Scientific Advisory Board
Picture taken during the February 6, 2008 Scientific Advisory Board meeting at the Hershey Country Club in Hershey, PA.
Randy S. Haluck, M.D.
Dr. Randy Haluck is a Pennsylvania native who received his undergraduate degree in Biology from the University of Pittsburgh, his medical degree from
Penn State Hershey College of Medicine, and his residency training at Penn State Hershey Medical Center. He also completed a fellowship in minimally
invasive surgery at Hershey.
Dr. Haluck is now the Chief of the Section of Minimally Invasive Surgery and Bariatrics at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. Dr. Haluck has authored numerous publications on minimally invasive surgery and surgical education using simulation. He serves on the Committees on Technology and Development of the Society for American Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Surgeons, the Organizing Committee for the Medicine Meets Virtual Reality Conference, and has served on the Executive Committee for the MIS Fellowship Council.
He designed Verefi Technologies' Simulators for laparoscopic surgery, which are virtual reality machines designed to teach students and surgeons the skills needed to perform laparoscopic or minimally invasive surgery. Surgical simulators are one line of Dr. Haluck's designs for medical devices. Current active investigation for Dr. Haluck includes the emerging field of Natural Orifice Translumenal Endoscopic Surgery (NOTES).
Robert E. Harbaugh, M.D.
Dr. Robert Harbaugh, born in West York, Pennsylvania, obtained his BS degree from Lebanon Valley College in 1974. Dr. Harbaugh obtained his M.D. from the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine in 1978 and received his general surgery and neurosurgery training at Dartmouth from 1978-1985. He was appointed Assistant Professor of Surgery (Neurosurgery) at the Dartmouth Medical School in 1985 and progressed to the rank of Professor of Surgery (Neurosurgery) in 1997 and Professor of Radiology in 2001. During his career at Dartmouth, Dr. Harbaugh served as Director of the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center Cerebrovascular Disease Center from 1994-2003, Director of Cerebrovascular Surgery from 1989-2003, Director of the Neurosurgical Laboratory from 1985-1997 and as acting Residency Program Director from 1996-1997.
In 2003 Dr. Harbaugh returned to Pennsylvania as Professor and Chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery, Neurosurgery Residency Program Director and Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics at the Pennsylvania State University.
Dr. Harbaugh has been an invited speaker in eleven different countries and throughout the United States. His present research interests include clinical trial design, outcomes analysis and quality improvement in neurosurgery and computer modeling of intracranial aneurysms. He maintains a busy clinical practice specializing in cerebrovascular surgery and tumor surgery.
Warren S. Grundfest, M.D.
Dr. Grundfest is currently Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Surgery at UCLA. He received his MD degree from Columbia University in 1980 and trained in General Surgery at UCLA and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. He was appointed Assistant Director of Surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and Assistant Clinical Professor of Surgery at UCLA in 1987. He served as a Research Professor in Biomedical Engineering at University of Southern California and as Visiting Associate in Mechanical Engineering at California Institute of Technology.
Dr. Grundfest served as a member of the Surgery and Bioengineering Study Section of the NIH, external Co-Chair of the NIH BECON Consortium, and Chair of SPIE's Biomedical Optics Conference for many years. Dr. Grundfest currently consults for the NIH and the FDA and serves as a Senior Technology Advisor to TATRC (Telemedicine and Technology Research Center of the Army). His current research efforts include the development of minimally invasive surgical tools, robotic systems, optical and ultrasonic sensors, haptic feedback systems, and biomedical photonics.
Richard Tipperman, M.D.
Dr. Richard Tipperman is originally from New York and completed his undergraduate studies at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York and medical school at the University of Rochester. Dr. Tipperman completed an ophthalmology residency at Wills Eye Hospital and served as Chief Resident at Wills Eye Hospital. Dr. Tipperman remains an active member of the teaching staff at Wills and has lectured locally, nationally and internationally on a variety of ophthalmic surgical topics including refractive surgery.
Paul Frankhouser
Paul is a seasoned medical device executive with over thirty years of sales, marketing and device design experience. In addition to serving as an advisor and Board Member to PRII he also serves as an advisor to Norwich Ventures and its portfolio companies, particularly in the area of sales and marketing strategy.
Paul is currently President of Frankhouser Medical Device Consulting (FMDC). As an engineer by training, Paul is active in engaging doctors and advising companies on how new technologies can change markets and patient care. Prior to FMDC, Paul was the Executive Vice President of Global Business Development at Arrow International where he was responsible for worldwide evaluation and acquisition of new business opportunities. Prior to leading business development, Paul was responsible for leading the global sales and marketing efforts where he grew company revenue from a few million to over $400 million. During his career, Paul has become well-known by physicians for always having constantly having new, innovative devices to show them.
Paul is a graduate of Penn State University, Temple University and the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School. In addition, he attended the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology under an international study fellowship majoring in engineering management.
In the fall, Paul can be seen in State College, Pennsylvania at every Penn State football game. He is an active alumni supporter and has received numerous awards from his alma mater including Outstanding Alumnus, Alumni Fellow Award, and Loyal Penn Stater Award.