GRAIL aims to develop a blood test to detect cancer early before symptoms appear offering higher survival rates compared to late-stage diagnosis.

Biotechnology

GRAIL

Satnam Alag, PhD, is Senior Vice President of Software Engineering at [GRAIL](/org/grail). He previously served as Vice President of Software Engineering at [Illumina](/org/illumina), where he led the development of many cloud-software products and oversaw cloud product security, privacy, and clinical compliance. Before this, he was the Chief Technology Officer at NextBio (acquired by [Illumina](/org/illumina) in 2013), a powerful patient-centric platform that aggregates and analyzes large quantities of phenotypic and genomic longitudinal data. He has also held other senior software architecture positions, including as the Chief Software Architect at [Deem](/org/deem). Satnam, who holds five AWS certifications, has over 24 years of software development experience and is the author of the book “Collective Intelligence in Action” published by Manning. He earned a BE (HONS) from Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani, an MS from [Rutgers University](/org/rutgers-university), and a PhD from the University of California at Berkeley.

Satnam Alag

Josh Ofman, MD, is Chief Medical Officer and External Affairs at [GRAIL](/org/grail). Josh also serves on the Board of Directors of Cell BT, Inc, an immuno-therapy company focused on the discovery and development of innovative cancer therapeutics. Previously, Josh spent more than 15 years at [Amgen](/org/amgen), where he most recently held the role of Senior Vice President, Global Health Policy. Prior to that, Josh was a faculty member in the Department of Medicine and Health Services Research at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Medicine, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, as well as Senior Vice President of Zynx Health Inc., a subsidiary of Cerner Corp. Josh holds a BA in history and philosophy of science from the University of California, Berkeley, and an MD from the [University of California, Irvine](/org/university-of-california-irvine), School of Medicine. Josh also has an MSHS from the UCLA School of Public Health.

Josh Ofman

Jeff Huber is the current Director at [GRAIL](/org/grail). Prior to this, they held various positions at different companies such as University of California, Berkeley, Upstart, Zapata Computing, Inc., OpenCovidScreen, [Mammoth Biosciences](/org/mammoth-biosciences), Genalyte, Inc., [Openwater](/org/openwater) (openwater.cc), [Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy](/org/parker-institute-for-cancer-immunotherapy), and [Electronic Arts](/org/electronic-arts).

Jeff Huber's educational career includes a BS in Computer Engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and an MBA in Technology Strategy, Economics from [Harvard Business School](/org/harvard-business-school).

Jeff Huber

Akash Patel

Aaron Freidin is currently the CFO at [GRAIL](/org/grail). Prior to joining [GRAIL](/org/grail), they served as the VP of Corporate Controller at Counsyl from July 2013 to August 2016. From March 2011 to June 2013, Freidin was the Senior Manager of Revenue, SEC and Technical Accounting at [Cepheid](/org/cepheid). Aaron began their career at PwC in September 2001, where they became an Audit Senior Manager and eventually led the firm's semiconductor team's revenue, margin and employee utilization forecast. Freidin has also played a lead role in IPO engagements, from participation in S-1 and S-1/A drafting sessions to helping clients draft responses to SEC comment letters. Aaron is well-versed in financial and SEC reporting requirements under the 1934 Act, various accounting and disclosure issues, and SEC comment letters.

Aaron Freidin's educational career began at St. Francis, where they obtained their Bachelor of Arts in Business Management. Aaron then continued their education at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where they specialized in Business Management.

Aaron Freidin reports to Bob Ragusa, CEO. Aaron Freidin works with Andy Partridge - Chief Commercial Officer, Mark McClellan - Scientific Advisor, and Paul Ciccolella - SVP, Global Technology and Operations.

Aaron Freidin

Sir Harpal is responsible for leading [GRAIL](/org/grail)’s entry and growth in Europe.

Sir Harpal joins [GRAIL](/org/grail) from [Johnson & Johnson](/org/johnson-johnson) where he most recently served as Senior Vice President and Head of Innovation EMEA. There, he oversaw a portfolio of co-investments and collaborations across the region to grow [Johnson & Johnson](/org/johnson-johnson)’s networks within the EMEA innovation community. Before joining [Johnson & Johnson](/org/johnson-johnson) Innovation, Sir Harpal spent 15 years with [Cancer Research UK](/org/cancer-research-uk), and served as the organization’s Chief Executive Officer from April 2007 until June 2018. Prior to this, he was Chief Operating Officer & Executive Director of Development at CRUK and served as Chief Executive of Cancer Research Technology (a subsidiary of CRUK). Before CRUK, he worked with McKinsey & Co, The Papworth Trust, and Nexan Group. Sir Harpal received a Masters in Chemical Engineering from the [University of Cambridge](/org/university-of-cambridge), and an MBA as a Baker Scholar from [Harvard Business School](/org/harvard-business-school). He has been awarded Honorary Doctorates from the Universities of Manchester, Newcastle, and Glasgow, and the Institute of Cancer Research, and he is a Fellow of The Academy of Medical Sciences. In 2016, he was knighted by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for services to cancer research.

Harpal Kumar

I-Zu  Huang

Roberto Veronese

William N. Hait, MD, PhD, is Global Head, External Innovation at [Johnson & Johnson](/org/johnson-johnson). Previously, he was Head of Global Research and Development for the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of [Johnson & Johnson](/org/johnson-johnson). Before joining [Johnson & Johnson](/org/johnson-johnson) in 2007, he was the founding Director of The (Rutgers) Cancer Institute of New Jersey. From 1993 to 2007 he was Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology and Associate Dean for Oncology Programs at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey — Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. Before that, Dr. Hait was Associate Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology, Chief of the Division of Medical Oncology, Associate Director of the Yale University Comprehensive Cancer Center, Director of the Breast Cancer Unit, and Co-Director of the Lung Cancer Unit.

Dr. Hait is past President of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) and currently serves as Treasurer. He has served on various committees for the AACR, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the Association of American Cancer Institutes, the National Cancer Institute Board of Scientific Advisors, and was founding Chairman of the Executive Management Committee of Stand Up to Cancer. He currently is a member of the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey Director’s Advisory Board, Board of External Advisors for the Dana Farber/Harvard Cancer Center, the Stand Up to Cancer Scientific Advisory Board, The Board of Directors of Research!America, and the Vanderbilt University Biomedical Science Advisory Board. Dr. Hait holds a BA from the [University of Pennsylvania](/org/university-of-pennsylvania). He holds an MD and a PhD from the Medical College of Pennsylvania.

William N. Hait

	
Richard Klausner
Richard (Rick) Klausner, MD, is a Founder of [GRAIL](/org/grail). Rick is CEO of [Lyell Immunopharma](/org/lyell-immunopharma), Executive Chair of Mindstrong Health, and Chair of Medical Creations, [Wisdo](/org/wisdo), and LifeMine.

Rick was a Founder and Director of Juno Therapeutics until its acquisition by Celgene in 2018. He is the former Senior Vice President, Chief Medical Officer and Chief Opportunity Officer of [Illumina](/org/illumina) and former Executive Chairman of Audax Health. Previously, he served as Managing Partner of the Venture Capital firm, The Column Group, and was the Executive Director for Global Health of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Rick was appointed by Presidents Clinton and Bush as the eleventh Director of the U.S. National Cancer Institute between 1995 and 2001. He also served as Chief of the Cell Biology and Metabolism Branch of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, as well as a past president of the American Society of Clinical Investigation. He is a Fellow of the AACR Academy. Rick holds an MD from Duke Medical School.

Richard Klausner

Timothy Church, PhD, is a Professor in the Division of Environmental Health Sciences in the School of Public Health at the [University of Minnesota](/org/university-of-minnesota). His expertise is in cancer screening, colorectal cancer, medical device evaluation, biostatistics, epidemiologic methods, and clinical trial design. Dr. Church is currently leading multiple trials and studies regarding colorectal, prostate, lung, and ovarian cancer, and has recently established a registry for Parkinson’s Disease research. His primary research interests include clinical trials and epidemiological studies related to screening for and prevention of multiple cancers, as well as the development of biostatistical and epidemiologic methods. He teaches Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology and a doctoral seminar on causal inference. Dr. Church holds a PhD and MS in Biometry and Health Information Systems from the [University of Minnesota](/org/university-of-minnesota).

Timothy R. Church

Charles completed his MBPhD training in 1999 at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund Laboratories and [Cancer Research UK](/org/cancer-research-uk) clinician scientist/medical oncology training in 2008. Charles is a senior group leader of the Cancer Evolution and Genome Instability Laboratory at the Francis Crick Institute  and combines his research with clinical duties at UCLH, as a thoracic oncologist, focused on how tumours evolve over space and time. Charles research branched evolutionary histories of solid tumours, processes that drive cancer cell-to-cell variation in the form of new cancer mutations or chromosomal instabilities, and the impact of such cancer diversity on effective immune surveillance and clinical outcome. Charles is chief investigator of TRACERx, a lung cancer evolutionary study and the national PEACE autopsy program.

Charles was made Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in April 2011, appointed Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2015, awarded the Napier Professor in Cancer by the Royal Society in 2016, appointed [Cancer Research UK](/org/cancer-research-uk)’s Chief Clinician in 2017, and elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 2018 and Fellow of the Academy of American Association for Cancer Research in 2020. Charles is an editorial board member of Cell, Plos Medicine, Cancer Discovery and Annals of Oncology and an advisory board member for Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology and Cancer Cell. In 2016 he co-founded Achilles Therapeutics, a UCL/CRUK/Francis Crick Institute spin-out company, assessing the efficacy of T cells targeting clonal neoantigens.

Charles has been awarded several prizes including the Stand up to Cancer Translational Cancer Research Prize (2015), GlaxoSmithkline Biochemical Society Prize (2016), San Salvatore prize for Cancer Research (2017) and the Ellison-Cliffe Medal, Royal Society of Medicine (2017), recipient of the Gordon Hamilton Fairley Medal (2018), Massachusetts General Hospital, Jonathan Kraft Prize for Excellence in Cancer Research (May 2018), the ESMO Award for Translational Cancer Research (2019), Addario Lung Cancer Foundation Award and Lectureship, International Lung Cancer Congress (July 2020), Weizmann Institute Sergio Lombroso Award in Cancer Research (2021), International Society of Liquid Biopsy (ISLB) Research Award (2021), and the Memorial Sloan Kettering Paul Marks Memorial Prize (2021).

Peter Sasieni

The new Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy supports and conducts research, evaluation, implementation, and educational activities to improve health policy and health, through collaboration across [Duke University](/org/duke-university) and Health System, and through partnerships between the public and private sectors. It integrates the social, clinical, and analytical sciences to integrate technical expertise and practical capabilities to develop and apply policy solutions that improve health and the value of health care locally, nationally, and worldwide.

Dr. McClellan is a former administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and former commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), where he developed and implemented major reforms in health policy. These include the Medicare prescription drug benefit, the FDA’s Critical Path Initiative, and public-private initiatives to develop better information on the quality and cost of care. Dr. McClellan chairs the FDA’s Reagan-Udall Foundation, is co-chair of the Quality Alliance Steering Committee, sits on the National Quality Forum’s Board of Directors, is a member of the Institute of Medicine, and is a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. He previously served as a member of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers and senior director for health care policy at the White House, and was an associate professor of economics and medicine at [Stanford University](/org/stanford).

Mark McClellan

Otis Brawley is a globally-recognized expert in cancer prevention and control. He has worked to reduce overscreening of medical conditions, which has revolutionized patient treatment by increasing quality of life and reducing health disparities.

 

Brawley’s research focuses on developing cancer screening strategies and ensuring their effectiveness. He has championed efforts to decrease smoking and implement other lifestyle risk reduction programs, as well as to provide critical support to cancer patients and concentrate cancer control efforts in areas where they could be most effective. Brawley currently leads a broad interdisciplinary research effort on cancer health disparities at the Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, striving to close racial, economic, and social disparities in the prevention, detection, and treatment of cancer in the United States and worldwide. He also directs community outreach programs for underserved populations throughout Maryland.

 

Brawley joined [Johns Hopkins University](/org/johns-hopkins-university) as a Bloomberg Distinguished Professor in 2019 from the [American Cancer Society](/org/american-cancer-society) and [Emory University](/org/emory-university).

Otis Brawley

Brian Druker, M.D., revolutionized the treatment of cancer through research that resulted in the first drug to target the molecular defect of a cancer while leaving healthy cells unharmed. Marketed under the name Gleevec®, his discovery turned a once-fatal cancer, chronic myeloid leukemia, into a manageable condition.

Treatment with Gleevec received FDA approval in record time, was featured on the cover of Time magazine, and established Druker as a pioneer in the field of precision medicine. Most important, his discovery became a new proof of principal for targeted therapies, spurring the development of more than 50 similar precision therapies for other cancers.

Druker now is applying key principles of precision medicine to early detection. Earlier detection of lethal cancers represents the greatest opportunity to increase cancer survival rates. Thanks to $1 billion in philanthropic funding, Druker is developing a large-scale early detection program that builds upon the scientific strengths of OHSU’s Knight Cancer Institute.

Druker has been recognized with numerous awards, including the Sjöberg Prize from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Warren Alpert Prize from Harvard Medical School, the Lasker-DeBakey Award for Clinical Medical Research, the Japan Prize in Healthcare and Medical Technology, the Tang Prize in Biopharmaceutical Science, and the Prince Mahidol Award for outstanding achievements in medicine and public health worldwide. He has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine, the [National Academy of Sciences](/org/national-academy-of-sciences) and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Brian Druker

Julie Currie is the Chief People Officer at [GRAIL](/org/grail) – where she is responsible for leading the company’s global People team  and drive its people strategy – including talent acquisition, learning and development, total rewards, team and organizational effectiveness, diversity, Inclusion and belonging and workplace experiences. With more than 20 years in leadership roles across multiple technology companies and diverse industries, Julie has a proven track record for creating talent and culture practices that result in remarkable employee experiences that enable people to thrive.  She is a strong advocate for diversity and inclusion and understands the criticality of having a diverse and inclusive culture to attract and retain great people and drive stronger business results. Prior to joining [GRAIL](/org/grail), Julie was Chief People Officer at Amplitude and previously held leadership roles at [Western Digital](/org/western-digital), Sony PlayStation, and AMD. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Management and Economics from the [University of Guelph](/org/university-of-guelph) in Ontario, Canada and has completed MBA program studies at [Northwestern University](/org/northwestern-university).

Julie Currie

Andy Partridge is Chief Commercial Officer at [GRAIL](/org/grail). He offers more than 25 years of global sales and marketing experience leading global commercial launches across multiple indications, including oncology, hematology and rare diseases. Prior to joining [GRAIL](/org/grail), he served as Chief Commercial Officer at [Turning Point Therapeutics](/org/tp-therapeutics), building out the commercial team for the launches of oral oncology agents for rare lung cancer mutations. As Senior Vice President and Head of North American Commercial Operations at [Vertex Pharmaceuticals](/org/vertex-pharmaceuticals), he built the team to successfully launch multiple cystic fibrosis therapies and new indications, creating a multi-billion dollar franchise and transforming patients’ lives. He also served in sales and marketing roles at Schering-Plough, Roche, and [Amgen](/org/amgen). Andy started his business career in a sales role for Boehringer-Mannheim Diagnostics after earning a Higher National Diploma in Medical Laboratory Sciences from [Birmingham City University](/org/birmingham-city-university) in the U.K. and working as a Medical Laboratory Scientist in a busy city center academic hospital.

Andy Partridge

Dana Goldman, PhD, is the Leonard Schaeffer Chair and a Distinguished Professor of Public Policy, Pharmacy, and Economics at the [University of Southern California](/org/university-of-southern-california). He directs the USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics, in the Sol Price School of Public Policy and USC School of Pharmacy. Professor Goldman will serve as Interim Dean of the Sol Price School starting July 1, 2020. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and the National Academy of Social Insurance. He is the author of more than 300 articles and book chapters, and his research has been published in leading medical, economic, health policy, and statistics journals. 

Dr. Goldman served as a formal health policy advisor to the Congressional Budget Office, Covered California, [National Institutes of Health](/org/national-institutes-of-health), and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Institute. He serves on the editorial boards of Health Affairs and the American Journal of Managed Care and is founding editor of the Forum for Health Economics and Policy. He is also a co-founder of [Precision Health Economics](/org/precision-health-economics), a health care consultancy. Dr. Goldman received his B.A. summa cum laude from [Cornell University](/org/cornell-university) and a Ph.D. in Economics from [Stanford University](/org/stanford).

Dana Goldman

Elias Zerhouni, M.D., Professor Emeritus Radiology and Biomedical Engineering, Johns  Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. 

Dr. Zerhouni was most recently the President, Global Research & Development, and a  member of the Executive Committee for [Sanofi](/org/sanofi) from January 2011 to July 2018. 

Dr. Zerhouni’s academic career was spent at the Johns Hopkins University and Hospital  where he was professor of Radiology and Biomedical engineering and senior adviser for  Johns Hopkins Medicine. He served as Chair of the Russell H. Morgan Department of  Radiology and Radiological Sciences, Vice Dean for Research and Executive Vice Dean of  the School of Medicine from 1996 to 2002 before his appointment as Director of the  [National Institutes of Health](/org/national-institutes-of-health) from 2002 to 2008. In that position he oversaw the NIH’s 27  Institutes and Centers with more than 18,000 employees and a budget of $29.5 billion  (2008). 

In November 2009, President Obama appointed Dr. Zerhouni as one of the first  presidential U.S. science envoys.  

Dr. Zerhouni also served as senior fellow to the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation from  2009 to 2010 and senior advisor to the CEO of [Sanofi](/org/sanofi). 

Dr. Zerhouni has founded or co-founded five start-up companies, authored more than 200  publications and holds several patents. He has assumed positions on several Boards,  including most recently, the board of the Lasker Foundation, Research!America and the  NIH Foundation. He is also a member of the U.S. National Academy of Medicine and the  U.S. National Academy of Engineering. He received the prestigious Legion of Honor medal  from the French National Order in 2008, and was elected in 2010 as a member of the  French Academy of Medicine and appointed as Chair of Innovation at the College de  France in 2011.

Elias Zerhouni

Aashima spearheads Healthcare industry strategy and solutions for Google Cloud. In this role, she sets the direction for the transformative Healthcare solutions and leads engagement with healthcare key executives in helping transform their business strategies that define new models for care, revenue generation and improved patient experiences. By incorporating strategic technology elements of artificial intelligence and Cloud technologies into the care regimen, she strongly believes that patient care and experience can be substantially improved. 

 
She has  authored several Healthcare articles and is a frequent speaker at industry forums. Recently she was recognized as Most Influential Women in Healthcare IT by [HIMSS](/org/himss) and Top 100 Women in Fem Tech and Health Tech award.

Aashima Gupta

Azra Raza is the Chan Soon-Shiong Professor of Medicine and Clinical Director of The Evans Foundation MDS Center at [Columbia University](/org/columbia-university). A practicing oncologist seeing 30-40 cancer patients weekly, she also directs a basic cancer research lab with hundreds of original publications in high profile journals. She worked with President Clinton designing Breakthrough Developments in Science and Technology and with VP Joe Biden for the Cancer Moonshot initiative. Her latest book, THE FIRST CELL: And the human costs of pursuing cancer to the last was published in October 2019. Her life is devoted to early detection and prevention of cancer.

Azra Raza

Paul Ciccolella is Senior Vice President, Global Technology and Operations at GRAIL. He brings over 20 years of operations and engineering experience in the biotechnology and life sciences industries, including FDA, CLIA, and ISO 13485 regulated environments. He previously served as Senior Vice President of Global Operations at CareDX. Prior to that, Paul was the Vice President of SMRT Cell Engineering & Manufacturing at Pacific Biosciences. He also held R&D leadership roles at Affymetrix. Paul holds a BA in Materials Science and Engineering from Cornell University and an MS in Materials Science and Engineering from Stanford University.

Paul Ciccolella

Bob Ragusa is the Chief Executive Officer of GRAIL. Bob was previously Chief Operations Officer for Illumina where he was responsible for the company’s operations serving clinical and research customers. His organization included the global Manufacturing, Clinical Lab Services, Supply Chain, Quality, Life Cycle Management, Information Technology, and Global Facilities and Real Estate teams.

Prior to joining Illumina, Bob was Executive Vice President of Engineering and Global Operations at Accuray, a radiation oncology company, where he and his team were responsible for the development, manufacturing and distribution of innovative precision treatment solutions. Bob served as Senior Vice President of Global Operations for Applied Biosystems from 1997 until 2005.

Bob currently serves on the Board of Directors for Twist Biosciences. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Connecticut as well as a Master of Science in Biomedical and Electrical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University.

Bob Ragusa

Mr. Currie joins [GRAIL](/org/grail) from Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), where he most recently served as Executive Vice President for Advocacy; led federal, state, and international government relations and alliances; and reported to [PhRMA](/org/phrma) President and Chief Executive Officer, Steve Ubl.

Rodger Currie

Catherine Friedman is the Chair of the Board of Directors of [GRAIL](/org/grail). Catherine is an independent financial consultant who has been serving public and private companies in the life sciences industry since 2006. Previously, Catherine held numerous executive positions during a 23-year investment banking career with [Morgan Stanley](/org/morgan-stanley), including Managing Director, and Head of West Coast Healthcare, and Co-Head of the Biotechnology Practice. Catherine is a member of the Boards of Directors of [Altaba](/org/altaba) (formerly [Yahoo!](/org/yahoo)), [Radius Health](/org/radius-health), and Lyell Immunopharma, Inc. She is a trustee of The Darden School Foundation at the University of Virginia. Catherine holds a BA in Economics from [Harvard University](/org/harvard) and an MBA from The University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business.

Catherine Friedman

Mostafa Ronaghi

Charles Swanton, MD, PhD, is Senior Clinical Research Fellow at [Cancer Research UK](/org/cancer-research-uk) (CRUK) and Group Leader of the Translational Cancer Therapeutics laboratory at the London Research Institute. He combines his laboratory research with clinical duties focused on biological mechanisms of cancer drug resistance. Dr. Swanton is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Chair in Personalized Cancer Medicine and Consultant Thoracic Medical Oncologist at University College London Hospitals (UCLH). Dr. Swanton is the Chief Investigator of the CRUK TRACERx lung cancer evolution study and is Director of the CRUK/UCL Lung Cancer Centre of Excellence. In 2013, he was awarded the Royal College of Physicians Goulstonian lecture and Graham Bull Prize for Clinical Sciences, and was appointed Fellow of the European Academy of Cancer Sciences. Dr. Swanton holds an MD and a PhD from the Imperial Cancer Research Fund Laboratories.

Charles Swanton

Dennis Lo

Maykin Ho

Robert Nelsen

Bill Rastetter

Kaye Foster

Hal Barron

Jeff Dean is a Scientific Advisor at [GRAIL](/org/grail). Jeff has over 20 years of experience in the business world, including 10 years as a Franchise Owner of Tim Hortons. Jeff has also worked as a Senior Consultant at Professional Business Consulting.

Jeff Dean has a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration and Management from the [University of Windsor](/org/university-of-windsor).

GRAIL

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Leadership Team

CEO and Executive Team

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