Team | BrainSpec

Our Story

The team was formed in May 2015 at a brainstorming session hosted by the iHub at Brigham and Women’s Hospital designed to help clinicians and researchers bring their ideas into reality. Additional collaborators include experienced radiologists, oncologists, neurologists and neurosurgeons at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital. Our goal is to put the power of MR Spectroscopy into clinicians and researchers nationwide, making the virtual biopsy a reality.

Our Team

Alex Zimmerman

CEO

Alex is the CEO of BrainSpec. Prior to founding BrainSpec, Alex worked at Johnson & Johnson as a Product Development Engineer creating implants and instruments for spinal surgery. Alex holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Tufts University and a M.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Brown University, and received her MBA from Harvard Business School.

Alex Lin

Founder and spectroscopist

Dr. Lin is the director of the Center for Clinical Spectroscopy at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and assistant professor of radiology at Harvard Medical School. He has been conducting research in MR spectroscopy since 1997 as a graduate of the California Institute of Technology followed by a fellowship at the National Institutes of Health. His goal, both through his research and especially BrainSpec is to translate this valuable technology from the benchtop to the bedside.

Steven Char

Summer Intern

Steven is a rising sophomore at Brown University pursuing a B.S. in neuroscience. He joined BrainSpec in June 2016 where he is involved in day-to-day work with the team preparing federal research grants, conducting scientific literature reviews, and developing web content. He plans to attend medical school.

Matt Bonazzoli

Summer Intern

Matthew Bonazzoli is a rising Junior at Macalester College. He is pursuing a B.S. in Neuroscience with an emphasis in Computer Science. He joined BrainSpec in June 2016 where he is involved in writing source code, working with the team to conduct scientific literature reviews and perform market research. He plans on pursuing further research in the fields of Neuroscience and Computer Science.

Our Advisors

Patrick Wen, MD

Director, Neuro-Oncology
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Professor of Neurology
Harvard Medical School

Ray Haung, MD, Ph.D.

Associate of Radiology
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Instructor of Radiology
Harvard Medical School

Gil Gonzalez, MD, Ph.D.

Chief, Neuroradiology
Massachusetts General Hospital
Professor of Radiology
Harvard Medical School

Paul Caruso, MD

Director, Ped-Neuroradiology
Massachusetts General Hospital
Instructor of Neurology
Harvard Medical School

Eva-Maria Ratai, Ph.D.

Faculty, Martinos Center
Massachusetts General Hospital
Associate Professor of Radiology
Harvard Medical School

Changho Choi Ph.D.

Professor, Radiology
Advanced Imaging Center
UT Southwestern

Jack Shields

CEO, Shields Health Solutions
Former President
Shields Health Care Group

Bob Higgins

Founder, Highland Capital
Senior Lecturer
Harvard Business School

Steve Delano

Former President,
Market Metrics
Mentor
Harvard Innovation Lab