Meet the Team
SureAx Medical prides itself in having a great team that is on the forefront of the development of state-of-the-art innovative medical device solutions for lymphatic interventions with applications in other fields as well. The core team consists of the two founders Dr Ghassan Kassab and Dr Max Itkin, who combine their cutting edge expertise in medical device development with lymphatic interventional procedures to continuously develop new products that have a global impact. They are supported by Neil Drake, who runs the day-to-day development and production team within SureAx.
Dr. Ghassan Kassab, PhD (CEO)
Dr. Ghassan Kassab, PhD has 30 years of experience in research in cardiovascular and gastrointestinal biomechanics and engineering. He holds over 300 issued and pending patents and over 600 publications and proceedings. Ghassan is former Chair & Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Indiana/Purdue University and UCI and holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering, an M.S. in Engineering Sciences and a PhD in Biomedical Engineering (Summa Cum Laude).
Max Itkin, MD (CMO)
Dr. Itkin is Professor of Radiology and Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia where he is a leading a Center for Lymphatic Imaging and Interventions. He earned his MD from Moscow State University of Medicine and Dentistry in 1989. He completed his internship and residency at the Rabin Medical Center in Israel. In 2003, after completion of the fellowship in Interventional Radiology at Hospital of University of Pennsylvania and stayed on there as a staff member.
Dr. Itkin is nationally and internationally recognized for his clinical and research expertise in an interventional treatment of the lymphatic disorders. He has been actively involved in the development of image-guided interventions of the lymphatic system, Thoracic Duct Embolization, liver lymphatic embolization, interstitial lymphatic embolization etc., as a treatment of lymphatic leakage disorders.
Neil Drake (COO)
Neil Drake has 25 years of class 3 implantable medical device experiences with companies such as Arterial Vascular Engineering, Medtronic Vascular, Dexcom Inc., Obalon Therapeutics, and Companion Medical. He has held many roles in Operations, QA, and R&D including his recent roles of VP of R&D and Operations. He holds ten US and International Patents.