Tech Tonics: Brad Hirsch, A Cancer Doctor With Management Chops
If Alex P. Keaton was from Texas, went on to med school, and then trained in oncology, he might have emerged looking something like today’s guest, Dr. Brad Hirsch, an MD/MBA with a doctor’s heart and a businessman’s head, who’s now busy integrating both of these qualities as CEO of SignalPath, a company trying to improve the execution of clinical trials.
Brad grew up in Texas, the son of a corporate CEO (who’s now a private equity executive). From an early age, Brad was interested in medicine, as well as business, and studied both biology and economics at the University of Pennsylvania, and went on to pursue both medicine – internal medicine then oncology – and business; he was especially interested in the intersection of the two, and thought there must be ways to improve the way care is delivered. (Tech Tonic listeners may recall very similar sentiments from previous guest Bob Kocher, see here).
Following somewhat contrasting experiences at McKessen and Flatiron, Brad became CEO of SignalPath, a company that spun out of Duke and which is focused on pragmatically using technology and data to improve the operations of clinical trial sites, with a particular focus on simplifying the life of the clinical site coordinator.
On today’s show, we also learn about Brad’s formative outdoor leadership experiences in Alaska and Utah, and his equally memorable experiences as a med student at University of Texas-Southwestern’s famously demanding Parkland Hospital. Brad also helps us understand why this health tech entrepreneur was so determined to return to the Lone Star State.
Today’s episode is sponsored by Rockpointe: innovators in medical education and patient engagement.
To learn more go to:
RockpointE.com
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