Dr. Firlik's career spans neurosurgery, entrepreneurship, and
venture capital. He joined Foundation Medical Partners to concentrate on medical
device, healthcare information technology, and connected health 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
(acquired by Boston Scientific Corporation, NYSE: BSX),
Clear Catheter Solutions,
Explorys,
Functional Neuromodulation,
i1 Biometrics,
NeuroVista,
SetPoint Medical,
Spine Wave,
Vertos Medical, and
Visiogen (acquired by
Abbott, NYSE: ABT). Dr. Firlik is a member of the Innovation Advisory Board at
Cleveland
Clinic. 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.
