Speaker Details

Speaker 1

Gunnar Esiason

Principal, Patients & Strategy Lead

Cystic Fibrosis Patient Advocate

Florence Healthcare

Gunnar Esiason is a cystic fibrosis and rare disease patient leader. He has been the face of fundraising efforts for the Boomer Esiason Foundation in the fight against cystic fibrosis since he was diagnosed with the condition in 1993. Gunnar has consulted on clinical trial design, venture capital investments, a real-world evidence population health study, and a cystic fibrosis-specific mental health screening tool. His blog has amassed nearly 1 million page views. Currently, he leads patient-facing strategy at Florence Healthcare.

Gunnar hosted the podcast, The State of Health with Gunnar Esiason, and co-hosted the podcast, Breathe In: A Cystic Fibrosis Podcast, which climbed into the iTunes top 200 health podcasts at the end of 2018.

In 2019, Gunnar delivered the pre-commencement address at the St. Louis University School of Medicine commencement exercises.

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, and The Hill.