Dr. Firlik's career spans neurosurgery, entrepreneurship, and
venture capital. He joined Foundation Medical Partners to concentrate on medical
device and biopharmaceutical investments. Prior to Foundation, he was a venture
partner at Sprout Group and Managing Director of its healthcare technology
spinout, New Leaf Venture Partners. Previously, he was a principal at Canaan
Partners. Dr. Firlik has led numerous venture capital investments and has served
as a founder, founding investor, or director of many early stage companies that
have grown to become successful market leaders.
Dr. Firlik was a founder and an inventor of the core
technology platform of Northstar Neuroscience, a medical device company that
pioneered a novel approach to neuromodulation for the treatment of stroke and
other disorders. Northstar went public in an IPO in 2006 (NASDAQ: NSTR)
and was subsequently acquired by St. Jude Medical. He recently served as the Chairman of
Intelect Medical (acquired by Boston Scientific, NYSE: BSX),
a neuromodulation company, and recently served as Chairman of NovaVision, a
medical therapeutics firm focusing on neuroplasticity for visual disorders. His
current or recent board seats include
BridgePoint Medical,
Clear Catheter Solutions,
Explorys,
Functional Neuromodulation,
NeuroVista,
SetPoint Medical,
Spine Wave,
Vertos Medical, and
Visiogen (acquired by Abbott, NYSE: ABT). Dr. Firlik is a
member of the Industrial Advisory Board of the
Cleveland
Clinic Innovations Center. He recently served as a member of the
Administrative Board of the Cornell University Council and Chairman of its
Technology Transfer Committee and also the Cornell University Biomedical
Engineering Advisory Council and the Life Sciences Advisory Board.
Dr. Firlik spent 12 years in
the healthcare profession during his medical training and practice as a
neurological surgeon. He has published more than 50 articles in the medical
literature, written chapters for several medical textbooks, and is the co-editor
of a book about cerebrovascular surgery. His scientific work has been presented
at many international conferences. He has been an inventor of numerous issued
patents.
He studied biology at Cornell University and Oxford University, received his
MBA from the University of Pittsburgh, and his MD from Cornell University
Medical College. As a board certified neurosurgeon, Dr. Firlik most recently
served as Clinical Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery at the New York
University School of Medicine.
