# Christian Apfel

> Christian "Chris" Apfel is a physician-scientist, clinical researcher, angel investor and the founder, president and CEO of Redwood City-based SageMedic. After a research career that produced more than 100 peer-reviewed publications and the widely used Apfel Score, he moved from UCSF clinical research into entrepreneurship, building a functional precision oncology company that tests live tumor samples against multiple therapies and returns laboratory findings within 7 to 10 days.

- **Role:** President and CEO at SageMedic Corp.
- **Organizations:** SageMedic Corp., University of California, San Francisco, Keiretsu Forum, Life Science Angels, K2X
- **Education:** MD and doctoral degree (PhD equivalent), Justus Liebig University Giessen, MBA, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
- **Known for:** Developed the widely used Apfel Score for predicting postoperative nausea and vomiting risk., Published more than 100 peer-reviewed papers, including work in The New England Journal of Medicine., Founded SageMedic and serves as its president and CEO.

## Career timeline

- **1992** — Completed medical training at the University of Giessen Faculty of Medicine.
- **2005** — Served as an assistant professor at the Outcomes Research Institute and Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine at the University of Louisville.
- **Before 2014** — Worked as a clinician and professor in UCSF's Department of Anesthesia and led its Clinical Research Core.
- **2012** — Accepted an acting medical director role with Excite Medical while affiliated with UCSF.
- **2014** — Founded the company that became SageMedic Corp. after leaving UCSF's clinical department and adding an MBA from Wharton.
- **2016** — Joined the board of 20/20 GeneSystems following its Series A financing.
- **2019** — Named as a co-inventor on SageMedic's U.S. patent application for analysis of viable and nonviable cells.
- **2021** — The U.S. patent covering analysis of viable and nonviable cells was granted.
- **2024** — Discussed SageMedic and personalized treatment selection on the Target: Cancer, ChalkTalkJim and Revolution Health Radio podcasts.
- **2025** — Shared SageMedic research at the ASCO Annual Meeting and presented the SAGE Oncotest at the InnovatorMD World Congress.
- **2026** — Co-authored a Cancer Research conference abstract on functional precision oncology and recurrent ependymoma; appeared as a life-science investor and SageMedic CEO at Pitch Global and MedInvest events.

## Achievements

- Developed the widely used Apfel Score for predicting postoperative nausea and vomiting risk.
- Published more than 100 peer-reviewed papers, including work in The New England Journal of Medicine.
- Founded SageMedic and serves as its president and CEO.
- Co-invented patented methods for analyzing viable and nonviable cells assigned to SageMedic.
- Led the Clinical Research Core while a professor in UCSF's Department of Anesthesia.
- Chairs or directs life-science investment activity for Keiretsu Forum in the Bay Area.
- Has served as an investor, board member or advisor to more than a dozen life-science startups.

## Latest updates

- **2026-03** — A Cancer Research supplement listed Apfel as a co-author on a SageMedic abstract about multiplexed functional profiling in recurrent ependymoma.
- **2026-03** — Listed as Director of Life Sciences at Keiretsu Forum Bay Area and founder and CEO of SageMedic for a MedInvest biotech and pharma conference.
- **2026-01** — Appeared as a featured life-science investor and SageMedic CEO at Pitch Global's JPM Healthcare Summit event.
- **2025-08** — Presented the SAGE Oncotest at the InnovatorMD World Congress 2025.
- **2025-06** — Published a LinkedIn article titled 'Functional Precision Oncology: A Game Changer in Cancer Therapy.'
- **2025-05** — SageMedic presented research on live sarcoma tissue and multidimensional functional profiling at the 2025 ASCO Annual Meeting.

## Links

- Website: https://sagemedic.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisapfel

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/christian-apfel
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-18