Emerging Leader Awards

2024

The Emerging Leader Award honors recent alumni of McKelvey Engineering who exemplify leadership and continued service through scientific excellence, innovation and collaboration. This award highlights the positive impact alumni make on their local community, the country and the world.

2024 McKelvey Engineering Emerging Leaders. From left: Chris Kroeger, Joe Beggs, Jennifer Sisto Gall, Vinoo Ganesh, Maisie Mahoney and Aaron Bobick

Joe Beggs
Joe Beggs
BS '20

An exceptional entrepreneur, Joe Beggs is driven by a passion to enhance human well-being by leveraging technology. As founder and chief executive officer of HIVE and GenAssist, he leads groundbreaking initiatives aimed at revolutionizing health care. Particularly in the domains of IV monitoring and muscle tissue regeneration, Joe’s innovations are pushing boundaries. He has successfully secured investments and awards totaling $1.1 million from various organizations including the WashU Skandalaris Center, Arch Grants, the National Infectious Disease Society, and MedTech Innovator.

During his undergraduate years, Joe participated in Sling Health, a bioengineering design and entrepreneurship incubator where teams tackle unmet needs in health care delivery and clinical medicine. In collaboration with a physician, they tackled the critical issue of IV medical errors and nonadherence among patients. Through insightful conversations about the company’s core technology, IVsight, Joe founded HIVE Medical. With financial backing from strategic investors, the development of prototypes, an issued patent, a published clinical trial at WashU, and a completed FDA registration, HIVE is nearing its first commercial sale. Joe’s second company, GenAssist, focuses on tissue-engineering, specifically regeneration of tissue in cases of traumatic muscle loss injuries. The team has developed a patent-pending injectable solution of their technology which is specifically designed to address internal muscle trauma injuries, including pelvis floor disorders and muscular dystrophy.

As a dual degree student, Joe was immersed in organizations across campus, including Alpha Eta Mu Beta, the Biomedical Engineering Society, and the Center for Innovation in Neuroscience and Technology. Joe served as an emcee for the Scholars in Engineering program and received recognition for his dedication and contributions when he was honored with the Department of Biomedical Engineering’s Spirit of Entrepreneurship award.

Joe serves as a mentor to Sling Health and guest lecturer on several topics. He has previously served as a member of the St. Louis Young Alumni Network and executive chair for his reunion class committee. 

Joe earned a bachelor of science degree in biomedical engineering from WashU in 2020. He also earned a bachelor of arts degree in biophysics from Grinnell College in 2019.


Vinoo Ganesh

Vinoo Ganesh
BS '13

 

As chief executive officer and founder of Efficiently Technologies, Vinoo Ganesh has led the development of software products that empower organizations to adopt and optimize generative AI and data analytics technologies. Through this innovative platform and quantized language model, Efficiently has revolutionized operations across a spectrum of industries, including startups, Fortune 100 enterprises, and the New York City Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Early in his career, Vinoo helped build Palantir Technologies’ large scale, low latency search and indexing backend that were critical software products across the commercial, government, and health care sectors. He eventually led the architecture and management of Palantir's Global Compute Team, powering all analytics across the organization’s customers.

Driven by his commitment to technological process, Vinoo transitioned into the role of chief technology officer at Veraset. As a data-as-a-service startup, Veraset played a pivotal role as a strategic data partner to the White House's COVID-19 Task Force. It helped organizations select retail sites, study population migration, manage disasters, and track diseases. Subsequently, Vinoo joined Citadel as head of business engineering, focused on leading elite software and data engineering teams dedicated to development products aimed at maximizing hedge fund investment returns. Vinoo is also an experienced startup advisor, lending his insights to companies like Databand.ai, Horangi, and Sync Computing, an MIT-backed, machine-learning-based data optimization platform.

During his time at WashU, Vinoo was involved with the Student Union, Carnaval, Diwali, Upsilon Pi Epsilon, and was a teaching assistant for multiple computer science courses. Vinoo also created the WashU Campus Circulator App, enabling students to track the real-time locations of campus buses. He is a member of the McKelvey Engineering National Council, the Alumni Board of Governors, and the Eliot Society.

Vinoo earned a bachelor of science degree in computer science with a minor in finance from WashU in 2013. He also earned a graduate certificate in computer science from Stanford University.

Maisie MahoneyMaisie Mahoney
BS '16

 

Making significant contributions to health technology and data management, Maisie Mahoney is a leader in her field. Her expertise in navigating intricate, regulated environments and constructing systems designed for sustainable impact has been crucial in her role as senior director of business operations at Labviva. In this role, Maisie is instrumental in enhancing operational efficiency and scalability within the fast-paced ecosystem of Series A startups. 

Prior to Labviva, Maisie established herself as a trusted partner and leader among various organizations in the Merck KGaA family, both domestically and internationally. In 2018, she founded a global network of data scientists, fostering professional development and collaboration while stationed in Darmstadt, Germany. During her tenure at EMD Digital and Syntropy, she focused on enhancing health care data governance and upholding ethical standards in the stewardship of health care information. In collaboration with colleagues at EMD Digital, the World Economic Forum, and the Bahrain Economic Development Board, she published a paper addressing new frameworks that promote innovation in data-intensive technologies while enabling data collaboration on regional and international scales.

As an undergraduate, Maisie served as president of the Biomedical Engineering Society, was a member of the Bayly Brain Biomechanics Lab, and led as captain of the WashU varsity track team. She also co-founded the Bear Cubs Running Team, an ongoing initiative dedicated to inclusion, family support, and improved health of children with autism spectrum disorder that is now in its ninth year. 

With a dedication to service and community engagement, Maisie serves as a mentor for the Women & Engineering initiative and is a member of the Alumni Board of Governors. As an Eliot Society Benefactor, she sponsors the Mahoney-Schlueter Scholarship, extending guidance and support to aspiring engineers.

Maisie earned a bachelor of science degree in biomedical engineering from WashU in 2016. She also earned an executive master of business administration degree from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Jennifer Sisto Gall
Jennifer Sisto Gall
BS '10

At the nexus of health care strategy, technology, and policy, Jennifer Sisto Gall is an accomplished health care business development executive who has successfully driven the growth of innovative services and policy in support of more equitable health outcomes. She crafts influential go-to-market strategies, cultivates collaborative relationships, and navigates the intricacies of health care policy landscapes. Jennifer will soon join ATI Advisory as director in the managed care practice where she will focus on strategy and management consulting.

She most recently served as vice president of government programs at Twill, focusing on healthy aging and improving the overall mental well-being for pregnant and postpartum people on Medicaid. Prior to Twill, Jennifer was the director of policy and clinical programs at Phreesia and led Lyft’s government business development and strategy for Lyft’s health care business, focusing on non-emergency medical transportation and transportation as a social determinant of health.

Prior to Lyft, Jennifer worked with Evidation Health launching digital biomarker research with clients to understand how everyday behavior and health interact. She also worked at Change Healthcare where she led enterprise strategy initiatives across a $3 billion portfolio, centered on software and services for health systems and health plans. During a post-graduate rotational program with RelayHealth, a division of McKesson, she drove the launch of a clinical and claims data platform focusing on quality measures. Jennifer started her career as a public and private sector consultant with Accenture.

During her tenure at WashU, Jennifer was a member of Chimes Junior Honorary, Alpha Phi, and the Student Union. Additionally, she worked in the Office of Undergraduate Orientation & Admissions and served as a teaching assistant for the Health Economics & Policy Department. Jennifer represented her peers as the student speaker for the Congress of the South 40 and Scholars in Engineering event. She continues to share her knowledge and experiences as a mentor for the Women & Engineering initiative and served on her class reunion committee. 

Jennifer earned a bachelor of science degree in systems science and mathematics with a second major in health care management from WashU in 2010. She also earned a master of public health degree in health policy and management from the University of California, Berkeley.