Vickie Yates Brown, JD – President and CEO
Vickie Yates Brown is an attorney with extensive experience in health care law and finance, specializing in privacy, security, and technology transfer. She has worked closely with the University of Louisville Foundation and President James Ramsey planning development, building partnerships and securing Tax Increment Finance (TIF) funding for Nucleus. She was named president and CEO of Nucleus in the spring of 2008.
Vickie Yates Brown is an experienced leader in health and sciences law and business. Currently, Brown serves as the Chair of the Health and Life Sciences Practice group at Frost Brown Todd. She is the chairwoman of the Health Law Section of the American Bar Association. She is Vice Chair of the Health Enterprises Network. And, she sits on the editorial board of the BNA Health Law Reporter.
Vickie Yates Brown has served on the Advisory Council for the Human Genome Project and National Institute of Diabetes, Digestion and Kidney Disease as part of the National Institutes of Health. She has delivered numerous national and international presentations and co-authored three publications on health care law and government regulation.
Kerry-Anne Wadwell – Director of Operations
Kerry-Anne Wadwell joined Nucleus in March 2009 and brings more than 20 years of experience in business planning and management including Budgeting, finance and accounting, Project management, Institute restructure, Asset, building, office and operations management, Implementing governing workplace policies, practices and protocols, Human resources including international and indigenous cultural public relations, Information systems development, Data bases and electronic records management systems, Corporate SharePoint sites, websites, intranet, internet, networks and information communication technology infrastructure.
Ms. Wadwell has a Bachelor of Science Degree and two Masters with majors in Mathematics, Computing, Accounting, Training and Assessment Systems.
Ms. Wadwell role at Nucleus are in Accounting and Finance, Nucleus Operations, Management and Training, Med Center 3 Tenant Relations and Services, Med Center 3 Building Operations and Management, Providing direct assistance to Nucleus’ President and CEO.
Bruce Traughber – Senior Vice President for Economic Development
Bruce Traughber currently serves as Senior Vice President for Economic Development for Nucleus, Kentucky's Life Sciences and Innovation Center. Prior to joining the Nucleus staff in 2011, Bruce served as the Director for Economic Development for the city of Louisville for the past 12 years.
He was inducted into the Kentucky Economic Development Hall of Fame in 2008. In 2007, he was selected by the commercial real estate community as the recipient of its annual Real Estate Achievement award.
During his tenure working in economic development, he played an important role in bringing 4 billion dollars of new investment into Louisville.
Elinor ("Ellie") R. Shipley – TIF and Real Estate Administrator
Ellie brings more than twenty-one years experience in the accounting field with a strong exposure to budget & forecasting, grants and asset management. Over the past four years, she managed the daily financial operations of the Louisville Metro Economic Development Department from budget development to the annual report.
Ms. Shipley assisted with the Tax Increment Financing districts within the Louisville area. Her past roles have included due diligence and oversight related to payroll, purchasing, grants management, contract negotiations, project financing and asset management. Ellie will provide Nucleus with leadership assistance on TIF financing & development and management of the research park complex.
Ellie is a CPA in addition to having a BSBA degree from the University of Louisville.
Mary Tapolsky, Ph.D. – Director, Technology Commercialization and Program Administration
Mary Tapolsky joined Nucleus in March of 2010 and brings experience in technology-based start-ups. Dr. Tapolsky’s background includes a doctorate in chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, ten years experience in research and development, including a technology-based start-up, and seven years experience in technology transfer at the University of Colorado where she assisted university-based start-ups, evaluated technologies for patentability and commercial potential, directed patent prosecution, marketed technologies and negotiated licenses and other agreements.
At Nucleus, Mary will focus on interfacing with the University of Louisville and developing and directing programs and services designed to empower and support tenant companies and entrepreneurial researchers
Vik Chadha – Executive Vice President of Venture Development
Vik Chadha is the co-founder of a number of high-tech companies such as Backupify, a leading backup provider for cloud-based data , GlowTouch Technologies, a two-time Inc. 500 software and services company with 800+ employees, and Scalable Ventures, a technology startup investment firm.
He is presently serving as the Executive Vice President of Venture Development for Nucleus, where he is leading a number of commercialization initiatives for the University of Louisville Foundation.
From 2001 to 2010, he was a Managing Director of the Enterprise Corp in Louisville, where he managed a portfolio of over 100 client companies and helped them raise $120 million. Prior to the Enterprise Corp, he worked as the Entrepreneur-in-Residence at bCatalyst, an early-stage business incubator. He started his career working as a consultant for GE Appliances where he was a founding member of their Internet team.
Vik holds a B.S. degree in Electronics & Communications Engineering from the Manipal Institute of Technology and an M.S. degree in Electrical Engineering (major in Computer Engineering) from Virginia Tech.