Gunnar Esiason is a cystic fibrosis and rare disease patient leader, who is passionate about early-stage drug development, patient empowerment and health policy. Professionally, he developed a patient engagement platform for a medical nutrition company, built a venture philanthropy practice at the Boomer Esiason Foundation and was the head coach of his high school alma mater’s varsity hockey team. He has consulted on clinical trial development, a real-world evidence population health study, and a cystic fibrosis-specific mental health and wellness screening tool. Gunnar has been the face of fundraising efforts for the Boomer Esiason Foundation, which has yielded more than $160 million for the fight against cystic fibrosis since he was diagnosed with the condition in 1993.

Gunnar holds an M.B.A. from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, an M.P.H. from the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy & Clinical Practice, and a B.A. from Boston College. He sits on the board of directors at the Boomer Esiason Foundation and No Patient Left Behind.

His health policy opinions have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Hill, and STAT News.

He currently leads patient-facing strategy at Florence Healthcare.

This week we discuss Gunnar’s experience as a clinical trial participant, decentralized clinical trials, participant reimbursement and so much more.