Insightful Support at Every Step

California Scientific Director, DVM, PhD, has more than 10 years of experience study directing complex preclinical medical device and combination product safety, biocompatibility and efficacy studies across a broad range of therapeutic areas. Prior to joining Surpass he was a consultant to multiple preclinical CROs and held Scientific positions including LyChron's Regulatory Scientific Director and IACUC Chairman positions where he led the group of Study Directors and GLP Coordinators responsible for the technical conduct and compliance of GLP studies. As a Senior Study Director for LyChron he directed numerous GLP and non-GLP studies including projects involving advanced imaging systems, open and minimally invasive surgical devices, ablation catheters and systems, drug eluting balloons, coronary and peripheral stents and balloon catheters, clot retrieval devices, arterial access devices, and more. His studies have been consistently submitted to the FDA for product approvals. He has extensive working knowledge of 21 CFR Part 58 and 21 CFR Part 11 regulations as well as Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), USDA, OLAW and AAALAC guidelines. Prior to LyChron, he established and managed a swine reproduction research facility for a global animal breeding company. He was educated as a veterinarian in India, where he also earned a Ph.D. in bioscience. At the University of Connecticut he conducted post-doctoral research achieving ground-breaking results for in vitro fertilization and somatic cell nuclear transfer in U.S. cattle. He is a certified project manager (PMP) and an active member of the Project Management Institute. Previously, he worked as a senior research scientist for a government department in South Australia and for a national health institute in India. His award-winning work has been widely published over the past 20 years.

Director of Operations and Interventional Services, BS, has more than 17 years of preclinical medical device, pharmaceutical, biotech, and combination product experience accumulated through numerous scientist and management positions within domestic and international preclinical contract research organizations and life science giants such as Medtronic, eV3, Boston Scientific, Guidant, and Roche Biosciences. He has extensive knowledge in preclinical operations, GLP and IACUC regulations, study directing, model selection, testing methods, pathophysiology and specialized anatomical model development, data analysis and reporting. His comprehensive Interventional skillset was acquired while personally performing more than a thousand procedures in large animals including implanting and providing valuable feedback for all classes of cardiovascular devices:  neuro, coronary, peripheral, and bifurcation stents; RF and cryoablation systems; IVUS and ICE imaging, as well as devices for atherectomy and diagnostic electrophysiology. He has wide-ranging knowledge of drug eluting stent technology, renal denervation, endovascular stent grafts, vascular filtration devices, biocompatibility and pharmacokinetic preclinical research.   He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Sciences from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.

Supervisor of Operations and Surgical Specialist, RVT, has over twenty years of experience in veterinary nursing for large and small animal models used in biomedical research of medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and biomaterials, more than fourteen of which have been at Surpass (and formerly LyChron). Her extensive background includes high-level anesthesia for complex cases such as cardiopulmonary bypass and cardiac ablation procedures, intensive care nursing, proficiency at various surgical procedures such as sternotomies, thoracotomies, and laparotomies, as well as successfully managing resources and veterinary staff for a high-throughput, multi-operating room facility. At Surpass she regularly works with the Veterinary and Scientific team to consult with clients on best approaches for testing their novel therapies and devices. Prior to joining the Surpass team, she worked at Stanford University in the Department of Comparative Medicine as a Registered Veterinary Technician for seven years where she was a member of the team responsible for maintaining the health of 70,000 animals in the research colony including administering therapeutic modalities and monitoring critical care animals. Through the years she has held various consulting positions for medical device and pharmaceutical companies and has instructed numerous courses on veterinary procedures in common research models. She obtained her veterinary technician training at Western Careen College in San Leandro, California.

Interventional and Surgical Specialist, BS, SRS, has more than 5 years of surgical and interventional experience. Prior to joining Surpass, he worked as a Surgical and Interventional Specialist for a preclinical contract research organization (CRO) focusing on medical device research. Along with his Surgical Specialist Certification by the Academy of Surgical Research, he is experienced in cardiothoracic, gastrointestinal, renal, vascular, microvascular and orthopedic procedures in a variety of animal models. He is skilled at performing surgical and percutaneous (Seldinger) access, arteriotomies, vascular aneurysm creations, laparotomies, tracheostomies, and sternotomies. His interventional experience includes cardiac, neuro, and peripheral vascular angiography, device deployment, and assessments in large animals. In addition to his clinical experience he also has a broad understanding of GLP and IACUC regulations and is happy to provide input on model selection. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Sciences from University California, Davis.

Surgical Specialist RVT, has more than 12 years of experience performing large animal surgical procedures at Surpass and other contract research organizations and over 25 years of experience as a registered veterinary technician. She is skilled at performing surgical and percutaneous (Seldinger) access, arteriotomies/venotomy closures, vascular aneurysm creations, anastomosis, laparotomies, tracheostomies, and sternotomies and has been trained in kidney transplants. In addition to her surgical expertise, she is also proficient at angiographic imaging and anesthesia for complex procedures. Throughout her career she has worked for several preclinical contract research organizations as well as UCSF, animal emergency clinics, and the Humane Society.  She is passionate about ensuring all animals have appropriate care.

EP Recording and Ultrasound Specialist, RVT, has been with Surpass for more than 12 years and brings over 22 years of experience working in preclinical research at the University and contract research organizations (CROs). She has experience performing intravascular ultrasound, transeptal crossing, interventional angiography procedures, and cardiac echocardiography of various species used in biomedical research and is proficient at cardiac pacing and running electrophysiology recording (EP) systems for acquiring EKG and intracardiac electrograms. Through the course of her career, she has been a research associate in the Nuclear Medicine and Cardiac Electrophysiology departments as well as a manager of the CVRI Digital Fluoroscopy Suite and Cardiac Electrophysiology Animal Research Laboratory at the Cardiovascular Institute of University of California, San Francisco.  In addition to her clinical experience she has extensive knowledge of IACUC and GLP regulations through her experience as an IACUC member and auditor.

California Attending Veterinarian, DVM, MPH, comes to Surpass with more than 20 years of experience as a Veterinary Professional with extensive experience in preclinical laboratory animal medicine; general practice; herd medicine; and anesthesia and pain management. Her preclinical experience includes management of animal colonies, assurance of animal health and well-being, regulatory compliance and staff training. Throughout her career she has held positions as Chief Veterinary Officer, Attending Veterinarian and various other management positions within organizations such as Roche Biosciences, Cornell University, and the Humane Society of Silicon Valley. She received her Veterinary Degree and Masters of Public Health from the University of California, Davis and also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Cornell University.