Our Team - Kuleana Technology

Meet The Team

Jonathan Himmelfarb is Co-Director of the UW Center for Dialysis Innovation, Director of the Kidney Research Institute, Professor of Medicine and Adjunct Professor of Bioengineering, and holds the Joseph W. Eschbach M.D. Endowed Chair in Kidney Research at UW. He is a leading expert on uremia, altered metabolism in kidney disease, and in hemodialysis.

He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), and the American Society of Nephrology, and has held leadership roles in multiple NIH funded consortia, including the NIDDK Kidney Precision Medicine Project and the NCATS Tissue Chips Consortium.

Dr. Himmelfarb has held leadership positions in many national and international nephrology organizations, including serving as President of the ASN in 2014-2015. He has served on expert panels for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Veterans Health Administration, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and other organizations.

Barry N. Fulkerson is the UW Center for Dialysis Innovation Director of Systems Engineering and a Medical Products R&D Executive, offering direct medical device innovation and product development experience developing extracorporeal systems in start-up and established environments. Based on partnerships with clinicians, Barry designed progressive therapies that meet clinical and patient needs in an ever-evolving reimbursement environment.

Barry has been a Principal at Purewater Medical since 2015, developing novel water purification technology. Previously, Barry was the VP of Operations and R&D with Fresenius Medical Care North America, the VP of R&D for Xcorporeal, which was acquired by Fresenius Medical Care North America, Director of Electrical and Software Development with NxStage Medical, an R&D Software Development Engineer with Gambro BCT, and a various systems, field support, manufacturing, and quality engineering roles at Gambro’s Renal Products division.

Buddy Ratner is Co-Director of the UW Center for Dialysis Innovation, Director of the Engineered Biomaterials Engineering Research Center, holds the Michael L. and Myrna Darland Endowed Chair in Technology Commercialization, and is Professor in Bioengineering and Chemical Engineering at UW.

He is an expert in biomaterials used in medical devices and implants, and is a Fellow and past President of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), past President of the Society for Biomaterials, as well as a member of the National Academy of Engineering, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

His numerous awards include the 2014 Lifetime Inventor and Innovator Award from the University of Washington.

Jeremy Barribeau holds a BDes (Hons) in industrial design (Victoria University, Wellington, New Zealand), and an MDes in interaction design (University of Washington, Seattle, USA). He is the Concept and Experience Design Lead at the Center for Dialysis Innovation (CDI) and at Kuleana Technology Inc., and associated faculty at the University of Washington.

Jeremy has 10+ years of experience designing physical and digital products as an in-house designer and consultant for companies ranging in size from startups to the Fortune 50. His product design experience spans the gamut, from bespoke to high volume, and includes soft-goods, packaging, medical devices, consumer electronics and enterprise/industrial products.

His design and innovation work has been recognized with multiple patents and design awards, including the Red Dot and iF awards. Jeremy specializes in human-centered design (HCD) and is equally at home designing blue-sky conceptual products as he is designing for mass-manufacturing (DFM).

Anna Galperin is the Director of Research and Development at the UW Center for Dialysis Innovation. Anna collaborates cross-functionally and cross-organizationally with diverse teams, including research, regulatory, and human factors, as well as engineers, clinicians, and patients, to support and drive multiple projects across a wide spectrum of subjects.

With nearly twenty years of experience in organic, medicinal, and polymer chemistries, as well as bioengineering and medical devices, in both academia and industry, Anna possesses a unique and extensive multidisciplinary background. Her research accomplishments are highlighted in numerous publications, book chapters, and patents.

Anna has honed her management skills and expertise through her certifications in Biomedical Regulatory Affairs, Biotechnology Project Management, and Project Management Professional (PMP), which is the industry standard.

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Kuleana Technology Inc. is a Seattle-based startup focused on improving renal replacement therapies.

Meet The Team

Jonathan Himmelfarb, MD

Barry N. Fulkerson

Buddy Ratner, PhD

Jeremy Barribeau, MDes

Anna Galperin, PhD, PMP