Leadership and Board of Directors

John Aballi has served as President and CEO since October 2022. He most recently served as SVP, GM, Urology and CLIA COO for Veracyte, a San Francisco based molecular diagnostic company. In this role, he maintained P&L responsibility for the business unit, ultimately expanding the urology franchise to $120 million-plus in annual revenue while maintaining responsibility for the company’s market access, billing and customer service functions in addition to Veracyte’s four US-based CLIA laboratories. Prior to this role, Mr. Aballi was a key member of the leadership team which transformed Decipher Biosciences to the market leader in genomic testing for prostate cancer. Decipher Biosciences was sold to Veracyte in March 2021 for $600 million and Mr. Aballi served as the SVP & Chief Operating Officer at the company, responsible for all aspects of operations including sales, quality management, medical operations, customer service, software development, assay development, billing, managed care, and laboratory operations; he assumed this role in August 2018. Mr. Aballi previously served as the Head of Operations at Molecular Stethoscope, a company developing cell-free RNA based diagnostics, from September 2015 to August 2018. Prior to joining Molecular Stethoscope, Mr. Aballi served in various senior roles at Genoptix from January 2007 to September 2015. Mr. Aballi was a Board Member of PFS Genomics in San Diego, a molecular diagnostic company specializing in proprietary signature development in breast cancer, which was acquired by Exact Sciences in 2021. He holds an MBA from California Baptist University and dual degrees from UC San Diego in biochemistry and cell biology and economics.

Jeff Black has served as Chief Financial Officer since September 2024. Mr. Black brings more than 30 years of financial and accounting experience, having previously served in a variety of finance leadership roles for eight publicly traded companies.  Prior to joining Exagen, Mr. Black served as CFO of Standard BioTools, where he played a key leadership role in executing its merger with SomaLogic, creating a diversified leader in life science tools. Prior to that, he was CFO of Apollo Endosurgery, where he was instrumental in the Company’s turnaround and eventual $650 million sale to Boston Scientific. Previously, he spent over four years as CFO of Alphatec Spine, where he successfully closed nearly $500M in financing transactions, to support accelerated growth, two strategic acquisitions and expansion of the company’s market cap from $20M to over $1B during his tenure.  He graduated from the University of Arizona with dual degrees in Accounting and Marketing before beginning his career at EY.

Andrew Concoff, MD, FACR, CAQSM has served as Chief Innovation Officer since October 2022. Dr. Concoff is a board-certified rheumatologist with a range of experience across the healthcare ecosystem and spans the gap between the basic and clinical science of Rheumatology and the business side of drug development and healthcare delivery that orbits around it. Dr. Concoff joins Exagen from United Rheumatology, where his work as Executive Vice President, Chief Medical Officer enables him to create, model, and implement value-based programs with payors, quality improvement initiatives with pharmaceutical manufacturers, and other clinical care innovations with stakeholders across the musculoskeletal ecosystem. Dr. Concoff has 15 years of clinical experience and served as a clinical reviewer for the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) cost effectiveness assessments of both targeted synthetic and biologic medications for rheumatoid arthritis. He received his B.A. in Psychobiology from UCLA and an M.D. from UTHealth before completing his residency in Internal Medicine and fellowship in Rheumatology at UCLA.

Dr. Mike Nerenberg has served as Chief Medical Officer since May 2023, having previously served in a variety of executive roles at eight medical diagnostic/biotech companies in California. Prior to joining Exagen, Dr. Nerenberg served as SVP for Medical and Clinical Affairs at Curative Inc, a COVID testing and vaccination company that evolved into a commercial insurance provider where he helped grow their product pipeline. Prior to this role, he served as Chief Medical Officer at Alamar Biosciences, a Bay Area company that developed ultrasensitive immunodetection products for the early detection of cancer from liquid biopsies. He also held the position of CMO of Molecular Stethoscope, an RNA-based liquid biopsy company in San Diego. Dr. Nerenberg’s longest tenure was at Genoptix, where he helped develop the business model and grow the team from 10 to over 750 employees prior to its acquisition by Novartis. He is the author of more than 50 peer-reviewed publications and 20 patents. Dr. Nerenberg graduated from Yale Medical School and completed a residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. He was a postdoc at the NCI and served as faculty at the Scripps Research Institute prior to entering industry.

Dr. Prashanti Reddy brings over 15 years of expertise in Flow Cytometry, Diagnostic Hematopathology, and Oncology to her role at Exagen. With a distinguished career including leadership positions at Berkeley's Kaiser Permanente and Genoptix Medical Laboratories, she has made significant contributions to both clinical practice and research. Dr. Reddy's efforts in flow cytometry assay development have helped enhance diagnostic methodologies and her contributions to digital pathology integration have similarly propelled advancements in the field. Holding an MD from JSS Medical College, India, and completing her residency and fellowship in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology and Hematopathology respectively at UC Davis, she further augmented her skills with an M.S. in Medical Informatics from the same institution. Dedicated to spearheading advancements in diagnostic and therapeutic drug monitoring, Dr. Reddy remains steadfast in her commitment to developing pioneering products that elevate patient care and enhance outcomes.

Tina S. Nova, Ph.D. has extensive experience growing dynamic commercial organizations in new markets within the molecular diagnostics field. Dr. Nova currently serves as president of Veracycle's U.S. CLIA business. She previously held the position of president & chief executive officer of Decipher Biosciences until March 2021. Dr. Nova has also worked as president and chief executive officer of Molecular Stethoscope, Inc., and served as senior vice president and general manager of Illumina’s oncology business unit. Dr. Nova was a co-founder of Genoptix, a medical laboratory diagnostics company, and served as its president and chief executive officer from 2000 to 2014. Genoptix was acquired by Novartis AG in 2011. Dr. Nova was co-founder of Nanogen, a provider of molecular diagnostic tests, and served as its chief operating officer and president from 1994 to 2000. She previously served as chief operating officer of Selective Genetics, and held various positions with Ligand Pharmaceuticals and Hybritech. Dr. Nova serves as the chair of the board of directors for Arena Pharmaceuticals and as a member of the board of directors of Veracyte, a diagnostics company. Dr. Nova received a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from the University of California, Irvine, and a doctorate in biochemistry from the University of California, Riverside.

John Aballi has served as President and CEO as well as on the board of directors since October 2022. He most recently served as SVP, GM, Urology and CLIA COO for Veracyte, a San Francisco based molecular diagnostic company. In this role, he maintained P&L responsibility for the business unit, ultimately expanding the urology franchise to $120 million-plus in annual revenue while maintaining responsibility for the company’s market access, billing and customer service functions in addition to Veracyte’s four US-based CLIA laboratories. Prior to this role, Mr. Aballi was a key member of the leadership team which transformed Decipher Biosciences to the market leader in genomic testing for prostate cancer. Decipher Biosciences was sold to Veracyte in March 2021 for $600 million and Mr. Aballi served as the SVP & Chief Operating Officer at the company, responsible for all aspects of operations including sales, quality management, medical operations, customer service, software development, assay development, billing, managed care, and laboratory operations; he assumed this role in August 2018. Mr. Aballi previously served as the Head of Operations at Molecular Stethoscope, a company developing cell-free RNA based diagnostics, from September 2015 to August 2018. Prior to joining Molecular Stethoscope, Mr. Aballi served in various senior roles at Genoptix from January 2007 to September 2015. Mr. Aballi was a Board Member of PFS Genomics in San Diego, a molecular diagnostic company specializing in proprietary signature development in breast cancer, which was acquired by Exact Sciences in 2021. He holds an MBA from California Baptist University and dual degrees from UC San Diego in biochemistry and cell biology and economics.

Ana Hooker has served as the SVP, Chief Laboratory Officer at Exact Sciences Corporation, a molecular diagnostics company, since 2022. Ms. Hooker joined Exact Sciences as their Senior Vice President in March 2013 with a focus on opening a new clinical laboratory in preparation for the launch of Cologuard. Prior to joining Exact Sciences Corporation, Ms. Hooker was at ARUP Laboratories for 15 years. While at ARUP Laboratories, Ms. Hooker held positions of increasing responsibility, including Group Manager for the Divisions of Oncology and Genetics, Technical Supervisor of the University of Utah Hospital Clinical Laboratories, Vice President, Division Manager for genetics and Senior Vice President, Division Manager for anatomic pathology, oncology and genetics. Ms. Hooker currently serves on the boards of Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Dane County and the Overture Center for the Arts. Ms. Hooker is also a member of the Latino Professional Association (LPA), Clinical Laboratory Management Association (CLMA), Association of Molecular Pathology (AMP), and the American Society of Clinical Laboratory Science (ASCLS). Ms. Hooker earned a Bachelor of Science from Kansas State University, a medical technologist degree from Hays Pathology Laboratories, and an M.B.A. from Westminster College.

Bruce Robertson, Ph.D. is a Managing Director of H.I.G. BioHealth Partners, the healthcare affiliate of H.I.G. Capital, a private equity firm with over $31 billion under management. Dr. Robertson has been active in the life sciences sector for more than 30 years. Prior to joining H.I.G., he served most recently as Managing Director at Toucan Capital, a venture capital fund focusing on healthcare investments. Prior to his private equity career, Dr. Robertson was Director of Business Development at IGEN International, where he was responsible for formulating and implementing IGEN's partnering and M&A strategies. Dr. Robertson started his career as a Research Manager at W.R. Grace & Co., focusing on medical devices. Dr. Robertson currently serves on the boards of Apollo Endosurgery, RxSight, CardioFocus, Clarus Therapeutics, Iconic Therapeutics, and Intact Vascular. Dr. Robertson holds a BSE in Chemical Engineering and BA in Mathematics from the University of Pennsylvania, a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Delaware, and an MBA with High Distinction from Harvard Business School. Ron Rocca, CEO at Exagen, shared “we are delighted to have such talented and experienced individuals join our team bringing a critical range of expertise. With the deep understanding of the payer perspective from Chet Burrell, the track record of successful public companies of Tina Nova, and the deep understanding of the broader healthcare space from Bruce Robertson, we are positioning Exagen for success in the next phase of our growth.” The three new members join the current Board of Directors which includes James Tullis, Beto Pallares, Brian Birk, Jeff Elliott, and Ron Rocca.