Meet the People Behind Our Mission

At VPS, we’re united by a single mission: to make more organs transplantable and save more lives. Get to know the team bringing our vision to life.

Smiling woman with arms crossed in an office

Advancing Organ Transplantation

VPS believes that machine perfusion devices for preserving organs should be simple, portable, and available to every patient who needs one. We envision a world where no viable organ goes unused, and where transplantation is possible regardless of geography, background, or circumstance.

Our mission is to make that vision real by expanding equitable access to organ preservation.

Our Team

We bring together a multidisciplinary team of scientists, engineers, and industry advisors dedicated to solving one of transplantation’s most persistent problems: how to preserve organs longer, safer, and more affordably.

Leadership

Rafael Veraza, PhD, MPh
Rafael Veraza, PhD, MPh
Chief Executive Officer
Kristina Andrijauskaite, PhD, MS, MEd
Kristina Andrijauskaite, PhD, MS, MEd
Chief Scientific & Technology Officer
George Lamberson
George Lamberson
Principal Mechanical Engineer
Ahmed Mohammed
Ahmed Mohammed
Vice President of Product Development

Core Team

Zachary Maxwell
Zachary Maxwell
Senior Operations Manager
Delina Yirgaalem
Delina Yirgaalem
Product Development Engineer I
Exal Cisneros
Maria Basurto
Product Development Engineer II
Jesus Chavarria
Jesus Chavarria
Product Development Engineer II
Exal Cisneros
Exal Cisneros
Product Development Engineer III
JT+Trevino+-+Headshot
Jose (JT) Treviño III, Ph.D
Senior Scientist
Muhasina Witt
Muhasina Witt
Quality Systems Associate

Board Members

Dr. Hassan Tetteh, MD, MBA, FACS, MAMSE, FAMIA
Dr. Hassan Tetteh, MD, MBA, FACS, MAMSE, FAMIA
Chairman of the Board
Rafael Veraza, PhD, MPh
Rafael Veraza, PhD, MPh
CEO / Board Member
Leonid Bunegin
Leonid Bunegin
Co-founder / Board Member
Celia Jairala
Celia Jairala
Board Member

Scientific & Clinical Advisory Board

Dr. Hassan Tetteh, MD, MBA, FACS, MAMSE, FAMIA
Alexis E. Shafii, MD
Co-Chair

Cardiothoracic, Surgeon, Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center

Surgical director of the heart transplant program at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center

Cristiano Amarelli, MD
Cristiano Amarelli, MD
Co-Chair

Cardiothoracic, Surgeon, Naples Italy
Chair of Gordon Conference in Cardiac Preservation

Board of Directors for ESOT

Thomas C. Mayes, MD, MBA
Thomas C. Mayes, MD, MBA

Former President and CEO of UT Medicine SA

Medical Director of the Pediatric ICUs at University Hospital and CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Children’s Hospital

Donald E. Ingber, MD, PhD
Donald E. Ingber, MD, PhD

Founding Director, Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University

William Bauta, PhD
William Bauta, PhD

Senior Vice President of Research and Development, Therapeutics BioAffinity Technologies

Maj Gen Byron Hepburn, MD
Maj Gen Byron Hepburn, MD

Associate VP and Inaugural Director of the Military Health Institute at UT Health San Antonio

William (Billy) Cohn, MD
William (Billy) Cohn, MD

Cardiothoracic Surgeon

Executive Director at the Center for Device Innovation at Texas Medical Center in Houston

Partner with VPS

Help us expand organ preservation and transplantation by collaborating on future preclinical trials and upcoming initiatives.