The AOA Dx founding team has worked together for over a decade at two successful women’s health diagnostic startups, both resulting in strategic exits. With more than 30 years of experience bringing products from concept to commercialization across global markets, they’ve assembled a unique team of experts in the field who are passionate about changing the world of oncology and women’s health.
Oriana is a visionary leader in the field of women’s health and diagnostics. Recently honored in Inc’s 2022 Top 100 Female Founders for her work in ovarian cancer diagnosis, Oriana brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise bringing disruptive diagnostics to market and changing the landscape of clinical practice. Oriana is passionate about entrepreneurship and problem solving and hopes to use these skills to revolutionize early cancer detection, particularly in cancers that disproportionately affect women.
Oriana has global experience creating and leading organizations resulting in successful strategic exits. Prior to AOA, she led teams at early-stage startups and large life sciences companies. Oriana has a track record of developing a highly productive culture and turning visions into reality. She has a proven technical record of creating market entry strategies and product launches in new markets, including launching nationwide HPV screening in East Africa and novel diagnostics in maternal fetal medicine, oncology and infectious diseases.
As CEO of AOA, her dedication and work have earned her numerous awards and recognition, including the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center MassNextGen Award, The Eddies People’s Choice Award and The Wave Summit’s Emerging Women Founder in Bio Award.
Oriana holds a degree from Boston University in Economics and International Relations, and she has experience both living and working in various geographies.
Alex is a passionate and dedicated business leader with a track record of launching UK medical device and diagnostics sales companies. He has extensive experience priming markets, launching products and driving early product sales.
In most recent roles, Alex has been committed to commercializing and launching innovative, disruptive products through his own businesses across European healthcare markets with a primary focus on obstetrics and gynecology.
Alex works closely with Oriana, ensuring strategies relating to finance, accounting, legal and fundraising are executed in a timely manner. On a daily basis, Alex ensures AOA’s operations are running smoothly and efficiently.
Alex has a degree and MSc from the University of Southampton and University College London.
Anna is an innovator and a dynamic business leader with a passion for advancing healthcare through world-class diagnostics. As the Chief Reglatory Officer of AOA, she is pioneering the development of the groundbreaking GlycoLocateTM platform for early cancer detection by utilizing tumor marker gangliosides and AI to solve some of the most difficult challenges in diagnostics today.
Anna was named to Inc. Magazine’s 2022 Female Founders 100 List. She brings a wealth of experience to AOA having overseen the inclusion of multiple products into national and pan-European guidelines, and she has experience with US FDA submissions for 510(k), PMA, and CLIA LTD regulatory routes.
Anna has a unique global perspective on healthcare having led teams launching paradigm changing diagnostics in women’s health in Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia.
Abby is an experienced leader in bringing together science, technology, teams and product development processes to launch complex diagnostic assay systems that make an impact in the field of oncology.
For close to two decades, she has led R&D teams across the continuum from the earliest phases of research and technology transfer, through regulatory submission and approval of products focused on improving the lives of patients with cancer. These technologies include global launches of immunohistochemistry (IHC)-based assays used to select patients for various targeted-therapies (companion diagnostics); next generation sequencing (NGS)-based panels and associated bioinformatics software for molecular profiling of tumor tissue and liquid biopsies; and multi-omic assays with machine learning (ML) for the early detection of cancer signals in the blood from otherwise healthy individuals. Abby specializes in leading diverse, cross-functional teams to also include manufacturing scale-up, clinical validation, and on-market support.
Abby received her PhD at Northeastern University in Boston, followed by post-doctoral fellowships at the University of Arizona focused on understanding the molecular assembly of muscle proteins during development. She is passionate about helping to build capabilities in R&D, manufacturing, data science and bioinformatics/software engineering and seeing teams achieve shared goals.
Dr. Cory Bystrom, PhD, is an accomplished bioanalytical and proteomics expert with over 25 years of experience in advancing mass spectrometry–based diagnostics. He earned his PhD from the University of Oregon and subsequently led proteomics research efforts at Oregon Health & Science University before joining Pfizer for postdoctoral and senior scientist roles. From 2006 onward, he served pivotal roles at Quest Diagnostics—including Associate Scientific Director at the Nichols Institute—where he developed LC-MS assays for biomarkers such as insulin-like growth factors and plasma renin activity. In 2012, Dr. Bystrom transitioned to Cleveland HeartLab, taking the helm of R&D and later becoming Managing Director, where he co-invented and patented novel HDL/ApoA1 detection methods and high-resolution IGF assays.
Currently, Dr. Bystrom holds the position of Senior Director of Bioanalytical Chemistry at Ultragenyx Pharmaceuticals and also lends his expertise as Director of the Translational Laboratory at Cedars‑Sinai Medical Center. He has authored approximately 27 peer-reviewed publications, with 885 citations, showcasing a strong focus on clinical translation and assay validation. With nearly a dozen patents and leadership in both academic and industry settings, his work has consistently bridged complex analytical science and practical clinical implementation—particularly in proteomic biomarker quantitation and HDL-related cardiovascular diagnostics.
Vuna is an experienced diagnostics R&D leader with a deep background in assay development, analytical chemistry, and the full product development lifecycle from early research through manufacturing. He brings a rigorous, quality-by-design approach to building diagnostic assays and the teams that develop them.
Vuna spent nearly nine years at Ventana Medical Systems (Roche) in Tucson, Arizona, progressing from reagent manufacturing into senior roles in assay development, where he built expertise in immunoassays and analytical methods. He then joined Personal Genome Diagnostics (PGDx), where he rose from Staff Scientist to Associate Director to Director of Research and Early Development, leading molecular and cellular biology programs focused on genomic diagnostics. Most recently, he served as Senior Director of R&D at Exact Sciences in Cambridge, Massachusetts, overseeing research and development across oncology-focused diagnostic platforms.
Vuna holds a B.S. in Biochemistry from Arizona State University and an M.S. in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of Arizona, where he was awarded the UA/NASA Spacegrant Graduate Fellowship. At AOA, he leads the R&D team in building out analytical capabilities, advancing LC-MS and immunoassay technologies, setting up the CLIA lab, and driving AKRIVIS GD through assay optimization and product development.
Emily is a diagnostics development leader with deep expertise in IVD assay development, design control, and the translation of complex diagnostic programs from early R&D into analytically validated, manufacturable products. She brings over 12 years of experience across liquid biopsy assay development, FDA and CLIA pathways, and multiple commercial product launches.
Emily began her career at Thermo Fisher Scientific, where she led clinical diagnostics product development from proof-of-concept through design control, verification, validation, and commercial launch. She then joined Personal Genome Diagnostics (PGDx), where she managed a team of scientists developing NGS-based liquid biopsy assays and contributed to the launch of the elio plasma resolve product. At Precision for Medicine, she led companion diagnostic design control and project management, driving IDE approvals and overseeing development through regulatory clearance. Most recently, she served as Associate Director of Research and Development at Exact Sciences, where she was the lead for the development and launch of CancerGuard and managed late development teams through design transfer.
Emily holds a B.S.E. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and both an M.S. and Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from MIT. Her track record includes multiple IDE approvals, a 510(k) clearance, and three commercial product launches. At AOA, she leads late-stage IVD assay development and owns validation and design control strategy in support of AKRIVIS GD’s path to LDT launch and FDA submission.
Elizabeth is a clinical operations executive with over 15 years of experience leading global clinical programs across biotech, diagnostics, and medical devices. She specializes in building inspection-ready infrastructures, driving operational excellence, and advancing programs from early feasibility through pivotal validation studies. Her cross-functional approach bridges clinical, regulatory, and R&D teams to align development and validation strategy at every stage.
Elizabeth began her career in clinical project management at ICON plc, where she managed global trials across oncology and cardiovascular portfolios and supported a successful PMA submission for a vascular device indication. She went on to serve as a Clinical Research Manager at VENITI, Inc. and later as a Clinical Project Manager at Philips, directing global medical device and diagnostic studies under ISO 13485 and EU MDR requirements. Concurrently, she has served as a Senior Clinical Consultant at ExCell Clinical, building clinical operations infrastructure for early-stage biotech and medical device clients and serving as interim Head of Clinical Operations across multiple engagements.
Elizabeth holds a Bachelor’s degree and a Master of Science from Saint Louis University and holds both a PMP certification from PMI and a CCRP from the Society of Clinical Research Associates. At AOA, she leads clinical operations for AKRIVIS GD, overseeing the OVERT study end-to-end — including site activation, vendor oversight, GCP and ISO 13485 compliance, and audit readiness — in support of LDT launch and FDA submission.
Oriana is a visionary leader in the field of women’s health and diagnostics. Recently honored in Inc’s 2022 Top 100 Female Founders for her work in ovarian cancer diagnosis, Oriana brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise bringing disruptive diagnostics to market and changing the landscape of clinical practice. Oriana is passionate about entrepreneurship and problem solving and hopes to use these skills to revolutionize early cancer detection, particularly in cancers that disproportionately affect women.
Oriana has global experience creating and leading organizations resulting in successful strategic exits. Prior to AOA, she led teams at early-stage startups and large life sciences companies. Oriana has a track record of developing a highly productive culture and turning visions into reality. She has a proven technical record of creating market entry strategies and product launches in new markets, including launching nationwide HPV screening in East Africa and novel diagnostics in maternal fetal medicine, oncology and infectious diseases.
As CEO of AOA, her dedication and work have earned her numerous awards and recognition, including the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center MassNextGen Award, The Eddies People’s Choice Award and The Wave Summit’s Emerging Women Founder in Bio Award.
Oriana holds a degree from Boston University in Economics and International Relations, and she has experience both living and working in various geographies.
Surbhi Sarna is the founder and former CEO of nVision medical, a medical device company that, to date, is the only device cleared by the FDA to collect cells from the fallopian tube for the detection of ovarian cancer. Having led the company from inception, nVision Medical was acquired by Boston Scientific in 2018 for $275m.
Most recently Surbhi became Y Combinator’s first-ever partner for healthcare and biotech, and she currently sits on the board of Penumbra, Progenity, Astia, Draper University and the Harker School. Surbhi has extensive experience with early product development, funding, clinical trials and commercialization.
John Friedman has been the Founding and Managing Partner of Easton Capital Investment Group for approximately 20 years. He also serves as an Advisor to Good Growth Capital and Senior Advisor to Gore Range Capital. Prior to founding Easton Capital, John was the founder and Managing General Partner of Security Pacific Capital Investors. Security Pacific Capital Investors was a $200 million private equity fund, affiliated with the 5th largest US bank. Before he joined Security Pacific, John was a Managing Director and Partner at E.M. Warburg, Pincus & Co., Inc., where he spent eight and a half years. Previously, John was an attorney with Sullivan and Cromwell. During his career, he has invested in more than 100 transactions.
John currently serves on the boards of AOA Dx, Trellis Bioscience, Sequella, Sensoriant, AdipoPharma, and Vantiq Inc. John previously served as a board observer of Claret Medical and Paradigm Diagnostics prior to their acquisition, and as a board member of Conor Medsystems, Acorda (NASDAQ: ACOR), bluebird bio (NASDAQ: BLUE), and Cardiovascular Systems (NASDAQ: CSII), among others. In each case, he had been a founding, lead, or co-lead investor in that company.
Throughout his career John has been heavily involved with the New York medical science community. He previously served as Chairman of the Columbia University Medical Center’s Health Sciences Advisory Council and Co-Chairman of the President’s Council at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. John is also on the Board of Trustees of the New Museum and co-founded Comverse Technology, which became the largest mobile message management company in the world.
John holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Yale College, where he graduated magna cum laude and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. John also holds a Juris Doctor degree from Yale Law School.
Dr. Saragovi is a passionate and world-leading scientist in the area of Translational Medicine.
Dr. Saragovi has published over 200 publications and 21 patents, primarily focusing translational medicine. More recently Dr. Saragovi has focused on the targeting of gangliosides, which are used clinically for cancer diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy.
Dr. Saragovi based at McGill University and Lady Davis Institute at the Jewish General Hospital, Montreal.
Dr. Kim Ekroos, PhD is a globally recognized pioneer in lipidomics with over two decades of experience spanning academia, biotechnology, and regulatory science. He earned his PhD in biology from the Technical University of Dresden in 2003, focusing on glycerophospholipid characterization via advanced mass spectrometry. After postdoctoral work at AstraZeneca in Sweden, he joined Zora Biosciences—eventually serving as CTO—before founding Lipidomics Consulting Ltd. in 2016 to offer expert guidance on mass spectrometry and multi‑omic biomarker development. Under his leadership, the company has pioneered high-throughput workflows that helped deliver the first lipidomics-based biomarkers into clinical diagnostics. He has authored over 60 peer-reviewed publications, contributed to a Wiley reference book on lipidomics, holds several patents, and frequently presents at international conferences.
Dr. Ekroos is the current President of the International Lipidomics Society and a co-founder of the Lipidomics Standards Initiative, playing a central role in harmonizing global standards and best practices across the lipidomics field. His deep expertise has been instrumental in launching community-driven efforts like the Minimal Reporting Checklist and a range of interest groups under the Society’s umbrella, all aimed at ensuring high-quality, reproducible lipidomics data. Beyond his scientific leadership, Dr. Ekroos is passionate about applying lipidomics insights to advance disease understanding and improve patient care through earlier disease detection and precision diagnostics.
Dr. Watson is a recognized leader with over 25 years’ experience in biostatistics, clinical development, and personalized medicine. Dr. Watson was instrumental in the development of Oncotype Dx (Genomic Health) and has founded multiple clinical diagnostics companies. Dr. Watson’s current interests include the clinical development and validation of technologies for the early detection of breast, prostate, lung, and colon cancer (CellMax Life). Dr. Watson’s interests also include the clinical development and validation of genomic software platforms for informing clinicians regarding optimal therapies and drug development (CellWorks). Dr. Watson serves on multiple scientific advisory boards and as a consultant to biopharmaceutical, clinical diagnostic, and venture capital firms as well as regulatory and reimbursement agencies.
Dr. Kevin Elias is an experienced physician-scientist with a demonstrated history of success in translational medicine and advanced oncologic care. He has years of experience in Medical Education, Clinical Trials & Healthcare Leadership for gynecologic oncology and early cancer detection. Graduating from Harvard College and Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, he completed his residency in OB/GYN at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and fellowships in Gynecologic Oncology and Anesthesia Critical Care Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Additionally, he conducted post-doctoral research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in molecular biology and Massachusetts Institute of Technology in cancer nanotechnology. He is currently a practicing gynecologic oncologist at Cleveland Clinic, where he continues to advance research and innovation in gynecologic cancers and early cancer detection.
Dr. Katrin Eurich is a board-certified Gynecologic Oncologist and Assistant Clinical Professor at UT Health San Antonio. She completed her residency at the University of Washington and fellowship at Brown University / Women & Infants Hospital.
Her clinical expertise includes advanced pelvic surgery and minimally invasive techniques, with research focused on clinical trials, cost-effectiveness, and financial toxicity in cancer care.
As an advisor to AOA, Dr. Eurich brings deep clinical and research insight to advance evidence-based care, equitable access, and innovation in oncology.
Dr. James Robert White is a computational biologist and biostatistician with deep expertise in genomics, microbiome science, and translational research. He earned his B.S. in Mathematics and his PhD in Applied Mathematics and Scientific Computation from the University of Maryland. His graduate research spanned computational biology and bioinformatics, including novel statistical methods for metagenomic datasets and biomarker discovery in high-dimensional data. He went on to serve as a Bioinformatics Engineer at the Institute for Genome Sciences at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, where he designed algorithms and pipelines for large-scale DNA sequence analysis across microbial genomics and transcriptomics.
In 2014, Dr. White founded Resphera Biosciences, a computational and biostatistical services company advancing translational research in medicine and biotechnology. He also developed First Look Data, an automated statistical analysis platform designed to help researchers uncover insights from complex datasets. His work has been cited over 40,000 times, reflecting broad impact across microbiome research, cancer biology, and clinical diagnostics. He has contributed to research on immune checkpoint inhibitor response, cfDNA-based cancer profiling, and the gut microbiome’s role in oncology.