“Put God above all”

Rhonda F. Rhyne, CEO & Board Director, Prevencio, Inc. says Prevencio is revolutionizing blood tests for cardiovascular disease—powered by artificial intelligence (AI). Prevencio is the industry leader using Machine Learning (ML), a subset of AI, to combine multiple proteins and clinical variables into algorithms and scoring systems that are more accurate than standard-of-care stress tests, clinical risk scores and genetic tests.

Rhonda has the rare blend of being a visionary leader and formidable executor. She "rolls up her sleeves" and works with a team of talented, self-motivated individuals. Simultaneously, she gives her team the freedom and authority to make decisions to achieve our corporate vision. She's upbeat, tenacious, goal-oriented, creative, compassionate, trustworthy, and motivating.

Rhonda authored Keys to the Corner Office: Success Strategies by Women for Women as a career handbook for rising women.

Rhonda included more than 100 ideas and “words of wisdom” from successful and up and coming women to highlight other women. Athena, a women's life science and technology organization, was also a part of her work for many years. At Athena, Rhonda was instrumental in establishing and participating in a women’s industry mentorship program. I also serve on the board and executive committee of Life Science Washington (LSW), our state's industry organzation where I have engaged in formal mentoring programs, which have resulted in several women-led startups, says Rhonda. A woman-led medical device start-up, OtoNexus, has also had Rhonda on its board for 10 years. At the request of women, I meet with them and also gift them a copy of my book. Also, Rhonda says that at the University of Washington, she guest lectures and mentors graduate students in the fields of pharmacy, biomedical, and life sciences, among other things.

Rhonda meets with her management team on a weekly basis to optimize communication, teamwork, problem solving, and celebration of accomplishments. During these meetings, she delegates leadership responsibilities to enhance team members’ visibility and growth. Inspirational leadership quotes and personal stories are shared by members at every meeting. She facilitates team members to be their best selves and helps them reach professional and personal goals, which she refers to as “servant-leadership.”

Rhonda's "success path" is not yet over, and she believes that success is a long-term journey and that every day is a new chance to learn and improve. Helping others believe in themselves and achieve what was thought to be impossible has been amongst my greatest achievements. There is no one-size-fits-all formula for success. Be inclusive, honor commitments, be trustworthy and caring, admit when you're wrong, and forgive.

Be bold; take calculated risks; and do "messy" jobs that men won’t, suggests Rhonda. Many positions I have had were not "perfect". During my life, I've discovered that God can use people as instruments to transform any chaos into something highly worthwhile adds Rhonda.

Rhonda narrates a discussion about implementation and success: new, highly accurate, multiple protein heart blood tests were created in conjunction with Massachusetts General Hospital using an artificial intelligence-driven platform that we created. Based on these achievements, Seattle Children's Hospital engaged Prevencio to develop a blood test for Kawasaki disease. Kawasaki disease is the most widely acquired children’s heart disease but there is no commercially available diagnostic. With presenting symptoms of fever and rash, the condition is often misdiagnosed resulting in lifelong heart complications and premature death. We worked together to develop a highly accurate diagnostic for Kawasaki disease using our HART platform. We are now launching the diagnostic for patient care.

Heart disease kills more people in the US than all cancers combined. Prevencio's mission is to educate people about heart disease and provide extremely accurate multiprotein blood tests to patients. Our motto is "Prevention". Most cardiac diseases are avoidable, but patients must first understand their risk of having the disease. We offer two lead tests: HART CVE for measuring a patient’s 1-year risk of heart attack, stroke, and cardiac death; and HART CADhs to diagnose whether a patient has heart disease and is at imminent risk of a heart attack.

Our company markets and sells our HART tests for heart disease as Lab Developed Tests (LDTs), in partnership with Atlas Genomic Labs. Next steps are to obtain insurance coverage to allow a broad population to benefit from our HART diagnostics.

We are in discussions with leading protein measurement platform companies to develop our HART tests on their platforms for regulatory approvals as in vitro diagnostics (IVDs) and use in hospital emergency departments. We will always continue raising awareness with the goal of reducing the incidence of heart disease and its’ repercussions. Rhonda says. I strive to capture fresh ideas, meet like-minded colleagues, and continue my life-long learning journey. Above all, to love, encourage, and accept people!

It certainly takes a team effort to accomplish great things. First and foremost, I want to thank God for giving me the opportunities, grace, and blessings to accomplish what we have and what is yet to come. I thank Massachusetts General Hospital, Drs. Januzzi, Westermann, Neumann, Defilippi, Portman, Strobeck, Houston, Gladden, and Kass, as well as my teammates, board, and investors for helping drive the development and commercialization of our HART tests.