Staff Pages – Page 2 – Gryphon Scientific

Dr. Jonathan Pinney

Immunologist

Dr. Jonathan Pinney

Immunologist

Dr. Pinney is an immunologist with expertise in the immune system processes that both support a healthy bodily state and promote proper responses to infection and disease. His doctoral studies utilized cell biology, imaging, and computational methods to better understand how our immune systems can be harnessed to treat cancer. At Gryphon, his work focuses on projects with healthcare implications that leverage data science techniques to better understand disease-associated risks and guide disease prevention strategies. Dr. Pinney has a B.A. in Biology from Hamilton College and a Ph.D. in Immunology from the University of Rochester.

Jonathan is an avid outdoor distance athlete who has run three marathons (including the Boston Marathon) and who once went on a 52-day cross-country bicycle trip that went from California to New Jersey.

- Data Science Practice Area
- NCBI Bibliography

Dr. Henry Wyneken

Data Scientist

Dr. Henry Wyneken

Data Scientist

Dr. Henry Wyneken is a statistician with expertise in predictive analytics, experimental design, and communication of complex statistical concepts and results. He values using statistics to fairly, but severely, test the usefulness of ideas in the real world. Dr. Wyneken earned his PhD in Statistics from the University of Minnesota, where his research focused on the benefits of combining information from multiple plausible models. Prior to joining Gryphon, Dr. Wyneken worked at Syngenta Seeds Inc., where he performed varied statistical analyses to support research to develop new hybrid corn varieties and manage the supply chain of hybrid seed corn. At Gryphon, he provides analytical support to projects in a wide variety of domain areas, including evaluation of the risk of lab accidents and visualization of COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness data.

Henry enjoys working on his German language skills, fixing up his house, and hiking. While the view from the top of the Adirondacks is great, it is seconded only to the view from his hand-built backyard patio.

- Data Science Practice Area

Dr. Peyton Tebon

Bioengineer

Dr. Peyton Tebon

Bioengineer

Dr. Peyton Tebon is a bioengineer with experience in precision medicine, emerging biotechnologies, and translational biomedical research. He has extensive wet lab experience investigating tumor models and building microfluidic devices for clinical applications. His doctoral work focused on developing automated laboratory procedures and computational pipelines to support functional precision medicine platforms to match patients to effective cancer treatments. At Gryphon, he is involved with projects related to All-Hazards Preparedness and Emerging Technologies. Dr. Tebon has a B.S. in BioMolecular Engineering from the Milwaukee School of Engineering and a Ph.D. in Bioengineering from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

Peyton is a national park enthusiast and avid soccer player. If he’s not hiking to find the best views, you can find him scoring goals in the local Sunday league.

Lauren Plaine, MPS, RN, CEN

Emergency Management Analyst

Lauren Plaine, MPS, RN, CEN

Emergency Management Analyst

Lauren Plaine, MPS, RN, CEN is an emergency management and medicine professional with 10 years of practice leading, guiding, and teaching others though crises and disasters. Her work at Gryphon focuses on emergency management planning, policy, and training, particularly related to chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear defense. Previously, she supervised a hospital emergency department within a Level 1 trauma center. Lauren holds a BSN from Old Dominion University and an MPS in Emergency and Disaster Management from Georgetown University. Her graduate research focused on Crisis Standards of Care within COVID-19.

Lauren enjoys tending to her 20 house plants as well as propagating them to share, which include a collection of herbs she uses to spice up home cooking projects.

- All-Hazards Preparedness, Response, and CBRN Defense Practice Area
- LinkedIn

Erin Lauer

Biomedical Scientist

Erin Lauer

Biomedical Scientist

Erin Lauer holds a BS in Immunology and Infectious Disease from Penn State University with a focus in Global Health and honors in Security and Risk Analysis. Since joining Gryphon in 2014, she has applied her interdisciplinary skillset to analyzing various facets of infectious disease risks for federal and international entities, with a focus on laboratory biosafety and biosecurity. She also works on data management and science communications for infectious disease research networks, facilitating widespread use of their data in the research community.

Erin is an avid college football fan whose happy place is in Happy Valley. She never passes up the opportunity for a double scoop of Espresso Fudge Pie, her favorite flavor from the famous Berkey Creamery.

- Biosafety, Biosecurity, and Emerging Technologies Practice Area

Dr. Holly May

Microbiologist

Dr. Holly May

Microbiologist

Dr. Holly May is a microbiologist with an expertise in infectious disease and host-pathogen interactions. At Gryphon, her work focuses on scientific data management and analysis to support influenza and coronavirus surveillance and research. Prior to joining Gryphon, Dr. May received her PhD in Cell and Molecular Biology from the University of Texas at San Antonio and completed her post-doctoral training at the Naval Medical Research Unit-San Antonio, where her research focused on multi-drug resistant bacteria and bacteriophage therapy. She also previously served as a Young Ambassador to the American Society for Microbiology, where she worked on community outreach and education initiatives.

Holly is an avid traveler and video game enthusiast. She thrives on exploration, be it riding camels through the Sahara, backpacking in the shadows of Mt. Rainier, or exploring the virtual ruins of Kaer Morhen.

- Data Management and Communications Practice Area
- NCBI Bibliography

Dr. Nicole Tensmeyer

Biomedical Scientist

Dr. Nicole Tensmeyer

Biomedical Scientist

Dr. Nicole Tensmeyer is a biomedical scientist with a background in cellular biology. She earned her PhD in biochemistry from Brigham Young University, where her doctoral research focused on protein folding and cell signaling pathways involved in cancer. Since joining Gryphon in 2020, Dr. Tensmeyer has worked on biosecurity risk assessments related to infectious diseases and emerging biotechnology. She also has a strong interest in public health, in particular using data to improve health care services and health promotion targeting at-risk populations.

Nicole embraces her California roots with her love for sunshine. On a free sunny day, she can be found soaking up the sun at the beach, and in the winter, she can be found snuggled up under a blanket writing away on her novel.

Microbiologist: Dr. Adam Fleming, CBSP

Dr. Adam Fleming, CBSP

Microbiologist

Dr. Adam Fleming, CBSP

Microbiologist

Dr. Adam Fleming is a trained microbiologist and trained biosafety professional (CBSP) who focuses on biosafety risk assessment and the development of risk management strategies for pathogen research. Before joining Gryphon in 2020, he served as the Biosafety Officer and Responsible Official for the George Mason University (GMU) Select Agent Program, managing the program and interacting with federal agencies on behalf of the university. Prior to that position, he conducted research on host-pathogen interactions at GMU, which included experience working in high containment. He received a B.S. in Biology from Virginia Tech, an M.S. in Biology from Georgia Southern University, and a Ph.D. in Microbiology and Infectious Diseases from GMU.

As a stereotypical Canadian, Adam plays hockey in a men’s league once a week and has been a Washington Capitals fan since 4th grade. When not on the ice, he can be found exploring local breweries or painting miniatures inspired by the fantasy game Dungeons & Dragons.

Stephen Tarnacki

Program Manager

Stephen Tarnacki

Program Manager

Stephen Tarnacki has been supporting federal agencies for over 20 years in a vast range of CBRN Consequence Management projects. After serving 10 years in the US Army in CBRN defense, he returned to the public sector supporting CBRN logistical and technical support activities. Some of his key roles have been supporting the National Guard WMD Civil Support Teams at the consequence management support center and the Pentagon Force Protection Agency (PFPA) CBRNE Response Team (CRT). At Gryphon, Mr. Tarnacki manages CBRN technical, logistics, and training management support activities for PFPA/CRT. He’s a subject matter expert in CBRN COTS equipment life cycle management.

Stephen is a craftsman who works in wood and clay. He’s made countless gifts ranging from retirement shadow boxes to hand sculpted statues of emergency responders in hazmat suits.

- All-Hazards Preparedness, Response, and CBRN Defense Practice Area

Louise Sumner, MPH

Public Health Scientist/Epidemiologist

Louise Sumner, MPH

Public Health Scientist/Epidemiologist

Louise Sumner, MPH, has supported federal agencies on projects to improve public health for over a decade, with a particular interest in biosurveillance, emerging infectious disease, and population health. Her work has focused on the interplay between biology and human behavior with the goal of developing evidence-based disease models, risk assessments, and surveillance applications. Her work in population health has included chronic and infectious disease epidemiology, and evaluations of healthcare needs following an outbreak or attack. Ms. Sumner holds a BS in Biology from the University of Virginia and an MPH concentrating in Epidemiology from Harvard University.

Dance with our star, Louise, a competitive ballroom dancer specializing in “Latin” (cha cha, rumba, samba, paso doble, and jive) and “Standard” (waltz, tango, foxtrot, quickstep, and Viennese waltz).