Medical Advisory Board
Comprised of distinguished physicians, our Medical Advisory Board (MAB) members serve as strategic advisors to 98point6 and were chosen for their multidisciplinary expertise, thought-leadership and diverse geographic representation.

Dr. Jonathan Aviv
Author, Medical Inventor, Writer and Past Professor at Columbia University

Dr. Jonathan Aviv
Author, Medical Inventor, Writer and Past Professor at Columbia University
Jonathan Aviv, MD, FACS is one of the leading authorities on the diagnosis and treatment of acid reflux disease, as well as the swallowing problems that can arise from underlying conditions such as stroke, cancer and chronic neurological diseases. He is the clinical director of the Voice and Swallowing Center at New York’s ENT and Allergy Associates, the largest ENT practice in the United States.
Among his many significant contributions to the field, Dr. Aviv is the inventor and developer of a medical device known as FEESST (Flexible Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing with Sensory Testing), a non-X-ray alternative to traditional swallowing tests. He also pioneered the TNE (TransNasal Esophagoscopy) procedure, which allows for unsedated examination of the esophagus.
Dr. Aviv’s name and face are familiar nationwide thanks to regular appearances on television’s Good Morning America, Inside Edition and Discovery Channel, in print outlets such as the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, and as a former regular contributor to the DrOz.com blog. He’s also authored the groundbreaking books The Acid Watcher Diet and Killing Me Softly From Inside. Dr. Aviv has held multiple posts at Columbia University, including director of the laryngology division and the Voice and Swallowing Center.
Recognitions and Achievements:
“Best Doctors,” New York magazine
Who’s Who in Medicine and Healthcare
Past President, American Broncho-Esophagological Association
Past President, New York Laryngological Society
Education:
MD, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons

Dr. Fred Azar
Past President, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgery

Dr. Fred Azar
Past President, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgery
Frederick M. Azar, MD is one of the country’s top orthopaedic surgeons dedicated to advancing the field through groundbreaking discoveries in musculoskeletal medicine and surgery. He is chief of staff at Campbell Clinic in Memphis, home to internationally recognized physicians and publisher of the world’s leading orthopaedic surgery text. Dr. Azar is also professor and director of the sports medicine fellowship program at the University of Tennessee.
Dr. Azar has been the head team physician for the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies since 2001, successfully managing the rehabilitation of its injured players as well as facilitating the orthopaedic needs of players from visiting teams. He additionally acts as team physician for the University of Memphis and Christian Brothers University sports teams.
Prior to his current position at the University of Tennessee, Dr. Azar served as director of its residency program for 10 years. Other career high notes include graduating from the inaugural American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Leadership Fellows Program in 2003. He was the first alumni of the program to become president of the AAOS in 2014.
Recognitions and Achievements:
2012 Physician of the Year, NBA Trainers Association
Treasurer, American Board of Orthopaedic Surgeons
Board of Directors, ALSAC/St. Jude Children’s Hospital
Education:
MD, Tulane University
1995 Sports Medicine Fellowship, American Sports Medicine Institute
1999 Traveling Fellowship, American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine

Dr. Regina Benjamin
18th U.S. Surgeon General

Dr. Regina Benjamin
18th U.S. Surgeon General
Regina M. Benjamin, MD, MBA began her medical career serving the Gulf Coast fishing community of Bayou La Batre and grew from there to become the 18th Surgeon General of the United States. Today, she acts as CEO of the Bayou La Batre Rural Health Clinic she founded, and chairs the public health sciences department at her alma mater, Xavier University.
Dr. Benjamin established her community clinic in 1990, allowing patients to pay what they could and funding a variety of expenses from her own pocket. She was beloved by patients and recognized as a model of perseverance for keeping the clinic in operation despite damage and destruction inflicted by Hurricanes Georges and Katrina. In 1995, she became the first physician under age 40 and the first African-American woman elected to the American Medical Association Board of Trustees. Seven years later, she made history again, becoming the first African-American female president of a state medical society in the United States.
In addition to owning the iconic role of “America’s Doctor” from 2009 to 2013, Dr. Benjamin has held notable positions such as chair of the Federation of State Medical Boards of the United States and president of the American Medical Association Board of Trustees. Her humanitarian spirit has been acknowledged through countless awards, accolades and honorary degrees.
Recognitions and Achievements:
1996 Woman of the Year, CBS This Morning
1998 Nelson Mandela Award for Health and Human Rights
2000 National Caring Award
2006 Papal Honor Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice
2008 MacArthur Genius Award fellowship
2011 Chairman’s Award, NAACP Image Awards
2013 No. 22 “The 100 Most Trusted People in America,” Reader’s Digest
Education:
MD, University of Alabama at Birmingham
MBA, Tulane University

Dr. Frank Cockerill
Past Chief Medical Officer and Director of the Board of Analyte Health

Dr. Frank Cockerill
Past Chief Medical Officer and Director of the Board of Analyte Health
Franklin R. Cockerill, III, MD, FACP, FACCP, FAAM, FIDSA is an internationally recognized microbiologist, known for his exceptional leadership, research and development skills. He most recently served as the chief medical officer and as a director of the board of Analyte Health, located in Chicago.
Prior to that, he served as the company’s CEO, a tenure in which he was awarded the “Ten Most Promising Telemedicine Solution Providers of 2017” distinction by Healthcare Tech Outlook, as well as the Halfpenny G-2 Lab Innovation Award for novel integration of laboratory services into the telehealth ecosystem.
Over the course of his extensive career, Dr. Cockerill was also endowed professor and chair of the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic, and president and CEO of Mayo Medical Laboratories (MML). He is board-certified in internal medicine, infectious diseases and clinical microbiology, with research interests ranging from basic discovery to applied science, with a special emphasis on the phenotypic and genotypic identification of antimicrobial resistance.
Recognitions and Achievements:
Chair, Subcommittee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing, Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI)
Chair, Microbiology Devices Panel of the Medical Devices Advisory Committee of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Board Member and Program Director, Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP)
Director, Board of Scientific Counselors, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
BD Award, Research in Clinical Microbiology
G2 Laboratory Public Service National Leadership Award
Education:
MD, University of Nebraska Medical Center

Dr. Gordon Cohen
98point6 Co-founder and Past Division Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery at UCSF and Seattle Children's

Dr. Gordon Cohen
98point6 Co-founder and Past Division Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery at UCSF and Seattle Children's
Dr. Gordon Cohen is a distinguished pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon and a co-founder of 98point6. He is currently Professor of Surgery at the University of Arizona and the Director of the Heart Center at Banner Cardon Children’s Medical Center, part of one of the country’s largest healthcare systems.
Dr. Cohen’s clinical interests include complex neonatal repairs, pediatric heart surgeries, heart- and lung-transplantation, mechanical cardiac assist and heart failure. His significant roles over the past decade include professor and vice chair of surgery at UCSF Medical Center, chief of strategic program development for the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital and chief of pediatric cardiac surgery, heart center director and surgical director of the cardiac transplant program at Seattle Children’s Hospital.
Following four years abroad as the first ever American consultant cardiothoracic surgeon at Great Ormond Street Hospital and as a senior lecturer at the University College London, Dr. Cohen served for a decade as professor of surgery at the University of Washington.
Recognitions and Achievements:
2011, “Super Doctor,” SuperDoctors.com
2011–2014, “America’s Top Doctors,” US News & World Report
Weekly segment, “Paging Dr. Cohen,” KIRO Radio
Fellow, American College of Surgeons
Education:
MD, Tulane University School of Medicine
MS and PhD, University of California Los Angeles
MBA, University of Tennessee School of Business

Dr. Molly Coye
Founder and former CEO of HealthTech

Dr. Molly Coye
Founder and former CEO of HealthTech
Molly Joel Coye, MD is the founder and former CEO of HealthTech, a non-profit education and research organization that became the premier forecaster of emerging technologies in healthcare. After a subsequent tenure as Chief Innovation Officer for UCLA Health, she is currently Executive in Residence at AVIA—the innovation partner to the nation’s forward-leaning health systems.
During her Master's program at Stanford in Chinese History, Dr. Coye became increasingly interested in the function of healthcare in society, particularly the importance of providing cost-effective strategies for the poor and underserved. Throughout the next four decades, she followed that inspiration to become an influential force in healthcare in both the public and private sectors. Her remarkable career includes serving in key positions such as Commissioner of Health for the State of New Jersey and Director of the California Department of Health Services, directing the Johns Hopkins Department of Public Health Practice and providing advisory services to technology developers, venture and private equity firms, national health systems and policymakers about disruptive technologies and business models that accelerate healthcare transformation and constrain health expenditures.
Dr. Coye also served as a long-standing member of the Board of Directors of Aetna, Inc. and chaired the board of PATH, the largest U.S. non-profit developing innovative solutions for global health. Elected to the National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine) in 2005, Dr. Coye co-authored the seminal studies of quality in healthcare in America—To Err is Human and Crossing the Quality Chasm—and chaired studies on Access to Insurance for Children and Patient Safety. She was also a founding board member of The California Endowment, the largest private healthcare philanthropy in the state.
Recognitions and Achievements:
2003–2008, "100 Most Influential Leaders in Healthcare," Modern Healthcare
2005–2008, "50 Most Influential Physicians in Healthcare," Modern Healthcare
2005, "25 Most Influential Women in Healthcare," Modern Healthcare
2014, HIMSS Health Information Technology Men & Women Award, Innovator
Education:
MPH, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
MD, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Dr. Gayatri Devi
Neurologist and Nationally Recognized Memory Expert

Dr. Gayatri Devi
Neurologist and Nationally Recognized Memory Expert
Gayatri Devi, MD is a neurologist who has specialized in the early diagnosis and treatment of memory disorders related to aging and menopause for more than 20 years. Since 1999, she has led a premier center dedicated to neurologic wellness, education and research in New York City. She also currently serves as clinical associate professor at the New York University School of Medicine and as an attending physician at Lenox Hill Hospital.
Board-certified in neurology, with additional certifications in pain medicine, psychiatry and behavioral neurology, Dr. Devi’s unique background allows for a truly comprehensive approach to brain illness. A frequent presenter at national and international medical conferences, her current research focus is on neuromodulation in treating neurologic diseases including stroke, dementia and chronic pain.
As the author of seminal books about brain health, including Spectrum of Hope, A Calm Brain, and Estrogen, Memory and Menopause, Dr. Devi is a valued contributor for media outlets such as the BBC, CBS, the New York Times, NPR, TIME and the Wall Street Journal. She serves as neurological consultant to the New York State Committee for Physician Health and the National Football League Players Association.
Recognitions and Achievements:
2012–2013 President, American Medical Women’s Association
2017 Distinguished Visiting Professor in Women’s Health, Weill Cornell Medical College
Fellow, American College of Physicians
Fellow, American Academy of Neurology
Education:
MD, Grace University

Dr. Brian Hainline
Chief Medical Officer, NCAA

Dr. Brian Hainline
Chief Medical Officer, NCAA
Brian Hainline, MD serves as chief medical officer of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, where he oversees the NCAA Sport Science Institute and its collaborative work with member institutions throughout the United States. He is vice chair of the American Academy of Neurology’s sports neurology section and a clinical professor at both New York University and Indiana University.
Highlights of his 30-year career include presiding as chief medical officer of the U.S. Open Tennis Championships and the United States Tennis Association. Prior to that, Dr. Hainline demonstrated his commitment to the field through countless roles including chair of the ITF Sport Science and Medicine Commission (providing guidance to 202 Olympic countries) and as a member of the ITF Wheelchair Tennis Medical Commission, where he wrote the rules of eligibility for international wheelchair competition.
Dr. Hainline has lectured around the world and authored or edited numerous works, including Drugs and the Athlete and Mind, Body and Sport: Understanding and Supporting Student-Athlete Mental Wellness. He is a founding member of the Tennis Anti-Doping Program Review Board for the ATP, ITF and WTA Tour, and has been pivotal in the rollout of athlete drug testing and education worldwide.
Recognitions and Achievements:
2001 Tennis Educational Merit Award
2004 Irving Glick Award of Excellence
2011 USTA Eastern Tennis Hall of Fame
2013 ITF Award for Service to the Game
2016 Intercollegiate Tennis Association David A. Benjamin Achievement Award
Education:
MD, University of Chicago

Dr. Kim Harmon
Past President, American Society of Sports Medicine

Dr. Kim Harmon
Past President, American Society of Sports Medicine
Kimberly G. Harmon, MD is the section head of sports medicine at UW Medicine and a UW professor of family medicine, orthopedics and sports medicine. She has been a UW team physician since 1998, and currently serves as Head Football Team Physician while also covering Women’s Basketball.
Dr. Harmon’s dedication to sports medicine began in her undergraduate days at the University of Notre Dame, where she was a student athletic trainer and basketball player. Since then, she’s made a name for herself lecturing on a local, regional and national level, and through roles such as president of the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine from 2009–2010.
In addition to her regular practice, Dr. Harmon presently serves on the medical advisory board for the NBA Players Association and the Nick of Time Foundation. She is an associate editor for the British Journal of Sports Medicine, and consults for the NCAA and the U.S. Department of Defense. Her research interests include sudden cardiac death in athletes, the use of biologics such as platelet rich plasma in musculoskeletal medicine, concussions and sickle cell trait in athletes.
Recognitions and Achievements:
2012 Society of Teachers of Family Medicine Best Research Award
2014 Delegate to White House Healthy Kids & Safe Sports Concussion Summit
2014 Washington State Athletic Trainers’ Association Physician’s Award
Fellow, American College of Sports Medicine
Education:
MD, Indiana University

Dr. Byron Joyner
Vice Dean, University of Washington Medical School

Dr. Byron Joyner
Vice Dean, University of Washington Medical School
Byron D. Joyner, MD, MPA is passionate about developing new ways to improve doctors and doctoring, and has been recognized internationally for his innovative contributions to medical education, professionalism and ethics. He currently serves as professor and vice dean at the University of Washington School of Medicine, and as an on-staff pediatric urologist at Seattle Children’s Hospital.
Prior to joining Seattle Children’s in 2001, Dr. Joyner served in the U.S. Army as chief of pediatric urology at Madigan Army Medical Center for four years. Following a research fellowship at the Boston Children’s Hospital in 1995, he trained for an additional two years in pediatric and reconstructive urology at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada. In 2009 he received a Masters in Public Administration, an experience that helped shape his principles of executive leadership in medical education.
Dr. Joyner’s fresh approach to teaching residents about interpersonal and communication skills earned him the University of Washington Julian S. Ansell Teaching Award in 2005. In addition to publishing more than 70 scientific articles over the course of his career, he has penned some of the seminal works for urology in the field of graduate medical education. Dr. Joyner also participated and assisted in the publication of the 2011 Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation Atlanta Conference “Ensuring an Effective Physician Workforce for the United States.”
Recognitions and Achievements:
2009 R. Frank Jones Urological Society Excellence in Service, National Medical Association
2011 Parker J. Palmer Courage to Teach Award
2011 Gold Humanism Honor Society, the Arthur P. Gold Foundation
2014 Named one of the Top 10 Medical Educators in the U.S., Black Health magazine
2017 Seattle’s Top Doctor, Seattle magazine
Education:
MD, Harvard Medical School
MPA, University of Washington

Dr. Mary Klotman
Dean, Duke University School of Medicine and Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs

Dr. Mary Klotman
Dean, Duke University School of Medicine and Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs
Mary E. Klotman, MD is a nationally recognized leader in academic medicine. She is presently dean of the Duke University School of Medicine, where she also acts as R.J. Reynolds Professor of Medicine, member of the Duke Human Vaccine Institute and a professor of medicine, pathology and molecular genetics and microbiology.
Following early appointments at the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Klotman began a 13-year tenure at New York’s Mount Sinai School of Medicine in 1996. There, she oversaw a research program in HIV, served as chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases and was co-director of Mount Sinai’s Global Health and Emerging Pathogens Institute. Since returning to her alma mater in 2010 as chair of the Department of Medicine, Dr. Klotman has directed its process improvement and faculty development, as well as the transition from a fee-for-service practice to a multidisciplinary one focused on population health.
In addition to her current responsibilities at Duke, Dr. Klotman serves as an associate editor of JCI and Annual Reviews of Medicine. A pioneering physician-scientist, her research is focused on the molecular pathogenesis of HIV-1 infection and the potential delivery of an HIV vaccine.
Recognitions and Achievements:
2004, 2007, 2008 Mount Sinai Department of Medicine House Staff Teaching Award
2006, 2007, “Best Doctors,” New York magazine
2014, elected member in the National Academy of Medicine
2015, Duke University School of Medicine Distinguished Alumni Award
2016, President of the Association of Professors of Medicine
Education:
MD, Duke University School of Medicine

Dr. Paul Klotman
President, CEO and Executive Dean, Baylor College of Medicine

Dr. Paul Klotman
President, CEO and Executive Dean, Baylor College of Medicine
Paul E. Klotman, MD is as renowned for his research in molecular virology and AIDS pathogenesis as he is for revolutionizing the academic programs of revered institutions such as New York’s Mount Sinai School of Medicine and most recently, Houston’s Baylor College of Medicine. In his current role as president, CEO and executive dean at Baylor, he oversees the only private health science university in the Greater Southwest, with research funding of nearly $400 million.
Before he gained a reputation as a celebrated “turnaround artist,” Dr. Klotman served as associate professor at Duke University Medical Center, chief of molecular medicine at the National Institutes of Health and chief of the Viral Pathogenesis Laboratory in the NIDR/NIH. In addition to training more than 50 clinical fellows, postdoctoral fellows and students since 1984, he was named Physician of the Year by Mount Sinai nurses during his tenure there.
Dr. Klotman is the author of more than 200 publications and has been a visiting professor and lecturer internationally in the field of HIV pathogenesis. He is on the editorial boards of journals both in the United States and in Europe, and has served on and chaired numerous study sections, including those from the NIH, the American Heart Association, the National Kidney Foundation and the VA research service. Dr. Klotman likewise serves on the scientific advisory boards of several biotech, pharmaceutical and healthcare companies, and on the boards of several companies with interests in natural resources and conservation.
Recognitions and Achievements:
2005, Fellow, American College of Physicians
Member, American Society for Clinical Investigation
Member, Association of American Physicians
Education:
MD, Indiana University

Dr. Clifford Ko
Director, American College of Surgeons Quality Improvement Program

Dr. Clifford Ko
Director, American College of Surgeons Quality Improvement Program
Clifford Y. Ko, MD, MS, MSHA, FACS is one of the leading surgical health services researchers investigating quality measurement, process improvement and reliability.
He is presently director of research and patient care at the American College of Surgeons, where he oversees quality improvement programs such as the bariatric surgery and cancer accreditation programs, the trauma and pediatric surgery verification programs and the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program. Clinically, his practice focuses on colorectal cancer, and he serves as professor of health services at the UCLA School of Public Health. Current initiatives for Dr. Ko include overseeing the writing of the ACS quality manual and the development of a geriatric surgery quality program.
Dr. Ko has received millions of dollars in grant funding to study quality of care from multiple national agencies, including National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Cancer Society. In addition to advising national and international efforts in surgical quality for organizations such as the Institute of Medicine and the World Health Organization, he has published more than 275 manuscripts and written more than 20 book chapters.
Recognitions and Achievements:
2003, 2004, 2008 Golden Scalpel Award for Excellence in Teaching, UCLA Department of Surgery
2005, Piedmont Award for Best Clinical Study, American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons
2015, 2016, 2017 named one of the top 50 experts in patient safety, Becker’s Hospital Review
Best Doctors in America
Best Doctors in Los Angeles
Education:
MD, MS University of Chicago
MSHS, UCLA School of Public Health

Dr. Robert Krasner
Former Attending Physician to the U.S. Congress and Supreme Court

Dr. Robert Krasner
Former Attending Physician to the U.S. Congress and Supreme Court
Robert C.J. Krasner, MD brings an extensive background as a consultant physician executive, having advised leaders of government and industry. He currently serves as clinical professor at New York University School of Medicine and as an adjunct professor at Cornell University Medical Center.
A Rear Admiral, Medical Corps, U.S. Navy (Ret.), Dr. Krasner was Attending Physician to Congress from 1986–1995. In addition to being responsible for the worldwide care of members of the Senate, House of Representatives and Supreme Court, he performed contingency planning for medical emergencies at the U.S. Capitol, joint sessions of Congress and presidential inaugurations. Dr. Krasner served in Ethiopia caring for Emperor Haile Selassie, at a submarine base in Sardinia, under three ambassadors at the American Embassy in London and as a tropical disease field and bench researcher in Panama and Indonesia. From 2001-2003 he was part of a presidential task force dedicated to improving care for veterans.
In recent years, Dr. Krasner has played a major role in the private sector as Medical Director for a top international holding company and as personal physician to members of the Forbes 400 and their families.
Recognitions and Achievements:
Legion of Merit
Distinguished Service Medal
Past President, New York Occupational and Environmental Medicine Association
Past President, Physicians Scientific Society
Education:
MD, University of Maryland School of Medicine
Diploma, Tropical Medicine, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research
Diploma, Clinical Tropical Medicine, U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine & Surgery/Gorgas Memorial Laboratory, Republic of Panama

Dr. Jennifer Mieres
Professor of Cardiology, Hofstra School of Medicine and Chief Diversity Officer, Northwell Health

Dr. Jennifer Mieres
Professor of Cardiology, Hofstra School of Medicine and Chief Diversity Officer, Northwell Health
Jennifer H. Mieres, MD, FACC, FAHA, MASNC is an internationally recognized expert and leading advocate for women’s heart initiatives, wellness and diversity in healthcare. As an award-winning professor, author and media figure, she empowers women to take charge of their health through education and proactive partnerships.
For more than two decades, Dr. Mieres has focused on gender-specific cardiovascular research and raising awareness of a woman-centered holistic approach to heart health and wellness. She has shared her passion as a national spokesperson for the American Heart Association, as co-author of books including 2017’s Heart Smart for Women and through regular television appearances on programs such as Today Show, Good Morning America, and 20/20. In 2003, Dr. Mieres received an Emmy nomination for producing the PBS documentary, A Woman’s Heart. She went on to serve as executive producer of Rx: The Quiet Revolution and Rx: Doctors of Tomorrow, a set of healthcare documentaries that aired on PBS in 2015.
Dr. Mieres continues to make a profound impact every day as leader of Northwell Health’s Center for Equity of Care, where she oversees the Katz Institute for Women’s Health and all of Northwell’s health, wellness, community health education and healthcare access programs. Under her guidance as the organization’s first Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, the institution has been recognized as a top employer for diversity and inclusion. She also currently serves on the faculty at Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine.
Recognitions and Achievements:
2009, first female President, American Society of Nuclear Cardiology
2009, 2010, “Best Doctors,” New York magazine
2012, Disparities Leadership Program, Massachusetts General Hospital
2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, Northwell Health recognized in Top Hospitals and Health Systems by DiversityInc
Education:
MD, Boston University
Fellow in Cardiology and Nuclear Cardiology, St. Luke’s/Roosevelt University Hospital Center
Fellow in Cardiology, St. Luke’s/Roosevelt University Hospital Center

Dr. Darin Portnoy
Past President, Doctors Without Borders USA

Dr. Darin Portnoy
Past President, Doctors Without Borders USA
Darin A. Portnoy, MD, MPH is internationally known for his career-long commitment to medical humanitarian aid, and remains deeply interested in health and infectious disease issues affecting refugees and displaced people in crisis. He currently practices in Bronx, NY, while serving as an associate professor at the Albert Einstein School of Medicine and a professor with the family medicine residency program at Montefiore Medical Center.
Dr. Portnoy’s early career took him to clinics and hospitals in rural Colorado and on Navajo Indian reservations in New Mexico. He joined MSF/Doctors Without Borders in 1997 as a field doctor and field coordinator for tuberculosis programs in Uzbekistan. Over the course of the next 10+ years, he ran cholera programs in El Salvador, coordinated emergency health care for Chechen refugees and worked throughout Africa—including multiple projects in South Sudan and Darfur. In 2014, he was featured in Bloomberg Businessweek for responding to the ebola crisis in Liberia.
Since 2011, Dr. Portnoy has been a member of MSF-USA’s board of advisors. He also presently serves on the board of the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative and on a committee for Human Rights Watch.
Recognitions and Achievements:
Who’s Who in Medicine and Healthcare
Past President, Board of Directors, Doctors Without Borders
Past Vice President, International Board of Doctors Without Borders
Education:
MD, MPH, Tulane University

Dr. Ted Shortliffe
Pioneer of Biomedical Informatics, Senior Advisor to the College of Health Solutions

Dr. Ted Shortliffe
Pioneer of Biomedical Informatics, Senior Advisor to the College of Health Solutions
Edward (Ted) H. Shortliffe, MD, PhD, MACP, FACMI is a biomedical informatician, physician and computer scientist who is widely regarded as a pioneer in the use of artificial intelligence in medicine. He currently acts as a professor and senior advisor to the College of Health Solutions at Arizona State, serves as scholar-in-residence at the New York Academy of Medicine and holds adjunct positions at Columbia University and Weill Cornell Medical College.
In the 1970s, Dr. Shortliffe was the principal developer of the clinical expert system MYCIN, one of the first rule-based artificial intelligence expert systems used for diagnosis and treatment of severe infections. Because it preceded the era of local-area networking, it was never used in practice; however, its performance was shown to be comparable and sometimes more accurate than that of Stanford infectious disease faculty. This had a monumental influence on the subsequent development of computing in medicine.
Following a residency in internal medicine, Dr. Shortliffe joined the Stanford faculty in 1979 and moved to Columbia University in 2000. He later served as founding dean of the University of Arizona College of Medicine. He has written more than 300 articles and books in the fields of biomedical computing and artificial intelligence, including a major textbook, and is considered a founder of the field of biomedical informatics.
Recognitions and Achievements:
1976, Grace Murray Hopper Award, Association for Computing Machinery
1984, Founding Member, American College of Medical Informatics
1987, Member, Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences
1989, Founding Member, American Medical Informatics Association
2001, Founding Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Biomedical Informatics
2006, Morris F. Collen Lifetime Achievement Award, American College of Medical Informatics
Fellow, Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence
Education:
MD, PhD, Stanford University

Dr. Ida Sim
Professor, Co-director of Biomedical Informatics UCSF and Co-founder of Open mHealth

Dr. Ida Sim
Professor, Co-director of Biomedical Informatics UCSF and Co-founder of Open mHealth
Ida Sim, MD, PhD is a primary care physician, informatics researcher and entrepreneur. Her current research focuses on the use of mobile apps and sensors to improve health, manage disease and make clinical research faster and less expensive. She is a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, where she co-directs biomedical informatics at UCSF’s Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute.
As founding project coordinator of the World Health Organization’s International Clinical Trials Registry Platform in 2005, Dr. Sim led the establishment of the first global policy on clinical trial registration, defining the common 20-item trial registration data set that’s now adhered to by all registers worldwide. In 2011, she co-founded Open mHealth, a non-profit organization that creates open software architecture to support systematic and shared learning in mobile health.
Among her many present roles, Dr. Sim is a co-investigator and consortium core lead with the National Center of Excellence for Mobile Sensor Data-to-Knowledge (MD2K). She is also technical lead of the MRCT Framework for Data Sharing international effort towards building a single global portal for sharing individual participant-level data from clinical trials.
Recognitions and Achievements:
2000, United States Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers
2005, Leadership Award, American Medical Informatics Association
2007, Fellow, American College of Medical Informatics
2010, Member, American Society for Clinical Investigation
Education:
MD, PhD, Stanford University

Dr. Tachi Yamada
Past President, Gates Foundation Global Health and Past Physician-in-Chief, University of Michigan

Dr. Tachi Yamada
Past President, Gates Foundation Global Health and Past Physician-in-Chief, University of Michigan
Tadataka (Tachi) Yamada, MD is a world-renowned contributor to the fields of medicine, science, drug development and global health. He is currently the chairman and co-founder at Outpost Medicine—a biopharmaceutical company developing new treatments of urologic and gastrointestinal disorders—and a venture partner at Frazier Healthcare Partners.
Dr. Yamada spent his early career at the University of Michigan Medical School, first heading gastroenterology and later as chair of the department of internal medicine. Under his leadership, the department became known as one of the best in the world. During this time, he also wrote and edited The Textbook of Gastroenterology. It’s considered the most comprehensive reference book on the subject and is now in its sixth edition.
Upon leaving Ann Arbor, Dr. Yamada spent a decade at GlaxoSmithKline in London, where he was widely credited with transforming research and development and expanding the company’s product pipeline. In subsequent years he served as president of the Global Health Program for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and as chief medical and scientific officer at Takeda Pharmaceuticals in Tokyo, directing all R&D with a budget of nearly $4 billion.
Recognitions and Achievements:
2003, Friedenwald Medal, American Gastroenterological Association
2007, honorary appointment, Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire
2013, Watanabe Prize in Translational Research, Indiana University and Eli Lilly & Co.
Chair, Board of Directors, Clinton Health Access Initiative
Member, Council of the National Academy of Medicine
Fellow, Imperial College of Medicine
Master, American College of Physicians
Fellow, Royal College of Physicians
Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Education:
MD, New York University Medical School