The Partners
Karyn S. Kunzelman, Ph.D.
Karyn Kunzelman has more than 20 years of experience in medical and surgical research investigation, research program management, infrastructure building, resource development, and strategic planning. She has held senior management positions in both academic and private sectors, as the Director of Research at the University of Washington, University of Wisconsin, and Central Maine Medical Center.
Dr. Kunzelman has a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, and a B.S. in Engineering Science from the University of Michigan. She has held faculty positions at the University of Washington, University of Wisconsin, and University of Maine; in Surgery, Biomedical Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering Departments. She serves on numerous national grant review panels (NIH, NSF, AHA), is an associate editor for two professional biomedical journals, and serves on the board of directors for national and international professional biomedical associations.
Richard (Pat) Cochran M.D.
Pat Cochran has more than 25 years experience in clinical surgery and medical research, including surgical technique development, medical product evaluation, and clinical program development. He has held leadership positions in both academic and private sectors, as the Chairman of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the University of Wisconsin, and the Director of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Central Maine Medical Center.
He has a B.S. in Pre-Medicine from Davidson College, and an M.D. from Emory University. He completed a general surgery residency and surgical research fellowship in transplant immunology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, followed by a cardiovascular and thoracic surgery residency at the University of Utah. Dr. Cochran is Board Certified in Cardiothoracic Surgery, General Surgery, and Surgical Critical Care. He has held faculty positions at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, University of Washington, University of Wisconsin, and University of Maine. He holds fellowship status with the American Association of Thoracic Surgeons, the American College of Chest Physicians, American College of Cardiology, and American College of Surgeons.
The partnership
Karyn Kunzelman and Pat Cochran have worked together for more than 20 years, integrating medical and surgical research, program development, product evaluation, and education, before establishing Superior Surgical Solutions in 2006. Jointly, they have received peer-reviewed funding for research projects from the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, American Heart Association, and Whitaker Foundation. They have conducted numerous animal clinical trials for evaluation of medical devices and pharmaceutical therapy. Drs. Kunzelman and Cochran are internationally recognized for their ground-breaking work on computational analysis of surgical procedures, and development of novel surgical repair techniques. They have published extensively in peer reviewed journals, and have presented nationally and internationally on a variety of topics relating to cardiac disease, surgery, bioengineering, physiology, pharmacology.
By combining their hands-on experience in complementary areas of expertise, Drs. Kunzelman and Cochran bring a broad view to their clients in areas of research management, program development, as well as product development and evaluation.
Associates
Our associates are subcontracted for client engagements based on the expertise and skill set required for the assignment.