HSS Innovation Team

Dr. Ast is an Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Hospital for Special Surgery and Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City, and the Chief Medical Innovation Officer of Hospital for Special Surgery. He is fellowship trained in Adult Reconstruction and Joint Replacement Surgery from the Hospital for Special Surgery. His primary specialty focus is rapid-recovery, short-stay and outpatient joint replacement surgery. View Dr. Ast's physician profile

Doug Leach serves as the Vice President of Device Innovation for the HSS Innovation Institute. His role is focused on driving the discovery, assessment, development, and commercialization functions related to musculoskeletal devices at HSS. Doug is a key connection between the HSS surgeon community and medical staff, the Department of Biomechanical Engineering, and our growing list of commercial partners, with the goal of leveraging the HSS core competency of device innovations to drive improvement in musculoskeletal care and commercial success.

A biomechanical engineer by training, Doug comes to HSS with more than 25 years of experience in the orthopedic device industry across R&D, product marketing, and business management functions. He has experience in both large corporate settings and early-stage technology companies, having served as a former VP with Stryker Corp managing various functions of their $1.4B knee franchise, as well as SVP at OrthoSensor, Inc. responsible for product development and marketing of sensor based instrument and implant platforms.

Jeff is a strategic and commercial executive with a track record of growth in the connected care, digital health, and health informatics sectors. In his recent work as an executive advisor, he helped healthcare and health tech companies unlock commercial growth as well as achieve strategic fundraising and transformation objectives. He also supported investors to strengthen their thesis development and due diligence as a strategic advisor in the deal process. With executive leadership experience in both health tech businesses and health systems, Jeff is a proven leader in commercialization, M&A, business integration, and enterprise transformation.

Jeff was formerly the Chief Strategy Officer and Solutions Business Leader of Philips North America ($6b), where he led strategic planning, business development, M&A, and enterprise transformation, resulting in the highest order book in company history, YoY increases in EBITDA, and rising NPS and EES. In particular, he led the company's transformation from a product- to a solutions-company, and brought the transformation to practice as the leader of the solutions business, guiding a commercial organization to 8- and 9-figure customer partnerships.

Jeff is a proven entrepreneur, having been the founding strategy and commercial leader of Philips Population Health Management, a new business focused on value-based care analytics, virtual care, and home health. He also co-founded the connected care and telemedicine business at Dartmouth Hitchcock Health. Previously, he served as the Head of Strategy for Stanford Health Care.

Jeff holds an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.

Vijay Nair is a Managing Director for the HSS Innovation Institute – the innovation arm of HSS, the world-leading academic medical center in orthopedics and musculoskeletal health. He is responsible for portfolio management and venture investments for HSS’s growing portfolio of disruptive medical device, life science and care delivery technologies.

Prior to joining the HSS Innovation Institute, Vijay led HSS’s Strategy and Business Development functions. In this role, Vijay worked closely with executive leadership to design and roll-out the strategic roadmap and operating plan. He also identified, evaluated and pursued new initiatives and partnerships to support the Hospital's growth objectives.

Before joining HSS, Vijay was a strategy consultant at Monitor Deloitte, where he consulted clients across the healthcare landscape (life sciences, insurance, health IT) and beyond (e.g., automotive, retail, consumer electronics, industrial products, and the public and not-for-profit sectors). His primary focus was to help clients grow through M&A, strategic partnerships, market entry, and other organic growth strategies.

Vijay graduated with honors from NYU's Stern School of Business with concentrations in Finance, Management and Organizational Behavior, and he also completed executive education in venture capital from Stanford University.

Rita Patel is the Director of Device Innovation at the HSS Innovation Institute. In this role, she is responsible for collaborating with multiple functional groups such as clinicians, engineering, manufacturing, and operations to support the development and commercialization of musculoskeletal devices at HSS.

Rita has almost 20 years of proven success in the global medical device industry. Her experience includes all stages of product development ranging from concepts through commercialization. Known for her technical aptitude, Rita combines her engineering education with her marketing background. Throughout her career, she has launched a variety of spinal systems spanning the occiput to the sacrum.

Rita earned a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a M.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Technology. In her private life, she is an endurance athlete competing in long distance triathlons across the country.

Kevin Lastorino is the general counsel of the HSS Innovation Institute. Drawing upon a rare combination of business acumen, legal experience, and creativity honed over more than 25 years of representing health care and life sciences institutions and entrepreneurs, Dr. Lastorino supports our innovation projects from concept to commercialization.

Dr. Lastorino joined the HSS family after his term as Chief Legal Officer of Robert Wood Johnson Health System, where he was responsible for transforming its legal department and elevating the role of its attorneys in the development, implementation and maintenance of strategic corporate relationships, including with Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and the Cancer Institute of New Jersey, and ultimately in the corporate combination forming RWJBarnabas Health.

Dr. Lastorino earned a JD from Boston University, a DDS from Stony Brook University and a BS in Biology from Syracuse University. Before embarking on his legal career, Dr. Lastorino practiced dentistry and designed and directed the first dental practice management course at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, where he also taught clinical and pre-clinical operative dentistry.

Zachary Robert Goldberg is an Assistant General Counsel, Innovation Institute at Hospital for Special Surgery. Zach supports the HSS Innovation Institute across its three verticals (care delivery, device innovation and life sciences) and provides legal counsel on innovation projects and investments over the course of their life cycle.

Prior to joining the HSS Innovation Institute, Zach was an associate at two global law firms where he primarily focused on corporate transactions with an emphasis on debt finance matters. Zach has advised clients on domestic and cross-border transactions and on matters across a wide range of industries including healthcare, hospitality, information technology and logistics.

Zach received his undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with distinction, and his juris doctor degree from the Georgetown University Law Center, cum laude.