Day Zero Diagnostics Inc., an infectious disease diagnostics company utilizing genome sequencing and machine learning to combat the rise of antibiotic-resistant infections, today announced that Gail Marcus has joined the company’s Board of Directors as an independent director.
“We are pleased to welcome Gail Marcus to the Day Zero Diagnostics Board of Directors. Gail’s executive and financial leadership building and growing life sciences companies, and her extensive experience across multiple healthcare sectors including molecular diagnostics, managed care, and life science tools, bring an important diversity of expertise and perspective to our board,” said Jong Lee, co-founder and CEO of Day Zero Diagnostics. “We look forward to Gail’s leadership and guidance as we continue to advance our novel whole genome sequencing-based infectious disease diagnostic technology to address the growing threat of antibiotic resistance.”
Ms. Marcus is a dynamic senior executive, with experience in the public and private sectors. She has held leadership positions in Fortune 100 healthcare companies including various roles of increasing seniority with CIGNA, AdvancePCS/Caremark CVS, United Health Group, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Calloway Laboratories, and Caris Diagnostics where she was CEO and President. Previously, Ms. Marcus was recognized as one of the Top 100 Women Leaders in Massachusetts by the Commonwealth Institute. Ms. Marcus currently serves on the boards of Cambridge Epigenetix, where she is board chair, as well as PathAI and Natera (Nasdaq: NTRA). Additionally, she is an Assistant Professor of Population Health at Hofstra University. Gail earned a BA magna cum laude from Wesleyan University, an MSE from University of Pennsylvania Moore School of Engineering, an MBA from University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School and a DHA with honors from Medical University of South Carolina.
“I’m excited to work with the Day Zero Diagnostics executive team and board as the company continues to advance its disruptive approach to infectious disease diagnosis, with the mission to help curb the growing global healthcare crisis of antibiotic resistance,” said Gail Marcus. “I am impressed by the company leadership’s experience and steadfast pursuit of their vision for a future where infectious disease and sepsis can be diagnosed more quickly so that clinicians can prescribe the best treatment.”
Day Zero Diagnostics most recently announced an additional $8.2 million in non-dilutive funding from CARB-X for the development of its sequencing based diagnostic system.
Antibiotic resistance is an escalating global crisis, where the spread of drug resistance is outpacing the development of new antibiotics.
Infections due to antibiotic-resistant bacteria are more dangerous for patients and more difficult and expensive to treat. They often require extended hospital stays, additional follow-up doctor visits, and more costly and toxic alternative treatments.
As drug-resistant bacteria become more common, so will deaths from life-threatening infections like sepsis, which is the body’s unregulated immune response to a severe bloodstream infection. A study in the Lancet estimates that in 2019, 1.27 million deaths were attributable to bacterial antimicrobial resistance and a 2016 review of antimicrobial resistance estimated that as many as 10 million deaths annually would be caused by antimicrobial resistance by 2050.
Early and effective treatment of antibiotic resistant infections has been proven to save lives. However, current technologies cannot provide actionable information quickly enough to enable early, targeted antibiotic treatment.
Day Zero Diagnostics, Inc., based in Boston, is pioneering a new class of infectious disease diagnostics using whole-genome sequencing (WGS) and machine learning to revolutionize how the world fights antibiotic resistance. The company’s mission is to change the way infectious diseases are diagnosed and treated by rapidly identifying both the species and the antibiotic resistance profile of severe infections from a blood sample, without the need for a culture. In 2022, the company launched Day Zero Lab Services, leveraging its proprietary technologies and highly curated databases of pathogens for managing healthcare-associated infection outbreaks and making high-impact clinical decisions. Day Zero Diagnostics was founded in 2016 by a team of clinicians and scientists from Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital. To learn more visit our website and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
