Vision

The vision is to improve healthcare through innovations by partnering with industry, clinicians, and entrepreneurs to enhance quality of life for humankind.

People

Ghassan Kassab, Ph.D., Founder, Managing Member

Dr. Kassab received his BS (Chemical Engineering), MS (Engineering Sciences) and PhD (Bioengineering, Summa Cum Laude) from University of California, San Diego. He previously served as the Thomas J. Linnemeier Guidant Foundation Chair and Professor in Biomedical Engineering, Professor in Surgery, Cellular and Integrative Physiology at Indiana University Purdue University, Indianapolis. He is currently the Founder/President/CSO of California Medical Innovations Institute in San Diego.Dr. Kassab is the recipient of the NIH Young Investigator Award, the AHA Established Investigator Award, Farriborz Maseeh Best Research Award, Abraham M. Max Distinguished Professor Award, Eminent Engineer Award of Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society, Indiana’s President Circle Award, and Glenn Irwin, MD Chancellor Best Research Scholar Award. He is also a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, the American Physiological Society Cardiovascular Section and the American Venous Forum. He has servedas a regular reviewer on two NIH study sections (Systems Biology; and Hypertension and Microcirculation) and as ad hoc on multiple other study sections;the Editorial Board of American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology, Journal of Biomechanics, and has previously served as an Associate Editor of Mechanics and Chemistry of Biosystems. Dr. Kassab has published over 500proceedings, abstracts and full length publications and his current scientific interests encompass the biomechanics of cardiovascular and gastroenterology systems in health and disease. He also has over 250 issued or pending patents in the areas of diagnosis and treatment of heart failure (including electrical, valvular and coronary artery disease), aneurysm, and obesity. Dr. Kassab’s intellectual properties have resulted in multiple start-ups and exclusive licensesto medical device industry.

Dr. Jose Antonio Navia MD. CardioThoracic Surgeon

Dr. Jose Antonio Navia received his medical degree and doctoral thesis from the National University of Medicine in La Plata, Argentina. Following his training in General Surgery, he completed his fellowship in Cardiac and Thoracic Surgery at The Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Ohio, USA. He practiced as a Cardiovascular Surgeon for 43 years, serving as a Staff Surgeon in the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery at ClinicaGuemes in Buenos Aires, Argentina, under the leadership of Dr. Rene Favaloro. He was also the Head of the Cardiovascular Surgery Department at the Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires, a Founding Physician of the Austral University Hospital, and Head of the Cardiac Surgery Service. He is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology, a Professor at the Argentine Medical Association in the Postgraduate School of Cardiac Surgery, andhas served as President of the Argentine Cardiology Society and president of the College of Cardiovascular Surgeons. He is a full member of the National Academy of Medicine and a Past President of the National Academy of Medicine. Dr. Navia has lectured at national and international conferences and has been a visiting professor in the USA, Japan, Mexico, India, Brazil, Russia, Spain, Chile, and Uruguay. He has published international papers and book chapters on his experiences in Heart Valve Diseases, Mechanical and Biological Valve Replacements, Heart Valve Endocarditis, Coronary Surgery, Acute Myocardial Infarction Complications, Ascending Aortic Dissections, Minimal Invasive Cardiac Surgery (coronary and valve replacement), Heart and Heart-Lung Transplants, and Heart Failure Cardiac Mechanical Support. His research has been supported by cooperative studies with the Texas Heart Institute, Houston, the University of Utah, Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York, and Hospital La Pitie in Paris, France.

William Combs, Director of Engineering

Bill Combs has over 35 years of experience researching and implementing novel medical device therapies and diagnostics. Over a 29-year career at Medtronic, he held a wide range of positions relevant to implementation and commercialization of concepts and technologies including leadership positions in Systems Engineering, Product Planning and Research. Bill was a Medtronic Technical Fellow, holds 40 issued patents and was twice named Medtronic Technical Contributor of the Year. Bill has directly participated in the commercialization of impedance monitoring in implanted pacemakers and defibrillators, leading the Research team that investigated the applications and commercialization of accelerometer and impedance-based rate adaptive cardiac pacing and heart failure fluid status monitoring,He is a Clinical Associate Professor for the IUPUI School of Biomedical Engineering, graduated with a MSEE degree from Purdue University where he participated in research investigating cardiac defibrillation with indwelling lead and electrode systems. Bill is presently leading 3DT efforts to identify and implement novel technologies that will improve patient outcomes.

Terry Hubbard, Sr. Engineer/Project manager

Terry has been immersed in medical device design and commercialization for more than 30 years. At a number of large and startup companies, he has developed and brought to market a wide range of products including high volume peripheral infusion products, ventricular assist devices, soft tissue prothesis, artificial organs and microarray molecular assay devices. Terry has participated in FDA PMA submissions and has managed multi-site clinical research. He has extensive experience with implant and peripheral access technologies, device thrombosis control, in vitro modelling, medical device materials including ePTFE, hydrogels and genetically engineered biomaterials.

Frederic Field, Director of Development

Mr. Field has 25+ years of medical device product development experience in a variety of start-up companies bringing to market drug delivery infusion pumps, injection needle safety devices, and minimally invasive surgical instruments. His involvement has spanned proof of concept and initial prototype development, verification, validation, and commercial release of the products. He has actively participated in product user studies both in the U.S. and Europe and been directly involved with most of the regulatory submissions for these products. He is an experienced manager in start-up environments. Prior to joining 3DT, he was VP of Research and Development at Safety Syringes, Inc., until it was acquired by Becton Dickinson. Mr. Field earned a BS in Bioengineering and an MS in Applied Mechanics at UC, San Diego.

Mengjun Wang, MD, MS Research Professor

Dr. Mengjun Wang has 20+ years of experiences in in-vivo efficacy/safety studies of cardiovascular devices/pharmaceuticals. He worked at the Henry Ford Heart & Vascular Institute in Michigan for 12 years before moving to San Diego. His work fully focused on understanding the pathophysiology of heart failure, and the development and testing of novel therapeutic modalities for the treatment and prevention of heart failure and other cardiovascular diseases. He has extensive hands-on experience in pre-clinical cardiovascular device studies with large animals and strong expertise in performing cardiovascular interventions/surgery. Currently, he is committed to translational research on novel technologies and methods for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cardiovascular diseases such as heart failure, myocardial infarction, and arrhythmia. Dr. Wang obtained his MD and MS degrees from Hebei Medical University and Peking University in China and was a highly trained surgeon before moving to the USA. He received research training at Peking University, Creighton University and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He also earned a MS degree in Medical Informatics from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Alex Lillo, Office Manager

Accomplished professional banker with more than 20 years of building strategic client relationships, during which he managed several Bank and Credit Union branches. As Sr. International Private Banking, maximized the profitability of a portfolio consisting of 230 high net worth clients with 40 Million in deposits and 10 Million in loan balances. Also, spearheaded the company’s new BSA policies and procedures across our wealth management accounts within a 3 month deadline, and avoid possible FDIC Regulators orders of consent and/or fines, while passing several internal audits. Bilingual in English and Spanish, with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration (Finance), San Diego State University.

Ryan Huffman – Engineering Technician

Engineering Technician with over 7 years of experience in medical device R&D

 

Greg Kelly – Senior Engineer

Greg Kelley has over 30 years of experience in medical device design and development. He brings a diverse background of experience having worked at several small startup as well as large established companies. Greg has developed and helped bring to market, guide, atherectomy, drug delivery, and cutting balloon catheters and guide wires. He was an early member of the CoreValve team and helped develop Transcatheter Aortic-Valve Implantation (TAVI). Greg graduate with BA in Physics from the University of Colorado.

Edwin De los Santos – Engineering Technician

Edwin has been working for more than 25 years in building and assembly of Medical Devices, with experience in Electronics, Aerospace and Mechanical Manufacturing Industries. He worked as an R & D Technician for more than 5 years at Endicor Medical and was a Senior R & D Tech at Sequent Medical.
Edwin is an expert in building Medical Catheters and Guidewires,With 8 years at Abbott Vascular, and 6 years at Medtronic Interventional Vascular.

Neil Drake -Senior Engineer

Neil Drake has 25 years of class 3 implantable medical device experience with companies such as Arterial Vascular Engineering, Medtronic Vascular, Dexcom, Obalon Therapeutics, and Companion Medical. He has held many roles in Ops, Qa, and R&D including his recent role of VP of R&D with Obalon Therapeutics. He holds ten US and International Patents.

Ismail Qaddoura. Senior Information Technology (IT) Manager(MSIS)

Ismail is a seasoned IT professional with over 30 years of experience in the field. He initially ran a successful IT company in San Diego before joining a team in 2020. Throughout his career, Ismail has demonstrated expertise in designing and implementing LAN/WAN hardware and software solutions for various clients. He has extensive experience in planning, designing, and installing cabling infrastructure for LAN/WAN networks, including patch panels, hubs, routers, and connectors. Ismail is proficient in providing support and training for client companies in Novell and Microsoft Server System Administration. He has acted as a Network Administrator for numerous client companies, offering ongoing support and maintenance services. His technical proficiency extends to a wide range of operating systems, including DOS, various versions of Windows, NT, Novell, and Mac OS, as well as familiarity with popular application software running on these platforms, especially Microsoft Office products. Furthermore, Ismail has a wealth of experience in network security management, including the deployment and management of firewalls and VPNs. He is adept at identifying, troubleshooting, and resolving network connectivity and performance issues, documenting solutions for future reference. Ismail also specializes in monitoring network performance and optimizing networks for speed and availability. In addition to his technical skills, Ismail holds a Master’s Degree in Information Systems from San Diego, further demonstrating his commitment to ongoing learning and professional development. Overall, Ismail’s combination of technical expertise, hands-on experience, and educational background make him a valuable asset in the field of IT infrastructure and network management.