WASHINGTON– CorVista Health, Inc., a digital health company dedicated to improving cardiovascular disease diagnosis, announces the appointment of Charles R. Bridges, M.D., Sc.D., as Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer. In this role Charles will lead the scientific and clinical development of the CorVista System for commercialization.
“We are thrilled to have Charles join our executive team. His experience and vast clinical knowledge will be instrumental in getting our novel technology to market,” said Don Crawford, President and Chief Executive Officer, CorVista Health. “In his new role, Charles will provide strategic insight into scientific and clinical development which will be crucial as we focus on commercialization.”
Dr. Bridges was the first African American Full Professor of Surgery at the University of Pennsylvania and a member of the Bioengineering Graduate Group, Chief of Cardiac Surgery at Pennsylvania Hospital, and Professor and Chairman of the Department of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery at Carolina’s HealthCare System with the University of North Carolina. Dr. Bridges received more than $10 million in continuous National Institutes of Health (NIH) RO1 funding, has over 170 peer-reviewed publications and 15 patents.
“I joined CorVista Health as I believe the CorVista System will be a revolutionary technology in aiding physicians to better diagnose cardiovascular disease,” said Dr. Bridges. “Once I learned about the CorVista System, I immediately appreciated the unique opportunity it presents to leverage my clinical, technical and leadership skills to improve the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of mortality globally.”
Most recently, Dr. Bridges was Chief Technology Officer and Head of Cross Enterprise Innovation for the Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Hypertension Therapeutic Areas at Janssen Pharmaceuticals, of Johnson and Johnson, Inc (JNJ). At JNJ he served as the scientific lead on multiple cardiovascular and neurovascular device equity investments and acquisitions. He spearheaded the development of novel therapeutic and diagnostic devices and applications of advanced data sciences. In 2021, he received the JNJ, enterprise wide, Juan A. Simpson Outstanding Employee Service Award for “excellence both personally and professionally”.
Dr. Bridges received his Bachelors Degree in Engineering and Applied Physics from Harvard College magna cum laude, entering Harvard Medical School at age 18 in the Harvard-MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology, receiving the MD degree with honors. He received a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and a Doctor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
