Sarah Krug
CEO of Cancer 101/Health Collaboratory
Krug arrived at Cancer101 in 2009 as a board member, charged with helping patients navigate the numerous steps of a cancer diagnosis. Her role quickly grew, to the point where she was summoned to the White House to hear then Vice President Joe Biden’s update on his Cancer Moonshot initiative.
During her leadership tenure, Cancer101 embarked on a range of tech-smart projects. A recent one, Prescription to Learn, helps newly diagnosed patients cut through the clutter of a recent diagnosis or prognosis by selecting the most informative resources and storing them in a single location. No more Googling “breast cancer” and sifting through millions of semi-relevant results.
Krug previously served as global education director in Pfizer’s medical education group and helped develop the pediatric disease management clinical pathway at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. She sits on the boards of the Cancer Patient Education Network and the National Organization of Rare Diseases.
A few years ago, she founded The Health Collaboratory, a global innovation hub designed to give patients and caregivers a voice in developing healthcare advances. These advances come via the organization’s Patient Shark Tank, which taps more than 16,000 patients and caregivers for information about their individual health experiences.
The majority of these individuals hadn’t previously engaged with the healthcare ecosystem. The Shark Tank, then, has had the effect of giving them a voice. Look for the Collaboratory to add an online Shark Tank to accommodate patients who are unable to travel or uncomfortable in a live setting.
