Who We Are
Executive Officers
Chris Howlett
Chief Executive Officer
With a career spanning more than three decades, Chris Howlett has emerged as a prominent leader in the diagnostics laboratory industry. He has held senior and executive-level positions at some of the largest clinical labs in the United States, consistently delivering operational excellence and driving business growth. His professional journey is marked by innovation, strategic foresight, and a relentless commitment to transformative leadership.
Chris is more than an industry veteran—he is an entrepreneur known for his strategic vision, collaborative approach, and deep commitment to team and organizational development. Over the years, he has founded and scaled several companies and remains actively involved in investing in and mentoring startups and early-stage platforms. A compelling and charismatic communicator, Chris is a growth-oriented executive deeply committed to organizational development, team success, and fostering individual career growth across all levels of an organization.
What sets Chris apart is his unwavering dedication to advancing diagnostics in healthcare. He brings a profound respect for the mission and value of diagnostics and a clear focus on delivering innovation and insight that empower better healthcare decisions. His leadership has taken him to nearly every corner of the country, influencing teams, operations, and outcomes nationwide.
Most recent prior to joining Vanta Diagnostics, Chris co-founded Market Street Healthcare Partners, a U.S.-based, sponsor-driven private equity firm. He also served as Chairman and CEO of Genelex, a diagnostics company where he led the organization through a dynamic growth phase and a successful acquisition by Invitae.
Beyond his professional accomplishments, Chris is deeply committed to philanthropy. He actively supports nonprofit organizations focused on empowering youth with disabilities and providing critical resources to underserved communities. His dedication to giving back is an integral part of his identity, reflecting the same passion and purpose that define his business career.
Dan Nodes
Chief Operating Officer
Dan Nodes has more than 20 years of experience in life science, manufacturing, government, technology, and consulting sectors. His career focus has been helping organizations achieve business efficiency and growth through improved operations, planning, and employee development.
Prior to Vanta Diagnostics, Dan was an Executive Director for Charles River Laboratories where he helped shape global business growth and operational strategies for its Microbial Solutions business. He has also served as Secretary on the Executive Board of SCBIO. Dan has worked for global management and consulting companies creating and executing program management offices and business development efforts. Dan began his career working as a legislative assistant on Capitol Hill for a South Carolina congressman.
Dan received his Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Clemson University and Master’s degree in Government from the University of Virginia.
Adam Holden
Chief Commercial Officer
Adam Holden brings more than 18 years of commercial leadership experience in molecular diagnostics, anatomic pathology, and genetic testing. In his current role, Adam leads a national sales organization of over 100 professionals across multiple regions and service lines, with responsibility for commercial strategy, field execution, and sales leadership development.
Throughout his tenure at Vanta Diagnostics, Adam and his sales team have contributed to the company’s sustained growth in sample volume, revenue, and profitability by fostering a performance-driven culture and aligning strategic priorities with operational execution. His leadership emphasizes collaborative development, clear expectations, and cross-functional partnership to strengthen provider relationships and expand market presence.
Prior to becoming National Sales Director in 2021, Adam held progressively senior roles at Vanta Diagnostics, where he played a key role in scaling national sales operations and expanding the company’s footprint. Earlier in his career, he held senior sales and commercial leadership positions at Aurora Diagnostics, a Sonic Healthcare company, gaining valuable experience within a large, regulated, enterprise diagnostic platform.
Adam’s leadership centers on accountability, collaboration, and team development. He prioritizes building strong sales leaders, fostering a culture of performance and trust, and aligning people, process, and strategy to achieve sustainable, organization-wide growth.
Manish P. Patel, MD, RPH, FACS, FPMRS
Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Patel is a dual board certified specialist in Urology and Male and Female Genitourinary Reconstructive Surgery. He practices in Columbia , S.C and is Affiliated Faculty at the Medical University of Carolina. He has been in medical practice since 2002. He graduated as Valedictorian and an Alpha Omega Alpha Chair from Wright State University School of Medicine in Dayton, Ohio. Subsequently, he completed his formal Urologic Surgery and Reconstructive training at the University of North Carolina Hospital in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Dr. Patel is also an alumnus of Rutgers University College of Pharmacy, where he graduated with high honors and worked thereafter to gain experience in the pharmaceutical research industry as a pharmacist prior to medical school. In addition to the last 18 years of medical practice, Dr. Patel has authored and co-authored numerous publications, served as a keynote speaker and lecturer for medical seminars globally, and participated in leadership on several boards for new drug and device developments.
Dr. Patel has served in the past roles of Chief Medical Officer, Director of Research and is a key opinion leader in health care delivery. Most recently, Dr. Patel has focused his career pathway on understanding and creating innovative uses in genomics and genetics to assist his fellow medical providers in utilizing these advancements to treat patients accurately, rapidly and effectively to improve health care outcomes for patients and hospitals.
Jessenia Cornejo
Chief Compliance Officer
Jessenia brings over 15 years of clinical laboratory experience focused on the critical correlation between quality, patient care, and regulatory compliance. Jessenia previously served as the co-owner and Senior Quality and Compliance Consultant at Lab Insights, LLC, where she led clinical laboratories in process-improving their compliance programs. She also provided legal and compliance support for a Fortune 500 pharmaceutical company through Axiom Law.
Prior to Axiom, Jessenia was instrumental in building the compliance program from the ground up at Bridge Diagnostics, serving as the strategic advisor and leader for regulatory compliance. Her leadership ensured consistent monitoring of quality and fostering a company-wide commitment to compliance. Jessenia’s journey in compliance and quality excellence includes a tenure at Precision Diagnostics, where she advanced from Lab Supervisor to Director of Quality, culminating in her role as Chief Quality and Compliance Officer.
Her foundational experience was built at Quest Diagnostics, where she first experienced good quality lab practices and earned a Green Belt certification in Six Sigma and a Clinical Laboratory Scientist license in Chemistry.
Jessenia is certified in Healthcare Compliance by the Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA) and the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics (SCCE) and possesses deep knowledge of Stark and Anti-Kickback compliance, HIPAA, and Medicare/Medicaid reimbursement. She is also a published author and a recognized industry speaker, sharing her expertise at compliance conferences. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from California State University, Fullerton.
Dan Cortese
EVP of Strategy and Head of M&A
Dan serves as Executive Vice President of Strategy and Head of M&A at Vanta Diagnostics, where he leads corporate strategy, mergers and acquisitions, and value creation initiatives to support the company’s long-term growth. He brings extensive experience in healthcare strategy, mergers and acquisitions, and operational leadership across private equity-backed and publicly traded organizations.
Prior to joining Vanta, Dan held senior strategy and operating roles at AA Medical, a private equity-backed medical distribution platform, as part of the Shore Capital Partners CXO Program. Earlier in his career, he was a Private Equity Associate at BPOC and began his career in investment banking at Wells Fargo Securities, advising healthcare companies on mergers, acquisitions, and capital markets transactions.
Dan received his BBA in Finance and Applied Mathematics from the University of Notre Dame and MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Kevin Day, PhD, HCLD(ABB)
Lab Director
Dr. J. Kevin Day, Ph.D., has served as Laboratory Director for Vanta Diagnostics Charleston location since 2019. He has extensive background across PCR-based methodologies used in infectious disease testing as well as extensive experience using next generation sequencing (NGS) platforms in cancer prognostics and treatment determination. As a seasoned laboratory leader, his passion is continuous improvement, including the use of Lean Six Sigma methodologies to drive quality and cost efficiencies into laboratory testing.
Dr. Day is certified through the American Board of Bioanalysis (ABB) as a High Complexity Clinical Laboratory Director (HCLD) and holds a New York CQ for Molecular Methods in Bacteriology, Mycobacteriology, Mycology, Parasitology, Virology, Oncology, and Genetic Testing. He has expertise across a broad diversity of genetic and genomic-based diagnostic testing methods in an environment regulated by CAP, CLIA, New York State, AABB, and ISO 17025. He is credentialed in Florida and New York State as a Clinical Laboratory Director. Dr. Day did his doctoral studies at the University of Missouri-Columbia in Biochemical Genetics where he studied the dietary and epigenetic effect of soybean phytonutrients on tumor progression in prostate cancer and mammary cancer models.
While laboratory operations are his passion, he recognizes that life’s true reward is taking the opportunity to give back to the community. He has enjoyed balancing his love of laboratory science, cutting edge innovation, and diagnostic testing with continued community service. Some of his most rewarding contributions have been through mentoring community youth in different service organizations; he finds great satisfaction in seeing a young person develop as a future leader, all while gaining interest in what the world has to offer. He finds this same motivation and passion through mentoring and coaching fellow team members to have successful experiences with collaborative innovation.
John, Rushton, PhD, HCLD(ABB)
Lab Director
Dr. John Rushton is the Laboratory Director for Vanta, King of Prussia where he is responsible for daily operations of the clinical laboratory including overseeing test development and deployment, providing technical support to the clinical staff, and providing oversight of genetic testing.
Dr. Rushton has been working in clinical laboratory testing in the areas of genetic testing and development for more than two decades and spent the past 16 years working in clinical laboratories with a focus on molecular genetic testing methods. He earned a PhD in Pathology from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology from Pennsylvania State University, and an MBA from the University of New Mexico’s Anderson School of Management. Dr. Rushton holds a Certificate of Qualification & Laboratory Director Requirements from the New York State Department of Health and is board certified by the American Board of Bioanalysis as a High-complexity Laboratory Director in the discipline of Molecular Diagnostics.
An expert in genetic testing and improving test processes, Dr. Rushton appreciates making a positive impact on people’s lives by providing answers to help their health. Rooted in the local community, he is involved with the Boy Scouts, Habitat for Humanity and outdoor conservation.