Leadership
At iFyber, scientists are involved in every step of the project – from initial conversations and proposals to data analysis and reporting. We strive to build a culture of collaboration that fosters innovative and creative problem solving through the open exchange of information and ideas. The strong relationships we build with our clients and within the iFyber team are paramount to our success in delivering high-quality service and fast, reliable results.
Greg Mouchka
President
Greg joined iFyber as president in 2016 and is responsible for providing strategic leadership to the organization and creating and implementing processes supporting our core mission. He brings over 15 years of industry experience working with a range of companies, from medical device start-ups to mature established organizations. With a strong cross-functional background and understanding of the product development process, Greg has developed and executed the business and development plans of large multi-stakeholder projects for both medical device and applied market technologies. Over the last four years iFyber has increased in size by four-fold under Greg’s leadership, and he continues to successfully expand the business and our offerings through the development of successful corporate and government relationships and by building and maintaining a dynamic and innovative team.
Greg holds a B.S. and M.S. in mechanical engineering from Oregon State University.
Illa Burbank, BS, MBA
Chief Operating Officer (COO)
Illa joined iFyber in August 2022 as the COO. She began her career as a commercial loan
analyst; eventually becoming a commercial lender. After several years in banking, she left the industry and started working with small local businesses. She joined a start-up company, Incodema, Inc., which grew to be a successful precision-sheet metal prototype manufacturer. Illa became CFO and eventually President of Incodema and the acquired Newcut subsidiary in August of 2017. Now at iFyber, Illa is responsible for instituting processes and procedures defining the organizations operations, as well as finance and accounting, HR, safety and leadership. She is an integral part of the growth and daily operations to support the entire iFyber team.
Illa received her Bachelor’s degree in Finance and her MBA from Ithaca College.
Aaron Strickland, Ph.D.
Vice President of Research and Development
Aaron is the co-founder of iFyber and the technical lead for the organization. He brings over 20 years of research experience across a diverse array of fields, including synthetic chemistry, analytical chemistry, microbiology and molecular biology, and nanotechnology. Aaron leads multidisciplinary teams as the principle investigator and study director on both corporate-funded projects and federal grants and contracts for the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, US Navy, US Army, US Air Force, and DARPA. As technical lead, he plays a key business development role by facilitating exploratory and collaborative project conversations with potential and current clients. During method development efforts and study execution, Aaron is the primary resource for creative problem solving and experimental design when overcoming methodological or technical hurdles. In addition, he chairs the iFyber Scientific Advisory Board and SABs for corporate customers.
Aaron received his Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Wyoming and performed postdoctoral work in microbiology and biotechnology at Cornell University.
Kelly Cycon, BS, Ph.D.
Vice President (VP)
Kelly joined iFyber in February of 2023 as a Vice President. Previously, she worked in the infectious disease medical device industry at ZeptoMetrix as Director of Virology for over 14 years. As Director, Kelly continually sourced viruses and developed novel product lines to expand the virology product portfolio and generate additional business. She worked closely with customers to provide viruses required for the analytical testing of diagnostic assays and designed custom studies to address various clients’ needs. As a VP at iFyber, Kelly continues to interface with customers, manage technical programs, and oversee the regulatory operations.
Kelly received her Bachelor's degree in Biotechnology from the Rochester Institute of Technology, and her Ph.D. in Immunology from the University at Buffalo.
Fahimeh Tabatabaei, DDS, Ph.D.
Study Director
Fahimeh joined the iFyber team in June 2022 and leads cell culture and tissue engineering efforts. With over 13 years of research experience across various fields, including dental materials, stem cells, scaffolds, 3D printing, and oral microbiology, Fahimeh brings a wealth of knowledge to her work. Her extensive experience includes developing in vitro and ex vivo biocompatibility assays for medical devices and drugs. As study director, Fahimeh designs and manages corporate-funded projects and federal grants and works closely with clients to determine the best testing strategy for their products based on the intended use. Fahimeh has published more than 60 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters. She was an Associate Professor and Head of the Dental Biomaterials Department at the National University of Iran (SBMU).
Her academic background includes a dental degree from the Kerman University of Medical Sciences, a CES degree in Oral Biology from Paul Sabatier University, a Ph.D. in Dental Biomaterials from the Tehran University of Medical Sciences, and postdoctoral work in the integrated osteo-mucosal model at Marquette University.