Natera Adds to Organ Health Medical Affairs Leadership Team

Sangeeta Bhorade, M.D., appointed as head of organ health medical affairs

AUSTIN, Texas, April 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTRA), a global leader in cell-free DNA testing, today announced the hiring of Sangeeta Bhorade, M.D., as vice president of organ health medical affairs. Dr. Bhorade joins Natera as the latest addition amongst other recent notable medical leadership hires, including Michael Olymbios, M.D., medical director of heart transplantation, and David Ross, M.D., medical director of lung transplantation.

Dr. Bhorade brings more than 27 years of experience as an academic physician. She previously served as the founding medical director at the University of Chicago lung transplant program, and later joined as the founding medical director for the Northwestern University lung transplant program, which developed into a premium program in the region under her leadership. She is a graduate of the University of Chicago, where she also completed her residency and fellowship in pulmonary and critical care. Prior to joining Natera, Dr. Bhorade served as medical director at Veracyte, where she was instrumental in building a novel lung cancer diagnostic test and furthered the management of lung nodules. 

"As a highly regarded leader in the transplantation field, Sangeeta brings a wealth of experience and an innovative vision to improve patient care for organ transplant recipients," said Bernie Tobin, general manager, organ health at Natera. "With over 80 papers published to date, she has a passion for innovation and will provide Natera with her invaluable clinical expertise during this exciting growth period in our organ health efforts." 

Dr. Olymbios has extensive research experience in redefining the standard for the detection and definition of rejection in heart transplant. Prior to joining Natera in 2020, he was at the Heart Transplant Program of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Dr. Olymbios co-authored the international guidelines for the management of antibodies in heart transplantation as part of the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT). He was also part of the American Society of Transplantation work group on the role of frailty in solid organ transplantation. Dr. Olymbios attended medical school in the United Kingdom at Imperial College London and underwent training at the Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals, the National Heart and Lung Institutes of the UK.

Dr. Ross joined Natera in 2021 and brings over 30 years of experience as an academic transplant pulmonologist after training at Stanford University Heart-Lung Transplant Program. He is credited with starting one of the first lung transplant programs in the U.S. at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in 1989. Prior to joining Natera in 2021, Dr. Ross served as medical director, lung transplantation at Ronald Reagan-UCLA Medical Center for 20 years and as a professor of medicine in the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, developing one of the largest and most successful programs in the U.S. During his time at UCLA, he performed pivotal translational research from "bench to bedside," studying the complex inflammatory and immunologic mechanisms of lung allograft rejection and chronic lung allograft dysfunction (CLAD), while pioneering novel treatment algorithms. Dr. Ross received his medical degree from the University of Southern California and completed his residency and internship at Cedars-Sinai / UCLA.

Natera's medical leadership for organ health now brings more than 110 years of combined experience spanning multiple organ health specialties - including Phil Gauthier, M.D., lead senior medical director of organ health and Hoss Tabriziani, M.D., senior medical director of kidney transplantation, who have been with the company since 2019 and 2020, respectively.

Natera™ is a global leader in cell-free DNA testing, dedicated to oncology, women's health, and organ health. We aim to make personalized genetic testing and diagnostics part of the standard of care to protect health, and inform earlier, more targeted interventions that help lead to longer, healthier lives. Natera's tests are validated by more than 100 peer-reviewed publications that demonstrate high accuracy. Natera operates ISO 13485-certified and CAP-accredited laboratories certified under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) in Austin, Texas and San Carlos, California. For more information, visit www.natera.com.

All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release are forward-looking statements and are not a representation that Natera's plans, estimates, or expectations will be achieved. These forward-looking statements represent Natera's expectations as of the date of this press release, and Natera disclaims any obligation to update the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially, including with respect to our efforts to develop and commercialize new product offerings, and our ability to grow our business. Additional risks and uncertainties are discussed in greater detail in "Risk Factors" in Natera's recent filings on Forms 10-K and 10-Q and in other filings Natera makes with the SEC from time to time. These documents are available at www.natera.com/investors and www.sec.gov.

Contacts
Investor Relations: Mike Brophy, CFO, Natera, Inc., 510-826-2350
Media: Kate Stabrawa, Communications, Natera, Inc., 720-318-4080 [email protected]

SOURCE Natera, Inc.