TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Muse® by Interaxon Inc., a leading consumer neurotechnology and meditation company, appoints neuroscientist and digital medicine expert Walter Greenleaf as Chief Science Officer. In his role, Dr. Greenleaf will be aiding in new research, efficacy, and validation initiatives of the company’s current and future products and services. Greenleaf will be responsible for aligning the company’s scientific and technological capabilities with viable market opportunities and paths to market while providing key guidance on emerging regulatory affairs. Playing a pivotal role in guiding external research initiatives and forging strategic partnerships, Greenleaf will continue to build on Interaxon’s credibility within the neuroscience community.
“Walter brings tremendous knowledge and experience to Interaxon. We are humbled to have him join our team,” says Derek Luke, CEO. “Knowing Walter will be providing deeper support to our expanding worldwide research partnerships makes for a truly exciting new chapter for our community as we further advance our digital diagnostics and therapeutics strategy.”
Dr. Greenleaf currently holds academic positions as the Medical VR/AR Expert at the Stanford Virtual Human Interaction Lab and as a MediaX Distinguished Visiting Scholar, both at Stanford University. He also serves as the Director of Technology Strategy for the National Mental Health Innovation Center at the University of Colorado. Walter has served as a scientific advisor and grant reviewer for the U.S. Public Health Service, National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institutes of Health (NIH), NASA and the U.S. Department of Education. He has served as a Principal Investigator for research grants funded by NIH and NASA. He previously served as the Director of the Mind Division, Stanford Center on Longevity, where his focus was on age-related changes in cognition Dr. Greenleaf helped start the California State University Center for Disability Solutions and serves as Board Chair for the International Virtual Reality Health Association (IVRHA).
"I’m excited to be working with the team at Interaxon to help move digital health technology forward. This is a pivotal time in the evolution of healthcare -- medical product developers must work at full speed and with focused attention to improve the way we provide clinical assessments and medical therapies, or our over-strained healthcare system will not evolve to match the growing demand,” says Dr. Greenleaf. “The team at Interaxon has developed an extremely sophisticated multi-sensor medical wearable system. Developing next-generation medical products is key to addressing several challenges that our society is facing - the current pandemic of course, but also the looming problems generated by an aging population and the associated burden on our healthcare infrastructure. I look forward to working with the Interaxon team as we evolve digital health technology and develop new products to improve clinical care and promote individual health and wellness."
Dr. Greenleaf earned a Doctorate in Neuro and Bio-Behavioral Sciences from the Stanford University School of Medicine, where he was awarded an NIMH Graduate Fellowship. Having helped bring a number of products to market with over three decades of research and development experience in the field of digital medicine and medical virtual reality technology, Greenleaf is well situated on the Interaxon team as they continue to move into new applications of health technology leveraging their award-winning advanced EEG systems.
About Muse® by Interaxon Inc.:
At Muse®, our team of neuroscientists, meditation teachers, and engineers develop state-of-the-art experiences using research-grade EEG technology. Our goal is to help individuals build a rewarding meditation and sleep practice to live healthier, happier, more connected lives through human-centered technology. Our award-winning neurofeedback devices, and premium content offering of guided meditations with responsive learning functionality, help users meditate and improve sleep hygiene by providing real-time audio feedback on their meditative state through the Muse® companion app. We make the intangible, tangible.
More information about Muse® is available at www.choosemuse.com.
Milestones we’re excited about:
- # of employees: 45+
- Offices: Toronto, Ontario
- Sessions of meditation with Muse®: Over 100 million minutes to date and currently the largest brain data (EEG) collection in the world.
- Research institutions using Muse®: The Mayo Clinic, NASA, Harvard, MIT, U of T, UCL, UCSD, Inria, UVic, UBC, and many more.
- Meditating with Muse® works: A recent study at the Catholic University of Milan showed that four weeks with Muse® significantly reduced stress as well as potentially beneficial neuroplastic changes in users’ brains, compared to controls. Original published papers from the 1Balconi Lab study can be found here and here.
- Untangle Podcast: Over 4 million plays. Podcast hosts Patricia Karpas and Ariel Garten interview thought-provoking authors, experts and leaders in areas related to mindfulness, sleep, neuroscience, brain health practices, and more.