# Dan Riskin

> Dan Riskin is a physician-entrepreneur, trauma surgeon, and healthcare AI executive who founded Verantos in 2015 to generate high-validity real-world evidence from messy clinical data. A serial innovator who began coding at age 5 and sold software at 12, Riskin holds an MD from Boston University and an MBA from MIT, is board-certified in four specialties, and serves as Clinical Professor of Surgery at Stanford. His prior company Health Fidelity was acquired for more than $150 million. Today, Verantos powers regulatory and reimbursement decisions for major pharmaceutical companies by turning fragmented EHR data into research-grade evidence at scale.

- **Role:** Founder and CEO at Verantos
- **Organizations:** Verantos, Stanford University, Health Fidelity, HITAC (Health Information Technology Advisory Committee)
- **From:** Los Angeles, California, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Undergraduate (Regent's Scholar), University of California (UCLA), Doctor of Medicine (MD), Boston University School of Medicine, MBA, Bioinformatics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Surgery Residency, UCLA, Fellowship, Critical Care and Acute Care Surgery; Stanford Biodesign Innovation Fellow, Stanford University
- **Known for:** Founded Health Fidelity; acquired by Edifecs for more than $150 million, Founded Verantos - recognized as Bioinformatics Company of the Year (2021), Inc 5000 and Deloitte Fast 500, Featured in MIT Technology Review as Top 35 Innovator Under 35

## Career timeline

- **1976** — Began writing software at age 5
- **1983** — Selling software at age 12; winning regional programming awards
- **1986** — Received Bausch & Lomb Outstanding Scientist Award at age 15
- **1987** — Entered UCLA as a Regent's Scholar at age 16
- **2000s** — Designed wound closure device while student; received U.S. patents and FDA clearance; co-founded Wadsworth Medical Technologies (later acquired by DQ Holdings)
- **2005** — Featured in MIT Technology Review as Top 35 Innovator Under 35
- **2007** — Surgery residency at UCLA completed
- **2008** — Fellowship at Stanford in critical care; became Clinical Professor at Stanford
- **2009** — Worked as Special Projects Consultant at Apple
- **2010** — Began receiving NIH grants for healthcare AI research
- **2011** — Founded Health Fidelity, applying AI to clinical data for quality and risk measurement
- **2012** — Began receiving NSF grants; CalHIPSO Chief Strategy Officer role
- **2014** — Testified before U.S. House of Representatives on 21st Century Cures Initiative
- **2015** — Founded Verantos; Health Fidelity acquired by Edifecs for $150M+
- **2021** — Verantos named Bioinformatics Company of the Year
- **2021** — Verantos recognized on Inc 5000 and Deloitte Fast 500
- **2021** — Verantos raised funding (last raise June 2021, total $220K noted in records)
- **2024** — Appointed to HITAC (Health Information Technology Advisory Committee) term 2024-2026
- **2025** — Panelist at PMWC 2025 Precision Medicine World Conference on AI-Powered RWE

## Achievements

- Founded Health Fidelity; acquired by Edifecs for more than $150 million
- Founded Verantos - recognized as Bioinformatics Company of the Year (2021), Inc 5000 and Deloitte Fast 500
- Featured in MIT Technology Review as Top 35 Innovator Under 35
- Received Bausch & Lomb Outstanding Scientist Award at age 15
- Designed wound closure device with U.S. patents and FDA clearance; used on hundreds of thousands of patients
- Testified before U.S. House of Representatives on 21st Century Cures Initiative (2014)
- Served on Obama and Biden Healthcare Policy Committees
- Congressionally appointed to Health Information Technology Advisory Committee (HITAC)
- Speaker at FDA, NASA, DARPA, NSF, NIH, and CMS
- Board certified in four specialties: surgery, critical care, palliative care, and clinical informatics
- Clinical Professor of Surgery at Stanford University
- NIH and NSF funded research starting 2010 and 2012 respectively
- Work featured in Forbes and The Wall Street Journal
- Verantos achieves 85%+ data accuracy vs. industry norm of 30-40%

## Latest updates

- **2025-02** — Panelist at PMWC 2025 on AI-Powered RWE: Accelerating Drug Development and Post-Market Applications
- **2024-01** — Began HITAC term (2024-2026) as Congressionally-appointed member of Health Information Technology Advisory Committee
- **2021-06** — Verantos last funding round raised
- **2021-01** — Verantos named Bioinformatics Company of the Year; recognized on Inc 5000 and Deloitte Fast 500

## Links

- Website: https://verantos.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/danriskin
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/verantosrwe
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfVLRQbwHZE

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/dan-riskin
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-17