NJIT Alum, Prof, Entrepreneur Makes NJBIZ's List of Next Generation Leaders

The CEO of an NJIT-born startup made NJBIZ’s list of the Next Generation of Leaders.

John Vito d’Antonio-Bertagnolli, who holds both a bachelor’s and master’s in biomedical engineering from NJIT, where he was an Albert Dorman Honors College Scholar, leads OculoMotor Technologies (OMT), a vision therapy company that launched in 2018.

The company centers around a device known as VERVE (short for Virtual Eye Rotation Vision Exercises) that holds promise as a biomarker for concussions. OMT arose out of a university lab and developed commercially with the support of VentureLink, a startup incubator within NJIT’s New Jersey Innovation Institute.

The other founding principals of OMT, which is based on campus at VentureLink, are Chief Scientific Officer Tara Alvarez, a professor of biomedical engineering at NJIT; Chief Technology Officer Chang Yaramothu, an NJIT assistant professor and alumnus with a bachelor’s, master’s and Ph.D. in biomedical engineering; and Chief Clinical Officer Mitchell Scheiman, a professor at Salus University.

NJBIZ, in its description of d’Antonio-Bertagnolli, notes his role in the startup and his research at NJIT’s Vision and Neural Engineering Laboratory, where he focuses on virtual reality vision therapy – the subject of his master’s thesis. He’s also an adjunct professor in the university’s Department of Biomedical Engineering, part of its Newark College of Engineering. 

“Being named to the Next Generation of Leaders list alongside such heavy hitters is a great honor,” said d’Antonio-Bertagnolli. “However, a good leader is nothing without a great team! I'm so fortunate to work so closely with the NJIT community – most of our employees are NJIT alums – and I am eternally thankful to them for all their dedication and vision.

“I've always thought that my main role as a leader is to minimize my team's exposure to stress, so that they can be maximally efficacious and maximally comfortable in their work,” he added. “This NJBIZ recognition helps remind me that my style of leadership is worth all the effort. 

Just 33 individuals made NJBIZ’s list.