Expert Details
Whole Slide Imaging (WSI), Digital Pathology, and Technical Domains
ID: 739137
California, USA
Expert has worked across low volume and manual prep to high volume and high throughput -- both bright field and fluorescence, as well as high-magnification oil systems. The company -- a histopathology firm -- customers digitized Formalin-Fixed Paraffin Embedded tissue slides. However, due to the breadth of the product lines, the company had to support dozens of customers that also scanned cytospin, thin prep, and blood smear type slides.
After completing dozens of successful projects (both quality improvements, and new feature enhancements) on on-market products, Expert was given the chance to lead all software for the company's next-generation, high-volume WSI scanner. This multi-year, ground-up program aimed to not only launch the best-in-class WSI scanner but also establish a new WSI platform for all future generation company products.
In this program, Expert had the opportunity to work with key opinion leaders and early adopters in the market of digital pathology to understand comprehensively the actors, processes and regulations involved in bringing a analog lab to digital and to design the best user experiences for each of the company's end users. The completion of this program in 2019 marked the launch of the company's flagship premiere imaging product, often regarding as the most effective histology WSI system in the world.
Following this major milestone, Expert continued to expand his leadership role to include leading the teams responsible for all enterprise digital pathology software products. He thus engaged closely with healthcare institutions and supported them in their adoption of WSI into their lab ecosystems.
Expert focused on healthcare systems integration and created and launched new products. Specific goal: improve interoperability and accelerate the time to integrate a WSI system with Laboratory information Systems -- or PACS systems -- used to drive workflow in anatomical pathology lab settings.
Relatively recently, Expert was awarded the chance to support a strategic initiative to accelerate the company's adoption of AI and external partnerships to their product portfolio. In this opportunity, he was able to engage with AI startups such as Verily, Paige AI, IBEX and others to work with them to find opportunities for collaboration, and partnership opportunities.
Education
| Year | Degree | Subject | Institution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year: 2008 | Degree: BS | Subject: Physics | Institution: University of California, San Diego |
Work History
| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
|---|---|---|---|
| Years: 2022 to Present | Employer: Undisclosed | Title: Director, Partner Integration | Department: Imaging |
Responsibilities:Expert mobilizes and operationalizes this digital pathology company's interoperability and partnership strategy. To do so, he creates new processes and institutionalizes standard work to onboard new partners and distributors. The goal: to support end-to-end workflow, including whole slide image generation, image management, image analysis, archiving, and viewing.Expert serves as the technical and program lead between the biosystems company and third-party partners -- including, but not limited to, image management, viewing, VNA data transfer, data archiving, and AI and image analysis applications. He is also responsible for driving the development and operationalization of industry-wide interoperability standards and business-to-business collaborations. Expert defines and evolves the interoperability and solution architecture components of the biosystems company's digital pathology technology and product roadmaps. He champions the use of and adoption of appropriate DBS Innovation tools. In this capacity, he encourages a culture of lean development and continuous process improvement across the organization. Expert serves as an active member of the company's Imaging Solutions and Vista Site Leadership Team. He is thus charged with delivering on business objectives around quality, delivery and cost -- as well as prioritizing the safety, engagement, and development of the company's Imaging Solutions and Vista Site associates. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 2021 to 2022 | Employer: (Undisclosed) Biosystems | Title: Director, AI Development | Department: Strategic Business Unit |
Responsibilities:Among other achievements in this role, Expert:• Built and led the R&D department as a part of a newly formed AI&ML division focused on innovation through developing the company's AI and Computer Vision competency. • Constructed the company's first cloud-based digital Ground Truth Factory from scratch, sourcing over 6,000 histology whole slide images and collecting detailed annotations (over 9,000 pathologist hours) from a network of over 30 Pathologists specialized in diagnosing breast cancer. • Created a cloud-native ML Operations pipeline to enable the rapid development, training, and deployment of ML models to process multi-gigabyte microscopy images. • Organized and led workshops and trainings to improve cross-functional leadership alignment within the newly formed organization. Results: improved teamwork, engagement, and the creation of a clear vision and roadmap for the AI division. • Advised executive leadership in both the AI&ML and Imaging divisions on strategic and technical direction, having a strong influence on the roadmap, policy changes, and organizational design. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 2019 to 2021 | Employer: (Undisclosed) Biosystems | Title: Senior Software Manager | Department: Imaging |
Responsibilities:In this role, Expert:• Led the Imaging Solutions Software department consisting of a global team. This group consisted of over 40 associates across three countries. His work included dozens of software and system releases including hotfixes, patches, new product launches, and professional service agreements. • Re-organized software teams to streamline delivery by analyzing individual performance data and using it to properly place associates as well as hire new, diverse talent. • Coordinated with site leadership to align on priorities, establish department goals, and translate to OKR’s. • Constructed development plans for associates to improve engagement and support career growth while meeting performance objectives resulting in 33% improvement in engagement scores. • Managed individual/team performance and provided regular feedback while promoting a culture of accountability resulting in new promotions or role changes for 35% of the team within a two-year period. • Implemented and enforced department best practices for consistent delivery and high-quality software work products reducing total time spent in rework by 20%. • Constructed a strategic and technical roadmap to prioritize near and long-term business objectives while addressing a long history of tech debt. • Released three new software products through entire product development lifecycle as well as dozens of patch releases containing enhanced features or quality improvements. • Designed and released new standard product for Laboratory Information Systems (LIS) integration which eliminated the large backlog of bespoke integrations. • Updated quality system processes to bring software development procedures to IVDR compliance and address any internal audit findings or CAPAs issued to the department. • Supported and delivered dozens of professional service contracts and hotsite escalations, engaging directly with customers to address their issues and deliver solutions that met their institutions’ unique workflow and infrastructure requirements. • Re-organized departmental resources and processes to service high-priority escalations such as customer complaints, time sensitive sales opportunities, and quality or regulatory findings. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 2018 to 2019 | Employer: (Undisclosed) Biosystems | Title: Manager, Systems Software Engineering | Department: Imaging |
Responsibilities:Expert:• Directed the System Software Team consisting of software, DevOps, and test engineers to design and develop Aperio Scanner Software and Firmware. • Led the System Software Team to successfully release a multi-year, ground-up design for the next generation Digital Pathology Scanner which resulted in 56.3% sales growth within a year of release. • Mentored and developed individuals to accomplish their career goals while achieving business objectives. • Created data-driven processes and operating procedures to elevate team performance and accelerate the software development lifecycle (SDLC). • Acted as team lead and project manager for critical and complex cross-functional new product development (NPD) and sustaining programs. • Installed a scrum software development methodology and sustained operational excellence from the Systems Software Team resulting in 67% improvement on OTD for committed NPD programs. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 2013 to 2018 | Employer: (Undisclosed) Biosystems | Title: Systems Software Engineer (II / III) | Department: Imaging |
Responsibilities:In this role, Expert:• Owned embedded systems software for the Aperio product line of automated whole slide imaging devices. • Functioned as Software Systems Project Manager and Team Lead/Product Owner for Next Gen Scanner program. • Managed and led sustaining engineering activities: patch/feature releases, end-of-life component replacement, professional services, and cost reduction/reliability improvement projects. • Led high-visibility programs to prepare instrument for FDA 510k submission • Led value engineering programs such as replacement of critical components (i.e. precision motor controllers) that resulted in 10% reduction to cost of materials per unit. • Developed and managed the Bangalore Systems Verification & Validation team (four test engineers). • Served as the primary point of contact for engineering escalations and provided support as a subject matter expert (SME) for Sales, Manufacturing, Tech Support, and Field Services teams. |
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Fields of Expertise
WSI, Whole Slide Imaging, biomedical device design review, biomedical device engineering, FDA medical device regulation, biomedical product development, digital pathology, medical imaging, biomedical imaging, embedded system software development, project management software development, software development lifecycle, Agile development, lab automation