Know Labs Expands Medical and Scientific Advisory Board

Know Labs Inc. has appointed four new members to its Medical and Scientific Advisory Board: Jeff Hitchcock, Karmeen Kulkarni, Meng Tan, M.D., and Satish Garg, M.D. The group brings to the board extensive experience in clinical diabetes management, including the advancement of new technologies and medical diagnostics innovation.
 
The Medical and Scientific Advisory Board is chaired by Know Labs Chief Medical Officer Dr. James H. “Andy” Anderson. The Advisory Board provides guidance to the executive team and Board of Directors as the company moves from the laboratory to clinical testing and then to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for clearance of the first truly non-invasive continuous glucose monitor.
 
Hitchcock is the founder, president, and CEO of Children with Diabetes (CWD), an honorary member of the International Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Diabetes (ISPAD), and a recipient of the T1D Exchange 2021 Outstanding Parent Advisor Award. He founded CWD in 1995 in response to his then seven-year-old daughter’s type 1 diabetes (T1D) diagnosis in 1989. Inspired by his family’s experience, Hitchcock set out to create an informative online destination with resources and support for families dealing with T1D. CWD provides families and caregivers with guidance through original, science-based content and practical suggestions from trusted sources including pediatric endocrinologists, certified diabetes educators, nurses, nutritionists, researchers, advocates, and fellow parents.
 
Kulkarni, MS, RD, BC-ADM, CDCES, is a certified diabetes care and education specialist, board-certified advanced diabetes manager, and registered dietitian. Recognized internationally for her clinical expertise and contributions to nutrition and diabetes management, Kulkarni has received numerous national awards from the American Dietetic Association, American Diabetes Association, and Abbott Diabetes Care. Most recently, Kulkarni served as director of Global Scientific Affairs, Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM), at Abbott Diabetes Care. Before Abbott Diabetes Care, Kulkarni coordinated the Diabetes Center at St. Mark’s Hospital, recognized as a regional center for the Intermountain West, serving adolescent to geriatric populations and specializing in insulin pumps, multiple daily injection (MDI) therapy, and CGMs. 
 
Tan is currently Professor Emeritus of Internal Medicine, Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology and Diabetes at the University of Michigan. Tan earned his medical degree from Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada, and completed his post-doctoral training in diabetes at the Joslin Diabetes Center, Harvard University and in lipoprotein metabolism at the Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of California, San Francisco. Prior to joining the University of Michigan, he was a Distinguished Medical Fellow, Lilly Research Laboratories and global medical director, Diabetes Endocrine Platform Team, at Eli Lilly and Company. Tan was professor of Medicine and Biochemistry and head of the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Dalhousie University, before working in the diabetes-related industry. He also previously held several leadership roles in diabetes-focused organizations, including serving as a past president of the Canadian Diabetes Association and vice president of the International Diabetes Federation.
 
Garg is a professor of Medicine and Pediatrics at the Adult Clinic of the Barbara Davis Center for Diabetes (BDC) at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Garg joined the Barbara Davis Center in 1988 and became the founder and director of the BDC Adult Clinic. Garg has published more than 350 original manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals and his research interests include the development of new diagnostic and therapeutic tools related to clinical diabetes management. He has been part of several studies that have brought technological breakthroughs to diabetes care, including several FDA-approved continuous glucose monitors and Medtronic MiniMed 670G and 780G hybrid closed-loop systems. Garg also serves as editor-in-chief of Diabetes Technology and Therapeutics Journal. In addition, he is director of the Achieve Targets in Diabetes Care (ATDC) Conference held in July annually in Keystone, Colo.
 
The new appointees will join the two existing members of the Medical and Scientific Advisory Board—Larry Ellingson, vice president of the National Diabetes Volunteer Leadership Council, who recently joined the Know Labs Board of Directors; and Donna Ryan, former president of the American Association of Diabetes Educators.
 
“We are very pleased to expand our existing Medical and Scientific Advisory Board with these researchers, innovators and clinical experts,” Know Labs Chairman/CEO Ron Erickson said. “They share a deep passion for advancing diabetes management, a central part of Know Labs’ mission. As we work to bring the first FDA-cleared non-invasive blood glucose monitor to the marketplace, their insights will be instrumental in advancing our ongoing clinical research and in understanding the specific needs of the patient populations our device is designed to support.”
 
Know Labs Inc. is a public company whose shares trade on the NYSE American Exchange under the stock symbol “KNW.” The company’s platform technology uses spectroscopy to direct electromagnetic energy through a substance or material to capture a unique molecular signature. The technology—which can be integrated into various wearable, mobile, or bench-top form factors—makes it possible to effectively identify and monitor analytes that could only previously be performed by invasive and/or expensive and time-consuming lab-based tests. The first application of the technology will be in a product marketed as a non-invasive glucose monitor that will provide the user with accessible and affordable real-time information on blood glucose levels.