About Sonnest

The inspiration for Electrast™ began in 2015 through a collaboration between Dr. Wrenn, the company’s Chief Scientific Officer and professor of Chemical Engineering at Drexel University, and Dr. Brett Angel, an electrophysiologist at Drexel. The team began experimenting to create a voltage-activated ultrasound contrast agent and secured a grant from the Drexel Coulter Foundation to support the initial development work. In 2019, the Drexel inventors partnered with a team of successful healthcare executives and entrepreneurs to form Sonnest, and to continue product development of and commercialization of Electrast™.

Meet Our Team

Sonnest’s team combines extensive startup experience, business acumen and clinical expertise in the cardiology and electrophysiology.

Josh has been an early stage medical technology business leader for the past 20 years. He has worked across various different therapeutic verticals including drug delivery, neuromodulation, pain management and cancer screening and detection. His latest position prior to joining Sonnest was in an operating partner role as COO of a Private Equity backed urgent care platform that he led to a successful exit to MedStar.

Peter is a successful healthcare entrepreneur with a background in business, science and law.  He was a co-founding member of Harpoon Medical where he negotiated and managed all aspects of a complex structured financing and the subsequent acquisition by Edwards Lifesciences ($250M with $100M upfront), generating >100% IRR for all investors. Mr. Boyd also has extensive legal experience from working as an associate at Latham & Watkins in Silicon Valley where he represented a wide range of companies and VC’s on a variety of transactions including venture financings, joint ventures, licensing transactions and M&A deals.  He has a JD/MBA from the University of Virginia.

Prof. Wrenn earned a BS in Chemical Engineering with honors from Virginia Tech in 1991 and a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Delaware in 1999. Wrenn’s industrial experience includes one year with GE Plastics and three years with Zeneca, Inc. Wrenn is a tenured Full Professor at Drexel University, where his honors include an NSF CAREER Award and an Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellowship and where his research has been supported by NSF, NIH, the USDA, the Whitaker Foundation, and the Coulter Foundation, among others.

Dr. Brett Angel is an invasive cardiologist board certified in Cardiac Electrophysiology. He is board certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Disease, and Echocardiography and is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at Drexel University. Dr. Angel is member of the Heart Rhythm Society and the American College of Cardiology with an M.D from the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa, international clinical experience in the United Kingdom and specialist medical training at Albert Einstein Medical Center and Drexel University in the United States.

Michael is a scientist whose PhD thesis was focused around the technical aspects that govern Electrast™ and he is an inventor on the patent family disclosing voltage-activated diagnostic, therapeutic and/or “theranostic” constructs. He has won numerous awards in the US and abroad including the Koerner Family Fellowship, the GAANN Education Fellowship, the NSF Graduate International Research Experience Fellowship, and the Fulbright Open Research Fellowship. Mr. Cimorelli has a PhD from Drexel University and a BS in chemical engineering from Rowan University.

Michael Flynn is an alumnus from the Wrenn Colloids Laboratory at Drexel University, where he completed his B.S. and M.S. in chemical engineering. During his time at Drexel and Sonnest, he has built expertise in colloidal structures, custom software, electronics systems, and acoustics. He is excited to work with Sonnest, Inc.’s team of talented academics, knowledgeable cardiologists, and experienced entrepreneurs to transform cardiac ultrasound.

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