Leadership
Management Team
Louie Fielding, President and Chief Operating Officer
Louie Fielding is an original inventor of the LimiFlex™ Dynamic Sagittal Tether™, which was conceived in the Biodesign program at Stanford University while Louie pursued a master’s degree in mechanical engineering.
As co-founder and director of R&D of Empirical Spine, Louie led product development as well as verification and validation activities; managed the IP portfolio; authored several peer-reviewed articles and FDA submissions. Louie holds more than 20 patents. Prior to Empirical Spine, Louie led the mechanical design team in the Intel Digital Health Group, developing solutions for remote healthcare delivery.
Louie received his M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University and his B.S. from the University of Washington.
Todd F. Alamin, MD, Professor, Co-Founder and Medical Director
Dr. Todd Alamin is Professor and an active spine surgeon at the Stanford University School of Medicine, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. He is an original inventor of the LimiFlex™ Dynamic Sagittal Tether™ and co-founder of Empirical Spine.
Previously, Dr. Alamin was the inventor of the Functional Anesthetic Discogram (FAD), designed to accurately diagnose discogenic low back pain. Dr. Alamin founded InnoSpine, Inc. to develop the technology, which was acquired by Kyphon, Inc. in 2006.
Dr. Alamin received his MD from Yale University School of Medicine and his B.S. and B.A. from Stanford University.
Marcia Wachna, Vice President of Clinical Affairs
Marcia’s experience in medical device clinical research spans more than 25 years. Her work has focused on minimally invasive, novel technologies ranging from intracranial and carotid artery stenting, to balloon sinuplasty, spinal stabilization, and balloon-based cryotherapy. She has held management and research roles in start-ups (Endovascular Technologies, Acclarent) and large companies (Guidant and Abbott).
Previously, Marcia was Director of Clinical Research at Simpirica Spine, and most recently, she was Director of Clinical Research at C2 Therapeutics. Marcia holds a Bachelor of Nursing from the University of Manitoba.
Board of Directors
Todd F. Alamin, MD - Director
Andrew Offer - Director
Andrew Offer is a General Partner and the Chief Executive Officer of Scientific Health Development. With more than 16 years of healthcare investment experience, Andrew serves on the board of directors for most active SHD portfolio companies, in addition to historically acting in the capacity of Chief Financial Officer for multiple portfolio companies. Prior to joining SHD in 2007, he spent more than 3 years at VMG Health as a consultant with a focus on business valuation exclusively in the healthcare industry. Andrew holds a B.B.A. in Finance from Texas A&M University, earned the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation, and is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society of Dallas-Fort Worth.
Frank Grillo - Director
Frank has 25 years of experience in the US medical device industry, including 10 years with Boston Scientific, 3 years with Kyphon (purchased by Medtronic for $4.2 Billion), and 6 years with Intuitive Surgical as VP of Marketing and Business Development. More recently, Frank has been CEO of MRI Interventions, a publicly traded neurological navigation company, and AirXpanders, Inc. Frank holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Tufts University and an MBA from Northwestern University.
JON SERBOUSEK - SENIOR ADVISOR
Jon Serbousek brings more than 35 years of experience in the healthcare sector to Empirical Spine. His career includes international leadership roles in leading medical technology companies, notably Nasdaq-listed Orthofix Medical, Biomet, Medtronic and DePuy Orthopedics, a Johnson and Johnson company, contributing significantly to the medical device and biologics fields.
In his most recent position, Jon led Orthofix Medical as its President, CEO and Director, and until recently as Executive Chairman of the newly merged Orthofix-SeaSpine. His prior roles include Worldwide Group President of Biomet Orthopedics, Worldwide President of Biomet Biologics, Division President for Medtronic Spine and Biologics, and Vice President of Marketing and Product Development for DePuy Orthopedics, a Johnson & Johnson company.
In addition to his extensive operational experience, Jon has served on numerous boards, both for-profit and not-for-profit, bringing valuable insights and strategic leadership to multiple organizations.
Serbousek holds a B.S in Engineering from Washington State University and a M.S. in Bioengineering from the University of Utah, in addition to advanced management programs at the IMD International School of Management in Lausanne, Switzerland.