How can we use technology to create a true picture of human health?

Imagine a chemist and an engineer and a doctor and a behavioral scientist, all working together to truly understand health and to better prevent, detect, and manage disease. Picture a world in which technology and life sciences are not distinct, but partners with a united mission.

At Verily, that’s the world we want to create. Our multidisciplinary teams have access to advanced research tools, large scale computing power, and unique technical expertise. We work with partners from across the industry and many fields of research to develop new technology, launch studies, and start companies.

Our mission is to bring together technology and life sciences to uncover new truths about health and disease.

Hardware

The hardware team at Verily is building devices and tools that are smaller, more powerful, and more convenient than ever before. Smaller devices fit more easily into daily life so they can monitor conditions more consistently and proactively signal when something is amiss.

For example, we are currently partnering to develop a contact lens with an embedded glucose sensor. We hope this smart contact lens will make it easier for people with diabetes to monitor themselves continuously by measuring the glucose in their tears.

Software

Information exists in every aspect of our bodies — from our genes to our sleep patterns. Software engineers, analytics experts, and user experience designers at Verily are developing platforms, products, and algorithms that can analyze complex health information. We strive to identify patterns that could reveal early warning signs, more accurately diagnose disease, or point to a more effective treatment.

Our research program in multiple sclerosis, for example, combines wearable sensors with traditional clinical tests, and uses new lab-based tests designed to gather and analyze biological, physiological, behavioral, and environmental variables. Using machine learning algorithms and computational techniques, our software team is looking for signals that could lead to new knowledge about the disease and why it progresses differently among individuals.

Clinical

Our clinical team works to surface information and insights that the broader health research community can leverage for years to come. We partner with others — including industry, hospitals, government, academic centers, medical societies, and patient advocacy groups — to apply the latest technology to the study of health and disease.

We also collaborate with our hardware and software teams to help guide the development of Verily products and platforms so that they address the real medical needs of healthcare providers and patients. The Baseline Study is one of these dedicated efforts, a multi-year initiative that aims to identify the traits of a healthy human by closely observing the transition to disease.

Science

Our science team is pursuing research that will help us precisely understand the processes that lead to conditions like cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. We develop automated experimental and computational systems biology platforms and life sciences tools that provide more information about biological function in health and disease than has ever been available.

Our programs also include efforts such as bio-molecular nanotechnology for precision diagnostics and therapeutic delivery. We’re also working on advanced imaging methods for applications ranging from early diagnosis to surgical robotics. Our hope is that these tools will deliver deep insights into biological function that will help transform the prevention, detection, and management of disease.

History & Executive Committee

When Google[x] embarked on a project in 2012 to put computing inside a contact lens — an immensely challenging technical problem with an important application to health — we could not have imagined where it would lead us. As a life sciences team within Google[x], we were able to combine the best of our technology heritage with expertise from across many fields. Now, as an independent company, Verily is focused on using technology to better understand health, as well as prevent, detect, and manage disease.

Andy Conrad, Ph.D.

Chief Executive Officer

Formerly the chief scientific officer of LabCorp, Andy is a cell biologist with a doctorate from UCLA. He has always been passionate about early detection and prevention of disease: Andy co-founded the National Genetics Institute, which developed the first cost-effective test to screen for HIV in blood supply.

Brian Otis, Ph.D.

Chief Technical Officer

Brian’s team focuses on end-to-end innovation ranging from integrated circuits to biocompatible materials to sensors. He joined Google[x] as founder of the smart contact lens project and now leads our efforts across all hardware and device projects, including wearables, implanted devices, and technology like Liftware.

Jessica Mega, M.D., MPH

Chief Medical Officer

Jessica leads the clinical strategy and research team at Verily. She is a board-certified cardiologist who trained and practiced at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. As a faculty member at Harvard Medical School and a senior investigator with the TIMI Study Group, Jessica directed large, international trials evaluating novel cardiovascular therapies.

Linus Upson

Head of Engineering

A long-time Google software engineer, Linus has been a team lead in developing products that now help billions of people worldwide find the information they need on the Internet, including Chrome and Chrome OS. He now oversees our engineering teams.

Tom Stanis

Head of Software

Tom spent nine years working on core Google products before joining Google[x] in 2014 to work on the Baseline Study. He now leads all our Software projects, including the development of machine learning algorithms for applications ranging from robotic-assisted surgery to diabetes management.

Science Board

Denny Ausiello

Denny Ausiello, M.D., is the Jackson Distinguished Professor of Clinical Medicine, Director, Emeritus of the M.D./Ph.D. Program at Harvard Medical School, and Director, Center for Assessment Technology and Continuous Health at MGH. He has made substantial contributions to the knowledge of epithelial biology in the areas of membrane protein trafficking, ion channel regulation, and signal transduction. Denny has been advising Verily on its diabetes initiatives, clinical study designs, and device development since 2015. Denny received his M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania.
Learn more about Denny Ausiello.

Vikram (Vik) Bajaj

Vik Bajaj, Ph.D., is a co-founder of Verily and currently serves as the Chair of the Science Board. He is an Associate Professor of Radiology (consulting) at Stanford University, an affiliate scientist of the University of California, Berkeley and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Vik’s research interests in industry and as a former academic principal investigator include structural and systems biology, molecular imaging, nanoscience, and bioinformatics. Vik received his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from MIT.
Learn more about Vik Bajaj.

David Brailer

David Brailer, M.D., Ph.D., is a health care technology investor and entrepreneur. He was previously the nation’s first National Coordinator for Health Information Technology from 2004 through 2006, serving under President George W. Bush. He joined the Verily Science Board in 2016. David received his Ph.D. in managerial economics from The Wharton School and his M.D. from West Virginia University.
Learn more about David Brailer.

Karl Deisseroth

Karl Deisseroth, Ph.D., is the D.H. Chen Professor, Professor of Bioengineering, Psychiatry, and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University. His research focuses on developing molecular and cellular tools to observe, perturb, and re-engineer brain circuits. Additionally, he works as a clinician in the psychiatry department at Stanford. Karl joined the Verily board in 2016. He received his M.D. and Ph.D. from Stanford University.
Learn more about Karl Deisseroth.

Frank Fischer

Frank is President and CEO of NeuroPace, a medical device company focused on the treatment of neurological disorders with epilepsy as its first therapeutic indication. Frank has over 35 years in the medical device industry with the majority of his career dedicated to the development, clinical evaluation, regulatory approval and commercialization of products to treat cardiac and neurological disorders. He joined the Verily Science Board in 2016. Frank received his M.S. in Management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Learn more about Frank Fischer.

Michael Frumkin

Michael Frumkin has been an Engineering Director at Google since 2002 where he oversaw large engineering teams as well as critical internal software infrastructure projects. In 2014 Michael was also an advisor to Khosla Ventures. Currently he is leading a Google Research team that he founded, whose aim is to bring Google’s expertise in machine intelligence and perception to bear on fundamental scientific research. He has been advising on Verily projects since 2014. Michael graduated with an SM in Computer Science and Engineering from MIT.
Learn more about Michael Frumkin.

George Loewenstein

George Loewenstein, Ph.D., is the Herbert A. Simon University Professor of Economics and Psychology, co-director of the BEDR Policy Lab at Decision Research at Carnegie Mellon University, and the Director of Behavioral Economics at the Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics at the University of Pennsylvania. George is a founder of field of behavioral economics and neuroeconomics and his current research focuses on various aspects of information and beliefs. George joined the Verily Science Board in 2016. George received his Ph.D. from Yale University.
Learn more about George Loewenstein.

Nicholas (Nik) Schork

Nicholas (Nik) Schork is Director of Human Biology at the J. Craig Venter Institute, Distinguished Professor at the Translational Genomics Research Institute, and Adjunct Professor at the University of California, San Diego. His interests and expertise are in quantitative human genetics and integrated approaches to complex biological and medical problems. Nik has been advising Verily on bioinformatics and genomic research since 2015. He received his Ph.D. in Epidemiology from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
Learn more about Nik Schork.

Daniel Von Hoff

Daniel Von Hoff, M.D., F.A.C.P., is Distinguished Professor and Physician in Chief of Translational Research Genomics Institute (TGen). He is also Chief Scientific Officer for US Oncology Research and for HonorHealth’s Clinical Research Institute. The focus of his career has been ondeveloping new anti-cancer agents and more currently on the development of molecularly targeted therapies for individuals with pancreatic cancer. Dan joined the Verily Science Board in 2016. He received his M.D. from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.
Learn more about Dan Von Hoff.

David Wemmer

David Wemmer, Ph.D., is the Joel Hildebrand Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Chemistry at University of California, Berkeley. David’s research focuses on biophysical chemistry with the goal of understanding the interactions which govern the function of biopolymers including proteins, DNA, and RNA. David has been a science advisor for Verily since 2015. He received his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from University of California, Berkeley.
Learn more about David Wemmer.