Andrew Firlik, MD, General Partner
Foundation Medical Partners
Dr. Firlik's career spans neurosurgery, entrepreneurship, and venture capital. He joined Foundation Medical Partners to concentrate on medical device and biopharmaceutical investments. Prior to Foundation, he was a venture partner at Sprout Group and Managing Director of its healthcare technology spinout, New Leaf Venture Partners. Previously, he was a principal at Canaan Partners. Dr. Firlik has led numerous venture capital investments and has served as a founder, founding investor, or director of many companies, including Northstar Neuroscience, NeuroVista, Sopherion Therapeutics, Transoma, Omnisonics, Marinus Pharmaceuticals, Viacor, and Spine Wave.
Dr. Firlik is a founder and an inventor of the core technology platform of Northstar Neuroscience (NASDAQ: NSTR), a medical device company that is pioneering a novel approach to neuromodulation for the treatment of stroke and other disorders. He is currently the Chairman of NovaVision, a medical therapeutics firm focusing on neuroplasticity for visual disorders. He also currently serves on the board of directors of several companies, including NeuroVista, Spine Wave, Clear Catheter Solutions, Intelect Medical, BridgePoint Medical, SetPoint Medical, Vertos Medical, and Visiogen. Dr. Firlik is a member of the Industrial Advisory Board of the Cleveland Clinic Innovations Center. He is a member of the Administrative Board of the Cornell University Council and is Chairman of its Technology Transfer Committee. He serves on the Cornell University Biomedical Engineering Advisory Council and the Life Sciences Advisory Board.
Dr. Firlik spent 12 years in the healthcare profession during his medical training and practice as a neurological surgeon. He has published more than 50 articles in the medical literature, written chapters for several medical textbooks, and is the co-editor of a book about cerebrovascular surgery. His scientific work has been presented at many international conferences and he holds numerous patents.
He studied biology at Cornell University and Oxford University, received his MBA from the University of Pittsburgh, and his MD from Cornell University Medical College. As a board certified neurosurgeon, Dr. Firlik most recently served as Clinical Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery at the New York University School of Medicine.