BioTN Team

DR. LESLIE WINER-LYNCH - EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Dr. Leslie Wisner-Lynch, co-founder of BioTN together with her husband Dr. Sam Lynch, is the current Executive Director of the BioTN Foundation, a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to advance science and technology knowledge and enterprise in the state of Tennessee. She also serves as president and CEO of Tennessee Technology Development Corporation (TTDC), a legislatively created, not-for-profit corporation that works in partnership with the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development to increase the formation and expansion of the state’s science and technology industries. With a focus on innovation, entrepreneurship and early-stage capital programs, TTDC works with the state’s major research institutions, industry, the investment and entrepreneurial communities and government to design and implement programming strategies to more effectively drive innovation commercialization in Tennessee.

Prior to joining TTDC as president and CEO, Dr. Wisner-Lynch served as the director of applied research for BioMimetic Therapeutics, Inc. in Franklin, TN, where she provided clinical and scientific expertise for products under development and in commercialization for use in craniomaxillofacial and skeletal regeneration. She was integrally involved in bringing the company’s first combination-device product for bone and periodontal regeneration through U.S. FDA approval and to market.

Dr. Wisner-Lynch is highly regarded for her contributions within the bioscience, research and education communities and serves on a number of public and private university science and engineering advisory boards and science and technology innovation-based economic development boards as well as serving as the Governor’s designated chair for Tennessee’s STEM Innovation Network Advisory Council. She is a member of the board of directors and chair of the Education/Workforce Development Committee for Life Science Tennessee, chairperson of the board of directors for the recently approved STEM Prep Academy charter school in Metro Nashville and is a member of the Governor’s Small Leadership Team for the American Diploma Project. She also currently serves as chair of the life sciences committee for Middle Tennessee Mind2Marketplace and serves on the board of directors of both the Tennessee Valley Corridor and the Adventure Science Center in Nashville.

Dr. Wisner-Lynch is a member of the American Academy of Periodontology and holds a B.S. in Chemistry from Lamar University, a D.D.S. from the Medical College of Virginia and a Clinical Surgical Specialty Certificate in Periodontics and D.M.Sc from Harvard Medical School.

LAURENE MCLEMORE - EDUCATION CONSULTANT
Ms. McLemore has served as the education consultant for BioTN for six years and has been instrumental in the success of many of the organization’s programs and initiatives, including the NSF GK12 Program and the BioMedical Technology Program. Prior to her experience with BioTN, Ms. McLemore served as education consultant for the Williamson Works Foundation in Franklin, TN and the health science education consultant for the Tennessee Department of Education where she worked with businesses and industries to provide education opportunities for teachers and students and worked directly with local school systems assisting in program development, curriculum revision and professional development for teachers. Before her work with the Tennessee Department of Education, Ms. McLemore was a high school teacher in Mississippi for 14 years and worked in hospital administration at Southern Baptist Hospital in Louisiana for eight years.

Ms. McLemore serves and has served on numerous boards of directors in the health and science industries, including the National Consortium for Health Science and Technology Education board and the Health Occupation Student Association, Inc. (HOSA) board. She has also been influential in many related organizations, including the Nurse’s Aide Training Program Task Force, Mind2Marketplace and the Tennessee Science Teachers Association. Ms. McLemore earned her bachelor of science in science education from Delta State University and her master of science in science education from the University of Southern Mississippi.