Directors

Michael Danaher, Esq., Director
Mr. Danaher is a partner at the law firm of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich and Rosati. He works with private and public emerging growth companies in high technology industries. He handles general corporate matters and transactions, including private financings, public offerings, mergers and acquisitions. Michael graduated with honors from Yale College and from Stanford Law School (Order of the Coif). He served as an attorney-advisor in the U.S. State Department.

Gerald Dorros, M.D.
Dr. Gerald Dorros is an interventional cardiologist and cardiovascular interventionist, and has served as the Medical Director of the Dorros Feuer Interventional Cardiovascular Disease Foundation Ltd., since 1983. He also served as the President of the Arizona Heart Institute Foundation from 1997 to 2000 and previously was a partner of the Milwaukee Heart and Vascular Clinic from 1981 to 1997. Dr. Dorros has held clinical professorships in medicine at the University of Wisconsin, Columbia University, State University of New York, and University of Illinois. Dr. Dorros received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Dartmouth College in 1964, and a medical degree from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University in 1968. He has received honorary Doctor of Science degrees from Yeshiva University and Colby College. Dr. Dorros is a board member at Power Medical Interventions.

Jose M. Malbran
Jose has 30 years of experience in Merrill Lynch in successive Private Client senior management roles. He brings extensive experience in the private banking industry and significant regional exposure in several countries in Latin America, Europe and Middle East, and Africa, during his role as Chairman of International Private Client Group. During the last two decades, Jose's exceptional vision has driven the region’s consistent growth and profitability. Jose was appointed District Director for Southern Latin America, with responsibility for the International Private Client business in Panama, Caracas, Sao Paulo, Montevideo, Santiago (Chile), as well as ML Banque Suisse in Montevideo. Jose was subsequently appointed chairman of International Private Client Group Latin America and became a member of the Executive Committee. He has also served as Chairman of Merrill Lynch International Banks. He has participated in several investment banking deals, debt offerings and privatizations. Jose was also a Senior Vice President and member of the GPC Executive Committee, as well as Director of Merrill Lynch Cayman Bank and Trust Company.

Thomas Quertermous, M.D., Director
Dr. Quertermous is the William G. Irwin Professor of Medicine and Director of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at Stanford University. Dr. Quertermous came to Stanford from Vanderbilt University where he served as H. J. Morgan Professor of Medicine and Director of the Division of Cardiology. Dr. Quertermous received an MS degree in Biophysics and Theoretical Biology at the University of Chicago. He received his MD from the University of Chicago, where he also completed residency training in internal medicine. Subsequently, he moved to Boston where he served as clinical fellow in the Cardiac Unit at the Massachusetts General Hospital. He also completed a research fellowship in the Department of Genetics at the Harvard Medical School.


Simon H. Stertzer, M.D., Director
Dr. Stertzer is Professor of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine. Dr. Stertzer received his MD from the NYU School of Medicine and interned in surgery at the University of California Hospitals, San Francisco. He served as Assistant Resident in Medicine at NYU and later as Chief Medical Resident at NYU Division of Bellevue Hospital. He had a fellowship at NYU Hospital in Cardiovascular Disease. His numerous academic and hospital appointments include: Attending Cardiologist at NYU School of Medicine 1965-1983, Chief of the Hemodynamics Laboratory at Lenox Hill Hospital New York from 1971-1983, and Director of Medical Research, San Francisco Heart Institute, Seton Medical Center, Daly City, CA, 1983-1992. Dr. Stertzer pioneered the subspecialty of Interventional Cardiology and was the first to perform a coronary angioplasty in the United States. Dr. Stertzer has performed more than 12,000 coronary interventions, and has been visionary in his efforts working with others to develop new technologies for the improvement of patient care.

He was a founder of numerous medical technology companies, including Arterial Vascular Engineering which was acquired by Medtronic, and Quanum Medical which was acquired by Boston Scientific. He has written, lectured and taught extensively about such new technologies as: Treatment of acute heart attacks with angioplasty, High speed Rotational Atherectomy, Stent treatment of Coronary Disease, Pacemaker Therapy, and Drug eluting devices for coronary restenosis.


Theodore Tussing
Theodore "Ted" Tussing serves as Director for Corporate Relations & New Ventures at Stanford University Medical Center and founding member of the Stanford University Entrepreneurial Task Force. In this capacity, he accelerates the translation of technology solutions for improved patient care, research processes and medical education. Ted is also an advisor, investor and board member for various early-stage technology ventures initiatives. He is a co-founder of Ibrix, Inc, a rapidly scalable based parallel computing file system available for cluster computing, grid computing, and enterprise computing environments.


Peter Altman, Ph.D.
Peter A. Altman, PhD: Dr. Altman is President and CEO of BioCardia, Inc. (1999 to present) where he has global responsibility for the development, manufacture and marketing of local cardiovascular drug delivery systems. He was founding CEO for Expression Diagnostics, Inc. (2000- 2003) a developer of a gene based diagnostic assay platform to be used in chronic inflammatory diseases, including coronary artery disease. Dr. Altman was also an inventor of the technology that is being developed by medical device start up Sinus Rhythm Technologies, Inc. Dr. Altman has raised more than $20 M for California based life sciences companies, from investors including Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers, and Texas Pacific Group Ventures. He has 18 years experience in life science research and product development, is named inventor in 25 US patents, and has authored 25 scientific publications. Dr. Altman received his PhD in Bioengineering/ Pharmaceutical Chemistry from the University of California San Francisco and University of California Berkeley, his Management of Technology certificate from the Haas School of Business, University of California Berkeley, and both his Master of Science and Bachelors of Science degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the Columbia University School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.