Tom Walpole

Summary

Previously: CTO of TrialsAI - Overseeing technical architecture and implementation leveraging AI to optimize inefficiencies in clinical trial design. I was on the MD/PhD track out of undergrad preparing for medical school as a Research Associate for The Scripps Research Institute examining the role of the mesolimbic dopamine pathway in the reinforcement of drug taking behavior. It was at TSRI, while trying unsuccessfully to manage our research data using their legacy Filemaker Pro database that I discovered the value and my passion for open source technology alternatives. I studied up on linux, mysql and perl programming and when an opportunity came up to work at a hot new tech startup, MP3.com, I abandoned my med-school dreams and jumped in head first! I gained tremendous experience in consumer-tech working at mp3.com on the content management & acquisition team. We were the team that built the software that facilitated ripping, uploading and transcoding audio and then making it available for streaming. Being part of that team put in the position to get acquired by the "new" Napster which was a legal pay-to-play music store (think: iTunes, before there was iTunes). Mp3.com eventually got acquired by Vivendi/Universal and Napster was acquired by Best Buy. After Napster I continued to hone my technical chops by being surrounded by extremely talented engineers at some great companies, most notably: Intercasting Corp (founded by ex-mp3.com execs and acquired by Good Technologies), Websense (acquired by Raytheon) and Switchvox (acquired by Digium). More recently, I acted as CTO for Sparkfin which we took on a 3 year journey from startup to acquisition by StockTwits. I got back to my research roots and into health-tech when I became the first engineer hired at Pathway Genomics and led their tech team as Director of Technology. I've also done consulting for Millennium Health and UCSD Moores Cancer Center.