Meet the NASH PASS Team
The NASH PASS team consists of clinical research and development experts and medical professionals, widely recognized for their scientific contributions in liver and metabolic diseases.
Site Management & Services


Heidi Guthrie
Senior Director, Clinical Strategies & Logistics, ProSciento, Inc.
Heidi Guthrie is Senior Director of Clinical Strategies & Logistics at ProSciento, Inc. Her career in the CRO industry and clinical trial management for metabolic diseases spans more than 15 years. Her operational and therapeutic experience has led to a robust expertise is building strategic business processes for increased efficiencies across the company’s broad site network. In her current role, Ms. Guthrie is a member of the Senior Leadership Team and manages clinical operations governance and strategic vendor management for the company’s CRO projects. She is also a member of the oversight committee for ProSciento’s NASH PASS program. Prior to this role, Ms. Guthrie was Associate Director of CRO Services, overseeing functional service lines and clinical project management within ProSciento’s CRO division. Earlier in her career, she was a Clinical Project Manager at ProSciento for seven years where she gained the clinical study and site network coordination experience that contributes to the client-focused insight she brings to her current leadership role.


Richard Hong
Site Recruiter, Clinical Strategies and Logistics, ProSciento, Inc.
Richard Hong is a Site Recruiter at ProSciento, Inc. In his current role, Mr. Hong is responsible for site identification and for guiding sites through the initial site qualification process for the NASH PASS program. Prior to this role, Mr. Hong was involved in direct hire operations as well as account management for the technology industry.
NASH PASS Scientific Team


Michelle Mazuranic, Ph.D., R.D.
Vice President of Medical and Regulatory Affairs
Michelle Mazuranic, Ph.D., R.D., is Vice President of Medical and Regulatory Affairs at ProSciento, Inc. She oversees ProSciento’s medical affairs and regulatory consulting services, as well as works with clients to build strategic clinical development programs from early engagement assessment and planning through the completion of multi-site clinical trials.
Dr. Mazuranic has extensive experience in building and leading global scientific strategies for clinical development, regulatory and medical affairs. Prior to joining ProSciento, Dr. Mazuranic served as Head of Global Medical Affairs at Gan & Lee Pharmaceuticals, where she built the department from the ground up. Prior to that, she served as Director of Global Medical Affairs for the Cardio-Renal and Metabolism Team for a seven-year tenure at AstraZeneca, where she managed strategic relationships with external scientific, academic, and advocacy group organizations and experts. Throughout her career, Dr. Mazuranic has developed and implemented activities to support global and compound-specific strategies, external scientific engagement, medical excellence, and evidence generation. Dr. Mazuranic is a licensed dietitian, completed her M.S. in management from Boston University, and earned her Ph.D. in Public Health and Epidemiology from Walden University.


SuZanne Chaves, MD
Medical Director, ProSciento, Inc.
Dr. SuZanne Chaves is Medical Director at ProSciento, Inc. and a board-certified physician in endocrinology and internal medicine with extensive experience working directly with patients with diabetes. Prior to Dr. Chaves’s current role at ProSciento, she was Regional Medical Director at Sharp Community Medical Group in San Diego. Before that, she was a physician in private endocrinology practice. Dr. Chaves is also a well-known lecturer as a previous member of the Speakers’ Bureaus for Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer, Eli Lilly, and Aventis Pharmaceuticals.
Dr. Chaves earned her medical degree from the University of Maryland School of Medicine and completed her internal medicine residency and endocrinology, diabetes, and metabolism fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
Executive Oversight


Marcus Hompesch, MD
Chief Executive Officer, ProSciento, Inc.
Dr. Marcus Hompesch is Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of ProSciento and has led the company since its inception in 2003. He is also editor-in-chief of the journal Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism, a Wiley publication. His career and track record in metabolism-focused clinical R&D, spanning more than 25 years in academic and industry settings, includes contributions to clinical development strategies and early phase research studies for many of the diabetes and related metabolic drugs and devices on the market globally. Read Dr. Hompesch’s full biography here.


Brian Mooney
Chief Operating Officer, ProSciento Inc.
Brian Mooney is Chief Operating Officer at ProSciento, Inc. Mr. Mooney is a CRO executive with over 25 years of experience, much of it focused on global expansion of operations for mid to large CROs, including Chiltern, Theorem, and Pharmaceutical Research Associates International (PRA). Prior to joining ProSciento, he served as Executive Vice President of Strategic Service Provision at Chiltern, a Covance company, where he oversaw the development and advancement of one of their core business segments. Read Mr. Mooney’s full biography here.
Data & Biostatistics


David Provenghi
Director, Clinical Data Management, ProSciento, Inc.
David Provenghi joined ProSciento in 2010 and is Director of Clinical Data Management, leading a highly experienced team of data managers. His experience in clinical data management spans nearly 30 years in the clinical research and drug development industry, including management roles at Synteract, Clinimetrics, Elan Pharmaceuticals, Allergan, Pfizer, and IQVIA. Mr. Provenghi leads the NASH PASS data collection and reporting services for the ProSciento team for robust collaboration with study sites and sponsors.
Independent Hepatologist


Eric Lawitz, MD
Hepatologist, Texas Liver Institute
Dr. Eric Lawitz is the Medical Director and Vice President of Research and Development at the Texas Liver Institute and Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Texas Health San Antonio. Dr. Lawitz is board certified in Gastroenterology and Hepatology and is widely recognized for his research in liver disease and as a presenter at national and international medical congresses. Dr Lawitz is a Fellow of AASLD, AGA, and Academy of Physicians in Clinical Research and is a certified Principal Investigator. He serves as a review for New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet, Gastroenterology, American Journal of Gastroenterology, Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Hepatology, Journal of Hepatology, and Therapeutic Advances in Gastroenterology. He has authored over 400 peer-reviewed publications in medical journals and is recipient of the William Beaumont Clinical Research award.