We are passionate about driving better patient outcomes by putting the patient at the center of focus of everything we do.
Leadership
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Clifford Bleustein, MD, MBA
President and CEO
Dr. Clifford Bleustein is the Global President and CEO of AposHealth. Prior to AposHealth, Dr. Bleustein was President and CEO of Computer Task Group (NASDAQ: CTG), where he managed >3400 people globally and >$340M in revenue across healthcare, technology services, energy, and financial services with operations in North America, Western Europe, and India. Dr. Bleustein went to CTG from Dell, where he had several roles, rising to become the Chief Medical Officer and Global Healthcare Solutions Leader with P&L responsibility for Healthcare & Life Sciences Solutions globally. Dr. Bleustein also had a successful period as a consultant at PwC, rising to Director with a diverse experience of projects including interim executive director of outpatient services, business strategy, international “biocluster” development, mergers & acquisitions, healthcare operations, physician alignment, governance, and resource optimization. He also has on-the-ground experience in the UK, Ireland, India, South Africa, and China, with assessments in the Middle East / Asia.Dr.Bleustein graduated from the Medical College of Wisconsin and completed his internship at the New York Hospital Medical Center of Queens. He later completed his residency in urology at Montefiore Medical Center. He went on to private practice Urology and became a board-certified Urologist. He has an extensive roster of peer-reviewed published research and 2 patents. Dr. Bleustein earned a bachelor’s degree in science from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He also received an executive master’s degree in business administration from NYU Stern School of Business, where he now teaches Healthcare Economics as an Adjunct Professor.
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Nina Cha, PT, DPT
VP, Clinical Services
Nina joined AposHealth in 2014. She holds a Doctorate in Physical Therapy and is an experienced Clinical Specialist in mobility, gait analysis, biomechanics, and neuroscience. Nina is known for her innovative approach and dedication to improving patient care. She has successfully advanced clinical operations by collaborating with research and business development teams, demonstrating her ability to integrate multidisciplinary efforts for optimal outcomes. Nina has developed and led priority training projects, including a comprehensive virtual training program that spans multiple departments. Her leadership was pivotal in overhauling the clinical training program to enhance telehealth capabilities, focusing on reducing delivery and contact time while optimizing clinical outcomes and operational costs. Her strategic thinking and commitment to excellence have driven forward-thinking clinical strategies and innovations, significantly contributing to the growth and success of the organization. -
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Jed Dow
VP, Client Relationships
Prior to joining AposHealth in 2019, Jed was the leader of voluntary benefits, leaves, and wellness at Deloitte, where he was responsible for leading a growing portfolio of employee benefit programs. His responsibilities included strategy, implementation, regulatory compliance, and ongoing management of 25 benefits and programs offered to all US employees through collaboration with internal and external stakeholders.Throughout his 25-year career in benefits and wellness, Jed has held multiple positions with growing responsibilities within Deloitte and Johnson & Johnson Health Care Systems, Inc.
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Yaniv Elizarov
VP, Sales
Yan Elizarov joined AposHealth in 2020 and has been instrumental in driving the rapid growth of the company. As the Vice President of Sales, Yan is responsible for overseeing our call center operations and building and expanding our field sales force. His strategic vision and leadership have been pivotal in advancing AposHealth’s presence across various verticals, including healthcare professionals (HCPs), direct-to-consumer (DTC), and business-to-business (B2B) markets.With a proven track record in sales and business development, Yan leverages his extensive experience to optimize performance and drive results. His commitment to excellence ensures that our teams are well-equipped to meet the evolving needs of our clients and partners.
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Ben Feldman, M.Med.Sc.
SVP, Chief Marketing Officer
Ben Feldman, who holds a Master’s in Medical Sciences and has authored several academic publications, brings a wealth of experience as a seasoned marketing professional with a deep clinical understanding and an international perspective.His career is marked by transformative growth in the health and e-commerce sectors through strategic business-to-business (B2B), direct-to-consumer (DTC), and business-to-business-to-consumer (B2B2C) marketing approaches.
His professional expertise spans traditional and digital marketing, brand management and development, research and integration of innovative marketing technologies.
Throughout his career, Feldman has led the expansion of multiple international healthcare and e-commerce brands, focusing on performance and market penetration.
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Dina Goncharova, MBA
VP, People Operations
Dina Goncharova joined Apos Health in 2022, bringing 13 years of experience in healthcare people operations and a passion for leadership that puts people first. With an MBA from NYU Stern School of Business, she specializes in Leadership, Business Strategy, and Change Management.As a champion of inclusive and collaborative cultures, Dina leads recruitment, onboarding, and team success initiatives at Apos, leveraging her exceptional people skills to align talent acquisition strategies with the evolving business needs of Aposhealth.
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Veronica Hyatt
VP, Customer Success
Veronica recently joined AposHealth after successfully leading the Client Success function within a mission-driven healthcare services company.Veronica’s career experiences include roles within growth teams across retail, hospitality, wellness, healthcare, and employer benefit spaces. This broad set of experiences gives her a unique perspective to help solve challenges.
She received her undergraduate and graduate degrees in marketing from St. Joseph’s University.
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Seth Klein
SVP, Business Development Officer
Seth Klein joined AposHealth in 2019 and currently serves as the Senior Vice President of Business Development. With a career spanning over two decades, Seth is a seasoned professional renowned for his exceptional performance and expertise in sales and sales management within the medical device industry, ranging from large corporations to early-stage ventures.Prior to his current role, Seth achieved remarkable success as Sales Manager of the Year at Merit Medical, leading the Interventional Oncology and Spine Division. His illustrious career includes pivotal roles at renowned companies such as Nevro, Dfine, Medtronic, and Synthes Maxillofacial, where he consistently excelled in developing high-performing sales teams and driving revenue growth.
Seth’s journey in sales commenced at Abbott Labs in pharmaceutical sales after completing his Bachelor of Science in Psychology with a minor in Business from Penn State University.
With his extensive experience and proven track record of delivering results, Seth continues to drive innovation and foster strategic partnerships to propel AposHealth towards unprecedented growth and success in the dynamic healthcare landscape.
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Fred Lewis
SVP, Chief Operations Officer
Fred has a proven track record of working with healthcare customers to drive value from their investments and driving transformational change. His success over the past 25 years is driven by his dedication to turning vision into reality. He has extensive experience with business development, financial management, budgeting, and organizational change management. Prior to joining AposHealth Fred worked in both Fortune 500 companies and start-ups. In his last position at Nordic Global Consulting, a large healthcare consulting firm, he delivered quality services for healthcare clients around the world. Fred is passionate about transforming healthcare and creating positive experiences for clients and patients. -
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Omer Ostro, M.Sc., CPA
SVP, Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Ostro has over 15 years of progressive experience in audit and financial management of private and public companies and a proven record in providing high-quality financial management services to companies in various business cycles and sectors.
Previously, Mr. Ostro managed the valuation team of emerging market structured credit desk at Barclays Capital in London, UK, specializing in valuation and risk management of complex derivatives and structured financial products. Prior to that, he served as a Senior Associate in the audit division of PwC, Israel.
Mr. Ostro is a qualified certified public accountant in Israel and holds an MSc in Finance and Economics (with merit) from London School of Economics and a BSc in Economics and Accounting (with magna cum laude) from Tel-Aviv University.SVP -
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Jonathan Penny, MA (Hons)
VP, Commercial Director – UK
With over 20 years of experience in the healthcare and fitness industries, Jonathan has successfully worked with companies ranging from start-ups to multi-billion-dollar enterprises, addressing unique challenges and growth opportunities. He has a strong track record in commercializing new products, opening new markets, and leading teams across international markets. His expertise spans strategic growth, distributor network management, and talent mentorship, making him a dynamic leader and key driver of business success. -
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Ganit Segal, MPE
EVP, Chief Scientific Officer
Ganit joined AposHealth in 2006. She holds a master’s degree in life science, with a specialization in biomechanics and has more than 15 years’ experience in medical research including various clinical trial methodologies, scientific publications with over 35 publications in peer-review journals and substantial experience in scientific reviews including global clinical trends and guidelines, comparative analysis and more.
Since 2017, Ganit began laying the company’s foundations to collect and analyze big data in order to support post-marketing clinical activity and ongoing account management and improve patient care.
Board Of Directors
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Clifford Bleustein, MD, MBA
Director, President and CEO
Dr. Clifford Bleustein is the Global President and CEO of AposHealth. Prior to AposHealth, Dr. Bleustein was President and CEO of Computer Task Group (NASDAQ: CTG), where he managed >3400 people globally and >$340M in revenue across healthcare, technology services, energy, and financial services with operations in North America, Western Europe, and India. Dr. Bleustein went to CTG from Dell, where he had several roles, rising to become the Chief Medical Officer and Global Healthcare Solutions Leader with P&L responsibility for Healthcare & Life Sciences Solutions globally. Dr. Bleustein also had a successful period as a consultant at PwC, rising to Director with a diverse experience of projects including interim executive director of outpatient services, business strategy, international “biocluster” development, mergers & acquisitions, healthcare operations, physician alignment, governance, and resource optimization. He also has on-the-ground experience in the UK, Ireland, India, South Africa, and China, with assessments in the Middle East / Asia.Dr.Bleustein graduated from the Medical College of Wisconsin and completed his internship at the New York Hospital Medical Center of Queens. He later completed his residency in urology at Montefiore Medical Center. He went on to private practice Urology and became a board-certified Urologist. He has an extensive roster of peer-reviewed published research and 2 patents. Dr. Bleustein earned a bachelor’s degree in science from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He also received an executive master’s degree in business administration from NYU Stern School of Business, where he now teaches Healthcare Economics as an Adjunct Professor.
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Dr. David Levy
Director
Dr. David Levy is the Chief Executive Officer at EHE. He is an accomplished physician executive with a record of achievement in founding, leading, and/or turning around a variety of health services companies focused on improving human health.
As a primary care physician and epidemiologist, Dr. Levy started his career in private practice in suburban New York City. There he founded Franklin Health Inc., (now owned by Optum), the innovator and leader in advocating for patients with highly complex illnesses. He then went on to PwC, and as a partner ultimately led its global health care business for several years. Dr. Levy serves on the boards of leading device, technology, and services companies in the US, Israel, and Brazil.
Dr. Levy is a renowned strategic thinker who has executed effective strategies for his own enterprises and a diverse set of public and private sector entities. Drawing on a vast network of business relationships, Dr. Levy brings global best-in-practice solutions to the healthcare industry. -
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David J. Shulkin, MD
Director
The Honorable Dr. David J. Shulkin was the ninth Secretary of the US Department of Veterans Affairs in the Trump Administration and VA’s Under Secretary of Health in the Obama Administration. As such, Secretary Shulkin was the only member of the Cabinet to have served both Presidents and to have been confirmed by the US Senate by a vote of 100-0.Secretary Shulkin is a widely respected healthcare executive having served as chief executive of leading hospitals and health systems including Beth Israel in New York City, Morristown Medical Center in Northern NJ, and currently advises leading health systems. Secretary Shulkin has held numerous physician leadership roles including the Chief Medical Officer of the University of Pennsylvania Health System, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Temple University Hospital, and the Medical College of Pennsylvania Hospital. Secretary Shulkin has held academic positions including the Chairman of Medicine and Vice Dean at Drexel University School of Medicine.
Over his career Secretary Shulkin has been named “One Hundred Most Influential People in American Healthcare” by Modern Healthcare. He continues to advocate on behalf of the country’s veterans by serving on the boards of numerous nonprofits that serve veterans, is the host of the popular Policy Vets Podcast, and is the author of the recent book, “It Shouldn’t Be This Hard to Serve Your Country: Our Broken Government and the Plight of Veterans”.
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Joe Mark
Chairman of the board
Joe is Chairman of AposHealth and an investor in healthcare. Over the last 16 years he led investments and held director/ ceo/coo positions in the payor, provider and drug distribution sectors. In the aggregate over $2 billion of incremental exit value was realized on these investments. Previously he was a venture capitalist and an investment banker. He is a graduate of Columbia University and the Wharton Graduate School of Business. -
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Uri Yaron, Ph.D.
Observer
Uri is a HealthTech and Life Sciences investment Executive who serves on multiple Boards. In his previous role he served as the WW President of Biosense Webster (BWI), a member of the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies. Uri joined BWI in 1996, a year prior to its acquisition by J&J. Prior to his WW President role, Uri has held several positions of increasing responsibilities in R&D, Business Development and General Management at Biosense Webster, Cordis, Cerenovus, Mentor, Acclarent, ASP & Sterilmed.
Uri is known as a strategic leader who established outstanding relationships with both customers and external partners, creating significant value for J&J in the Cardiovascular space. He has a proven track record of driving innovation and growth and adapting the company’s business model to a rapidly changing and increasingly challenging external environment. Under Uri’s Leadership, BWI teams have won 5 Johnson Medals, the most prestigious award given for research & development excellence within J&J.
Uri holds a PhD in Physics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, summa cum laude. Prior to joining BWI, Uri was a Member of the Technical Staff at the Micro-Physics Research Lab of AT&T Bell Laboratories. He is a co-author of over 40 peer-reviewed papers, including papers in Nature and Physical Review Letters, and the co-inventor of over 10 US patents.
Uri serves on the Board of Directors of the Western States of the American Heart Association. He was the Chairperson of the 2020 LA Heart & Stroke Walk. In addition, Uri teaches an MBA course at the BioMed MBA Program of the Hebrew University, and coaches senior combat officers of the Israeli Defense Forces. -
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Zeev Zehavi
Director
Since joining Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, Inc. (JJDC) in 1999 as Vice President Venture Investments, Zeev has held multiple positions within the organization. From 2007-2015, Zeev served as the JJDC European representative out of Belgium, covering investments across Europe and Israel for all Johnson & Johnson sectors including Pharmaceuticals, Medical Devices and Consumer.Working closely with Med Tech and Janssen R&D leadership, Zeev has built an innovative portfolio that has resulted in numerous onboardings creating growth engines for J&J and successful exits delivering strong returns for the JJDC and the sector portfolios.
Notable transactions include: Genmab (Darzalex), OrthoTaxy (Velys), Mazor, OrthoSpin, Movetis and FutuRX, an Israeli incubator for early stage Biotech opportunities.
Prior to joining JJDC, Zeev spent over 10 years with Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd., including a five-year assignment as President of the bulk chemical business in North America. He returned to Israel as President of Clal Pharmaceutical Industries (CPI) for four years, leading private equity investments in companies within areas of Generic R&D, Drug delivery, Chiral chemistry, and a large Public Commercial US entity.
Zeev has retired from JJDC in December of 2022 and serves as a consultant to Alive Israel HealTech Fund and as Independent Industry expert board member in several companies in the field of Life Sciences. Zeev holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a Master of Business Administration degree in Marketing and Finance from Tel Aviv University.
Advisory Board
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Gus P. Georgiadis
Mr. Gus P. Georgiadis has nearly forty years of executive-level healthcare experience in both health insurance and employee benefits services. His expertise encompasses the development of go-to-market strategies, as well as strategic product positioning and product/service rollout at pharmaceutical, medical device, and digital healthcare companies.
Mr. Georgiadis currently serves as the Area Chairman of the Gallagher Benefit Services operations in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and upstate New York. He founded Triad USA, Inc. in 1998 and served as President until 2012, when he merged the company with Gallagher Benefit Services. Before establishing Triad, Mr. Georgiadis was Executive Vice President for Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, one of the largest health insurers in the United States. His experience also includes the creation of multiple businesses and initiatives that today serve as national models for healthcare, including the Gateway Health Plan and the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
Mr. Georgiadis earned a political science and business degree at Westminster College and an executive leadership degree at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.
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Thomas G. Lundquist, MD, MMM, FAAP, FACPE
Dr Thomas Lundquist is President of Vital Insights LLC, which provides transformational insights for healthcare start-ups and innovators, as well as integrated health systems and health plans focused on meeting the goals of the quintuple aim and wanting to be successful under value-based contracts. An increasingly sought out consultant and advisor, through Vital Insights, Dr Lundquist provides strategic advising, business acceleration leadership, operational effectiveness evaluation and implementation and clinical transformation insight. Companies in the Vital Insights portfolio that Lundquist has worked with in 2023 and 2024 include: AdheaRx; AposHealth; BodyPort; Cancer Diagnostics of America; Carrot Health; Ceresti Health; DUOS; ECHO Simplicity; HGAN Advisors; Hopewell Health; Independent Health Associates; Kaia Health; Laguna Health; Ready, Set, Food; Redesign Health; Rescription; SecuredHealth; Spring Health; TownSquare & ValueHealth.
Dr.Lundquist is an experienced healthcare senior executive with over 25 years of progressive, strategic & fiscal leadership and operational responsibility in various healthcare sectors, working successfully in venture capital-backed start-ups, growth phase early innovative companies, front-line healthcare system operations, integrated healthcare delivery systems, pharmacy network and distribution operations, large hospital networks, staff model HMO’s, managed care organizations, large self-insured national and international employers, and state and county governmental agencies.
Lundquist has many years of proven success within Analytics, Health Informatics, Care Management, Disease Management, Medical & Pharmacy Policy, Utilization Management, Integrated Care Delivery, Quality Management (HEDIS, STARS), Total Cost of Care Management, Sales & Marketing, Network Management, Joint Ventures, Mergers & Acquisitions, Healthcare financial analysis, Value-Based Care & Innovative Payment Models. Across his diverse leadership roles, Lundquist has remained passionately committed and undeterred in pursuing the realization of what we now know as the Quintuple Aim – clinical quality improvement, payment innovation driving cost efficiency, improving health equity, and improving both provider and patient experience.
Lundquist completed his Doctor of Medicine at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and his internship and residency at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Medical & Surgical Center. He received his Masters in Medical Management from Carnegie Mellon University and then joined the adjunct faculty at the H. John Heinz III School of Public Policy & Management at Carnegie Mellon University, teaching courses in Health Care Quality and Executive Leadership for seven years in the Masters in Medical Management program.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tglundquistpittsburgh/
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Bruce Nash, MD, MBA
Dr. Bruce Nash is the President of Catamount Advisors, LLC – a life sciences, board/advisory practice which seeks to support innovative companies at the governance and advisory level to achieve transformational change in health care delivery.
Most recently, he served as the Chief Physician Executive and Senior Vice President of Health and Medical Management for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, one of the largest independent, not-for-profit Blue Cross Blue Shield plans in the country.
Dr. Nash has held executive leadership positions for both health plans, medical groups and hospitals during his career. Prior roles include serving as the Chief Medical Officer of Capital District Physicians’ Health Plan, the President of North Adams Regional Hospital, the Vice President of Clinical Affairs, Kaiser Permanente – Northeast, and the Vice President for Medical Group Operations Improvement for the Permanente Company.
He is a board certified family physician who practiced for more than 20 years in southern Vermont. He earned a master of business administration in health sector management from the Fuqua School of Business of Duke University, a medical degree from Albany Medical College, and a bachelor of science degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He completed his residency in family practice at Duke University.
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David Nash, MD, MBA
David B. Nash, MD, MBA, is the Founding Dean Emeritus — and remains on the full-time faculty as the Dr. Raymond C. and Doris N. Grandon Professor of Health Policy — at Thomas Jefferson University’s College of Population Health (JCPH). Dr. Nash has been a hospital trustee for over 20 years and has recently completed nearly a decade as a member of the Board of Directors for Humana, Inc., one of the nation’s largest publicly traded healthcare companies.
In 2014 he joined the board of InfoMC, a leading information technology company in suburban Philadelphia. He is on the Healthcare Advisory Board for Arsenal Capital Partners in NYC and joined the board of Tract Manager, a portfolio company of Arsenal. In late 2018 he joined the board of ANI Pharmaceuticals, a publicly-traded generic drug manufacturer, headquartered in Baudette, MN.
Finally, he is a board member of FOX Rehab, a portfolio company of Blue Wolf Capital. A board-certified internist, Dr. Nash is internationally recognized for his work and has repeatedly been named to Modern Healthcare’s list of Most Powerful Persons in Healthcare.
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Timothy E. Nolan
Tim is Founder & CEO of TEN Healthcare Strategies, LLC. a company specializing in the provision of strategic and tactical business development services in the healthcare space. With over 35 years’ experience, Tim was most recently the EVP of EmblemHealth, an $8 billion not-for-profit health plan payer and provider in the New York metro area. In addition, Tim served as the president and COO of Independent Living Systems, LLC., contributing to its growth as a nationally recognized leader in long-term managed care. Other executive roles have included positions with Meridian Health Systems, now Hackensack Meridian Health, and Coventry Healthcare and USHealthcare. where he played fundamental roles in the acquisition and integration of those organizations by Aetna. Tim currently sits on the OneHome and New York University Wagner School of Health advisory boards.
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Raz Winiarsky, M.D.
Dr. Raz Winiarsky is an award-winning, board-certified orthopedic surgeon specializing in total joints and sports orthopedics. In addition to founding and growing one of the largest orthopedic practices in Brooklyn, Queens, and northern New Jersey, he is a respected visionary in the healthcare space. Dr. Winiarsky has cofounded 2 national healthcare companies that help physicians reach a more accurate diagnosis, improve patient outcomes, and reduce medical costs. The first company, Spreemo Health, is a successful referral management platform in the occupational medicine market that helps payers improve patient outcomes by reducing medical errors in radiology. The second company, Covera Health, partners with doctors to advance how quality care is defined, measured, and delivered by leveraging artificial intelligence tools to help physicians reach more accurate diagnosis and help better detect important findings.
The members or their institutions of our Advisory Board are compensated for the time they spend working with Apos® to better our products and services.
Medical Advisory
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Joel Block, MD
Joel A Block MD is the Willard L. Wood, MD, Professor of Rheumatology, professor of Medicine, and Chief of the Division of Rheumatology at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. His early research focused on cartilage biology and chondrocytic proteoglycans, and several of his human chondrocyte cell models remain in use in laboratories on four continents. His interests subsequently broadened to include the role of aberrant biomechanical loading in lower extremity osteoarthritis. He leads a large multidisciplinary group that studies osteoarthritis from a broad perspective, including joint tissue biology, neurobiology of musculoskeletal pain, and mechanical mediators of osteoarthritis progression, all with the focus on identifying novel therapeutic strategies.
Dr. Block served as Editor-in-Chief of Osteoarthritis and Cartilage from 2016 until 2022 and remains a member of the Editorial Board. In addition, he is a member of the Editorial Boards of the Journal of Clinical Rheumatology, Osteoarthritis and Cartilage Open, and Journal of Orthopaedic
Research. He has served on the Boards of Directors of the American College of Rheumatology, the Osteoarthritis Research Society International, and as Vice President of the U.S. Bone & Joint Initiative. He has served on, and chaired, numerous grant review panels for the NIH, Arthritis Foundation, Defense Department, and several overseas granting authorities. -
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Sean Bardenett, PT, DPT, SCS, CSCS
Sean Bardenett, PT, DPT, SCS, CSCS, is a Syracuse, New York native with an extensive background in sports rehabilitation and performance. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Geneseo State University and completed his Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) at Upstate Medical University. Following PT school, Sean pursued a sports residency at Ben Hogan Sports Medicine, where he worked with Texas Christian University (TCU) athletics, followed by an upper extremity athlete fellowship with Proaxis Therapy and the Kansas City Royals.
A board-certified sports specialist and certified strength and conditioning specialist, Sean has served in various roles across Major League Baseball, including Minor League Physical Therapist for the Chicago White Sox, Assistant Physical Therapist/Manual Therapist for the Kansas City Royals, and Coordinator of Rehab for the New York Mets. He is a founding member of the Professional Baseball Physical Therapy Society (PBPTS) and serves on its Board of Directors. In his current role as Director of Performance for the New York Mets, Sean oversees Physical Therapy, Athletic Training, Strength & Conditioning, and Nutrition.
Sean is also a founding member of the Professional Baseball Physical Therapy Society (PBPTS) and currently serves on its Board of Directors.
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David Felson, MD
Dr. David Felson is Evans Distinguished Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology at Boston University. For his arthritis research, he has received both the OARSI Clinical Research Award and an OARSI Lifetime Achievement Award and was the first ever recipient of the American College of Rheumatology clinical research award. He has won the Howley Prize from the Arthritis Foundation twice, most recently in 2020.
His major research contributions have been in osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. In osteoarthritis, he founded the Framingham Heart Study Osteoarthritis Study and cofounded the Multicenter Osteoarthritis (MOST Study). He pioneered studies showing that obesity caused knee osteoarthritis and that weight loss prevented it. He also introduced MRI into large scale studies and his group showed that synovitis and bone marrow lesions, injury lesions to bone deep to cartilage, were major sources of pain. As a consequence, these structures may become targets of treatment. He has led placebo controlled trials in OA, participated in OA treatment guidelines committees and currently leads the Arthritis Foundation’s OA Clinical Trial Network.
In rheumatoid arthritis, Dr. Felson developed the first core set of outcomes, then led the first joint American College and European League committee to define outcomes in RA trials The recommended outcome, the ACR20, has been adopted by all regulatory agencies and is the major criterion used to approve drugs in RA.
In addition, Dr. Felson has trained many of the leading clinical researchers in rheumatology both in the US and around the world and has seen patients on an active basis for over 30 years.
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C. Kent Kwoh, MD, MACR
C. Kent Kwoh is the Charles A.L. and Suzanne M. Stephens Chair of Rheumatology, Professor of Medicine and Medical Imaging, Chief of the Division of Rheumatology and Director of the University of Arizona Arthritis Center at the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Tucson.
A recipient of NIH funding since 1989, he was one of the original site PI’s for the Osteoarthritis Initiative (OAI). Dr. Kwoh and his collaborators have had a longstanding interest in the epidemiology of a broad spectrum of rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases, with a particular focus on the epidemiology of and outcome assessment in osteoarthritis, promoting equity in the management of rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases, and the identification of new targets for the prevention and management of knee OA. His major research contributions include the earlier detection of OA onset and/or progression using MRI imaging biomarkers, the characterization of knee pain location and patterns, the identification of imaging biomarkers of knee pain, and the identification of modifiable determinants to reduce/eliminate disparities in the utilization of joint replacement and other treatment options for osteoarthritis.
Dr. Kwoh has served on the Board of Directors of the American College of Rheumatology and the Rheumatology Research Foundation and on numerous NIH, VA and foundation review panels in the US and overseas.
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Dinesh Nathwani, MD, MBChB, MSc, FRCS (Tr & Orth)
Dr Dinesh Nathwani is a Consultant Knee Surgeon & Hon Senior Clinical Lecturer of Orthopaedics at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and the Cleveland Clinic London where he is also the Lead for Orthopaedic Robotics.
He has over 28 years of Orthopaedic Surgical experience. His current speciality interest is Adult Knee Reconstructive Surgery. He has an expertise in technology assisted knee surgery and has used Computers and Robotics for all his Partial and Total knee replacements since being appointed as a substantive Knee Consultant at Imperial College Healthcare in 2004. This was following a fellowship year in Australia where he learnt techniques in Computer Navigation, ACL and other complex ligament reconstruction together with arthroscopic meniscus repair and resection. Currently, he is leading trials of Robotically assisted knee replacements at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and Cleveland Clinic, London.
Dr Nathwani is the current President of CAOS UK (Computer Assisted Orthopaedic Surgery UK) and is an Orthopaedic research advisor for the Hamlyn Centre of Robotics at Imperial College. He is one of the Key European and Global Opinion Leaders in Robotic Knee Surgery acting as a senior advisor in development of the software and hardware platforms currently in use globally. He reviews for several Orthopaedic Journals including British Bone & Joint Journal, Nature, The Knee and Injury.
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Stephen A. Stache, Jr., MD, FAMSSM
Stephen A. Stache, Jr., MD, FAMSSM is a board-certified, non-operative sports medicine physician and Division Chief of Non-Operative Sports Medicine at Rothman Orthopaedics, where he also serves on the Board of Directors. He completed his residency and fellowship at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and earned his medical degree from Sidney Kimmel Medical College. Dr. Stache is board-certified in both sports and family medicine, with a special focus on concussion management.
Dr. Stache has extensive experience in sports team care, having served as the Head Team Physician for the Philadelphia Eagles and a team physician for the Philadelphia 76ers. He currently holds medical staff positions with the Philadelphia Phillies and St. Joseph’s University and serves as Chief Medical Officer for Drexel University Athletics.
Beyond his clinical practice, Dr. Stache is a recognized leader in medical administration. He serves on the Thomas Jefferson University Institutional Review Board and has authored multiple peer-reviewed research articles and book chapters. He has lectured nationally at organizations like Major League Baseball and made numerous media appearances.
