Meet Our Analysts

Joseph Pantginis, Ph.D.
Director of Research
Managing Director, Equity Research

  • Dr. Pantginis is a Managing Director of Equity Research at H.C. Wainwright whose research focuses on the healthcare sector. Dr. Pantginis conducted more than seventeen years of healthcare equity research.
  • Prior to joining H.C. Wainwright, Dr. Pantginis worked as a Senior Research Analyst and Head of Biotechnology Research at ROTH Capital Partners. Dr. Pantginis also held senior positions at Merriman, Canaccord Adams, Commerce Capital Markets, JBHanauer and Ladenburg. Prior to his equity research career, Dr. Pantginis worked at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, where he founded the Retroviral Core Facility.
  • Dr. Pantginis’ educational background includes both a Ph.D. and an M.S. in molecular genetics from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine as well as an MBA from Pace University.

Ed Arce
Managing Director, Senior Healthcare Analyst

  • Mr. Arce is a Managing Director of Equity Research at H.C. Wainwright with expertise in both the biopharmaceutical and the specialty pharmaceutical sectors. In particular, Mr. Arce’s research covers investment opportunities among hepatology, renal, infectious disease, gastrointestinal, endocrine, metabolic and select rare disease companies
  • Mr. Arce has been involved in institutionally-focused healthcare research since 2005. Prior to joining H.C. Wainwright, Mr. Arce was a Senior Research Analyst at ROTH Capital Partners. Mr. Arce’s previous sell-side experience includes working for MLV & Co, Wedbush Securities, UBS Securities and First Albany Capital.
  • In 2017, Mr. Arce won the Thomson Reuters “No. 1 Top Stock Picker Award” in Biotechnology. Mr. Arce’s educational background includes a Master of Science in Finance (MSF) degree from Boston College, as well as both an MBA and a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Florida International University (FIU). Mr. Arce is also a Board-licensed Professional Engineer (P.E.) and a Level III Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) candidate.

Vernon T. Bernardino
Managing Director, Senior Healthcare Analyst

  • Mr. Bernardino is a Managing Director of Equity Research at H.C. Wainwright whose research focuses on the healthcare sector. Specific therapeutic areas of interest include vascular diseases, gastrointestinal and autoimmune diseases, infectious diseases, metabolic and rare diseases.  He possesses over 10 years of experience in the healthcare industry and over 12 years in sell-side and buy-side equity research.
  • Prior to joining H.C. Wainwright, Mr. Bernardino was a healthcare equity research analyst at multiple Wall Street firms including Seaport Global Securities, B. Riley FBR, Rodman & Renshaw LLC, UBS Securities, and Nicholas Applegate Capital Management (now part of Allianz SE). For 2017, Mr. Bernardino was recognized by TipRanks as a Top 150 Wall Street analyst.
  • Prior to working on Wall Street, Mr. Bernardino conducted research in cardiovascular diseases as a scientist in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry. The work led to the discovery and development of Zetia, a cholesterol-lowering drug with >$2 billion in annual sales.  He later founded Oceros Advisors LP, a strategic healthcare advisory group.
  • Bernardino’s educational background includes an MBA in Finance from University of San Diego and a BA from Rutgers University.

Emily Bodnar
Vice President, Senior Healthcare Analyst

  • Emily Bodnar is a Vice President of Equity Research at H.C. Wainwright who joined the firm in January 2022. Ms. Bodnar’s research focuses on the Biotechnology and Women’s Healthcare industries.
  • Prior to joining H.C. Wainwright, Ms. Bodnar was a Senior Equity Research Associate at Cantor Fitzgerald assisting in coverage of small/mid and large-cap biotechnology companies. Ms. Bodnar also worked as an Equity Research Associate at Berenberg Capital Markets assisting in coverage of small/mid-cap biotechnology companies.
  • Ms. Bodnar graduated summa cum laude from Binghamton University where she received a Bachelor of Science. Ms. Bodnar has also taken several Biology and Immunology courses from Johns Hopkins University and Rice University.

Scott Buck
Managing Director, Senior Technology Analyst

  • Mr. Buck is a Managing Director at H.C. Wainwright focused on research for the technology sector.
  • Prior to joining HCW, Mr. Buck served as a research analyst at B Riley FBR where he covered small capitalization companies in the financial technology and industrial services sectors. Before joining B Riley FBR, Mr.  Buck spent several years covering the financial sector, including regional banks at Macquarie Capital and brokers and asset managers at both Banc of America Securities and Susquehanna International Group. In addition, Mr. Buck spent two years covering the airline sector for Imperial Capital in Los Angeles, CA.
  • Mr. Buck holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado and an MBA from University of Southern California.

Robert Burns
Managing Director, Senior Healthcare Analyst

  • Mr. Burns is a Vice President of Equity Research at H.C. Wainwright whose research focuses on the biotechnology sector. Mr. Burns’ expertise spans the universe of next-generation approaches to the treatment of cancer, with particular focus on the immuno-oncology and precision oncology sectors.
  • Prior to joining H.C. Wainwright, Mr. Burns worked at BMO Capital Markets as an equity research associate covering Major Pharma under analyst Alex Arfaei; he followed multiple Top 10 pharmaceutical firms and focused on tracking developments in the oncology arena, particularly within the context of checkpoint inhibition and immunotherapy.
  • Mr. Burns’ educational background includes a Master’s degree in Medical Science from Boston University School of Medicine as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from Brooklyn College. Mr. Burns also attended Boston University School of Medicine as a medical student for three years.

Matthew Caufield
Vice President, Senior Healthcare Analyst

  • Matthew Caufield is a Vice President of Equity Research at H.C. Wainwright, having joined the firm in 2018. Mr. Caufield’s research focuses on small and mid-cap biotechnology companies including innovations in the ophthalmology and gastrointestinal industries.
  • Prior to joining H.C. Wainwright, Mr. Caufield was an Equity Research Associate at Piper Sandler & Co. assisting in the coverage of small and mid-cap biotechnology companies. Mr. Caufield previously worked as a Senior Wealth Strategy Associate in Private Wealth Management at UBS, and as an Investment Service Associate at JPMorgan Chase & Co.
  • Mr. Caufield is a published scientist, and his educational background includes an MBA from the S.C. Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University, a M.S. in Neurobiology from Northwestern University, and a B.S. in Neuroscience from Colgate University.

Yi Chen, Ph.D., CFA
Managing Director, Senior Healthcare Analyst

  • Dr. Chen is a Managing Director of Equity Research at H.C. Wainwright with expertise in both the biotechnology and the pharmaceutical sectors. Dr. Chen’s research covers investment opportunities in the U.S. healthcare industry.
  • Prior to joining H.C. Wainwright, Dr. Chen worked as an Associate Director of Equity Research at Aegis Capital Corp. and as a Research Associate at Morgan Joseph TriArtisan, LLC. Dr. Chen also worked as a Trading Associate at Zhang Capital Management, a New York-based buy-side fund. Prior to that, Dr. Chen was a Research Associate at the City University of New York where his research focused primarily on protein signaling domains utilizing an RNA interference approach. Dr. Chen published several articles in leading peer-reviewed journals, presented research at various scientific conferences, and taught biology courses at Hunter College in New York City.
  • Dr. Chen’s educational background includes a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the City University of New York and a B.S. in Biophysics from Fudan University. Dr. Chen is also a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholder.

Mike Colonnese
Managing Director, Senior Technology Analyst

  • Mr. Colonnese is a Managing Director of Equity Research at H.C. Wainwright whose research focuses on the cryptocurrency and blockchain sector.
  • Mr. Colonnese possesses over 13 years of financial services experience. Prior to joining H.C. Wainwright, Mr. Colonnese was Director and Senior Equity Research Analyst at Cantor Fitzgerald where he led the firm’s cryptocurrency and blockchain research efforts. Prior to Cantor, Mr. Colonnese worked as an equity research analyst at Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Sidoti & Company where he covered companies in the Financial Technology, Traditional Financial and Consumer sectors, respectively. Mr. Colonnese began his career in private wealth management at Fidelity Investments.
  • Mr. Colonnese holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Connecticut and an MBA in Finance from Sacred Heart University. Mr. Colonnese is also a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charter holder.

Amit Dayal
Managing Director, Senior Technology Analyst

  • Mr. Dayal is a Managing Director of Equity Research at H.C. Wainwright whose research focuses on small cap growth companies listed in the U.S.
  • Prior to joining H.C. Wainwright, Mr. Dayal was both an advisor for and an investor in tech startups. Mr. Dayal was also a Senior Research Analyst at Rodman & Renshaw for seven years where his research focused on companies operating in emerging markets as well as small and mid-cap companies such as TMT (Technology Media Telecom), Clean Tech, Industrials and Consumer. Prior to that, Mr. Dayal founded and later sold his own web services company, which was operational in both India and Nepal.
  • Mr. Dayal’s educational background includes an MBA from Babson College as well as both an M.Com and a B.Com (Hons) from University of Delhi.

Kevin Dede, CFA
Managing Director, Senior Technology Analyst

  • Mr. Dede is a Managing Director of Equity Research at H.C. Wainwright.
  • Prior to joining H.C. Wainwright, Mr. Dede conducted over twenty years of institutional research covering different industries such as telecommunications food chain, heavy industry, retail, financial services, and almost all realms of technology.  Mr. Dede began his career at Prudential Securities and successively worked for other sell-side investment banks such as Montgomery Securities, Merriman Curhan & Ford, and Auriga LLC.
  • Mr. Dede has been cited as a technology expert by several financial reporting agencies including Barrons, Bloomberg television/radio, and FOX News.
  • Mr. Dede’s educational background includes both an MBA and an Engineering Degree from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.

Andrew Fein
Managing Director, Senior Healthcare Analyst

  • Mr. Fein is a Managing Director of Equity Research at H.C. Wainwright. Mr. Fein conducted more than twelve years of biotechnology equity research.
  • Prior to joining H.C. Wainwright, Mr. Fein worked as the Head of the Healthcare Research effort at Chardan Capital Markets. Mr. Fein began his career at J.P. Morgan H&Q and first gained recognition as a Senior Analyst at Leerink Swann. After that, Mr. Fein worked as a Managing Director/Senior Biotechnology Analyst at Jefferies, Piper Jaffray and Collins Stewart.
  • Mr. Fein has received numerous honorable mentions from the Institutional Investor All-America Research poll.
  • Mr. Fein’s educational background includes a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University.

Heiko Ihle, CFA
Managing Director, Senior Metals & Mining Analyst

  • Mr. Ihle is a Managing Director of Equity Research at H.C. Wainwright whose research focuses on companies in the Metals and Mining indust
  • Prior to joining H.C. Wainwright, Mr. Ihle worked as a Senior Research Analyst at Euro Pacific Capital where his research was also focused on the Mining industry. Prior to that, Mr. Ihle worked at Gabelli & Company covering both the Industrials and E&C industries. Mr. Ihle also completed summer internships with Deutsche Bank on the foreign exchange trading desk and on fixed income sales, in New York and Germany, respectively.•    Mr. Ihle’s educational background includes a Bachelor in Finance and Management from the University of Illinois and an MBA from the University of Miami.
  • Mr. Ihle is also a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholder and is currently a member of both the CFA Institute and the Stamford CFA Society.

Oren G. Livnat, CFA
Managing Director, Senior Healthcare Analyst

  • Mr. Livnat is a Managing Director of Equity Research at H.C. Wainwright whose research focuses on the specialty pharmaceutical industry.
  • Mr. Livnat conducted more than twelve years of research on both the sell-side and the buy-side. Prior to joining H.C. Wainwright, Mr. Livnat worked as a Senior Analyst covering specialty and generic pharma at Iguana Healthcare Partners, a dedicated healthcare long/short hedge fund.
  • Mr. Livnat began his career as an Associate at Natixis Bleichroeder and successively worked as a Senior Analyst at JMP Securities covering both commercial and development-stage companies. Prior to that, Mr. Livnat also worked at Jefferies LLC covering Spec Pharma.
  • Mr. Livnat’s educational background includes a B.A. in Economics from Wesleyan University. Mr. Livnat is also a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholder.

Swayampakula Ramakanth, Ph.D.
Managing Director, Senior Healthcare Analyst

  • Dr. Ramakanth is a Managing Director of Equity Research at H.C. Wainwright whose research focuses on the healthcare sector.
  • Dr. Ramakanth’s research covers companies operating in oncology, wound health, medical devices, spine health and animal health. Dr. Ramakanth possesses over ten years of experience as a Life Sciences Equity Analyst as well as seven years of biotechnology industry experience.
  • Prior to joining H.C. Wainwright, Dr. Ramakanth worked as a Junior Analyst at both Jefferies and Merrill Lynch covering large cap pharmaceuticals. Dr. Ramakanth was also a Junior Analyst at both First Albany and Rodman & Renshaw where he focused on biotechnology companies. Dr. Ramakanth also conducted bench research and directed a preclinical drug development group at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
  • Dr. Ramakanth presented at various regional and international conferences and published in several peer-reviewed journals.
  • Dr. Ramakanth’s educational background includes a Ph.D. in Pharmacology/Toxicology from the University of Utah, an MBA from Rutgers University, an M.S. in Pharmaceutics from Auburn University, and a B. Pharm (Hons.) from BITS, India. Dr. Ramakanth also held a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Raghuram Selvaraju, Ph.D.
Managing Director, Senior Healthcare Analyst

  • Dr. Selvaraju is a Managing Director of Equity Research at H.C. Wainwright whose research focuses on the healthcare sector.
  • Dr. Selvaraju possesses over a decade’s worth of experience in Healthcare Equity Research. Dr. Selvaraju was ranked by both the StarMine for his earnings accuracy and by The Wall Street journal’s annual Best on the Street Analyst for his stock-picking performance. In addition, Dr. Selvaraju has appeared numerous times on Bloomberg, CNBC, Business News Network and BTV where he discussed drug development trends, healthcare reform policy, and pharma and biotech M&A.
  • Prior to joining H.C. Wainwright, Dr. Selvaraju held Senior Research positions at MLV & Co., Aegis Capital, Hapoalim Securities USA and Rodman & Renshaw LLC.
  • Dr. Selvaraju’s educational background includes a Ph.D. in molecular neuroscience and cellular immunology, an M.S. degree in molecular biology from the University of Geneva in Switzerland, and an MBA from Cornell University.

Patrick Trucchio
Managing Director, Senior Healthcare Analyst

  • Mr. Trucchio is a Managing Director of Equity Research at H.C. Wainwright whose research focuses on biotechnology, specifically on inflammation, fibrosis, cardio-metabolic, CNS, and rare diseases in addition to other areas.

  • Mr. Trucchio has thirteen years of research experience on the sell-side. Prior to joining H.C. Wainwright, Mr. Trucchio was a senior equity research analyst at Berenberg Capital Markets (BCM) covering biotechnology and specialty pharmaceutical companies. Prior to Berenberg Capital Markets, Mr. Trucchio worked at Wells Fargo Securities and BMO Capital Markets. At Wells Fargo, Mr Trucchio worked on an Institutional Investor ranked analyst team covering specialty pharmaceutical companies.

  • Mr. Trucchio’s educational background includes an M.B.A. with Honors from St. John’s University and a B.S. in Finance from The Pennsylvania State University.

Doug Tsao
Managing Director, Senior Healthcare Analyst

  • Mr. Tsao is a Managing Director of Equity Research at H.C. Wainwright whose research focuses on Biopharmaceuticals and Specialty Pharmaceuticals.  Specific therapeutics areas include Endocrinology, Metabolic disease, Dermatology, and CNS in addition to other areas.
  • Prior to joining H.C. Wainwright, Mr. Tsao was a senior equity research analyst at Barclays covering U.S. Specialty Pharmaceutical companies as well as small and midcap medical device companies.  Mr. Tsao is recognized for his expertise in biosimilars and is a frequent speaker on this topic at industry conferences. Prior to Barclays Mr. Tsao  worked at Lehman Brothers and his combined experience spans over ten years at these two firms.
  • Mr. Tsao served as a Special Assistant to U.S. EPA Administrator Carol Browner from 1997-1999, received an MBA/MPH from U.C. Berkeley and graduated cum laude from Middlebury College with High Honors.

Edward White
Managing Director, Senior Healthcare Analyst

  • Mr. White is a Managing Director of Equity Research at H.C. Wainwright whose research focuses on both the biotechnology and the specialty pharmaceutical sectors. Mr. White’s expertise covers companies operating in the oncology, immune-oncology, infectious disease, and gastrointestinal sectors.
  • Prior to working at H.C. Wainwright, Mr. White has worked as a Wall Street Healthcare Analyst, on both the buy-side and the sell-side, since 1996. Mr. White’s previous sell-side experience includes working for Fahnestock & Company (now Oppenheimer), Gerard, Klauer, Mattison & Company (now BMO Capital Markets), Deutsche Bank Securities, and a couple of boutique firms. At Deutsche Bank, he worked on two Institutional Investor ranked analyst teams. Most recently, Mr. White worked as a Senior Biotech Analyst at FBR & Company. On the buy-side, Mr. White worked as a Senior U.S. Healthcare Analyst for Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking where he was a member of a team that managed a fund that had its peak at over $16 billion, including $10 billion in U.S. equities.
  • Mr. White’s educational background includes an MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute as well as a B.S. in Biology from Manhattan College. Mr. White also attended the Mount Sinai School of Medicine for two and a half years. Mr. White was recently recognized as the top Biotech Analyst in the 2017 Thompson/Reuters Survey for earnings estimate accuracy.