Santé Ventures Announces Promotions for Auriel August, MD and Michael Gutbrod, PhD

Promotions come amid continued momentum for the firm and further support for innovation within the healthcare and life sciences industries

AUSTIN, Texas, Sept. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Santé Ventures, (Santé), an early-stage healthcare and life sciences investment firm, has announced promotions for two members of the investment team. Auriel August, MD, has been promoted to Principal, and Michael Gutbrod, PhD to Senior Associate. Both joined the firm in 2021 and have made meaningful contributions in identifying and managing portfolio company investments.

Since joining Santé, Auriel and Michael have become valuable additions to the medical device and biotech investment teams, respectively. Their thematic research and disciplined due diligence helped catalyze investments for the firm's most recent fund. Additionally, they have each become trusted resources for Santé's portfolio companies as well as valuable members of the broader life sciences ecosystem. Following their promotions, Auriel and Michael will continue to provide insightful research to fuel diligence on emerging opportunities in medical devices and biotechnology.

"Auriel and Michael have been exemplary team members since joining us roughly two years ago," noted Kevin Lalande, Managing Director and Co-Founder of Santé. "Their work helps our firm to make investments in companies of consequence, who are pioneering new treatments and creating a meaningful difference in the advancement of care. Together, we will continue to grow our diverse portfolio of biotech, healthtech and medtech firms, and I am very optimistic about the opportunities ahead."

About Auriel August and Michael Gutbrod:
Auriel August, MD cultivates the firm's portfolio of early-stage companies with a focus on medical devices and healthcare services. Prior to joining Santé, Dr. August was a Physician-In-Residence in IDEO's Design for Health Studio where she worked with clients in the healthcare space to design new medical devices, digital health technologies, and patient care experiences. Before joining IDEO, Dr. August completed the Stanford Biodesign Innovation Fellowship, where she identified unmet needs within healthcare, invented novel technologies to address them, and mapped a path to implementation. Dr. August trained as a general surgeon at Stanford, where she focused on innovation as a way to address healthcare disparities. She earned her MD from Dartmouth Medical School, and a Bachelor of Science in biomedical engineering from Duke University.

Michael Gutbrod, PhD focuses on the firm's portfolio of biotech companies. Prior to joining Santé, Michael was a postdoctoral fellow at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and a visiting fellow at Harvard's Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, where he conducted research at the intersection of machine learning and functional genomics to better understand complex disease. Michael earned his PhD from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in Biological Sciences and his Bachelor of Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne in Molecular & Cellular Biology and English.

About Santé Ventures
Founded in 2006, Santé Ventures is a specialized healthcare and life sciences investment firm with roughly $800 Million in capital under management. The firm invests in early-stage companies developing innovative new medical technologies, biotechnologies, and digitally enabled healthcare services. Recent Santé successes include Farapulse (Boston Scientific), Claret Medical (Boston Scientific), TVA Medical (Becton Dickinson), Millipede Medical (Boston Scientific), Molecular Templates (MTEM), AbVitro (Bristol Myers S quibb), and Explorys (IBM Corp). Santé invests nationally and has offices in Austin, TX, and Boston, MA. For more information, please visit www.sante.com.

Media Contacts
Santé Ventures Press and Community Relations
[email protected]
512.721.1200

Ryan Walker, R.J. Walker & Co.
[email protected]
860.930.3611

SOURCE Santé Ventures