Allan T. Bombard, M.D., FACOG, FACS, FACMG
Medical Director

Dr. Allan Bombard is Chief Medical Officer, Sharp Mary Birch Hospital in San Diego, California, the largest women's hospital in the western United States. Previously, Dr. Bombard was the chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Lutheran Medical Center and has served as Western US Medical Director for Women's Health at Aetna US Healthcare. He holds the rank of Professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the State University of New York at Downstate Medical Center. Dr. Bombard is an established leader who has worked to bridge the fields of Ob/Gyn and genetics, improving and increasing access to healthcare services.

Dr. Bombard is board-certified in both clinical genetics and obstetrics/gynecology. He received his Bachelor of Arts from Colgate University and his Doctor of Medicine from the George Washington University. He completed a residency in Ob/Gyn at the Wilford Hall USAF Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, and his fellowship in Human Genetics at Northwestern University.

Dr. Bombard retired from the USAF Reserves in 2002 with the rank of Colonel, and served in Operation Desert Storm. He is a Founding Fellow of the American College of Medical Genetics (ACMG), a Fellow of the American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists (ACOG), and a life member of the American College of Physician Executives (ACPE). He has lectured extensively on a variety of women’s health issues including genetic counseling, prenatal screening and diagnosis, the business of medicine, and BRCA screening. His articles have appeared in peer-reviewed medical journals such as the Lancet and the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

Trish Brown, M.S., CGC
Vice President of Clinical Affairs

Trish Brown is an executive with over 15 years of experience in the business of medical genetics. She is a board certified genetic counselor with a passion for personalized medicine and consumer advocacy. Prior to joining DNA Direct, Trish was an Associate Vice President at LabCorp and Director of Strategic Technology Management and Implementation. In this role she oversaw the commercialization of new technologies and developed expertise in operations, project management, strategic planning, and product development. She was also responsible for LabCorp’s genetic information services which included a specialized genetics call center and clinical genetic counseling services.

Trish received her undergraduate degree in Genetics at the University of California, Davis. She obtained her genetic counseling degree at Sarah Lawrence College, and then practiced prenatal and craniofacial genetic counseling at St. Peter’s Medical Center in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Her next career step was at Duke University Medical Center in the Maternal Fetal Medicine department where she provided prenatal counseling and was on the Faculty for the Department of Pediatrics and Genetics for the Medical Genetics Fellowship Program. Trish has authored over forty five peer reviewed posters, publications, and presentations. She is a member of the National Society of Genetic Counselors, Women Business Leaders of the U.S. Health Care Industry Foundation, and the Healthcare Business Women’s Association.

Anne-Renee Hartman, M.D.
Oncology Advisor

Anne-Renee Hartman, MD, is board certified in Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology, and specializes in both clinical breast cancer and breast cancer genetics. She is a medical consultant for DNA Direct. Previously, Dr. Hartman held a faculty position as Assistant Professor of Medicine at Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, where she focused on the clinical treatment and management of breast cancer patients and women at high risk for developing breast cancer. During her fellowship at Stanford, she developed The Breast Cancer Genetics Clinic, developing and implementing novel clinical protocols to detect breast cancer and precancerous breast lesions at their earliest stages.

Dr. Hartman trained at the University of Chicago in Internal Medicine and completed a five-year fellowship at Stanford University in clinical oncology with a research focus on understanding the role of hereditary breast cancer genes in DNA repair and developing novel screening strategies for high-risk women. She is a member of The Amercian Society of Clinical Oncology where she previously held the position of Track Leader for the Fellows and Junior Faculty Program of the Cancer Education Committee.

Lisa Kessler, M.S., CGC
Senior Genetic Counselor

Lisa R. Kessler is a board-certified genetic counselor with a background in medical genetics and research. Kessler worked in adult genetics at the University of Pennsylvania, Division of Medical Genetics, where she had the opportunity to meet with patients and families with a variety of different medical concerns including hemochromatosis, hereditary cancer syndromes, Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia, and Marfan syndrome.

Kessler helped design and manage research for individuals who have had Aortic Dissections and she presented the findings at several national conferences. Kessler also has experience providing genetic counseling to women with hereditary breast cancer as part of a research study that focused on African American women. One of the goals of this project was to create a successful referral network including local hospitals, physician offices, and support groups. Kessler has had several publications resulting from this research and enjoyed the opportunity to reach out to women who may not otherwise benefit from access to genetic counseling.

Kessler is often inspired by her patients, learning from their determination, strength, and commitment to helping others. She has observed the development and utilization of support groups, and the significant impact these groups have made. Kessler is enthusiastic about helping DNA Direct create lasting relationships with advocacy organizations to promote increased access to genetic services.

Hsien-Hsien Lei Ph.D.
Genetic Information Specialist

Dr. Hsien-Hsien Lei is a genetic epidemiologist and science writer. She received her Ph.D. in epidemiology from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health where she was the recipient of a National Institutes of Health Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology Training Grant. Dr. Lei completed her postdoctoral training at National Taiwan University Hospital. She received her BA with honors from Stanford University in human biology, specializing in methods of disease prevention.

Previously, Dr. Lei conducted research on the genetic epidemiology of kidney disease and type 2 diabetes. She has published in leading peer reviewed journals, presented at international conferences, and helped lead multi-center population-based studies. Her writing has been recognized by the American Society of Nephrology, Forbes.com, Duke GenomeLIFE Magazine, and the Los Angeles Times, among others.

Dr. Lei publishes EyeOnDNA.com, a leading genetics weblog tracking the genome revolution and the role of DNA in society. She is particularly interested in making genetics comprehensible to scientists and non-scientists alike. Dr. Lei is also co-founder of The DNA Network, a collection of weblogs about genetics, genomics, and DNA. At DNA Direct, Dr. Lei helps bring genetic technology out of the lab and into our everyday lives.

Ryan Phelan
Founder and CEO

Ryan Phelan is an entrepreneur and businesswoman - influential in diverse fields from education and health care to software development and the equestrian industry. She excels at starting for-profit businesses, as well as non-profit organizations, building their staff, board, and partnerships, turning concept into reality, resulting in high quality service and products.

Phelan's current business and focus is DNA Direct, a company that provides direct-to-consumer genetic testing and related consumer oriented genomic services.

Phelan has been a strong consumer health advocate for the past 25 years, having started the first medical library for consumers in 1978. As Founding Director of Planetree, a nonprofit consumer health care organization, she helped create a national model for humanizing hospitals, (an experimental 13-bed medical surgical unit at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco)  and a national model for providing health information to the public, the Planetree Resource Center.

Today the Planetree Alliance is a group of over 85 innovative hospitals and health care institutions with shared values, goals and experiences dedicated to implementing Planetree programs. http://www.planetree.org/about/about.htm

In 1995 she founded Direct Medical Knowledge (DMK). DMK was an extensive consumer health web site highly regarded for its unique content depth and innovative search interface. DMK developed proprietary software that enabled users to drill down through the most current medical literature and retrieve personalized health and medical information. As CEO of DMK, Ms. Phelan forged alliances with major medical institutions, national health care plans, publishers, and consumer groups. In 1999 Direct Medical Knowledge was acquired by WebMD, a leader in the Internet health information industry. DMK’s content became the backbone of WebMD's consumer health site, http://my.webmd.com/

She is a co-founder of the ALL Species Foundation, a global science initiative to discover all life on Earth in the next 25 years. In 2002, Phelan served as CEO for the ALL Species Foundation http://www.all-species.org/ and continues her involvement today by serving on the Governing Board of Directors.

Bill Hoover
Vice President of Finance

Bill Hoover is a finance and operations executive with over 20 years experience in business and financial operations, strategic analysis, business integration and operations management.  For the past seven years, Bill has focused his energies on growing start-up companies into successful emerging companies in a broad spectrum of industries.

Bill comes to DNA Direct from Five Across, Inc., a social networking company, where he served as Vice President, Finance and Operations. In that role, Bill designed and implemented a new business model and created a scalable business enterprise. Five Across was acquired by Cisco Systems. 

Prior to Five Across, Bill served in various senior management roles at both public and private companies including SelectBuild Construction (part of BMHC), Cyanea Systems Corp (acquired by IBM), B2SB Technologies, and PlanetRx.com.

After college, Bill joined San Francisco’s office of Arthur Andersen. He spent most of his 12-year Andersen career within the Strategy and Finance Consulting group, where he provided economic and financial analysis to over 80 customers in over 50 different industries. Bill received his BS in Business Administration from the University of California, Berkeley.

Leah Sparks
Business Development

Leah Sparks has worked in a variety of business development roles for 10 years. Prior to joining DNA Direct, Leah had a 6-year career at McKesson Corporation, a Fortune 50 healthcare services corporation. At McKesson, she most recently served as Vice President, Oncology Services. In that role, Leah was responsible for developing and implementing a business plan to jumpstart McKesson’s entry into the oncology market.  The execution of that business plan ultimately led her to oversee a large sales organization focused on community-based oncology providers.

Prior to her leadership position in the Oncology Services unit, Leah held a variety of strategy and business development roles within McKesson. Her responsibilities included developing competitive strategy recommendations, leading due diligence for major acquisitions, and ensuring the operational integration of acquired business units. Additionally, she sourced, structured and negotiated complex distribution services contracts with pharmaceutical and biotech manufacturers. 

Before business school, Leah led the marketing efforts at a specialized architecture firm with a worldwide practice. Leah received her MBA from the University of Virginia in 2001 and holds a B.S. in Journalism from the University of Tennessee.

Lisa E. Lee
Director, Product Development

Lisa Lee is a 17-year veteran of consumer health and medical publishing. She is a health advocate who strives to make clinical health and medical information accessible and relevant to readers of all levels.

As Director of Content Partnerships & Special Projects at WebMD, she developed partnerships with premier medical publishers, educational institutions, nursing organizations, and nonprofit health organizations to develop features and programs for WebMD's consumer and professional channels.

Prior to WebMD, she worked with Ms. Phelan at Direct Medical Knowledge, developing a licensing and partnership program for the company from R&D through beta and commercial launches. She has also developed editorial programs for creating high-quality, peer-reviewed content and produced branded content features for other Web sites. Lee acquired and developed award-winning health and self-help books as Senior Editor at Hunter House Publishers. She has edited and ghostwritten consumer health and sexuality books.

Lee received her Bachelors in English from Pomona College, and has studied at Cambridge University and University of California, Berkeley. She is also a certified doula who has assisted women and couples during pregnancy, childbirth, and post-natal recovery.

Alla Rogers
Information Technology Manager

Alla Rogers graduated from Hawaii Pacific University in 2002 with a degree in Business Administration in Computer Information Systems.

Rogers began her career at a Hawaiian company that designed, integrated, and customized content management systems (CMS). Her duties included modification and design of CMS features, communication with clients, analysis of their needs and matching CMS features to best serve clients' business needs.

In addition to computer science, Rogers has an interest in the field of genetics. She feels fortunate to have become part of a team whose members share the same passion and posess great knowledge in her fields of interest.

Kipp McMichael
Web & Interface Developer

Kipp McMichael hails from the Heart of Dixie. Before starting a career as a web and interface developer, he earned bachelor's degrees in Anthropology, Psychology, and Philosophy from the University of Alabama and a masters degree in Cognitive Psychology from Indiana University.

McMichael moved to San Francisco to join the dotcom boom in 2001 and has held a variety of web development positions. He is particularly intrigued by the design and interface challenges DNA Direct faces in bringing genetic testing services directly to consumers.

He is confident that the DNA Direct team, and the consumers it empowers, are ready to face those challenges: Ipsa scientia potestas est.

Adam Ward
Office Manager

Adam Ward comes to DNA Direct with a diverse background in the fields of business management, journalism and administrative support.

Ward is a 1997 graduate of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, with a degree in English. After graduating, he moved to Jackson Hole, WY, where he became the editor of the Jackson Hole Daily Guide. For nearly five years, he was responsible for the editorial content and graphic design of the entire newspaper.

After leaving the Guide to travel abroad, he became the Operations Manager of an employment business, where he learned valuable business management skills over a two-year period. Adam has recently relocated to the Bay Area.

Ward has a keen interest in genomics and is excited to help provide direct-to-consumer access to genetic tests.

Natasha Kovilaritch
Patient Services Coordinator

Natasha Kovilaritch has a passion for the medical field and brings more than 7 years of professional healthcare experience to DNA Direct. She attended San Francisco State University and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology and minor in Athletic Training in 2001.

Prior to joining the company, Natasha spent a majority of her career working at Saint Francis Memorial Hospital where she held several positions including surgical coordinator and the assistant to the Chief of Orthopedics. During this time, Natasha had the opportunity to work closely with patients and physicians to ensure maximum care patient efficiency. Through this experience, she developed a keen interest for liaisioning with patients and helping them with their medical needs.

Natasha feels very privileged to be part of such an ambitious and gifted team. She is very intrigued by the field of genetics and feels proud to work for an organization that provides consumers the tools and knowledge of getting a glimpse into their past and future of their health.

David L. Barker, Ph.D., is the former Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer of Illumina, Inc and now serves on their Scientific Advisory Board. He serves on the board of directors of Cell Biosciences, NextBio, and Microchip Biotechnologies, Inc. While at Illumina, Dr. Barker participated in the selection and acquisition of Solexa, a company with new DNA sequencing-by-synthesis technology. Prior to Illumina he was the VP and Chief Scientific Officer of Amersham Pharmacia Biotech (now General Electric).

Paul Billings, MD, Ph.D., is a board certified internist and clinical geneticist, was appointed as President, Chief Executive Officer and Director of Cellpoint Diagnostics (CPD) in February, 2008. CPD, a Mohr, Davidow Ventures backed enterprise, seeks to revolutionize cancer care through the provision of products and services focused on circulating tumor cells. Dr. Billings is also Executive Chairman of Signature Genomics Laboratories LLC, and serves on the Board of Directors of BioScale Inc., Cyntellect Inc., Lipomics, Inc. and several not-for-profit public interest organizations. Until September 2007, he was Senior Vice President and Senior Geneticist at Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings Inc. He has been Professor of Anthropology (adjunct) at the University of California at Berkeley and has published extensively on topics in immunology, genetics and medicine. Dr. Billings has interest and expertise in diagnostics in medical care and genomic medicine.

Stephen A. Brown, MD, is associate professor of Ob/Gyn at the University of Vermont. He is board-certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology, Clinical Genetics, Clinical Molecular Genetics and Molecular Genetic Pathology. Dr. Brown has a broad experience in reproductive genetics, including prenatal diagnosis of single gene disorders, chromosomal disorders, malformation syndromes and related issues. Currently, his lab is researching patterns of differential DNA methylation in human placenta and its relevance to prenatal diagnosis of chromosomal disorders.

George Church, Ph.D. is professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School and director of the Harvard Lipper Center for Computational Genetics, U.S. Department of Energy Genome Technology Laboratory, and the National Institutes of Health Centers of Excellence in Genomic Science.

Philip D. Cotter, Ph.D., FACMG received his doctorate in Biomedical Sciences from the Department of Human Genetics at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. He is board-certified by the American Board of Medical Genetics in both Clinical Cytogenetics and Clinical Molecular Biology and is a Fellow of the American College of Medical Genetics. Dr. Cotter is currently Vice President of Clinical Laboratories at Biocept Inc., San Diego, Adjunct Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of California San Francisco and Director of Cytogenetics and Molecular Genetics at Children's Hospital and Research Center in Oakland, California.

Alan Eshleman, MD MPH, is a board -certified internist, medical writer, and editor. His clinical practice is in general internal medicine. He recently retired from the Northern California Kaiser Permanente Medical Group where he divided his time between seeing patients and serving as the Chief Medical Editor for Kaiser's Internet Services Group. Dr. Eshleman has a special interest in communicating scientific and medical issues to the general public. He has moderated on-line medical discussion groups, and for several years wrote the "Doctor E's Diary" for SFGate, the online service of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Andy Faucett, M.S., CGC, is Director of the Genomics and Public Health Program at Emory University School of Medicine. He has an Interagency Professional Agreement (IPA) appointment at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and serves as Program Coordinator of the CETT Program (www.cettprogram.org) for the NIH Office of Rare Diseases. Previously he worked as a clinical genetic counselor at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX. He received his Master's of Science in Human Genetics from Sarah Lawrence College. He has served on the Board of Directors for National Society of Genetic Counselors and the American Board of Genetic Counseling.

Ora Karp Gordon, M.D., M.S. is Director of the GenRISK Adult Genetics Program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and co-director of the Gilda Radner Ovarian Cancer Screening Program. She is an assistant professor of Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). A diplomat of the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Board of Medical Genetics, Dr. Gordon's primary research interests include the study of common disease genetics and prevention of breast cancer in high-risk patients.

Julia Kirchheiner, MD, Ph.D, is professor of clinical pharmacology at the department of pharmacology of natural products and clinical pharmacology, University of Ulm, Germany, where she is building up a research group with focus on individualization of drug therapy by means of pharmacogenetic diagnostics and molecular medicine. She is doing research upon the physiological functions of genetic polymorphisms of several drug metabolizing enzymes such as CYP2C9 and CYP2D6. She was awarded the "Presidential Trainee Award 2003" of the American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics. She has been an extraordinary member of the Drug Commission of the German Medical Association since 2004.

Frank McCormick, Ph.D., FRS, is director of the University of California San Francisco Comprehensive Cancer Center and Cancer Research Institute. Prior to joining the UCSF faculty, Dr. McCormick pursued cancer-related work with several Bay Area biotechnology firms including Cetus Corporation and Chiron Corporation, and he also founded Onyx Pharmaceuticals. In addition to his position as director of the UCSF Cancer Center, McCormick holds the David A. Wood Chair of Tumor Biology and Cancer Research in UCSF's Department of Microbiology and Immunology. He has been a Fellow of the Royal Society since 1996.

Arlene J. Morales, M.D., FACOG, is nationally recognized as a leader in reproductive endocrinology and bioethics and has extensive experience in treating multi-faceted infertility issues. She is a partner in Fertility Specialists Medical Group, Inc. Previously, she was the medical director of Sharp Fertility Associates in San Diego, and was Associate Professor of Gynecology & Obstetrics, Director Assisted Reproductive Technologies at Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. Morales is a frequent guest speaker for radio and television programs.

Thomas J. Musci, M.D., is board-certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology, Maternal-Fetal Medicine, and Medical Genetics. Following his training, he was a tenured faculty member at University of California, San Francisco in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics. Dr. Musci remains on the clinical faculty of UCSF as an Associate Clinical Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences. Dr. Musci specializes in prenatal diagnosis, including CVS, amniocentesis, and genetic screening for a variety of indications. Dr. Musci has published extensively in the areas of clinical obstetrics, clinical genetics, and basic molecular genetics. He also serves on national committees involved in establishing policy in obstetrics and gynecology.

Brad Popovich, Ph.D., is the Chief Executive Officer at Sirius Genomics in Vancouver. Before joining Sirius, Popovich was the VP, Operations at Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. Prior to joining Xenon, he was a tenured professor at Oregon Health Sciences University in the Department of Molecular and Medical Genetics. Popovich has over 20 years of experience in the commercialization of DNA-based diagnostic tests. He has served on the boards of both public and private sector companies, including TM Biosciences and Roche Diagnostics.

Katherine A. Rauen, M.D., Ph.D. served as medical director of DNA Direct from 2004-2007 and is currently on the faculty at the University of California, San Francisco and Stanford University in both Pediatrics and Medical Genetics. She attends on both the general and biochemical genetics service. Her research program involves the clinical and basic science study of cancer syndromes to identify underlying genetic abnormalities that may affect common developmental and cancer pathways. Recently, her team discovered the genetic cause of cardio-facio-cutaneous syndrome (CFC). Rauen received her doctorate in Genetics at the University of California at Davis, and obtained her medical degree at the University of California at Irvine.

• Kemp Battle, Investment Banker, Tucker Capital
• Ryan Phelan, Founder and CEO, DNA Direct
• Brad Popovich, M.S., Ph.D., FACMG, Chair, Scientific Advisory Board, Tm Bioscience Corporation
• Sharon F. Terry, CEO, Genetic Alliance
• C. S. Yannias, Board Member and former CEO, Encyclopaedia Britannica
• Jodi Hubler, Managing Director, Lemhi Ventures