An informal zoom hang out to get to know others within the MD+ community

Dr. Andrés Cruz-Herranz, MD, PhD, is a neurologist, neuroscientist, and Associate Medical Director of Early Clinical Development at Denali Therapeutics, a South San Francisco biotech company focused on developing new treatments for neurodegenerative diseases. After completing medical school and a residency program in neurology in Madrid, Andrés moved to the US to pursue a postdoc at the University of California San Francisco, where his research focused on in vivo retinal imaging in preclinical models of neuroinflammation to develop translational biomarkers for disease progression and therapeutic response in demyelinating diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis. Andrés then did a Clinical Research Fellowship at Genentech-Roche, where he was involved in Phase 3 & 4 global clinical trials in multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer´s Disease, and joined Denali in 2019. In his free time, Andrés loves to go out on hikes and beach excursions with his wife, his 3 y.o. son, and his 10 month-old daughter.

Dr. David Holtzman, MD, is the Barbara Burton and Reuben M. Morris III Distinguished Professor of Neurology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, scientific director of the Hope Center for Neurological Disorders, Associate Director of the Knight ADRC, and co-founder of C2N diagnostics. He has been a true pioneer in advancing humanity’s understanding of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) pathophysiology. Some of his lab’s accomplishments include showing in part how APOE contributes to AD; development of CSF and serum biomarkers for AD; demonstration that synaptic activity and sleep affect Aβ and Tau levels; and describing the effects of APOE, TREM2, and microglia on tau-mediated neurodegeneration. Additionally, Dr. Holtzman’s lab played a pivotal role in developing an anti-Aβ antibody in a phase III secondary prevention trial for AD (A4) and an anti-ApoE antibody being developed for human trials. Dr. Holtzman holds 32 patents and is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and National Academy of Inventors. He previously served on the National Advisory council of the NINDS and NIA and was the recipient of the Chancellor’s award for innovation and entrepreneurship. Dr. Holtzman has trained over 70 graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and physician-scientists, many of whom have gone on to successful careers in academia and industry. In his free time, Dr. Holtzman enjoys hiking and scuba diving with his wife Tracy, playing tennis, and enjoying his more recent hobby of kitesurfing.

Upcoming fireside chat with two incredible residents, Dr. Aakash Saraiya and Dr. Julia Pian, who are both pursuing careers outside of clinical medicine - the true MD+! Join us May 10th from 7 – 8pm EST for a great discussion!

Julia hails from San Diego, CA and graduated from Harvard College with a major in Chemical and Physical Biology and a minor in English. She continued at Harvard completing the dual MD/MBA program and is now a second year resident in Pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital and Boston Medical Center. Julia’s industry experience is in biotech and includes internships at F-Prime Capital and Relay Therapeutics and a consulting gig with GenerationBio. She is also actively involved in non-profit work at Nucleate and the N of 1 Collaborative. Outside of work, she is a martial artist, theater lover and amateur cook and baker!

Aakash is an Emergency Medicine resident at Robert Wood Johnson Newark Beth Israel, a venture consultant with TripHammer Ventures and a medical specialist at Google Health. He is particularly focused on facilitating the integration between end-user technology and acute care. His experience includes healthcare and pharmaceutical consulting with Simon-Kucher & Partners, co-founding a healthcare non-profit organization, and as a Design Innovation Scholar with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) focusing on incorporating technological innovations in the hospital setting. Aakash holds a DO from Rowan University, an MBA from Cornell University and a BS in Biology and Economics from Villanova University.

Dr. Aaron Chamberlain is an Associate Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at Washington University School of Medicine. He received a Bachelor of Music degree with a focus in Violin Performance from the University of Utah, his medical degree from UC San Francisco, and completed his residency in Orthopedic Surgery at the University of Washington in Seattle, WA. He then completed his Shoulder and Elbow surgery fellowship at Washington University in St. Louis. In 2019, he completed an MBA at the Olin School of Business at Washington University in St Louis. He manages a busy clinical practice that specializes in both routine and complex surgical management of shoulder and elbow problems. In addition to his clinical practice, he manages a research program focused on clinical outcomes research, cost-effectiveness and gene expression analysis. He also teaches medical students, residents and fellows. He is the Director of the Healthcare Innovation curriculum for the Washington University medical students and teaches Healthcare Innovation at the Olin School of Business. He has recently been named the Director of Value and Efficiency for the Department of Orthopedic surgery at WashU.