Dr. Penno founded the BioTechnical Institute of Maryland in 1998. Dr. Penno’s passion for laboratory investigation began at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine as a postdoctoral fellow. After joining the JHU Genetics faculty in 1985, Dr. Penno studied cancer and opened the Genetic Resources Core Facility Biorepository and Cell Center in 1989. Inspired by the success of new hire Jean Smith, a laboratory technician with only a GED, a vision for a laboratory technical training program took root. Early champions of that vision such as the Abell Foundation, J.C. and Kathleen Weiss, Dr. Tim Fawcett, and many others were key to BTI’s success.

In addition to founding BTI and her research career in Baltimore, Dr. Penno worked with JHU’s All Children’s Hospital in Florida and the National Institutes of Health’s H3 Africa Project. Traveling extensively in Africa, she and her husband developed a love for the African people and lived in both Zambia and Nigeria as missionaries.

Dr. Penno retired after 33 years with Johns Hopkins and lives in Colorado with her husband.Mr. Weiss has organized, raised and managed five venture capital funds since the mid-1980’s focusing on emerging technologies and early stage companies with a special emphasis on the Mid-Atlantic region. Mr. Weiss earned a B.S. degree from Towson University and an MBA from Loyola College. He serves on several civic and corporate boards including the University System of Maryland Foundation, the Engineering Society of Baltimore, the Baltimore Workforce Investment Board, the University of Maryland Baltimore, and is Chairman Emeritus of the Greater Baltimore Technology Council.