Our board of medical advisors

Dr. Neil Singla, M.D.
Director of Clinical Research
Huntington Memorial Hospital, Pasadena, CA

Dr. Neil Singla is Board-certified in anesthesiology and is the lead investigator in the Department of Anesthesia at Huntington Memorial Hospital.  He is a full time clinical research professional with extensive experience in conducting inpatient clinical trials.  He is nationally recognized as an expert on inpatient clinical research and has served as a consultant to multiple pharmaceutical companies concerning issues related to protocol design and implementation.

Dr. Matthias C. Kurth, M.D., Ph.D.

Dr. Matt Kurth is Board-certified neurologist with over seven years of clinical practice and research and eight years of pharmaceutical industry experience. Skilled in designing and writing clinical protocols Phase 1 – 4, including bioequivalency studies; evaluating clinical adverse events and managing contract research organizations; evaluating product opportunities and clinical development strategies; managing manufacturing and quality assurance processes. Physician-scientist with broad experience in clinical medicine, neurology, gastroenterology, inflammatory disorders, biomedical sciences, clinical trials, safety monitoring, drug development and post marketing support.

Delbert F. Foit, Jr.

Delbert Foit has over 32 years experience in the Medical Diagnostics and Biotechnology Industry, including Executive Management responsibilities for Operations, Quality Assurance, Materials Management, Product Development, Information Technology, Distribution and Customer Support. During his business career, Del worked for Johnson & Johnson, Boehringer Mannheim, GmbH, Roche Diagnostics and Sequenom, Inc.  In November 2002 he retired from Sequenom where he held the position of Chief Operating Officer.

Mr. Foit has two academic appointments at University of California San Diego .In his role as Director, Life Sciences Programs, at UCSD Extension Del is responsible for the creation and development of continuing education programs for Life Science professionals.  He is also the Lead Instructor for two courses – Biomedical Product Development and Assessment of Medical Technology (for the Masters of Advanced Studies degree in conjunction with the UCSD School of Medicine). In his role as Lecturer, Rady School of Management, Del is responsible for the MBA capstone courses on Innovation to Commercialization. In 2004 Del was appointed as Volunteer Faculty, Clinical Instructor at UCSD School of Medicine.

Prior to these appointments, Del was Director of the CONNECT Springboard Program, a program which identifies, nurtures and assists High Tech and Life Science companies during their critical germinal stage – when their business strategies and products are still undeveloped and in need of honing and focus.  This assistance is provided via a mentoring process and creating linkages for the entrepreneurs with the resources needed for success:  technology assessment, funding, management, partners and support services.

Mr. Foit is also Founder, President & CEO of StructureSpec Biosciences, Inc., a start-up biotechnology company which he co-founded that is developing a proprietary chemistry platform that will improve the accuracy and specificity of protein research and their medical applications. 

Del is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park and a contributing member of the San Diego Social Venture Partners.  

Mr. Foit holds a BS in Biology from Rutgers University and an MBA from Rider University.

Dr. Ajay Khanna, MD, Ph.D, MBA

Dr. Ajai Khanna is a leading transplant surgeon and researcher who specializes in multi-organ transplantation, liver and small bowel transplantation in children, and pancreas transplantation. As Director of the UCSD-Children’s Hospital Pediatric Abdominal Transplant Program, he performs complex and innovative transplant surgeries for young patients, such as the living related liver transplant in which a child receives part of a parent’s liver to replace the child’s own diseased liver. Dr. Khanna is certified in multi-organ transplantation by the American Society for Transplant Surgeons. He is also certified in General Surgery by the Royal College of Surgeons of England and the Specialist Training Authority of the General Medical Council of the United Kingdom.

Dr. Khanna was the first surgeon in the world to perform “domino” liver transplantation in a patient with Maple Syrup Urine Disease and a patient with liver cancer.  Dr. Khanna was also the first surgeon in San Diego to perform multi-visceral transplantation and also the first to perform live donor liver transplantation in San Diego. Dr. Khanna started and established the Pediatric Abdominal Transplant Program at the University of California, San Diego and Children’s Hospital and Health Center.
In addition to his surgical and specialty training, Dr. Khanna has advanced fellowship training in general surgery, multi-organ transplant surgery, multi-organ pediatric abdominal transplantation and transplant immunology.

In his patient care and teaching activities, Dr. Khanna works closely with the specialists in transplant surgery, general surgery, hepatology, nephrology, critical care, pediatrics, pediatric gastroenterology and pediatric nephrology. He is a member of the Moores UCSD Cancer Center, where he provides specialized surgical care for patients with liver cancers.
Dr. Khanna is active in training new specialists in transplantation at UCSD. He heads the Department of Surgery’s fellowship training program in multi-organ transplant surgery, and has mentored and trained transplantation surgeons from around the world.

Dr. Khanna devotes his research to developing methods for improving the success and safety of organ transplants. He is recognized for his research on artificial liver and bone marrow augmentation of organ tolerance. His current studies include investigations of anti-rejection drugs and the prevention of reinfection in hepatitis B-related transplants. He is involved in a number of clinical trials, including a study of split liver transplantation to improve organ viability in children.