Steve Wardle Joins BrainCheck as President to Scale Cognitive Care Platform

Expanded Executive Team Brings Deep Expertise in Care Delivery, Operations, and Product Development to Support Expansion

AUSTIN, Texas, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- BrainCheck, a leading digital cognitive assessment and care platform, announced today that Steve Wardle, former co-founder and CEO of Iris Healthcare, has joined the company as President. Wardle will lead BrainCheck's care delivery and product development as the company expands its footprint in primary care, neurology, and value-based care environments.

Wardle co-founded Iris Healthcare–a tech-enabled advance care planning platform–where he built and scaled a national clinician network, secured major payer contracts, and helped thousands of patients and families navigate serious illness with dignity and clarity. Following its acquisition by Aledade in 2022, Wardle joined Aledade as a senior leader, where he focused on scaling Iris, other patient-facing programs, and practice support services across the largest network of independent primary care providers in the country. Wardle holds an MBA from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business.

"Steve built Iris Healthcare from the ground up—recruiting clinicians, negotiating with payers, designing care workflows, and scaling a high-touch service nationwide," said Chris Loughlin, CEO of BrainCheck. "That experience is exactly what BrainCheck needs as we expand our offering. With AI, we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build smarter tools that support clinicians and improve outcomes—and Steve knows how to scale care models that work for patients, providers, and payers alike."

Wardle joins BrainCheck at a pivotal time. In North America, the company is actively rolling out clinical services to assist with screening and cognitive care planning, expanding CPT-coded workflows, and integrating AI to reduce administrative burden, personalize patient care, and support earlier detection of cognitive decline. In Europe, the company is participating in the pan-European PREDICTOM study and actively assessing patients for research purposes in local language editions of BrainCheck, in France, Italy, Norway, Spain and the UK.

BrainCheck recently received a pilot grant from the Penn Artificial Intelligence and Technology Collaboratory for Healthy Aging (PennAITech)—a $2.37 million National Institute on Aging initiative. The grant will support BrainCheck's development of an AI-driven chatbot designed to assist individuals with Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias (AD/ADRD) in navigating their care plans and extending support beyond the clinic. The initiative reinforces BrainCheck's commitment to using AI to make cognitive care more accessible, personalized, and continuous.

"I believe cognitive care is one of the most important frontiers in value-based care," said Wardle. "I'm excited to help build a new standard—one that combines powerful software, thoughtful services, and evidence-based support to help people live better, longer."

Alongside Wardle, Elaine Cannizzaro is also joining BrainCheck as Vice President of Operations. A healthcare operations executive with deep experience scaling both clinical services and technology delivery, Cannizzaro will oversee implementation, process improvement, and partner success.

Robert Terrell joins as Vice President of Product Development. Terrell brings extensive experience in healthcare technology, integrations, and patient engagement solutions, having held senior product roles at Outcomes, Cardinal Health, and Digital Pharmacist. He will lead the development of BrainCheck's product portfolio, ensuring it remains clinically rigorous, easy to use, and scalable.

"Steve, Elaine, and Robert each bring critical experience that will shape our next chapter," said Loughlin. "Steve knows how to scale care delivery. Elaine has built the operational backbone for high-growth healthcare companies. And Robert brings the product vision and execution we need to stay ahead. With this team in place, we're ready to scale responsibly, deliver real value to providers, patients, and families, and move quickly into our next phase of growth."

About BrainCheck
BrainCheck is a digital cognitive health platform that helps healthcare providers detect and manage cognitive impairment through FDA Class II software, customizable screeners, and collaborative care planning tools. With a focus on usability, clinical rigor, and AI-powered efficiency, BrainCheck is trusted by primary care providers, neurologists, and health systems to bring early, proactive cognitive care to millions of Americans.

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Kate Smith
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BrainCheck, Inc.
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SOURCE BrainCheck, Inc.