# Bob Wassman

> Dr. E. Robert (Bob) Wassman is Chief Medical Officer and Executive Vice President of Clinical Development at MARAbio, a Utah-based diagnostics company building a maternal blood test to identify an autoimmune subtype of autism. A board-certified pediatrician and medical geneticist with more than 40 years in the field, he has served as chief medical officer for a long roster of genetic-testing pioneers including Genzyme Genetics, Ambry Genetics, Rosetta Genomics and Good Start Genetics, repeatedly turning frontier laboratory technology into clinical service across reproductive medicine, cancer, and neurodevelopmental disability.

- **Role:** Chief Medical Officer & EVP, Clinical Development at MARAbio
- **Organizations:** MARAbio, TREND Community, Life Designs Ventures, TESS Research Foundation, Phase Genomics, Progenitor MDX
- **From:** Larchmont, New York, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** B.S., Biology, Yale University, M.D., Albany Medical College, Certification, Managed Health Care, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Certification, Medical Genetics, UCLA
- **Known for:** More than 40 years pioneering clinical translation of diagnostic technology in reproductive medicine, cancer, neurodevelopmental disability and companion diagnostics, Held Chief Medical Officer roles at a large number of genetic-testing companies, repeatedly bringing new lab technology to clinical service, Pioneered reductions in genetic-testing turnaround times

## Career timeline

- **1983** — Founded Life Designs Ventures, serving as Principal, CEO and CMO providing consulting on genetics and personalized medicine
- **2010s** — Served as Chief Medical Officer across genetic-testing companies including Genzyme Genetics, Lineagen, Rosetta Genomics, Generation Health (CVS), Helicos Biosciences, Good Start Genetics, Celula, Ambry Genetics and Alfigen
- **2019** — Named Co-Laboratory Director of Predictive Laboratories (Predictive Technology Group)
- **2020** — Director of Progenitor MDX's COVID-19 laboratory
- **present** — Chief Medical Officer & EVP Clinical Development at MARAbio; CMO at TREND Community; Board Director at TESS Research Foundation; Advisor to Phase Genomics

## Achievements

- More than 40 years pioneering clinical translation of diagnostic technology in reproductive medicine, cancer, neurodevelopmental disability and companion diagnostics
- Held Chief Medical Officer roles at a large number of genetic-testing companies, repeatedly bringing new lab technology to clinical service
- Pioneered reductions in genetic-testing turnaround times
- Board certified in both Pediatrics and Medical Genetics
- Published undergraduate research on the alga Codium fragile with Yale professor Joseph Ramus

## Latest updates

- **2024-10** — MARAbio's most recent funding round (Series A, $19M total) supporting clinical development of its maternal autoantibody-related autism (MARA) blood test, where Wassman leads clinical development.

## Links

- Website: https://marabio.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/bob-wassman-0523526

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/bob-wassman
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-14