Claudia F. Lucchinetti, M.D., serves as dean of Dell Medical School and senior vice president for medical affairs at The University of Texas at Austin. In these roles, she oversees Dell Med’s work in education, research and clinical care, including operations at UT Health Austin, Dell Med’s clinical practice, and leads the University’s comprehensive health care strategy. She also holds the Frank and Charmaine Denius Distinguished Dean’s Chair in Medical Leadership.

A neurologist with specialization in neuroimmunology and experimental neuropathy, she is an internationally recognized expert in the clinical and neuropathological underpinnings of the broad spectrum of inflammatory demyelinating diseases, including multiple sclerosis, neuromyelitis optica and MOG antibody associated disease.

Lucchinetti comes to Austin from Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, where she was dean of clinical and translational science and director of the Center for Clinical and Translational Science. She also served as chair of the Department of Neurology and chair of the neurology enterprise subspecialty council, where she oversaw strategic and operational responsibilities across Mayo Clinic sites nationwide. She was the Eugene and Marcia Applebaum Professor of Neurosciences at Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine, where she remains a professor of neurology. Additionally, she served on the Mayo Clinic board of governors and board of trustees.

She earned her medical degree from Rush Medical College in Chicago and, after an internship at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center, completed a neurology residency and a fellowship in neuroimmunology at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science. As a Mayo Foundation Scholar, she trained in experimental neuropathology with Hans Lassmann, M.D., at the Brain Research Institute in Vienna, Austria.

Lucchinetti’s research contributions include a landmark study describing four patterns of tissue damage in early multiple sclerosis; it suggested that MS lesions form differently among patient subgroups. This work markedly refined medicine’s understanding of the disease, indicating the potential for individualized therapy based on pathological subtype.

Following paradigm-changing research that found evidence for early inflammatory cortical damage in MS, Lucchinetti was the first to propose that the disease progresses from the outermost layers of the brain before extending into deeper regions. As a result, scientists and physicians better understand the sequence and timing of damage to the nervous system resulting from MS, leading to novel imaging biomarkers of the disease and new treatment strategies.

She was also first to propose that based on pathology, neuromyelitis optica, a condition where the immune system damages the spinal cord and the nerves of the eyes, was an antibody-mediated disease targeting the perivascular space and, with a team of Mayo collaborators led by Vanda Lennon, M.D., identified the first biomarker targeting the water channel expressed on astrocytes, a subtype of glial cells. These and subsequent studies have reshaped our understanding of neuromyelitis optica and its relationship to MS and opened a field of research into the roles of astrocytes in the central nervous system.

Lucchinetti has been the recipient of significant research grant funding from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences and the U.S. Department of Defense. She is also on the Council of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2016 John Dystel Prize for MS Research.

To date, she has authored more than 220 peer-reviewed articles, with an h-index of 88.

Dr. Julie Lessiter, born and raised in England, came to the United States to attend college as a

student-athlete. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Northwestern State

University and began her career in intercollegiate athletics, where she spent 12 as an associate

athletic director. After earning her doctorate degree from Lamar university, she has spent the

past 15 years working in higher education administration and is now currently the Vice

President of the Texas State University Round Rock campus.

A first-generation college student, she is passionate about the transformational power of

education and leverages her experience to educate and mentor young people about the myriad

of pathways leading to careers.

Kurt’s professional engineering career spans over 40 years. His expertise includes structural engineering design for Mission Critical Facilities such as Data Centers, Health Care Facilities such as Hospitals and Clinics and Life Sciences Facilities such as Biopharmaceutical Pilot Plants and Production Facilities around the United States and the World. His area of expertise is in designing buildings to be occupable after natural disasters including Tornados, Hurricanes and Earthquakes. He has been the structural engineer of record for conventional “fixed Base Buildings” ranging from 1-23 stories, “Base Isolated Buildings” ranging from 1-5 stories, and the retrofit and new construction of buildings incorporating Fluid Viscous Dampers ranging from 1-22 stories. He has published numerous papers on passive energy dissipation and presented the findings at various conventions in Boston, San Francisco and Milan.

For over 23 years as the Founding Principal at PARADIGM Structural Engineers, Kurt spends most of his time developing new leaders at PARADIGM and mentoring staff in Chicago and San Francisco.

Allie is a graduate of The University of Houston, with a master’s degree Construction Management. He is the Assistant Director of Facilities Planning and Development at Texas Children’s Hospital Austin, Texas. Allie has worked at Texas Children’s since 2016, with 15+ years of prior industry experience. Allie has also served as an adjunct instructor in the Drafting & Design Department of the Houston Community College system. His prior experience is comprised of various areas of focus including Space Planning, Facilities Information Management, Design and Construction. He is currently responsible for the coordination and oversight of design and construction of major and minor capital & operational projects.

Allison possesses over 27 years of design and construction experience with 20 years focused on healthcare project

management as an owner’s representative.

Her career in healthcare began at Texas Children's Hospital (TCH) in 2003 in Houston, TX. Her leadership in

project management focused on the development of capital project policies and procedures, interior standards, and

the oversight of the project management staff to support new construction and renovation projects within Texas

Children’s Hospital portfolio. Allison was instrumental in expanding the facility footprint in the Texas Medical

Center in Houston and into the Austin market. She relocated to Austin in 2018 and provided direct oversight for

facility acquisitions, renovations, and the design of Texas Children’s 540,000SF | $485M Austin North Campus

project. Following her work at TCH, she served as the Regional Director of Construction with Medxcel where

she supported the growth of Ascension Seton in Central Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas and provided oversight of

a capital program value of $1.5B that included 3 hospital campus expansions.

In her current role as the Senior Project Director with the University of Texas at Austin, Allison is leading the

medical planning, design and construction team for the delivery of the University of Texas at Austin and the

University of Texas MD Anderson Medical Complex project that will be constructed on the former Erwin Center

Site in Austin.

Mr. Alex Gonzales, P.E., has more than 33 years of experience in key roles leading and developing teams performing planning, design and construction procurement and management in the public and private sector. Project management varying from large multi-packaged healthcare, aviation and governmental programs to high-profile municipal, higher education and commercial projects utilizing traditional and alternate project delivery methods. Expert communication and team leadership skills have contributed to successful project team outcomes for projects with values ranging from $25K to more than $1.5B

Wesley Stidham is the Austin Managing Principal at SSA, where he has played a pivotal role in the firm’s growth for over two decades. He led the establishment and expansion of both the Austin and Dallas offices, solidifying SSA’s presence across Texas.

With more than 32 years of experience, Wesley brings deep expertise in the design, analysis, and project management of complex MEP systems for multi-million dollar facilities. His portfolio spans higher education, healthcare, research, public works, and government sectors—making him a trusted leader in delivering innovative and efficient engineering solutions

A proud alumnus of the University of Texas at Austin, Wesley holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. His commitment to excellence and collaborative leadership continues to shape the built environment across the region

Ryan started his commercial real estate career in 2016 and specializes in medical office. His client-first focus and tenacious work ethic helped him close over 100 transactions for nearly $400 Million. Ryan believes the key to his success is focusing on building long-term relationships by truly understanding his clients’ needs and objectives and staying true to what is in their best interest.

As business quickly reached capacity, Ryan co-founded the McCullough – Jaynes Investment Group. A team of like minded individuals who strive to provide the highest quality representation for property owners throughout Texas. As Partners became an independent national brand in 2022, the McCullough – Jaynes Investment Group leads the charge for growing a national investment sales team focused on medical office.

Ryan graduated with a degree in Business Technology. His studies were focused on improving businesses through the use of technology and was able to implement some developments in Fortune 500 companies such as Abbott Laboratories. He has a wide array of previous work experience from software coding to pursuing a career in professional golf.

Dr. Taylor is the W.A. “Tex” Moncrief Chair in Computational Medicine, Professor of

Internal Medicine and Computational Engineering and Sciences, and Director of the

Center for Computational Medicine at the University of Texas, Austin. Dr. Taylor is also

Founder and Member of the Board of HeartFlow Inc., a global health care company with

offices in Austin, California, London and Tokyo. He was Chief Technology Officer then

Chief Scientific Officer at HeartFlow from 2010 to 2023. Prior to starting HeartFlow, he

was Associate Professor of Bioengineering and Surgery at Stanford University from

1997 to 2010. Dr. Taylor is internationally recognized for his pioneering work combining

computer simulation, A.I. and medical imaging to aid in the diagnosis and treatment of

cardiovascular disease. He received B.S., M.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering and

Mathematics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and his Ph.D. in Mechanical

Engineering from Stanford University. Dr. Taylor was elected into the U.S. National

Academy of Engineering in 2024.

Matt Isbell is the President and Founder of EnvelopiQ, bringing over 20 years of experience in the construction and technology industry. Throughout his career, Matt has been instrumental in designing and implementing technology for some of the largest and most complex projects. For the past decade, he has focused on adopting a user and experience-driven approach to planning and integrating technology within the built environment. His expertise and dedication have positioned him as a leader in the field.

Matt and EnvelopiQ are currently involved in planning and connecting technology in iconic projects across the country. These include the $4.3 billion IU Health Downtown Hospital, OCVIBE in Anaheim, CA, COTA Turn 11 car condos, the $650 million+ Indiana School for the Deaf and Blind, Elanco Animal Health’s new global headquarters, and the Bottleworks District in Indianapolis.

A native of Indianapolis, where EnvelopiQ is headquartered, Matt also oversees an office in Austin, TX. His innovative mindset continues to drive EnvelopiQ’s success and influence in the industry.