We are clinical innovators merging healthcare and design
Innovating in Healthcare
The Heartbeat Technologies team is an interdisciplinary, diverse, and experienced team of surgeons, medical students, engineers, and designers who are collaborating to improve medical outcomes. Leveraging their first-hand experiences in the medical field as well as their Human-Centered Design training, the team is uniquely positioned to make lasting impacts on healthcare outcomes. The team functions at the intersection between healthcare and design and strives to create innovative solutions, one unmet need at a time.
Our Team
Kristen Quinn, MD
Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Quinn completed her undergraduate work at Vanderbilt University where she graduated with honors in neuroscience and public health. She received her MD from The Ohio State University College of Medicine, and moved to Charleston, SC to pursue her surgical training at the Medical University of South Carolina. Dr. Quinn has a passion for research, innovation, and entrepreneurship and feels a deep responsibility to her patients to rapidly translate medical solutions into clinical care.
Julie Siegel, MD
Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Siegel completed her undergraduate degrees in biology and psychology at the University Georgia. She obtained her MD from Emory University School of Medicine and is currently training in the general surgery residency program at the Medical University of South Carolina. Along with her clinical work, Dr. Siegel has been engaged in research in cancer therapeutics and developing innovative solutions to improve patient care. Dr. Siegel is impassioned to combat the problems in the healthcare field that impact her patients and fellow healthcare workers and advance the clinical landscape.
Leah Plumblee, MD, MS
Chief Technology Officer
Dr. Plumblee completed her undergraduate degree in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Miami before attending Clemson University, where she earned her master's degree in Bioengineering. She received her MD from the Medical University of South Carolina, where she is currently pursuing her general surgery training.
Dr. Plumblee has long held an interest in medical device innovation, research, and entrepreneurship and is using her unique background in engineering and medicine to develop creative solutions to some of medicine's largest problems.
Joshua Kim, MS
Chief Design Officer
Joshua Kim graduated from Northwestern University with a BA in Biological Sciences, the Segal Design Certificate, and a MS in Engineering Design Innovation. He pursued his passion to impact patient care by creating multiple medical devices focused on stroke rehabilitation, pediatric injections, and proton radiation therapy for cancer, and also co-founded a medical device start-up as its CEO. Kim then moved to Charleston, SC to create a Human-Centered Design Program at the Medical University of South Carolina to train surgical residents and medical students in Design Thinking and medical entrepreneurship.
Heather Holman, BS
Chief Operating Officer
Heather Holman graduated from the University of Central Florida (UCF) with a dual degree in Biomedical Sciences and Sport & Exercise Science. During her time at UCF, Heather worked in a neurodegenerative disease research lab completing her Honors in the Major senior thesis. Following graduation, Heather spent a year as a Post-Baccalaureate Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Neuroscience where she got to work with cutting-edge technology to better understand the mechanisms behind learning and memory. Her passion for research led her to pursue an MD/PhD at the Medical University of South Carolina. Heather’s career goal is to work at the intersection of medicine and science bringing innovative research solutions to the clinical setting so that patients can reap the benefits.
Anthony Alerre, BS
Anthony Alerre graduated from Clemson University in 2020 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Bioengineering – Biomaterials with an honors thesis in cardiovascular tissue engineering. During his time at Clemson, he gained experience in medical device development involving amputee rehabilitation, infant concussion assessment, and cardiovascular biomaterials. He then moved to Charleston to attend medical school at the Medical University of South Carolina. Anthony has a deep passion is for continued advancement of healthcare and hopes to embed innovation into his medical career.
Chase Walton, MS
Chase Walton completed his undergraduate work and Masters at Brigham Young University where he studied Physiology and Developmental Biology. He is currently completing his MD and PhD degrees at the Medical University of South Carolina, in Charleston, SC. With a diverse research background spanning research with the Colorado Olympic Training Center to pharmaceuticals to ketogenic diets, he is passionate about advancing science to improve medical care.