About Sparrow Search

Connecting patients with clinical trials

Why We’re Here

We started Sparrow Search because we believe in the power of clinical research to save lives, and we wanted to bridge the gap between pharmaceutical companies looking for patients for their clinical trials, and patients looking for the best treatment possible.

More than 71% of people worldwide who have never participated in a clinical trial say they would be willing to do so, yet only 0.2% of physicians say they actively refer patients to clinical trials, and more than half of all clinical trial delays are related to recruitment problems.

We wanted to find a better way.

Our model works because it flips the usual clinical trial recruitment method on its head. We don’t find patients for clinical trials. We find trials for patients.

The Story of Our Name

Sparrows have been symbols of companionship, simplicity, and joy across various cultures throughout history. In many myths and cultures, they also represent hope, resilience, and community.

At Sparrow Search, we understand that hope and resilience are so important for patients facing a cancer diagnosis or other illness, and we work to connect patient communities to the drugmakers who are developing life-saving therapies. Because no one can do this alone.

We look to these tiny creatures as our inspiration for bringing that hope, resilience, and joy into the clinical trial process.

 

Meet Our Team

 

Teresa C. Gallagher, PhD, MPH, CEO and Co-FounderTeresa has a deep understanding of healthcare behavior from her prior experience conducting research on access to medical care at major medical centers including Yale University, Stanford University School of Medicine, and U.C.L.A. School of Medicine and as a Professor of Community Health at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

She developed a keen interest in clinical research participation in her role as Founder of San Diego Clinical Research Network.  She has a Ph.D. in Education from Stanford University, a Masters in Public Health (U.C.L.A.), fellowship in health services research (U.C.L.A.), and Professional Certificate in Clinical Trials Design & Management (University of California-San Diego).

David J. Kriegman, Ph.D, CTO and Co-Founder.David leads an AI group at Two Sigma Investments in New York City, and is a Professor of Computer Science & Engineering at the University of California, San Diego.. His background is in computer vision and machine learning. Building on his patented computer vision research, Kriegman co-founded Taaz (Sight Commerce), a virtual makeover platform that was used by 100 million users.

Kriegman also founded KBVT, which developed state-of-the-art face recognition, and was acquired by Dropbox.  He graduated with a B.S.E.  from Princeton and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University.

Scott Schliebner, MPH, Chief Commercial Officer.Scott is Vice President and Global Head, Drug Development Consulting at Novotech, and has more than 25 years’ experience in executive roles in the clinical trial industry. He was formerly Senior VP, Clinical Development Services at TFS HealthScience, a CRO; Senior VP at PRA Health Sciences; and other roles in the industry including Clinical Operations Manager at Seattle Genetics. He has also advised early-stage biopharma service firms and CROs in the role of Chief Commercial Officer. He holds a Master’s Degree in Public Health (MPH) from the University of Utah School of Medicine, and completed a Graduate Research Fellowship at The National Institutes of Health.