Adriana Vela

Adriana Vela has been at the forefront of the nanobiotechnology sector for the last six years. After 18 years of tracking leading-edge technologies in the high-tech industry and defining new markets, Adriana embarked in the Life Sciences arena through various client-led projects.

>> Join me as I discuss with Adriana her history in the Life Sciences and how she came to nanobiotechnology…

In 2004, Adriana founded NanoBioNexus (www.nanobionexus.org), a not-for-profit corporation whose goal is to promote safe and market-accepted advances in nanosciences by tracking nanotech applications in areas ranging from diagnostics to therapeutics to medical devices. Nanotechnology is the manipulation of matter at the atomic and molecular levels in the 1-100 nanometers in scale where novel properties and functions are made possible.

She leads a team of high caliber scientists and business professionals and has developed an international presence for NanoBioNexus.

Under her leadership, NanoBioNexus was selected to participate in a $20 million, 5-year grant funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) for the creation of a Center for Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence (CCNE) dedicated to the research, development and education of nanotechnology as applied to cancer. The center, named NanoTumor Center (www.ntc-ccne.org), includes an Educational Core where Adriana serves as project co-lead. The core is tasked with developing educational strategies, tools and outreach programs for intra-center members as well as the healthcare community and general public.

>> I’ll be asking Adriana about the direction of NanoBioNexus in the future…

Prior to founding NanoBioNexus, Adriana was instrumental in building and shaping a similar organization from the ground up while in Silicon Valley. She has served on several boards and decision-making committees and held various management positions.

As a professional consultant and strategic advisor, she has assisted start-up companies in securing funding, doing market validation, customer acquisition and go-to-market strategies.

>> What can we learn from Adriana’s business experience and her insights in taking companies to the next level?

Adriana’s Fortune 100 corporate experience includes management positions at Hewlett-Packard, Compaq Computers and Tandem Computer with global responsibility for driving new technologies. During this time she was the executive sponsor for over 15 international road shows designed and tailored for various audiences as part of her sales turnaround strategy or market development strategy with specialization in Latin America.

Adriana has also brought dozens of technology products to market, has managed multi-million dollar corporate initiatives, and has been a dynamic public speaker with engagements worldwide.

Adriana created the strategy and was the driving force behind a multi-company standards initiative leading to the creation of a new PCI SIG-sanctioned industry standard called Hot-Plug PCI, forever changing the architectural requirements of computers.

Born in Laredo, Texas, Adriana was one of four children and the only girl.

She credits her ongoing success to a love of learning new things, willingness to take on new challenges and her interest in expanding her horizons on a daily basis. This perspective mirrors her family life which she shares with husband, Mike Milani, and two children, Nikita (13) and Arthur (8).

>> I’ll be talking with Adriana about how she combines her career and family lives.

Her hobbies include gardening, movies and entertaining and her favorite sports are martial arts, handball, archery, backpacking and cross-country skiing. Her biggest passion is promoting education at all levels and is actively involved in many outreach activities.

She holds a Bachelors of Business Administration/InformationTechnology from the University of Texas in Austin.

>> Join me while I talk with this inspiring woman!