Innovative Approaches
Mill Creek Life Sciences provides the tools and technologies to support the development and application of cellular and biologic therapeutics. Mill Creek Life Sciences technology was licensed from discoveries at the Mayo Clinic. We are committed to discovering and applying innovative approaches to cellular therapy and patient care.
Mission
Mill Creek Life Sciences was founded with a singular purpose in mind: to bring new solutions to accelerate cellular therapies for patients. For us it is about quality, innovation and customer service. We work closely with our customers, helping fulfil their needs and supporting them through analyzing and troubleshooting specific applications when needed.
Leadership
William Mirsch
William Mirsch joined Mill Creek Life Sciences LLC as CEO in 2015, with experience in leadership positions for Regenerative Medicine and Medical Device companies. He brings a wealth of knowledge on the development, industrialization, and commercialization of new technologies.
Trained as a chemical engineer with a graduate degree in technical management, Mr. Mirsch has extensive experience in scale-up of biological processes. He also has a strong customer focus and is experienced in Sales & Marketing and new product launches.
Dr. Vanesa Alonso-Camino
Vanesa Alonso-Camino holds a master degree in molecular and cellular biology and a Ph.D. in molecular immunology and immunotherapy. She currently works as Director of Research and Development at Mill Creek Life Sciences.
During her postgraduate and postdoctoral years she worked in numerous projects related to biologic therapies of cancer, including recombinant antibody therapies, antiangiogenic and cell based cancer therapies as well as cancer virotherapy. Dr. Alonso-Camino has over 17 years of experience on cell culture and molecular Biology, animal model development and drug discovery.
She has been working at Mill Creek Life Sciences for over 7 years on cGMP product development. She also develops and manages R&D projects for Mill Creek’s product applications in regenerative medicine and cancer immunotherapy.
Lisa Carey
Lisa Carey has been in regulated industry since 2007. She has held various QC/QA/project management positions in areas such as medical devices, therapeutics, and bioengineered fuels prior to joining Mill Creek in December 2021. Lisa is currently Director of Quality and Regulatory Affairs.
Lisa holds a BS in Biology from the University of Idaho. In her spare time she loves spending time with her husband and three boys on their hobby farm.
Jessica Vanderwielen
Jessica Vanderwielen holds a BS in Biology with a concentration in Physiology from San Francisco State University. She has been working in the biotech industry since 2013 with experience in manufacturing oligos, master mixes, control and assay kits. She started at Mill Creek Life Sciences in 2016 as Production Lead and is currently working as Director of Production.
Her role includes maintaining a manufacturing schedule to ensure inventory meets customer demand, maintaining raw material stocks, testing and implementing new manufacturing processes.
Jessica can be found cheering on her favorite sports teams and enjoying time with family & friends outside with her 2 dogs in her spare time.
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Jeff Nielsen
Jeff Nielsen holds a BBA in Finance and Entrepreneurial Management from the University of Iowa. He has been with Mill Creek Life Sciences since 2015, starting as Office Manager and currently working as Senior Business Development Manager.
In his time at Mill Creek, Jeff has been involved in job duties spanning the wide range of the company’s functions, including front office, operations, and laboratory work.
In his spare time, he enjoys the outdoors and spending time with his family.
Dr. Allan Dietz
Allan B. Dietz, Ph.D. was one of the founders and long-term Director of IMPACT (Immune, Progenitor, and Cellular Therapeutics) a GMP facility at Mayo Clinic, Rochester. He also has academic appointments as an Associate Professor in both the Department of Lab Medicine and Pathology and the Department of Immunology and been a Mayo Clinic Consultant for 20 years.
Under Dr. Dietz’s direction, IMPACT was the equivalent of a Mayo Clinic pharmaceutical company charged with identifying, translating, and implementing the use of cells as drugs. Dr. Dietz established multiple cell therapy platforms across the Institution treating patients with investigational cell therapies. For example, the cancer vaccine (immunotherapy) platform treated patients for NHL, GBM, Melanoma, and Ovarian cancer in multiple phase I and II clinical trials. The stem cell (MSC) platform evaluated multiple indications with more than 15 clinical trials targeting neurodegenerative, orthopedic, kidney, traumatic spinal cord and other disorders.
Dr. Dietz also established one of the first systems in the nation for the management of externally manufactured cell therapy products inside a major academic medical center. Across the entire effort, we delivered more than 1,000 doses of cells for investigative therapies for some of the most difficult to treat diseases. Technology from the lab has resulted in more than 150 papers published and multiple patent applications. Dr. Dietz has served as a reviewer for granting agencies as well as organized national and international meetings focused on the development and use of novel cell therapies.
Daryl McLinden
With almost 32 years of experience providing fractional CFO and related accounting services to start-up and established businesses throughout the Midwest, Daryl McLinden is recognized by his clients as a leader in his field with a common-sense approach to helping business owners organize and understand the key financial metrics that define their business. He is called on by both business owners and bankers to bridge the gap that often may exist between business and the lending community. His clients describe him as an effective communicator, results-oriented CFO and financial management professional.
History
Mill Creek Life Sciences was founded in 2010 by Dr. Allan Dietz, then director of the Human Cellular Therapy Laboratory at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. Dr. Dietz’s lab developed a process to turn outdated human platelets into human platelet lysate (hPL), as a substitute for calf serum. This technology was licensed to MCLS, which was the first company to commercially sell human platelet lysate.
