Carnegie Mellon University's New Disruptive Health Technology Institute Selects Lynn M. Brusco as Executive Director for Leadership Team

PITTSBURGH, July 18, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Carnegie Mellon University's Disruptive Health Technology Institute (DHTI), a multi-year $11 million initiative aimed at transforming health care, has appointed Lynn M. Brusco as executive director, effective Aug. 1.

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"I am excited to join DHTI and work with CMU thought leaders and position innovation that will transform health care products and services that historically have been very complicated and expensive into patient-centered solutions that will be effective, affordable and accessible," said Brusco, former vice president and chief relationship officer at the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse (PLSG) and director of the PLSG Accelerator Fund.

Brusco joins DHTI Director Alan Russell, a dynamic pioneer in the science of regenerating damaged or diseased tissue, on the leadership team.

"We're extremely pleased to have Lynn join our team with her expertise in technology commercialization, investor and government relations, marketing, strategic plan implementation and operations," said Russell, the Highmark Distinguished Professor in the College of Engineering's Institute for Complex Engineered Systems at CMU. "She will oversee DHTI daily operations to develop priorities and programs, identify industry collaborators, interface with policymakers and support faculty in identifying opportunities to create new tools and operating models to help reduce health care costs and improve patient outcomes."

The DHTI was created after an initial $2.5 million grant from the Heinz Endowments. CMU also recently announced that DHTI has partnered with Highmark and the Allegheny Health Network to create an initiative aimed at increasing the affordability, simplicity and accessibility of health care.

DHTI will focus on seven key areas, including accessibility of medical diagnostics, behavior change, chronic disease management, data mining, improved endoscopy, improved diagnostic ultrasound and infection prevention. Already, more than 50 proposals from CMU faculty addressing these main issues have been competitively reviewed based on the anticipated impact to a large population and the ability to provide substantial health care savings, as well as the likely success of improving patient safety and quality of life.

About Carnegie Mellon University:Carnegie Mellon (www.cmu.edu) is a private, internationally ranked research university with programs in areas ranging from science, technology and business, to public policy, the humanities and the arts. More than 12,000 students in the university's seven schools and colleges benefit from a small student-to-faculty ratio and an education characterized by its focus on creating and implementing solutions for real problems, interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation. A global university, Carnegie Mellon has campuses in Pittsburgh, Pa., California's Silicon Valley and Qatar, and programs in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and Mexico. The university recently completed "Inspire Innovation: The Campaign for Carnegie Mellon University," exceeding its $1 billion goal to build its endowment, support faculty, students and innovative research, and enhance the physical campus with equipment and facility improvements. The campaign closed June 30, 2013.

SOURCE Carnegie Mellon University