Dr. Dan Gincel, who died on Dec. 24, was hailed as a “transformative” leader and “quiet hero of medical progress” by former colleagues at TEDCO and the Maryland Stem Cell Commission.
The Israeli-born Gincel, who did his postdoctoral fellowship at the Johns Hopkins University, was 54. He is survived by his wife Ayelet Gincel; their three children Roi, Maya and Jordan; and his sister Daphna Ben-Chayun.
Gincel received his BS and Ph. D. in Biochemistry and Neuroscience from the Ben-Gurion University, and later received a postdoctoral fellowship at the Johns Hopkins University.
For 13 years, until 2021, he served a dual role at TEDCO — as executive director of the agency’s Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund (MSCRF), managing more than $150 million, and as vice president of University Partnerships, accelerating commercialization of technologies from Maryland’s research institutions.
High-Impact Leader
In 2021, Gincel joined Longeveron, a Miami-based biotechnology company, as a senior vice-president, heading strategic collaborations and scientific affairs until 2023. For over 15 years, Gincel served as a board member of ScienceAbroad, a nonprofit that aims to tap the resources of the Israeli scientists, physicians and entrepreneurs worldwide.
“Dan’s impact at TEDCO was nothing short of transformative,” Tammi Thomas, TEDCO’s chief development and marketing officer, told Citybiz. “Throughout his tenure, he brought a wealth of experience in technology commercialization and research funding that benefited the entire state of Maryland.”
Thomas said she met Gincel at the 2016 Entrepreneur Expo on her first day of work at TEDCO. For the next five years, the two served on TEDCO’s executive leadership team.
“Dan was an esteemed and respected colleague and a good friend. His role in establishing the Maryland Stem Cell Research program was instrumental to its national success, and to advancing cures for those suffering from terrible diseases,” John M. Wasilisin, past Interim Executive Director of Maryland TEDCO, said in a statement.
Thrust to Regenerative Medicine
To Rabbi Avram Israel Reisner, who served with Gincel on the state-appointed Maryland Stem Cell Commission, Gincel was “a quiet hero of the State of Maryland and of medical progress.” In a post on the website of funeral home Sol Levinson & Bros., Reisner said Gincel “shaped and formed…the best science for the study of the way stem cells could open a new world of regenerative medicine and cure human illness.”
TEDCO’s Thomas said Gincel was a driving force behind the creation of the MSCRF, after who joining the Maryland agency in 2007. As MSCRF’s first executive director, his “vision and leadership” helped shape it into the nationally recognized fund it is today, she added. Under his leadership, MSCRF earned several accolades, including the prestigious 2012 Excellence in Technology-Based Economic Development Award from the State Science and Technology Institute (SSTI).
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Gincel’s leadership of MSCRF had a profound economic impact on the state, pointed out Thomas. According to Thomas, his tenure led to the creation of more than 55 technology startups that went on to secure over $120 million in follow-on funding and achieve several successful exits.
“By 2021, the year Dan moved on, the fund had created over 1,700 jobs and invested $170 million in stem cell research,” Thomas said. It also supported $380 million in economic activity and awarded more than 500 grants, driving innovation and advancing scientific discovery, she added.
“Dan’s unwavering dedication to innovation, collaboration, and entrepreneurship has left an indelible mark, inspiring future generations and making a lasting difference in countless lives,” said Thomas.
