Mario serves as Executive Chairman of Orthonika, having previously led the company as CEO since formation. He is one of the key inventors behind the technology. Previously, Mario was a venture capitalist, most recently as a Venture Partner with Fort Rock Capital where he served on the Boards of vasopharm GmbH and GNS Healthcare. Prior to that he was part of the life sciences investment team at Entrepreneurs Fund whose notable investments include Optinose (listed on the Nasdaq) and Prosonix (acquired by Circassia).  Mario started his career in strategy consulting with Deallus Consulting.

Mario holds a Postgraduate in Genomic Medicine, a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering and a First-Class Honours MEng Degree in Mechanical Engineering with a focus on Biomedical, all from Imperial College London. Mario’s academic research focused on early diagnosis of osteoarthritis, regenerative medicine techniques and orthopaedic biomechanics. He is an inventor in several patents and has published in international peer reviewed scientific journals. Mario is also CEO and Co-Founder of Orexia Therapeutics (merged with Centessa Pharmaceuticals, NASDAQ: CNTA) and serves on the Board of Embody Orthopaedics and on the Strategic Advisory Board of G3 Therapeutics.

Professor Amis is the Chair of Orthopaedic Biomechanics at Imperial College London as well as the Head of the Medical Engineering. He has 40 years of research in orthopaedic biomechanics, including the design of artificial human joints, tendons and ligaments and the mechanical analyses of biological systems and structures. He has over 300 peer-reviewed journal publications. In addition to research work, Andrew has acted as a consultant and expert witness for a number of areas of work, including implant design, failures of orthopaedic implants and industrial injuries.

Kristina joined Orthonika in 2017 and is focused on leading product design, development and testing as CTO. Prior to joining Orthonika, Kristina was involved in designing and prototyping a low-wearing novel hip joint prosthesis for the Malta Hip Project in collaboration with the University of Malta, leading to the FUSION Programme award. She also gained experience in continuous process improvement and quality engineering at a multinational engineering company. Kristina holds a Ph.D. from Imperial College London focused on the biomechanical characterisation of a meniscus prosthesis, in collaboration with Prof. Andrew Amis and Prof. Daniele Dini, and has published in international peer reviewed scientific journals. She also holds an MSc in Biomedical Engineering with Distinction specialising in biomechanics and mechanobiology from Imperial College London and a First Class BEng in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Malta.

Professor Cobb is the Chair in Orthopaedics at Imperial College London and is also the Founder of Acrobot, the worlds first haptic based robotic assistant. He is a Civilian advisor in orthopaedics to the Royal Air Force and is on the staff of King Edward VII hospital for Officers as well as being the Orthopaedic Surgeon to Her Majesty the Queen. Justin is a Graduate of Medicine at Magdalen College,Oxford. Justin’s research group is known to have secured £80m for the development of The Michael Uren Biomedical Engineering Hub which will enable engineers and medics to come together and develop new technologies.

Oli joined Orthonika in April 2022 as a biomedical engineer after PhD research in the field of knee replacement, focusing on in vitro comparison of partial knee implants to total knee arthroplasty. His research involved cadaveric modelling of the performance of different implant designs and surgical techniques, and included the development of patient specific instrumentation and novel experimental methods. Collaborating with Prof. Justin Cobb and Prof. Andrew Amis, along other Imperial College researchers, this research has produced a healthy body of publications in the field. Before his PhD, Oli worked in industry, developing an external foot prosthesis for lower limb amputees. He gained his MEng from the University of Bristol, completing a Master's dissertation on the biomechanics of walking.

Dominique is COO at Orthonika since co-founding the company in 2015. She has wide experience of product, business and company development, starting as a Research Scientist for Unilever in the team that launched Clear Blue diagnostics through its Unipath subsidiary. She was Business Development Manager for GSK’s Wellcome Diagnostics subsidiary, licensing-in new product lines and transitioning the business through acquisition by Murex and subsequent 10x sale to Abbott. In 1999 she joined Imperial Innovations to build a portfolio of spin-outs such as Acrobot (sold to Stryker) and Protexeon (sold to Air Products) and became Head of Life Sciences Technology Transfer in anticipation of the company’s IPO in 2006. In 2009 she left Imperial to become CEO at London Genetics, raising £2m to deliver pharmacogenetic services in clinical development, and has since worked in various biotech executive and non-executive roles, including 2 years on the board of the BioIndustry Association and 5 years as a Trustee of the Genetics Society. She holds a BSc in Life Sciences and an MBA with a focus on Technology Entrepreneurship from Imperial College London. She is an LESi Certified Licensing Professional.

Simon is a consultant hip and knee surgeon at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, a world renowned specialist orthopaedic hospital in Oxford, UK. He treats patients with complex hip and knee problems from the UK and abroad. During his training he completed a PhD in knee replacement surgery at Imperial College London. He continues to have a strong interest in research and is involved in research trials at Oxford University, Bournemouth University and Imperial College London.

Sean joined Orthonika in March 2023 as a biomedical engineer, after gaining his PhD and conducting postdoctoral research at University College London in the field of orthopaedic implants. His research initially focused on the tribological performance of these devices, particularly the wear of hip replacements and its clinical impact. In collaboration with leading orthopaedic surgeons and industry partners, the focus of his work progressed to the design and computational modelling of additively manufactured implants, covering both conventional and patient specific devices. Sean also holds a first-class MEng degree in Biomedical Engineering from The University of Sheffield, after completing a master's project on the design of synthetic testbeds for evaluating vascular catheters.

Sam joined Orthonika in July 2023 as a biomedical engineer after spending time in the surgical robotics industry at CMR Surgical. His main focus was on the improvement and reliability of surgical instrumentation, delivering tangible mechanical and electrosurgery upgrades across a suite of instruments. Prior to that, Sam achieved a First Class MEng degree in Mechanical Engineering from The University of Warwick, completing a Master’s project on the design of a handheld biopsy device.

Clare joined Orthonika in November 2023 and is focused on using her 10+ years of administrative experience to making the lives of the busy Orthonika team easier. Prior to joining Orthonika, Clare has worked in numerous industries including Software Development (Elemental Concept) and Cell Gene Therapies (Gyroscope Therapeutics, a Novartis company) supporting C-Suite executives with an operations and commercial emphasis.