Elevating the quantum biology field for real-world interventions

Karl J. Lott is an attorney in Holland & Knight's Century City and Los Angeles offices and a member of the Real Estate Group. Mr. Lott has more than 35 years of experience as a commercial real estate attorney, and his practice focuses on all aspects of commercial real estate transactions. Mr. Lott handles all types of leasing matters, including office leases, retail leases and industrial leases, representing owners of office buildings and shopping centers in various locations in California in all matters relating to the leasing of their properties, and also representing major national and international tenants in their leasing negotiations. In addition, Mr. Lott advises clients in matters of real estate finance, representing lenders, borrowers and joint ventures, as well as representing lending entities established to participate in the EB‑5 immigration program. He regularly assists clients in forming joint ventures and in the management of limited liability companies. Mr. Lott also has extensive experience in acquisitions and dispositions of office buildings, shopping centers, industrial properties and other commercial real estate. Mr. Lott heads Holland & Knight's Office and Industrial Pursuit Team, which is a team of attorneys throughout the firm who represent clients on the sales and acquisitions, financing and leasing of office and industrial properties. Mr. Lott also serves as co-editor of Holland & Knight's Retail and Commercial Development and Leasing Blog. Mr. Lott complements his legal practice with a strong commitment to education and professional development. He teaches two courses at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law focused on legal issues in real estate transactions. Within Holland & Knight, he leads a firmwide training series on commercial leasing issues, presenting bimonthly webinars to attorneys. Nonprofit Work In addition to his real estate work, Mr. Lott serves as the chair of the Century City office Diversity Committee and sits on Holland & Knight's Diversity Council. Mr. Lott also serves as the chair of the Century City office Pro Bono and Charitable Services Committee. Mr. Lott is active in the nonprofit housing community and serves as the chair of the West Hollywood Community Housing Corporation, a nonprofit organization that builds and operates affordable housing throughout Los Angeles County and provides ongoing services to its residents to help them transition back into secure housing and the community. Mr. Lott also serves on the Los Angeles Advisory Board of Best Buddies, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Patrick Driscoll is Holland & Knight's director of client development and is based in the Century City office. Mr. Driscoll focuses on spearheading strategic initiatives in business development, marketing and branding for the Emerging Companies and Venture Capital practices and related teams, as well as bolstering the scope of business-related services that Holland & Knight provides its clients. Mr. Driscoll brings nearly a decade of experience in venture capital, startup investing and business development. In addition to his professional responsibilities, Mr. Driscoll volunteers in the community and advises on LGBTQ+ startup and venture capital initiatives. He also frequently speaks and writes on venture capital and economic inclusion. Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Mr. Driscoll was a vice president at an American multinational finance corporation, where he led venture capital and startup initiatives, as well as worked with top-tier funds, limited partners and founders nationwide. He also founded an award-winning venture capital fund focused on LGBTQ+-founded startups in artificial intelligence (AI), life sciences, sustainability and legal technology. Previously, Mr. Driscoll held leadership roles at private capital and venture capital firms, managing venture capital and accelerator education programs across five continents. He also served as a venture lead at an innovation company, where he supported its accelerator program and partnered with organizations – including the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and the Norwegian-American Defense Industry Council – to lead multimillion-dollar dual-use startup initiatives. In addition, Mr. Driscoll is a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer, having worked in Senegal, Colombia and Mexico on economic development and youth leadership.

Lydia Baugh is a high-stakes operational strategist and commercial architect specializing in frontier governance, scalable business ecosystems, and the integration of emerging technologies into highly regulated industries. Currently serving as Director and Executive Producer at Microsoft Corporation, Lydia engineers the high-density commercial frameworks that transform complex technological initiatives into reliable, repeatable revenue engines. Over her tenure, she has directed multi-million-dollar portfolios and steered high-impact global activations, including Microsoft’s presence at the World Economic Forum in Davos, driving billions in business impact and pipeline velocity. Lydia’s expertise lies at the critical intersection of rapid technological deployment and rigorous operational integrity. As an NQA-1 Nuclear Quality Assurance Lead Auditor, she brings an elite level of precision to risk mitigation and governance, ensuring that pioneering platforms scale without compromising uptime, safety, or trust. Her strategic focus extends heavily into the alignment of artificial intelligence with corporate governance, human capacity amplification, and commercial strategy for high-consequence environments. Lydia holds a Master's in Political Management from The George Washington University. She has been recognized by industry peers as an expert navigator of elite executive networks, routinely advising on ecosystem architecture, value-based commercial models, and strategic platform design for the digital and physical frontiers.

Cameron Boyce is an investor with a broad spectrum of experience across venture capital and institutional investing. He is a partner at Zee Prime Capital, which is a venture capital fund focused on defense, biotechnology, advanced manufacturing, and fundamental scientific breakthroughs.

André is a published author, speaker and expert on DeepTech with 30 years of Fortune 500, investing and startup experience. He is the CEO of Global Quantum Intelligence, the premier market & business intelligence provider in Quantum Tech, and Chairman of OneQuantum, the leading Quantum Tech community globally with 15K+ members. He studied Quantum Computing at MIT (certificates) and holds a MBA in Economics from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business as well as a Masters in Business from ICN School of Management. He speaks English, German, French and poor Italian, has competed in national sailing championships and pursues special forces combat training.

Patrick Boyle is a Founding Partner at American Wetware, a design studio for biology, and Interim Chief Scientific Officer at the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC). A bioengineer with more than 20 years of experience, he applies design, computation, and automation to commercializing biology and advises companies on scientific strategy. Patrick was an early employee at Ginkgo Bioworks, where he helped design and scale the company's core platform for engineering organisms—turning foundational research into commercial products across pharmaceuticals, agriculture, and industrial biotechnology. As Ginkgo's first Chief Scientific Officer, he led teams that shipped production biological systems for Fortune 500 partners. He was a fellow of the Johns Hopkins Emerging Leaders in Biosecurity Program and served on the Board on Life Sciences at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. He holds a PhD from Harvard Medical School and an SB in biology from MIT.

Patrick has been in venture for many years at Prosus Group, one of the largest VC firms in the world, investing and mentoring across industries and continents in machine learning, synthetic biology, space technology, and more — from Series A to E rounds and deals up to $1B+. He brings over 20 years of experience as an operator and data science leader, and more than a decade working with major finance and tech companies. He also has deep space tech experience — from academic research using infrared spectroscopy to study comets, to involvement with the XPRIZE and the International Space University. Patrick is a mentor to several space and tech accelerators, including Blue Origin, Amazon Web Services (AWS) Space, and Space-H at Starburst. Beyond tech, Patrick served as VP at Northern Trust Bank and has experience at Moody’s Analytics, Fannie Mae, Bank of America, and others. His background spans equities, bonds, and risk capital on Wall Street and across major institutions. He is a frequent speaker and contributor at U.S. space and technology events, and his academic journey includes master’s and PhD programs at the University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business, and The Wharton School of Business.

Arye Lipman is co-founder and COO of Biosphere, a biotechnology company focused on manufacturing critical materials using advanced biotechnology. His professional background spans over 15 years in the biotechnology sector, where he has held leadership roles in scientific research, business development, and venture capital. Prior to co-founding Biosphere, he served as General Partner and founder at MarsBio, a venture capital firm focused on deeptech and biotechnology investments. He was also a founding team member and scientist at ImaginAb, where he led biopharmaceutical partnerships and development of novel nuclear imaging tracers. He has a B.S. in Molecular Biology and French from UCLA, where he also worked as a researcher at the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. Throughout his career, he has been deeply involved in building and scaling biotechnology ventures, advising early-stage companies, and identifying transformative scientific innovations. He has served on multiple boards and advisory committees, including LabDAO, Lab Launch, and UC Santa Barbara's NSF ExFAB Advisory Board. His expertise lies at the intersection of molecular biology, biotechnology commercialization, and the translation of fundamental scientific discoveries into practical applications that benefit society.

Melinda Bradley, Board Treasurer for the Quantum Biology Institute, is a results-driven executive with approximately fifteen years of management experience and a proven history of scaling operational infrastructure. Currently the COO at Leverage Research, Melinda excels at enhancing team performance, reducing costs, and driving continuous improvement in fast-paced environments. As treasurer, she combines her exceptional technical capabilities with a deep proficiency in nonprofit operational efficiency and compliance. By bridging strategic financial oversight with mission-driven execution, Melinda supports long-term growth and mentors teams to achieve operational excellence. Outside of her professional responsibilities, she volunteers in her local community and is a dedicated advocate for individuals with autism.

Alessandro Lodesani is the Institute's Chief Operating Officer, overseeing its daily research operations. With a strong background in physics and engineering, combined with extensive experience in biology research, Alessandro focuses on designing innovative devices and optimizing lab processes. Originally from Italy, Alessandro earned a Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering and a PhD in Physics, graduating with honors from the Polytechnic University of Milan, with a specialization in spintronics and molecular interfaces. His previous research at MIT focused on topological qubits and superconducting thin films, where he successfully developed the world's most efficient superconducting diode platform. Alessandro then joined the Institute in its early days at UCLA, where he led several projects investigating the influence of weak magnetic fields on biological systems.

Clarice is a quantum engineer interested in how quantum physics informs biology at the nanoscale. Born and raised in Brazil, Clarice obtained a Diplome d'Ingenieur in Physics from the Ecole Polytechnique in France and an M.Phil. in Physics from the University of Cambridge, Trinity College, in England; she received her Ph.D. from MIT in Electrical Engineering. She further held postdoctoral appointments in Bioengineering at Stanford, and in Chemistry at Berkeley.