Meet Our Team

Matthew Hepburn, 

Strategy | Momentum | Connection

  • Dr. Hepburn is currently co-lead of Avinora, an independent consulting service covering the landscape of breakthrough health technology in the interface with infectious diseases.

    He recently served as the Executive Vice President of R&D at Panther Life Science, which focused on dissolvable microneedle patches for drug and vaccine delivery.

    Dr. Matthew Hepburn served as Senior Advisor for the White House Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response, following prior service as Chief Medical Officer for the Joint Program Executive Office for CBRN Defense and as Senior Advisor to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy on pandemic preparedness.

    During the COVID pandemic, Dr. Hepburn was the Vaccine Development Lead for Operation Warp Speed (later known as the Countermeasures Acceleration Group).

    Earlier in his career, Dr. Hepburn led enabling biotechnology programs within the DoD, establishing end-to-end capabilities for vaccine and therapeutic development and advancing manufacturing and clinical trial acceleration initiatives.

    He served 23 years in the U.S. Army as an infectious disease physician, retiring as a Colonel, with assignments including six years as a Program Manager at DARPA where he focused on developing vaccine, therapeutic and diagnostic solutions which translate into critical aspects of the response during the COVID pandemic. 

    Other assignments included Director of Medical Preparedness at the White House, and Chief Medical Officer in Iraq, where he earned a Bronze Star. He also led biodefense clinical research at USAMRIID and served as an exchange officer to the United Kingdom.

    Dr. Hepburn completed his residency and fellowship at Brooke Army Medical Center and holds an MD and a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from Duke University.

Senior Partner

Janice “Janay” Hepburn,

Managing Partner 

Translation |  Navigation |  Execution

  • Janice Hepburn is Managing Partner at Avinora LLC, where she helps organizations translate promising ideas into executable strategies. Her career spans leadership of complex, multi-stakeholder programs across health, technology, and global initiatives, with a consistent focus on building operational frameworks, partnerships, and implementation pathways that accelerate innovation and societal benefit.

    She recently supported Every Cure, a nonprofit dedicated to identifying overlooked therapies that could improve health outcomes worldwide. She established and operationalized multiple sub-awards supporting a major ARPA-H grant, enabling coordinated execution across partners and accelerating program implementation. Every Cure’s AI-driven drug repurposing platform was recognized by TIME as one of the Top 100 Inventions of 2025.

    Previously, Janice served as Director of Operations for the Austere Environments Consortium for Enhanced Sepsis Outcomes (ACESO), through the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine (HJF). She led international clinical trial operations spanning Asia, Africa, the United States, and deployed military settings, overseeing global logistics, regulatory compliance, partnerships, and ethical research standards. The program included more than 200 worldwide personnel, enrolled hundreds of patients with severe infections, and delivered advanced care in some of the world’s most challenging environments, including hemorrhagic fever patients in Uganda.

    She began her consulting career at Accenture (formerly Andersen Consulting), and later led large-scale technology implementations at Radiant Systems (later acquired by NCR), where she developed consulting and delivery frameworks that became internal best practices. She also worked in hands-on roles to improve medical care access for refugee communities.

    Janice (Janay) holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Duke University, with additional coursework in engineering, modeling, and mathematics.

Elaina Giannetti,

Collaboration |  Initiative | Implementation

  • Elaina Giannetti is an analyst at Avinora LLC, where she supports a diverse client portfolio with common themes of accelerating medical product development, biosecurity and cutting-edge innovation.

    With a background in emerging infectious disease research and experience in early stage biotechnology, Elaina brings both scientific fluency and operational rigor to early-stage innovation. In her most recent role as Science Program Manager at Panther Life Sciences, Elaina provided support for cosmetic and medical device products, developed critical academic partnerships, and transitioned the technology into early clinical research studies. Prior to that role, Elaina provided critical organizational skills at the Mt.Sinai School of Medicine as laboratory manager, where she organized a laboratory of diverse expertise into a functioning team, enabling achievement of multiple successful grant applications. 

    At Avinora, Elaina focuses on development pathway analysis, non-dilutive funding landscape assessment (including SBIR/STTR strategy), competitive positioning, and partnership evaluation. Her work centers on helping scientific teams clarify technical direction, de-risk development milestones, and structure programs for long-term sustainability and impact.

    Elaina is a graduate of Michigan State University with a degree in microbiology. 

Analyst

Andy Weber,

Vision | Passion | Results

  • The Honorable Andrew “Andy” Weber is a Senior Fellow at the Council on Strategic Risks’ Janne E. Nolan Center on Strategic Weapons. Mr. Weber has dedicated his professional life to countering nuclear, chemical, and biological threats and to strengthening global health security. Mr. Weber’s decades of U.S. government service included five-and-a-half years as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Defense Programs. He was a driving force behind Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction efforts to remove weapons-grade uranium from Kazakhstan and Georgia and nuclear-capable MiG-29 aircraft from Moldova, to reduce biological weapons threats, and to destroy Libyan and Syrian chemical weapons stockpiles. In addition, he coordinated U.S. leadership of the international Ebola response for the Department of State.

    Prior to joining the Pentagon as Advisor for Threat Reduction Policy in December 1996, Mr. Weber was posted abroad as a U.S. Foreign Service Officer in Saudi Arabia, Germany, Kazakhstan, and Hong Kong.

Subject Matter Expert

Anne Cheever,

Biosecurity | Innovation | National Leadership

Subject Matter Expert

  • Anne Cheever, Ph.D. is a biotechnology executive and national security leader with over a decade of experience advancing high-impact research, policy, and innovation at the intersection of biotechnology, space, and defense. She is widely recognized for her ability to translate cutting-edge science into operational capability while shaping responsible approaches to emerging and dual-use technologies.

    Dr. Cheever has developed, led, and managed more than $380 million in federal R&D investments, most notably as a Program Manager in the Biological Technologies Office at DARPA, where she conceived and launched the agency’s first biomanufacturing-in-space program. Her work helped validate biotechnology as a viable manufacturing paradigm for space logistics and resilience, while also advancing research in synthetic biology, military medicine, and operational biology. She also catalyzed DARPA’s first cross-office initiative on societal implications in the space domain.

    From 2023 to 2024, Dr. Cheever served at the White House National Security Council as Director for Technology and National Security, coordinating U.S. government policy on critical and emerging technologies with a focus on biotechnology and biomanufacturing. In this role, she advised senior White House leadership and the National Security Adviser, contributing to an Executive Order and new national strategies, and built international partnerships with allies including the UK, Canada, Japan, South Korea, and India.

    She currently holds multiple advisory and research roles, including Adjunct Staff Member at RAND, Founder of Vela Scientific, LLC, and advisor to organizations such as Beacon Global Strategies and Rhodium Scientific, where she supports innovation across space, biodefense, and national security. Earlier in her career, she held senior roles at MITRE, Booz Allen Hamilton (supporting DARPA), and the U.S. Department of State, where she was an AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow.

    Dr. Cheever holds a Ph.D. in Cell and Developmental Biology from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, along with a certificate in business administration. She is known for her strategic vision, collaborative leadership, and commitment to advancing technologies that strengthen U.S. and global security.

Somer McBride,

Strategic Communications Consultant

  • Somer McBride a brand strategist specializing in brand architecture, positioning, and growth strategy for innovation-driven organizations. At Avinora, she translates complex science into clear, compelling market narratives that resonate with investors, partners, and stakeholders.

    She designs cohesive brand and digital ecosystems spanning messaging platforms, visual identity, websites, and thought leadership presence that align scientific advancement with capital strategy and long-term enterprise growth. Her work ensures that  distinct voice and mission are reflected consistently across investor materials, digital footprint, and external communications.

    By integrating human-centered strategy with advanced AI-enabled design and automation, she builds future-ready brand platforms that deliver both creative distinction and operational efficiency — positioning companies to lead with clarity in increasingly competitive markets.

Identity |  Influence  |  Creative

Who We Are

  • At our core, we partner with mission-driven teams to advance creative health solutions that make a real difference. Through collaboration, thoughtful execution, and a shared sense of urgency, we help ideas move from concept to impact.

  • Integrity
    We operate with transparency and high ethical standards. Trust is earned through clarity, consistency, and doing what we say we will do.

    Mutual Respect
    We treat every partner as a trusted collaborator. We expect accountability, forward movement, and shared commitment to the mission.

    Mission First
    Breakthrough health technologies matter. We share credit, own failures, and focus on outcomes that strengthen global health and biosecurity.

    Momentum
    A good idea should not wait. We bring urgency, disciplined execution, and a bias toward action to help important work move faster.

    Curated Partnership
    We partner with teams that lead with values and can deliver tremendous societal impact. When a company commits to making a difference, trust follows. This motivates our entire network to focus its energy on helping their products move forward.

On The Record

  • CBS News logo with text "60 Minutes" on a white background

    Military Programs Aiming To End Pandemics Forever

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  • A man in a suit giving a presentation on stage behind a large sign that says 'TEDMED' with colorful neon lights in the background.

    3 Building Blocks For Pandemic Prevention That Inspire Optimism

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  • Text reading 'Brunswick Review' on a plain background.

    America’s Pandemic Leader

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  • Black and white map of the United States showing the country's outline and some geographical features.

    Operation Warp Speed: Bringing Out the Best in America’s Ability to Innovate

    READ MORE
  • Logo of Federal News Network with a stylized geometric emblem and text in red, blue, and gray colors.

    Building Trust in Government Bio preparedness: Responding to Future Biological Threats

    LISTEN HERE
  • DARPA logo with a globe outline in the background.

    Voices from DARPA Podcast Episode 68: Space Manufacturing

    LISTEN HERE