Academic Credentials
  • Ph.D., Medical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 1992
  • M.S., Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 1988
  • B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 1986
Professional Honors
  • Sezai Award for most innovative paper (International Society for Rotary Blood Pumps, 2000)
  • Wunsch Foundation Award for outstanding design (MIT, 1986)
  • Pi Tau Sigma (MIT, 1985)
Professional Affiliations
  • American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
  • American Society for Artificial Internal Organs (ASAIO)
  • International Society for Mechanical Circulatory Support (ISMCS)

Dr. Howard Loree joined Exponent in 2020 with over 25 years of diverse R&D experience in the medical device industry and a hands-on aptitude across the complete product development life cycle in both startup and growth stage companies. He has developed highly innovative surgical and interventional products for mechanical circulatory support, vascular access, peripheral vascular, neurovascular, spine, and ophthalmology applications.

Dr. Loree provides scientific consulting services in many aspects of medical devices including, but not limited to, technology assessment, product design optimization, blood damage analysis, design verification & validation (V&V) testing, human factors, health risk assessment (HRA), and post-market regulatory affairs. He has also supported both law firms and medical device manufacturers with post-market regulatory/compliance inquiries, recalls, and product liability litigation.

Dr. Loree is a recognized expert in the development of rotary blood pump systems for implantable and wearable cardiovascular applications. This includes his role as Senior Scientist / Manager of Research at Thermo Cardiosystems / Thoratec (now part of Abbott) in starting and leading the HeartMate III program which commercialized a highly successful ventricular assist device (VAD) product for long term use. As Principal Staff Scientist at ABIOMED, he contributed to the regulatory approval and ongoing innovation of the Impella VAD product line for short term use. Most recently, as Vice President of R&D at Flow Forward Medical (now part of Artio Medical), Dr. Loree led the development of the Amplifi System, a novel wearable device that rapidly dilates peripheral veins for use in creating reliable and durable arteriovenous fistula (AVF) vascular access sites for hemodialysis.

Dr. Loree's background also includes senior leadership roles in research focused on minimally invasive treatments and combination products. At Orthopeutics, he developed injectable, nontoxic crosslinking agents and associated delivery systems for treatment of degenerative disc disease, scoliosis, and other orthopedic disorders. At Avedro, Dr. Loree oversaw preclinical research on the KXL system to deliver a riboflavin/UVA collagen crosslinking treatment to treat keratoconus. Most recently, he engineered catheter-based devices for embolic occlusion of aneurysms (Endura) and arteries (Solus) at Metactive Medical (now Artio Medical).

Dr. Loree has direct experience in leading projects from initial concept through in vivo feasibility, intellectual property (IP) development, design requirements, human factors analysis, failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA), design freeze, technology transfer from product development contractors, design V&V testing, and preparation for first-in-human trials. His personal technical accomplishments include raising over $4.5M in NIH funding for medical device development; planning, executing, and reporting preclinical studies to rapidly establish in vitro and in vivo feasibility; and supporting successful FDA submissions including IND, IDE, HDE, 510(k), and PMA.

Dr. Loree's education includes B.S. and M.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from MIT as well as a Ph.D. in Medical Engineering from the Harvard‐MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology. At MIT, his coursework and research focused on design, biomaterials, fluid mechanics, and medical sciences. He also completed a postdoctoral research fellowship in cardiovascular biomechanics at the Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School.