Dr. Ledet is a biomedical engineer with 26 years of award-winning translational research experience, 20 years of consulting for the medical devices industry, and 10 years’ experience as a serial entrepreneur in the medical devices sector. He is also an award-winning educator who has developed curricula and taught courses on design, product development, and technology transfer. He has served on the medical advisory boards of multiple medical device companies and Dr. Ledet is Chief Science Officer and Co-Founder of ReVivo Medical, Inc. He was also co-founder of I/O Surgical, LLC., inSense Medical, LLC., and Proactive Innovations, LLC. Dr. Ledet has won two SBIR awards and has also served as a reviewer on seven SBIR study sections. He is also an Adjunct Professor in Orthopaedic Surgery at the Albany Medical College. Prior to his current role, he was a Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a Research Scientist in the Rehabilitation R&D Service at the Stratton VA Medical Center. Dr. Ledet received his BS in mechanical engineering from the University of Arizona and his MS and Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Larry Ruff, Ph.D.
is Operations Manager of the Health Innovation Incubator & Technology Center. Dr. Ruff is a mechanical engineer with close to 50 years of experience in manufacturing and in the design and development of manufacturing equipment and systems. He has also designed, developed, and manufactured many discrete products that have been commercialized. Dr. Ruff has worked both in industry and academia throughout his career. He has expertise in machining, injection molding, metal forming, additive manufacturing and many other manufacturing processes. He also has extensive expertise in robotics and automation. Prior to his current role, Dr. Ruff was a Senior Systems Engineer at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and managed the Manufacturing Innovation Learning Laboratory (MILL) along with teaching classes in manufacturing and engineering design. Dr. Ruff received his BS, MEng and Ph.D., all in mechanical engineering, from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Elizabeth Capogna, Ph.D.
serves as a technical advisor for the Health Innovation Incubator & Technology Center. Dr. Capogna is a biomedical engineer with 7 years of experience conducting translational research in spine biomechanics and medical device design. She is skilled in solid modeling and in the design, development, and prototyping of medical devices. During her doctoral studies, Dr. Capogna was a 4-year fellow of the Health Innovation Incubator & Technology Center. She is currently a lecturer in Biomedical Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Dr. Capogna received her BS in biomedical engineering from the University at Buffalo and her M.Eng. and Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Benjamin J. Liddle
is a Fellow of the Health Innovation Incubator & Technology Center. Benjamin has been a fellow for 2 years and has contributed his expertise in electronics and electrical engineering to several projects. Benjamin is a Ph.D. candidate in the Innovative Medical Devices Laboratory at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute where his research focuses on wireless implantable sensors. Prior to attending graduate school, Benjamin spent 2.5 years as an R&D intern at Sandia National Labs in Albuquerque, NM, defining product requirements and test plans for electrical components. Benjamin received his BS in Electrical Engineering, with a focus in Microwave Engineering and Instrumentation from the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque.
Rebecca Levy
is a Fellow of the Health Innovation Incubator & Technology Center. Rebecca has been a fellow for 2 years. She has a background in engineering, machining techniques, including additive manufacturing, and extensive work with computer aided drafting. Rebecca is a Ph.D. student in Biomedical Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Her doctoral work encompasses device development for optimizing spinal fusion. The skills she applies in her research also apply to the research and product development at the Incubator. Rebecca received her BS in biomedical engineering from Tulane University and expects to earn her Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in December 2022.