Noted experts in molecular biology, healthcare quality, patient advocacy join the type 1 diabetes program of Unitio
Boston, September 17, 2015 – T1D Exchange today announced that Wendy Wolf, Ph.D., Kenneth Scheer, C.P.H.Q., and former Olympic swimmer Gary Hall, Jr. have been appointed to the positions of Biobank director, director of quality improvement, and membership and alliance manager, respectively. These new appointments bring significant expertise in research, medical data analysis, quality-driven healthcare and patient advocacy.

“The Exchange’s swift growth is making a demonstrable impact on the type 1 diabetes clinical care, research, industry and patient communities – and Wendy, Ken and Gary will, individually and collectively, play key roles in extending our reach and increasing our footprint.” said Dana Ball, founder and executive director.

  • As director of the Unitio Biobank, Wolf will oversee operations of thousands of patients’ biological samples collected for clinical and scientific research. She joins the organization from Boston Children’s Hospital, where she served as executive director for biorepositories. She brings to her new role 14 years’ experience in design and operation of patient-centric biorepositories linked to electronic medical data, including at Northwestern University and Boston Children’s Hospital, where she was integral to building the biorepository programs. At Unitio Wolf will drive strategies around unmet research needs and support coordination, and distribution of biosamples for Unitio’s growing portfolio of disease programs. She is also chair of the Advisory Council for Clinical Research at Northwestern University and a research assistant professor at its Center for Genetic Medicine.
  • Scheer, a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality, brings to T1D Exchange more than 20 years’ experience in project management, analyzing data and stakeholder needs to drive, streamline and redesign initiatives and solutions that enhance patient care and increase cost effectiveness. He will lead a quality improvement initiative that will engage patients, families, clinicians and researchers to improve clinical outcomes of type 1 diabetes. Beginning as a pilot program, the goal is to expand the effort across T1D Exchange’s collaborative research network of more than 70 clinics and care centers. Previously, Scheer held positions at Cambridge Health Alliance, New England Quality Care Alliance and Massachusetts General Hospital, where his achievements included restructuring palliative care consultation and tripling the number of high-risk patients accessing the program; introducing an award-winning joint replacement risk-assessment and placement tool that reduced length of hospital stay; and managing a pilot program that served as the forerunner to the Medicare Shared Saving Program.
  • Hall, a healthcare consultant, advocate and former Olympic swimmer, joins T1D Exchange as part of the business development team to manage and expand an evolving membership and partner program. A person living with type 1 himself, he has used accomplishments in sports as a platform to advance diabetes advocacy efforts for over 16 years. He has twice testified before Senate subcommittees on healthcare-related issues and has presented at the Aspen Institute, American Heart Association, American College of Sports Medicine, International Olympic Committee Medical Commission, National Youth Sports Health & Safety Institute and a variety of other prestigious associations. Hall competed in the 1996, 2000, and 2004 Olympics and won ten medals (five gold, three silver, two bronze). He was inducted in the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 2012.

“The mission of the T1D Exchange is to drive faster, more informed research to improve care and speed development of new therapies for patients and families living with type 1 diabetes. Wendy, Ken and Gary will oversee vital roles imperative to fulfilling that mission: supporting scientific research through efficient collection, analysis and distribution of biosamples ; creating a transformative healthcare experience for type 1 diabetes whereby every stakeholder is continuously improving the system; and expanding our network of partners across all levels – from patients to industry,” says Henry Anhalt, DO, chief medical officer. “We look forward to the progress they will make to change the quality of life for all those touched by disease.”

About T1D Exchange

T1D Exchange is the first program under Unitio , a first-of-its-kind nonprofit with a mission to unite researchers, physicians, and patients battling disease in a way that facilitates discoveries, accelerates treatments and leads to improved outcomes.
T1D Exchange acts as a convener for the thousands of people working to improve patient outcomes—by connecting them to one another and to the patient community at large. Drawing on decades of research and data that have come before, T1D Exchange aims to be the translational engine that enables the entire type 1 diabetes ecosystem to collaborate in truly novel ways via the integration of a Clinic Network of 250 investigators at over 75 sites who follow more than 100,000 patients; a well-characterized Clinic Registry comprised of more than 27,000 enrolled individuals with type 1 diabetes; a Biobank, a repository of thousands of patient biosamples; and Glu, an active online community of more than 14,200 patients and caregivers.