Our Team
Core Team
Chandu Vemuri, Co-Chair of Innovation
Dr. Chandu Vemuri is a board-certified Vascular Surgeon at the University of Michigan who specializes in Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (TOS) with a research focus on medical innovation and nanoparticle therapeutics. He is the clinical lead for Vascular Surgery Outreach, TOS and the venous program. He is the co-lead of the Department of Surgery Innovation Challenge and the Co-Chair of the Frankel Cardiovascular Center’s Innovation Program.
He received a Bachelor of Arts from Johns Hopkins University (2000; Phi Beta Kappa Status) and his MD from the University of Michigan (2004; AOA). He completed his General Surgery Training at the University of Michigan and a Vascular Surgery Fellowship at Washington University in Saint Louis. He is a Registered Physician in Vascular Ultrasound Interpretation, a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a member of the Society for Vascular Surgery, Society for Clinical Vascular Surgery, Association for Academic Surgery, Association of VA Surgeons and the American Heart Association.
Hamid Ghanbari, Co-Chair of Innovation
Dr. Hamid Ghanbari's innovation work is focused on understanding the biological and psychological determinants of patient reported outcomes in patients with atrial fibrillation. He leverages mobile applications, wearable sensors, signal processing and machine learning to explore the dynamic relationship between symptoms, affect and functional status in patients with atrial fibrillation. He is a Co-Chair of the Frankel Cardiovascular Center’s Innovation Program.
Dr. Ghanbari is a cardiovascular electrophysiologist at the U-M Cardiovascular Center where he treats patients with complex arrhythmias. When not working, Dr. Ghanbari enjoys spending time with his daughters, cooking, running, reading, and traveling. Before completing his Advanced Cardiovascular Electrophysiology Fellowship at the University of Michigan, Dr. Ghanbari was a fellow at Providence Hospital and Medical Centers and a student at Wayne State University, the University of Michigan School of Public Health, American University of the Caribbean, and McMaster University.
Jon Servoss
Jon Servoss, EdD is the Director of FFMI’s Commercialization Education, where he leads a team of educational specialists to provided extensive training in biomedical technology commercialization for UMMS faculty, graduate students, and postdoctoral trainees. Before joining the FFMI team, Jon was the Director of Continuing Medical Education and Continuing Education Operations at the South East Area Health Education Center, part of the National AHEC Organization. While there, Jon developed, implemented, and evaluated Continuing Medical Education programs for physicians and other practicing healthcare professionals. Prior to that role, Jon was a special project manager in Graduate Medical Education at New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington, NC, where he assisted with the management of four Resident Physician Training programs. Jon completed his undergraduate degree at Adrian College, his Master’s in Education at East Carolina University, and is currently pursuing a doctorate at the University of Michigan Dearborn.
Leeann Cacovean
Leeann Cacovean, MSN, ACNP-BC is the Quality and Safety Program Manager for the Frankel Cardiovascular Center. Before joining Michigan Medicine, Leeann was the Director of the Cardiovascular Outcomes Group at UCSD Health where she was responsible for the clinical registries, performance improvement initiatives, and quality reporting of the Cardiovascular Institute. She has broad experience with data analytics and evidence-based practice change, specifically clinical pathway development and care transition management. Her interest is in sustainable change (working smarter instead of harder) and multidisciplinary collaboration.
Leeann has over 15 years of experience in patient care, quality management, clinical education and leadership. She completed her Bachelor of Science in Nursing cum laude at the University of Pennsylvania and her Master of Science in Nursing with a dual concentration (Acute Care Nurse Practitioner and Critical Care Clinical Nurse Specialist) at Rush University. She is a board certified Acute Care Nurse Practitioner.
Ashley Schork
Ashley Schork, MNM is the FCVC Innovation Program Manager, where she is responsible for managing the Aikens Innovation Academy and the FCVC Innovation Challenge. Before this role, Ashley spent over six years working at the University of Michigan Life Sciences Institute (LSI) administratively managing several research centers in the areas of structural biology, cryo-electron microscopy, drug discovery, and high-throughput screening. Prior to the position at LSI, Ashley worked at Arbor Research Collaborative for Health providing administrative support to NIH and PCORI funded nephrology studies. Ashley has both her B.A. and a Masters in Non-Profit Management from DePaul University.
Innovation Champions
Luciano Delbono
Dr. Luciano Delbono is a Vascular Surgery resident at University of Michigan. He received a B.S. from Wake Forest University in Biology with an interest in Chemistry. Prior to obtaining his M.D. from Wake Forest University, he played soccer professionally for North Carolina FC and GBK in Finland and went on to work in finance at Hanesbrands Inc., helping integrate and automate the financial systems of mergers and acquisitions. Luciano is interested in biomedical design, attending the Aikens Academy and FFMI, and excited to combine his vascular research interests with innovation.
Diane Drago
Diane Drago has served on the University of Michigan Cancer Center’s Patient and Family Advisory Board (PFAB) as a family member since it was created in 2011. Her husband was a patient at the Cancer Center for nearly four years during which he was cared for by a number of UMHS specialties, including cardiology. Diane also serves as a member of UMHS’ Department of Internal Medicine’s Quality Council. Professionally, Diane owns and manages Diversified Management Services, LLC, a conference and event planning firm, which has an extensive health care clientele.
Tammy Ellies
Tammy Ellies, MBA, PMP, is the Manager of the Clinical Experience and Quality team in the Department of Internal Medicine. In this role, she oversees quality improvement projects and facilitates quality improvement educational activities for the department. Tammy has over 23 years of healthcare process/quality improvement and project management experience, working for health plans Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and M-CARE prior to joining Internal Medicine. She has a B.S.E. in Industrial and Operations Engineering and an MBA from the University of Michigan, and certifications in Project Management (PMP) and Lean Healthcare.
Stephanie Spehar
Dr. Stephanie Spehar is an internal medicine resident at Michigan Medicine with an interest in cardiology. She received her B.A. in Organizational Studies at the University of Michigan with a focus in health management in policy. Prior to obtaining her M.D. at the University of Pittsburgh, she worked as a consultant at The Advisory Board Company where she advised hospital executives and cardiovascular service line leaders on strategic planning, program development, and clinic investment strategy in the value-based era. During residency she has participated in the Health Administration Scholars Program and has a special interest in quality improvement with a focus on social determinants of health. After finishing residency she will serve as a chief resident of the Internal Medicine program.
Liz Spranger
Liz Spranger is a Continuous Improvement Specialist Lead on the Clinical Experience and Quality team in the Department of Internal Medicine. In this role, she provides overall management of clinical quality and process improvement projects. She integrates teaching quality improvement methodologies when facilitating projects and she mentors faculty, trainees, and staff within the Department to develop improvement skills. Liz has 12 years of healthcare process and quality improvement with Michigan Medicine and another 18 years of procurement and project management experience with the University of Michigan and other corporations. She has a B.A. in Materials and Logistics Management; Major in Purchasing with concentrations in Operations Management, Physical Distribution Management, and Transportation Management from Michigan State University. She also has a certification in Lean Healthcare.
Jaye Starr
Jaye Starr is a Michigan Medicine chaplain resident serving the CVC ICUs who holds her M.Div. equivalency from Hartford Seminary and B.A. in Theatrical Design from Smith College. She is active nationally in the field of Islamic chaplaincy including having published Mantle of Mercy: Islamic Chaplaincy in North America (Templeton Press, 2022) and serving on the board of the Association of Muslim Chaplains. Outside of her chaplaincy work she enjoys facilitating Alternatives To Violence Project workshops inclusive of refugees and seeing the world through the eyes of her children, one of whom as Down syndrome.
Nikki Taylor
Nikki Taylor is the Clinical Nurse Specialist for 4c Cardio-Thoracic Surgery Unit and CVC 5 Cardiovascular Moderate Care Unit at the Frankel Cardiovascular Center. Nikki began her nursing career working as a dual unit cross trainer on 7c cardiac stepdown unit and 7d cardiac intensive care unit. She values her experience there because she worked with inspiring nurses and physicians who helped develop her into the nurse she is today. Nikki has worked on various projects/committees at UMHS such as implementation of electronic charting systems, central line bloodstream infections on 7d and transfer of accountability from ICU to stepdown. She is also active in the community by working through her church to help reduce health disparities.
Raymond Yeow
Dr. Raymond Yeow is a Cardiology Fellow at Michigan Medicine. While completing his Internal Medicine Residency at Michigan Medicine, he actively collaborated with partners in Clinical Design & Innovation to improve transitions of care for patients with acute myocardial infarctions (AMI) and congestive heart failure (CHF). He has a strong passion for improving the quality of patient care, with specific interests in patient safety, process improvement, and appropriate resource utilization.
Gardner Yost
Dr. Yost was born in New Jersey and raised in Chicago, IL. His undergrad studies at Cornell University were in Biology, Food Science, and Viticulture and Enology. After competing with the United States Under 23 Men’s National Rowing team, he proceeded to complete a Master's degree in Bioengineering at the University of Illinois at Chicago where he primarily studied left ventricular assist device function. He completed his medical degree and sub-track in medical innovation at the University of Illinois at Chicago. During his residency at the University of Michigan, he has continued to pursue his interest in surgical device innovation and has developed a novel sternal closure device with support from the Coulter Translational Partnership. During his academic development time, he pursued his interests in surgical device development as a Surgical Innovation Fellow.