Leadership

Saylan Lukas
Interim Executive Director

Saylan Lukas is the Interim Executive Director of the Global Center for Medical Innovation (GCMI) and a research faculty member of Georgia Institute of Technology. Saylan has 18 years of medical device design and development experience. From startup companies to large international corporations, he has led project teams from initial feasibility through global commercialization in areas of patient specific craniomaxillofacial implants and instruments, transcatheter heart-valve stent grafts and delivery systems, cranial stabilization systems, cancer treatment devices, and laparoscopic instruments. Saylan has extensive experience in new technology development, computer aided design, 3D printing and prototype fabrication, design verification and validation testing, human factors and usability, risk analysis, manufacturing scale-up, sustaining engineering, and root cause analysis. He has developed and launched multiple products, obtained successful FDA approval on several 510(k) applications, has been awarded multiple patents, and published several technical papers in peer-reviewed journals. Saylan earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees in Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (Terre Haute, IN) and a Master’s in Business Administration from Butler University (Indianapolis, IN).

Emily Blum, MD
Medical Director

Dr. Blum graduated cum laude from Bowdoin College with special honors in Biology and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. She received her medical doctorate from Boston University where she graduated cum laude and was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha. While completing her residency at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan, Dr. Blum spent a significant amount of time working on urban farming community development campaigns in Detroit. Her community work lead to a nomination for the AAMC Resident Physician Community Service Award during her chief year.

She continues to pursue her interest in medical device innovations, particularly in bridging the gap between research and commercialization to improve patient care. Dr. Blum is a member of the research faculty at Georgia Tech and serves as Medical Director for the Global Center for Medical Innovation. She is board-certified by The American Board of Urology, currently making her the only woman practicing in the state of Georgia who is board-certified in pediatric urology.

In addition to general pediatric urology, Dr. Blum’s special surgical interests are in hypospadias and congenital hydronephrosis.

Evan Goldberg, PhD
Director of Scientific Affairs

Evan serves as the Director of Scientific Affairs for the Global Center for Medical Innovation (GCMI), a Georgia Tech affiliate. He works with academic faculty to help commercialize their early-stage technology and works with industry partners to expand their academic collaborations. He has previously led the program leadership team and business development for preclinical testing at GCMI. He served as a Fellow and Senior Fellow for VIC Technology Venture Development where he served on the opportunity assessment team and led due diligence for many medical technologies. With over ten years of experience as a Study Director, he has managed hundreds of preclinical research projects for medical device, pharmaceutical and biologics companies of varying complexity ranging from model development and initial prototype testing to GLP safety and efficacy studies in many therapeutic areas. Prior to joining GCMI, he served as a Research Engineer at the UCLA Center for Cerebral Palsy, where he managed a clinical laboratory serving patients with musculoskeletal disorders. Evan holds a BS and MS from the University of Texas at Austin in Mechanical Engineering and an MS and PhD from the University of California, Los Angeles, in Biomedical Engineering.