Management Team
Day-to-Day Leadership of Gregor
Tobias Zutz
Chief Technology Officer / Founder
Mr. Zutz founded Gregor Diagnostics in 2016 and served for 5 years as its founding CEO. In June 2021 he transitioned to Chief Technology Officer to focus more directly on the technology for Gregor's testing. Prior to founding Gregor he had a decade of R&D experience in assay development and molecular diagnostics. Most recently he was a member of the R&D team at Exact Sciences that developed Cologuard, a non-invasive screening test for colorectal cancer. Prior to Exact, Mr. Zutz was with two small Madison-area biotech companies. He completed a BS in Biochemistry and Genetics and an MS in Biotechnology both from the University of Wisconsin.
Duncan Whitney
Chief Scientific Officer
Mr. Whitney joined Gregor as the Chief Scientific Officer in 2022. He has over 25 years experience developing clinical diagnostics and biotechnology products. Prior to joining Gregor he was one of the founding members of the Lung Cancer Initiative at Johnson & Johnson as the Head of Early Detection, leading global efforts aimed at diagnosing lung cancer at early stages in order to more effectively intercept and treat patients. He previously spent several years leading lung cancer studies at Allegro Diagnostics, and Veracyte (which acquired Allegro in 2014). Mr. Whitney held scientific leadership roles in a number of other emerging diagnostics, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology companies, including Curis (VP Diagnostics), U.S. Genomics (VP R&D), Exact Sciences (VP Technology Development), and Perseptive Biosystems (now part of Thermo Fisher Scientific). He received his PhD at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and his B.A from Colby College.
Michael Brawer, MD
Chief Medical Officer
Mike Bress
Chief Financial Officer
Mike Bress has over 30 years of experience building and leading high-performing accounting, financial, and operational teams. In recent years, he has operated as a fractional CFO/COO with a practice focused on venture- and private equity-backed companies in health care, financial services, asset management, software/hardware, B2B services, consumer products, and renewable energy. Prior to that, as CFO and/or COO for organizations ranging from tech-related start-ups to multi-billion-dollar asset management companies (including a stint as “CFO” of a US Navy submarine), he has encountered and solved most accounting, financial, technology, operational, and staff-related problems. As a financial strategist and consultant, Mike has helped over 100 clients across multiple industries maximize value through in-depth financial analysis, execution of complex transactions, and business process reengineering. Mike has a degree in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Georgetown University.
Emily Breunig
Director of Clinical and Regulatory
Ms. Breunig has more than a decade of experience in clinical research in both academic and industry settings. She has worked the last 8 years in biotech start-up companies. She has vast experience in research, clinical trials, regulatory compliance and data analysis. Ms. Breunig completed her BS in Biology from the University of Wisconsin- Madison.
Mohsen Nabian
Director of Data Sciences
Mr. Nabian joined Gregor as the Director of Data Sciences in December or 2022. His passion is to use AI to fight diseases and improve lives. Mr. Nabian has several years of experience in academia and industry as an AI/Machine Learning software developer for biomedical applications. He has extensive experience in deep learning, machine learning, software engineering and bioinformatics. Prior to Gregor he was a Machine Learning Scientist for Philips and a Research Fellow at the Broad Institute. While at the Broad Mr. Nabian was the lead Developer of AMARETTO, and end-to-end software with novel machine learning algorithms for the integration and inference of multi-modal high dimensional data including multi-omics in genomics, imaging and clinical data. Mr. Nabian has a Ph.D. in Engineering Science and M.Sc. in Computer Science both from Northeastern University.
Board of Directors
Experienced Leaders to help shape the future of Gregor
Lauren Tyra, PhD
Chief Scientific Officer, Green Park & Golf Ventures
Lauren Tyra is ascientist and venture capitalist, specializing in healthcare and life sciences investments. Her experience encompasses working directly with academic faculty at the very earliest stages of a project to investing in growth rounds as the Chief Scientific Officer of GPG Ventures, a Texas-based healthcare VC. Lauren holds a BS in Biology and BA in German from the University of North Texas and a PhD in Neuroscience from The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, where she was an NSF GRFP fellow.
Michael Partsch
Chief Venture Officer, WARF
Mike Partsch is a seasoned medical device venture capitalist and startup CEO bringing extensive operational experience in early-stage university spinouts. His career has included stops at Versant Ventures – a top health care venture fund – and Acuitive Medical Ventures (AMV), which he started. Partsch currently manages the multimillion-dollar WARF Ventures fund, which invests in companies founded to commercialize UW-Madison or Morgridge Institute for Research technologies. Partsch holds an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University, and completed a Kauffman Fellowship.
Sundu Brahmasandra, PhD
Independent Director
Sundu Brahmasandra is an accomplished serial entrepreneur and brings more than 20 years of impressive leadership in all aspects of novel IVD product development, strategic planning, and operational management. Most recently Sundu was the President & COO of NeuMoDx Molecular where he led the development of a multitude of molecular diagnostics assays on the revolutionary NeuMoDx 288 and NeuMoDx 96 Molecular Systems. Prior to NeuMoDx Sundu co-founded HandyLab, Inc and led the development of the HandyLab Jaguar System. Sundu holds a B.Tech in Chemical Engineering from IIT-Madras and a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Steve Weinstein
Independent Director
Mr. Weinstein brings over 20 years of experience as a CEO, entrepreneur, and venture investor across biotech, medical devices, and digital health innovation. Mr. Weinstein served as Gregor's CEO from June 2021 to November 2023. As Managing Director of the Novartis Venture Fund for twelve years, he was actively engaged in all investment decisions across the $800M global portfolio, managed the medical device practice, and invested in biotech. Prior to Novartis, he was with Prism Venture Partners, and was a Kauffman Fellow with Mid-Atlantic Venture Funds. Mr. Weinstein holds an M.B.A. with distinction from the University of Michigan Business School and a B.S. in mechanical engineering from Columbia University.
Tobias Zutz
Gregor Diagnostics CTO and Founder
Scientific Advisory Board
These experienced scientists are helping direct our development
Dr. David Jarrard
Uro Oncologist- University of Wisconsin
Dr. Jarrard is the Associate Director of Translational Research at the UW Carbone Cancer Center where he runs a lab focused on prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment and a research interest in biomarkers. In addition to his research, Dr. Jarrard is a board certified Urologic Oncologist at the University of Wisconsin Hospital specializing in urological oncology and prostate surgery. Dr. Jarrard completed medical school at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, residency at the University of Chicago, and a urologic oncology fellowship at Johns Hopkins University.
Dr. Jason Christiansen
Industry Executive
Dr. Christiansen is an experienced research and development leader with expertise in diagnostic assay development, IVD regulatory processes and practices, and clinical laboratory setup and operation. He is currently the Head of Assay Development at Roche Sequencing Solutions. Previously, Dr. Christiansen held the role of VP of Diagnostics at Ignyta (Nasdaq: RXDX) and led the development and implementation of companion diagnostics for their therapeutic pipeline. His responsibilities included the biomarker and regulatory strategy that drove the establishment of a CLIA and IVD development laboratory. Prior to Ignyta, Dr. Christiansen held Sr. Director roles at Genoptix Medical Laboratories and HistoRx and roles of increasing responsibilities at Protedyne Corporation and Molecular Staging Inc. He completed a BS in Physics and a PhD in Biophysics both from the University of California – Davis.
Dr. Hon Leong
Researcher- University of Toronto / Sunnybrook Research Institute
Dr. Leong joined the Sunnybrook Research Institute in 2019 as a Scientist in the Odette Cancer Research Program. His mandate is to bring lab-grown ideas to the clinic, with a particular focus on the genitourinary system (kidney, bladder, prostate, testes, urethra, penis). The constant goal is to take concepts developed in the lab and translate them into clinical practice. The group emphasizes multidisciplinary training and collaboration to help trainees become confident and highly skilled scientists. Dr. Leong comes to Sunnybrook from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN and Western University in London, ON. He completed his BSc at the University of Alberta, his MSc and PhD at the University of British Columbia, and a Postdoctorate Fellowship at the London Health Sciences Centre/Lawson Health Research Institute.
Dr. Robert Wolfert
Industry Executive
Dr. Wolfert is an accomplished R&D and management executive with over 25 years of experience. His background includes extensive ground-level startup and early-stage company management experience in the in vitro diagnostics industry. Dr. Wolfert has designed and managed R&D programs through all stage of phase-gated Design Controls processes, designed and directed clinical trials to support PMA and 510(k) submissions to the FDA, and established and maintained a CLIA/CAP certified testing laboratory. In addition to his broad knowledge of the IVD industry, much of his work focused on prostate cancer specifically. Dr. Wolfert has recently served as a VP for both Mesoscale Diagnostics and Metabolon Inc and the Executive VP and Chief Scientific Officer of diaDexus. He completed his BA at Cornell University, his PhD at Tufts University, and a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation.
Dr. Michael Feloney
Uro Oncologist- Creighton University School of Medicine
Dr. Feloney is the Chairman of the Department of Urology at Creighton University School of Medicine in Omaha, Nebraska and is the co-founder and president of F&S Medical Solutions. He is a surgeon double boarded in Urology and Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery. Dr. Feloney has matriculated through three Jesuit Universities. He received his BS degree from Santa Clara University, his MD degree from Saint Louis University, and has an MBA from Creighton University. Dr. Feloney’s internship in general surgery and residency in urologic surgery was completed at the University of Oklahoma in Oklahoma City. His fellowship in female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery was completed at University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in Camden, New Jersey and at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.