Biographies

Sam Scheinberg, MD
Founder and Chief Executive Officer 

Dr. Samuel Scheinberg is a board certified orthopedic surgeon and co-founder and CEO of SAM Medical Products. He served as a MASH surgeon in the Vietnam War which inspired the creation of the SAM Splint, the company's first product, as a result of inadequate splints of the period. This began a mission of developing and manufacturing emergency medical products that are improvements to current technologies. Dr. Scheinberg is a published author, holds several patents, and has received numerous industry honors. His company, SAM Medical Products, just celebrated its 25th anniversary and continues to introduce innovative products for the EMS, Military, and Wound Care markets. Dr. Scheinberg graduated from medical school at the University of Tennessee and conducted his residency training at Louisville University. He also received a National Arthritis Grant and studied at the University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland.

Cherrie Scheinberg
Co-founder
Cherrie Scheinberg is co-founder of SAM Medical Products. As co-founder, she was instrumental in bringing the SAM Splint, the first product for SAM Medical Products, to market. Cherrie formed the initial marketing strategy, which included a strong educational and training component to the end user. In the 1980's, Cherrie's energy and perseverance drove the eventual acceptance of the SAM Splint as the splint of choice used by the U.S. and foreign militaries, EMS services, and wilderness medicine environments. Cherrie was also responsible for assembling an extensive national and international distributor network and continues today to expand the global presence of the company's products by developing new business opportunities in emerging markets. In 2009, Cherrie was honored as a recipient of the 2009 Orchid Award for Portland's top women in business. Cherrie is a graduate of Northwestern University, Chicago, IL.

Adrian Polliack, PhD
President
Dr. Adrian Polliack, a native of Cape Town, South Africa, is President of SAM Medical Products.  He received his BS degree in Chemistry from the University of Michigan, and a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Oxford University, England.   Previously at SAM Medical, Adrian was COO from 2008-2010 and head of research and development from 2001-2008.  He is a published author and holds numerous patents worldwide.  Prior to SAM Medical Products, Adrian was R&D project manager at the Rehabilitation Engineering Program at Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center in Los Angeles, CA and an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Southern California.  Adrian currently serves on the boards of the Pacific Northwest Defense Coalition, the Oregon Manufacturing Extension Partnership, and the Oregon Bioscience Association.

Jan Owens
Chief Financial Officer
Jan Owens is CFO of SAM Medical Products, where she supervises the Accounting, HR, and Customer Service departments. She also oversees legal and risk management functions. Previously, Ms. Owens was COO and Vice President of Technocom, Inc., where she was responsible for managing all aspects of company operations. Ms. Owens has held board positions on a variety of Portland metropolitan businesses and associations and has been recognized by the local business community as a recipient of multiple awards. Ms. Owens is actively involved in the local community volunteering for local schools in both art literacy and reading programs. Her education includes a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Portland State University.

Lance Hopman
Director of Research and Development
Lance Hopman is a Research and Development Scientist for SAM Medical Products. His responsibilities include new product development and managing clinical research activities. Mr. Hopman brings to SAM Medical Products extensive R&D experience. He has a BS in Biochemistry from the University of Notre Dame and a MS in Chemistry from the University of Oregon. Past work experience includes eight years at AcryMed, a wound care company, where he was a key inventor and developer of antimicrobial silver technology for moist wound dressings. More recently at HemCon, he spent four years conducting hemostatic product development and R&D project management and was the inventor of the Chitoflex bandage. He holds various patents.

Steve Melia
Director of National Accounts and Business Development
Steve Melia has over 20 years of experience in the sales and marketing of medical devices. Prior to joining SAM Medical Products in 2006, Steve was Vice President of Sales and Marketing for 17 years at AMBU, a publically-traded European medical device company, serving the hospital and pre-hospital segments. Previous to AMBU, Steve was Director of Respiratory Care at the VAMC Boston. Steve is also a Registered Respiratory Therapist and holds an AS degree from Laboure College and a BS degree from the University of Massachusetts in Boston.