Sharon Collins Presnell

Sharon Collins Presnell joined the Amnion Foundation as President and Director of Client Services in January of 2019. Previously, she served as the Chief Scientific Officer of Organovo, Inc and was involved in the development of a bioprinting platform, and the generation of multiple human cellular products marketed for in vitro pharmaceutical testing. In 2015, she established a subsidiary company, Samsara Sciences, focused solely on generating human liver cells to support 3D bioprinting and pharmaceutical discovery & development, including isolation and provision of cells and related products from tissues of NAFLD/NASH origin. Samsara Sciences assets were sold by the parent company to LifeNet Health in 2019.

Dr. Presnell also provides consultation services and strategic support for those seeking to establish or invest in cell-based technologies through her consulting firm, CytoStrategy. She has published >30 peer-reviewed papers related to cell-based technologies and holds numerous patents in related subject matter. Dr. Presnell serves on several boards, including president-elect of the North Carolina State University College of Sciences Foundation Board, member of the Coulter Translational Research Partnership board at the University of Virginia, and member of the board of directors for Viveve, Inc., a women’s health company.

Dr. Presnell received a Ph.D. from the Medical College of Virginia, and has held academic and industrial leadership roles at UNC-Chapel Hill, Becton Dickinson, and Tengion, Inc.