Dr. Thomas Williams has been named chief science officer and vice president, research and development of Exagen Diagnostics (Albuquerque, New Mexico). Prior to joining Exagen on a full-time basis, Williams served as the company's special advisor for molecular pathology. Additionally, he was vice chairman, department of pathology, at the University of New Mexico (UNM) School of Medicine and director of the Genetics and Cytometry Division at TriCore Reference Laboratories. Williams will continue with UNM as part-time professor of pathology. Exagen develops genomic marker-based in vitro diagnostic kits for disease prognosis and prediction of treatment response.

Colleen Stern was named director of corporate accounts for HemoSense (San Jose, California). Previously, Stern was vice president, member relations for the Health Industry Distributors Association. HemoSense makes hand-held blood coagulation systems for monitoring patients taking warfarin.

Anthony Draye has been named chief information officer of Liberty Pacific Medical Imaging (LPMI; Encino, California), an operator of diagnostic imaging centers. Draye, based out the company's Seattle office, previously served as software engineer in R&D for Boeing. Draye also works with the national health service of Ghana in West Africa to develop software for the management of drug supplies and patient records.

J. Jay Volkert, PhD, has been named manager, government sector, for Lincoln Technologies (Wellesley, Massachusetts), a Phase Forward company. Volkert brings more than 25 years of experience in consulting and information technology services to federal healthcare agencies, most recently as vice president for healthcare policy for The Lewin Group. Lincoln Technologies, acquired by data management solutions firm Phase Forward last August, provides products and services for pharmacovigilance, clinical trial safety signal detection and applied data standards.

James Toscano will replace Ford Watson Bell as president of the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation . Bell resigned last fall to focus on his campaign for the U.S. Senate. Toscano will join the foundation in April from Park Nicollet Institute, where he has served as executive vice president since 1981 and is credited with leading initiatives to expand clinical research, education, outreach and professional training. Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation is a not-for-profit, community-based research and education organization.

John Mullen has been named vice president, U.S. sales for Smith & Nephew Endoscopy (Andover, Massachusetts). Mullen has been with Smith & Nephew since 1992, most recently serving as vice president, spine. Smith & Nephew is a global medical technology business specializing in endoscopy, orthopedic reconstruction, orthopedic trauma and advanced wound management products.

Michael Shoup has joined SurModics (Eden Prairie, Minnesota) as vice president of quality, regulatory and clinical affairs. Shoup most recently served as director of quality and design assurance for St. Jude Medical's Cardiac Surgery Division. SurModics is a provider of surface modification technologies in the areas of biocompatibility, site-specific drug delivery, biological cell encapsulation and medical diagnostics.

Marc Burel has been appointed vice president of domestic sales for Vertebron (Stratford, Connecticut). Burel most recently served as the vice president of sales and marketing at SpineVision, and prior to that held the same position at Osteotech. Vertebron has developed next-generation spinal implants which integrate spinal, orthopedic and total joint technologies.

• VQ OrthoCare (Irvine, California), a national provider of orthopedic rehabilitation and surgical solutions, reported sales personnel changes focused on leading the company in an accelerated national expansion. Shane Kelly has been promoted from vice president of business development to the newly created post of chief sales and marketing officer. Lon White, former Western region district manager, has been promoted to regional sales director responsible for overseeing four district managers and the company's Western region sales force. Mark St. Johns rejoins VQ OrthoCare, after two years away, as Western region district manager.