ARIEL PRECISION MEDICINE

Advanced Intelligence for Complex Chronic Diseases

Ariel is an innovative precision medicine company, transforming genetic and clinical data into new insights for the diagnosis, management and advanced therapeutic development for complex health conditions. 

Going Beyond Genetics to Guide Clinical Decisions

Ariel’s technologies are leading the paradigm shift from single-gene (Mendelian) genetics to complex gene-to-gene interactions and the integration of lifestyle and environmental factors to provide a more comprehensive view of disease trajectory and precise therapeutic options.

Ariel provides a comprehensive interpretation of genetic data in the context of each patient’s current symptoms, biomarkers and health history.

Ariel goes beyond genetics to provide valuable information to clarify risk and guide a personalized approach to the early detection of complex diseases such as pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer. Our reports are tailored to each patient, integrating patient reported outcomes, environmental and medical history into the interpretation of the genetic data.

Ariel’s initial focus is pancreatic diseases including pancreatitis, diabetes and pancreatic cancer. ArielDx Pancreatitis is Ariel’s proprietary multi-gene DNA sequencing panel that identifies combinations of genetic mechanisms likely driving the disease.

Genetics

About ADVANCE®

ADVANCE®, Ariel’s genetic segmentation platform, enables patient-specific treatment decisions to be based on the most advanced insights into systems biology, evidence-based medicine, genetic linkages and domain expertise. This has created a novel and scalable solution that enables clinicians and researchers to identify and diagnose the underlying biological causes of symptoms and move beyond diagnosing and treating the general symptoms.

Our Mission

Ariel strives to go beyond genetics, helping clinicians make more informed decisions about the treatment of complex chronic diseases. Our team of professionals is dedicated to removing the complexity from genetic testing results, giving you and your team actionable information to prevent, mitigate or reverse disease progression.

Our Team

Jessica Gibson, Co-Founder and CEO Ariel Precision Medicine

Jessica Gibson, MBA

Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Jessica is the CEO and co-founder at Ariel. Her background in genomics, healthcare and pharma is now enabling Ariel to create strategic partnerships and collaborations that serve multiple customers in the healthcare community. Jessica loves working at Ariel because she has been able to build innovative solutions to enable the diagnosis and management of chronic diseases and really move the needle on a number of challenging conditions.

Tory Moore, CFA

Chief Financial Officer
Tory Moore has extensive buy-side financial services experience, including research, due diligence, portfolio management and business development. He loves working at Ariel because every day brings new challenges, the work is meaningful and he has an outstanding team.
David C. Whitcomb, MD, PhD Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer, Ariel Precision Medicine

David C. Whitcomb, M.D., Ph.D.

Chief Scientific Officer
Dr. Whitcomb is a pioneer in the use of mathematics, genetics, genomics, cell biology, neurosciences, immunology and epidemiology to study complex inflammatory disorders and cancer risks of the digestive system. He co-founded Ariel Precision Medicine along with Jessica M. Gibson in 2015. As Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Whitcomb utilizes his experience and insights as a physician, scientist and innovator to oversee the scientific and translational functions of the company.

David Finegold, MD

Lab Director
Dr. David Finegold has studied human genetics since the early ’90s. He has directed different laboratories since the late ’90s. He is intrigued by the visionary nature of genetic testing being developed by Ariel Precision Medicine and wanted to influence and accelerate this work. He is excited to be part of a dynamic and thoughtful group of scientists and physicians.

Jessica LaRusch, PhD

Lead Genetic Specialist
Jessica LaRusch earned a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry at the University of Buffalo and a Ph.D. in Human Genetics at Johns Hopkins Medical School. Her post-doctoral research was completed at the University of Pittsburgh with a focus on the complex genetics of chronic disorders. She was Ariel’s first employee.

Wendy Feigel, MHA

Vice President of Operations
Wendy Feigel received her Bachelor’s degree in Business Management and Master’s degree in Healthcare Administration from Penn State University. Her background in clinical laboratory operations, customer service, and healthcare reimbursement is further enhanced by her personal passion to support chronic disease patients. Wendy joined the Ariel team to develop operational workflows, create reimbursement strategies to allow broader patient access, and strengthen process improvement discussions to ensure that Ariel continues to meet the needs of the patient and their healthcare team.

Katya Orlova, MS, MPH, CGC

Clinical Variant Scientist & Genetic Counselor
Katya Orlova was trained as a genetic counselor and in public health genetics. Her research background is in complex trait genetics where she has published on predisposition to oral and gastrointestinal conditions. She is passionate about Ariel’s patient-centered approach to integrating data for personalized disease prevention, and the ability to improve the way genetic information is communicated and used for clinical care.
Solomon Adams

Solomon Adams, PharmD, PhD

Director of Bioinformatics and Genomic Services
Dr. Solomon Adams is a pharmacogenomics expert, developer, educator and bioinformaticist who has supported multiple clinical implementations of pharmacogenomics. He works with Ariel to bring state-of-the-art software and informatics solutions to support clinical and research workflows.

Cameron Breze, MS

Biomedical Technologist
Cameron is a biomedical engineer with a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical and biomedical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. He holds a master’s degree in biotechnology and entrepreneurship at the Tandon School of Engineering at NYU. The scope of his work is rooted in clinical research and biological systems modeling. Recently, Cameron collaborated with other team members to create Ariel’s Dynamic Acute Pancreatitis Tracker (ADAPT).

Natalie Tharp

Customer Liaison
With 20 years of experience in various healthcare settings, Natalie’s background in reimbursement for proprietary services and passion to help patients made Ariel a great fit. In addition, Natalie helped build out the billing, reimbursement, and customer service areas, and helped develop strategies and procedures to drive productivity and increase collections.

Jonathan Velez, MSIS

Software Architect
Jonathan Velez earned his master’s degree in Information science from the University of Pittsburgh and specializes in human-centered computing. His research and practice in simulation and training are focused on modeling and evaluating human performance and designing applications to optimize learning and execution. He enjoys working at Ariel because it allows him to apply his skills to the data management and workflow optimization challenges of complex genetics.
Phil Greer

Phil Greer, MS

Data Scientist
Phil holds Master's degrees in both Biostatistics and Information Science, along with over twenty years' experience in data analytics and scientific computing. He is very excited to help build and optimize workflows with his teammates at Ariel.

Mitch Ellison, MS

Genomic Bioinformatics Scientist
Mitch Ellison brings his extensive experience in bioinformatics, gene regulation and epigenetics to the team at Ariel Precision Medicine. He chooses to work at Ariel because the work we do provides him with a unique opportunity to use his experience to both help people and advance our understanding of complex disease.