Profusa CEO and leadership

Ben is the Chairman and CEO of Profusa, which is leading the development of injectable biosensors with the goal of transforming personal and societal health and wellness by making our body’s chemistry easily accessible.

Ben has seen first-hand the transformative impact that science and technology have to change the world, from his undergraduate research fellowship at the lab of Leroy Hood at Caltech, to developing life sciences tools at Life Technologies Corp. (acquired by Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc.). At Life Technologies Corp., Ben served in a variety of leadership roles, including President of the Asia Pacific Region and Head of the qPCR Division.

Throughout his career, Ben has been keenly in tune to the impact of technological developments and the need to ensure an optimal digital health experience for patients and users alike.

Ben earned a Master of Arts degree and Ph.D. in Biology from The John Hopkins University.

Bill was the initial driving force to start Profusa. Together with Natalie, he built the company road map, enlisted top talent and secured seed funding. A co-inventor of Profusa’s biologically integrated sensor and optical reader, Bill is a biotech pioneer whose career has spanned more than three decades in the development of next-generation diagnostic and medical device technologies and products, the last 20 years as an entrepreneur. He was the co-founder and Senior Vice President of R&D at Cepheid, Inc. (NASDAQ: CPHD), a global leader in developing and commercializing easy-to-use molecular diagnostic products. Bill earned a B.S. in Chemistry an M.S. in Microbiology from San Jose State University, and later became a certified public health microbiologist before moving to the medical technology industry.

Natalie conceived the technical approach behind Profusa. Together with Bill, she built the company road map, enlisted top talent and secured start-up funding. Natalie leads Profusa’s technology development efforts and the grants program, which has secured $10M of DARPA and NIH funds. Natalie is the co-inventor of Profusa’s tissue-integrating biosensor technology and optical reader. Winner of the NIH Transformative Research Award, she is a recognized leader in understanding the body’s reaction to foreign materials and the design of bioengineered sensors. In addition to her science career, she was a business consultant at McKinsey & Company and a consumer products developer at Kimberly-Clark. She has nearly two decades of regulatory, clinical and technical consulting experience in the medical device industry. Natalie earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University, and a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Duke University in collaboration with the Karolinska Institute where she developed her passion for continuous monitoring of body chemistries.

Bruce Smith is a Chief of Staff at Profusa and City Council Person at Amador City and is based in Amador City, California. He has worked as Managing Director at MarketXT, Vice President at Instinet, and Investigator at Conversano Investigations. Bruce attended San Francisco State University, New York Film Academy between 2004 and 2004, and LIU Post.

Bill was the initial driving force to start Profusa. Together with Natalie, he built the company road map, enlisted top talent and secured seed funding. A co-inventor of Profusa’s biologically integrated sensor and optical reader, Bill is a biotech pioneer whose career has spanned more than three decades in the development of next-generation diagnostic and medical device technologies and products, the last 20 years as an entrepreneur. He was the co-founder and Senior Vice President of R&D at Cepheid, Inc. (NASDAQ: CPHD), a global leader in developing and commercializing easy-to-use molecular diagnostic products. Bill earned a B.S. in Chemistry an M.S. in Microbiology from San Jose State University, and later became a certified public health microbiologist before moving to the medical technology industry.

Natalie conceived the technical approach behind Profusa. Together with Bill, she built the company road map, enlisted top talent and secured start-up funding. Natalie leads Profusa’s technology development efforts and the grants program, which has secured $10M of DARPA and NIH funds. Natalie is the co-inventor of Profusa’s tissue-integrating biosensor technology and optical reader. Winner of the NIH Transformative Research Award, she is a recognized leader in understanding the body’s reaction to foreign materials and the design of bioengineered sensors. In addition to her science career, she was a business consultant at McKinsey & Company and a consumer products developer at Kimberly-Clark. She has nearly two decades of regulatory, clinical and technical consulting experience in the medical device industry. Natalie earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University, and a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Duke University in collaboration with the Karolinska Institute where she developed her passion for continuous monitoring of body chemistries.

Ben is the Chairman and CEO of Profusa, which is leading the development of injectable biosensors with the goal of transforming personal and societal health and wellness by making our body’s chemistry easily accessible.

Ben has seen first-hand the transformative impact that science and technology have to change the world, from his undergraduate research fellowship at the lab of Leroy Hood at Caltech, to developing life sciences tools at Life Technologies Corp. (acquired by Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc.). At Life Technologies Corp., Ben served in a variety of leadership roles, including President of the Asia Pacific Region and Head of the qPCR Division.

Throughout his career, Ben has been keenly in tune to the impact of technological developments and the need to ensure an optimal digital health experience for patients and users alike.

Ben earned a Master of Arts degree and Ph.D. in Biology from The John Hopkins University.

Natalie conceived the technical approach behind Profusa. Together with Bill, she built the company road map, enlisted top talent and secured start-up funding. Natalie leads Profusa’s technology development efforts and the grants program, which has secured $10M of DARPA and NIH funds. Natalie is the co-inventor of Profusa’s tissue-integrating biosensor technology and optical reader. Winner of the NIH Transformative Research Award, she is a recognized leader in understanding the body’s reaction to foreign materials and the design of bioengineered sensors. In addition to her science career, she was a business consultant at McKinsey & Company and a consumer products developer at Kimberly-Clark. She has nearly two decades of regulatory, clinical and technical consulting experience in the medical device industry. Natalie earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University, and a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Duke University in collaboration with the Karolinska Institute where she developed her passion for continuous monitoring of body chemistries.