Management Team
Mridul Chowdhury, Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder
Mridul has extensive experience in development consulting and technology project management in developing countries. In Bangladesh, he has gained an unique experience in working for all major stakeholders in development – the government, NGO and donor.
Mridul’s prior work experience includes co-founding D.Net, an NGO in Bangladesh that has earned international recognition for its work on using information technologies for addressing rural women’s health concerns. He has also worked for United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Ministry of Planning in the area of using information technologies for improving governance and enhancing quality of lives of citizens. He was part of the official government delegation from Bangladesh sent to preparatory meetings in Geneva for the World Summit for Information Society (WSIS), a global UN conference on IT policy for social and economic development. During 2001-02, he was a researcher at the Center for International Development at Harvard University, in which capacity he was part of the team behind the first Global IT Report jointly published by Harvard University and World Economic Forum. He has traveled extensively to many developing countries for research and consulting on IT and development issues. He is also a filmmaker, most known for his film titled Deshantori.
Mridul completed an MPA/International Development from Harvard Kennedy School of Government as a Dean’s Fellow. He has a BS degree in Economics, Mathematics, and Government with a minor in Computer Science from University of Texas at Austin.
Yuri Ostrovsky, Chief Technology Officer & Co-Founder
Yuri combines his extensive experience in the developing world with his science and technology background to understand the various dimensions of the challenges in creating a system like ClickDiagnostics.
Yuri has worked at hospitals and medical camps in both urban and rural areas of India as part of his doctoral Neuroscience program at MIT. Coupling clinical experience, scientific investigation, and a machine learning background with previous professional experience in IT consulting and software development (during and following a B.A. in Computer Science from Harvard University), Yuri is in a unique
position to oversee the practical side of technology development while
keeping an eye to the future potential of ClickDiagnostics.
Donald Yansen, Chief Operating Officer & Co-Founder
Don has founded and served as engineering director in a series of high tech startups in the fields of semiconductor inspection, fiber network monitoring, and biometrics and medical devices. Most recently, he is involved in optical systems development in the areas of iris and retina imaging, skin cancer imaging, micro fiber optics imaging of the eye for precision tracking. In the last three years he has consulted in the field of economic development with Hartwell Associates. Projects have been in Bangladesh and with Corporacion Andina Fomento, a development bank for the Andean countries in South Asian and recently Ghana.
Don has a B.S. in Electro-Optics from MIT and graduate education in physics and electrical engineering with a specialization in optics and lasers.
Ting Shih, Executive Vice President & Co-Founder
Ting has numerous years of experience in designing and launching technology services, along with associated business strategies for major US government, pharmaceutical and global education companies and organizations. Her areas of expertise include strategy consulting, Lean/Six Sigma process improvement, and organization change management. Ting is instrumental in conceiving and developing ClickDiagnostics’ affordable medical consultation service and in implementing the service in Africa.
Ting holds an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management and MS in Systems Engineering from MIT, where she was an MIT Leaders for Global Operations Fellow. In addition she holds a BS in Computer Science and MS in Software Design and Management from Carnegie Mellon University.
Crystina Beckwith, PR/Marketing Specialist
Crystina Beckwith is a marketing expert and was the first marketing guru to join ClickDiagnostics. She holds her International MBA from Hult International Business School and her BS from Northeastern University. Crystina has a strong background in marketing specifically Advertising. She has worked at Wunderman and Draft/FCB they are both leaders in the industry, her accounts included Burger King, Kellogg’s and Unilever.
Ryan Littman-Quinn, Director of Media Marketing & Program Manager, Botswana
Ryan graduated from Boston College’s Carroll School of Management with a Bachelor’s degree in Management with a concentration Marketing, a minor in Philosophy, and a concentration of studies in Graphic Design. While at Boston College, he was on the editorial board for the independent student newspaper and the Vice President of the Entrepreneur Society. Ryan is founder and CEO of a C. Hill Enterprises, an online apparel and creative services organization. He has experience managing affiliate channels and paid-search marketing campaigns for Prospectiv, an online marketing firm based in Wakefield, MA. Ryan interned in the Digital department at Boston-based advertising agency Hill, Holliday where he worked on the digital campaign for client Liberty Mutual. Ryan manages ClickDiagnostics’ digital marketing campaign, supports all Marketing and PR executions, and will be traveling in January to manage Click operations in Botswana.
Carolyn Griffel, PR/Marketing Specialist
Carolyn graduated cum laude from Carnegie Mellon University with a BFA in Communication Design and a minor in Photography and Digital Imaging. She has over 14 years of experience in community service. She has co-founded many projects to benefit local communities. Some of these projects include The Walk for Children in Framingham,MA, a walk to benefit the Massachusetts Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children and The Boys and Girls Club of Massachusetts, and The Voice Library at the Hill House Community Center in Pittsburgh, PA, a library designed and built from scratch in order to provide a space for Scholastics Books. She has also been invited to participate in other community projects, such as Explanatoids in Pittsbugh, PA. Explanatoids was a city-wide program, in conjunction with Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood, to add math and science signage to local parks and sites that would engage middle-school aged children in conversations with their parents. Carolyn’s job was to create two 30-second videos for PNC Baseball Stadium to be played on the globotron before games.
Rubayat Khan, Chief of Operations (Bangladesh)
Rubayat has diverse experiences in project management, research and leading social initiatives and movements in Bangladesh.
He served as Director of a social science research consulting firm called Pathways Consulting Services Ltd. for 2 years, where he gained significant experience in project management working with clients such as CARE, UNICEF and World Bank, and on areas including health and sanitation. A research fellow at Center for Health, Population and Development (CHPD), Rubayat worked as an associate in the largest ever epidemiological study of the world called PURE. He also has a large number of publications/articles in international academic journals, books and prominent national newspapers.
Rubayat has the experience of leading several technical development projects, including one to build an interactive national portal on election related information. He has worked extensively with the media, first for BBC and then for a daily newspaper called New Age. Rubayat has also founded and led many youth organizations and social movements, including AIESEC, Jagoree, and Drishtipat Dhaka Chapter. Personally, Rubayat is a blogger and an adventurer, and has traveled to many remote places in expeditions.
Rubayat is admitted to the Harvard Kennedy School’s MPA/ID program as a HKS Merit Scholar, which he will join Fall of 2010. Previously, he completed his BSc. in Demography and Environmental Science with a minor in Computational Mathematics from Independent University (Bangladesh) as a Gold Medalist and Valedictorian.
Achiamah Osei-tutu, MD, Ghana Country Director
Dr. Osei-tutu is an associate at Northshore Dermatology on Long Island NY and Heights Dermatology in Brooklyn NY. She is a graduate of SUNY Downstate Department of Dermatology where she served as chief resident in her final year. Dr. Osei-tutu had two years of training in public health at the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health. She also had the privilege of spending one year conducting cutting-edge research on immunologic treatments for pediatric cancers at the National Institutes of Health as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Research scholar. Dr. Osei-Tutu has a special interest in international dermatology and teledermatology. She successfully conducted a pilot study on the use of mobile teledermatology in Ghana in conjunction with ClickDiagnostics.
Tahmina Khanam, Program Manager (Bangladesh)
Tahmina Khanam has been involved in planning and executing several mobile health initiatives in Bangladesh and abroad. She also serves as a faculty member in the Department of Management Studies, University of Dhaka. She has academic research papers on customer relationship and gender issues regarding “ICT for Development” initiatives. She is the founder member of youth led group Jagoree, in which capacity she leads different initiatives related to youth and policy issues. She also worked as program manager for an UNDP funded documentary on awareness building on e-Governance.
She did her MBA, as a Fulbright Fellow, in the area of Management, Leadership and Public Policy from Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), New York. Previously, she did a BBA and MBA at the University of Dhaka.
Advisors
Alex (Sandy) Pentland
Prof. Pentland is a pioneer in mobile information systems, technology for developing countries, consumer health, and smart environments. One of the most-cited computer scientists in the world, with international awards in the Arts, Sciences and Engineering, he was chosen by Newsweek as one of the 100 Americans likely to shape this century. His focus is the development of human-centered technology, and the creation of ventures that take this technology into the real world. He is the Director of MIT’s Human Dynamics research program and a co-founder of the Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship.
Carrie Kovarik
Carrie L. Kovarik, MD is an Assistant Professor of Dermatology, Dermatopathology, and Infectious Diseases at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Kovarik has a special interest in tropical, infectious, and HIV-related dermatology. She recently co-authored a book entitled “Infectious and Diseases: A Primary Care Handbook.” Dr. Kovarik completed the Gorgas Course in Clinical Tropical Medicine in 2005, obtained the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) Certificate of Knowledge in Clinical Tropical Medicine and Travelers’ Health in 2006, and is a member of the ASTMH Clinical Group. Dr. Kovarik is the Head of Dermatology for the Penn-Botswana Program and is the
primary dermatology consultant for the Baylor International Pediatrics AIDS Initiative (BIPAI) in Africa. Dr. Kovarik has created an African teledermatology consult service (www.telederm.org/africa) which is a collaborative effort between BIPAI, the American Academy of Dermatology, seven African countries, and several other institutions. Dr. Kovarik is also the Chair of the Residents’ International Grant Work Group within the AAD and recently received funding to send 12 senior dermatology residents over the next two years to participate in month long rotations on the dermatology consult service in Botswana.
Alec P. Karys
Alec Karys is currently the Chief Technology Officer of mShopper, a company which provides real time price comparison and shopping services over mobile devices. Alec has over 25 years of experience as an entrepreneur, technical team manager and consultant at Amazon.com and various other technology and services companies. He has served as the CEO of Synapse Ventures Group, a provider of consulting services to early stage technology companies, and Cognate Technologies, an E-Learning company based on patent pending technology from MIT research. Alec received his MBA and Electrical Engineering degrees from Northeastern University and attended the Engineering Executive Program at Stanford University. Alec has two issued patents in medical protocol authoring and delivery, and he has four patents in process in the area of mobile commerce (m-commerce).
Ruhul Abid
Ruhul Abid, MD, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School (HMS). He is actively involved in cardiovascular research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), and teaching and training of medical and graduate students and postdoctoral fellows at HMS and BIDMC. Before joining HMS, Dr. Abid had extensively worked in the rural areas of Bangladesh as the Coordinator of the Primary Health Care projects aimed at reducing Infant and Maternal Mortality Rates (IMR and MMR), and improving community health and hygiene through Extended Program of Immunization (EPI), health education, introduction of Family Health Card (FHC) system and training of the Community-based Health Workers. He has a special interest in community-based and preventive medicine in the developing countries.
Recently, Dr. Abid has been awarded the highly prestigious 6th Annual Young Investigator Award in Thrombosis by the American Heart Association (AHA). This AHA award is given annually to one investigator who has significantly advanced the field of thrombosis research, diagnosis, and/or treatment.
Joost Bonsen
Joost Bonsen is a member of the Global Board of Directors of the MIT Enterprise Forum. Joost studies innovation everywhere, from invention in research labs through action in entrepreneurial startups and innovation ecosystems generally. He received his bachelor’s degree in Bio-Electrical Engineering from MIT and master’s degree in Management of Technology program from MIT Sloan with his thesis The Innovation Institute: From Creative Inquiry Through Real-World Impact at MIT. Prior to MIT Sloan, Bonsen ran the MIT Founders Project which quantified the economic impact of MIT-related entrepreneurs, findings ultimately published by BankBoston as MIT: Impact of Innovation. Formerly an entrant, mentor, judge, and Lead Organizer of the MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition, he is co-founder of the Howtoons Project, which distributes educational cartoons showing kids everywhere “How To” build things using everyday materials and tools. He is co-founder of the MIT Innovation Club, TechLink, and numerous entrepreneurial events and gatherings, including the MIT Chairman’s Salon. Joost was co-creator and founding teaching assistant or instructor of several MIT classes and seminars, including the “Nuts & Bolts of Business Plans” with MIT Enterprise Forum Chairman Joe Hadzima, “Developmental Entrepreneurship and Digital Innovations” with Professor Sandy Pentland, and most recently, “Neurotechnology Ventures” with Ed Boyden and Rutledge Ellis-Behnke. He has hosted a weekly television show “HighTechFever” since 1999, and has run entrepreneurial networking VentureNights at the MIT Muddy Charles Pub since the mid-1990s.
