At the helm of innovation

SeaStar Medical is poised to redefine the treatment paradigm for destructive hyperinflammation and the life-threatening cytokine storm

Disruptive thinking and advanced, evidence-based solutions

We recognize that critical care clinicians fight every day to save patients from the cytokine storm. This deadly threat has taken too many organs and too many lives. The severity of this threat is our call to action. We leverage our scientific expertise and resources to break past limitations of current therapies and help our heroes in critical care stop the cytokine storm and save precious lives.

Our mission

Bring organ-saving, lifesaving solutions to critically ill patients under attack by a cytokine storm

Our vision

Elevate the standard of care in acute and chronic hyperinflammatory conditions with innovations that transform patient outcomes on a global scale

The team behind our passion to arrest organ failure, save lives, and deliver value to our stakeholders

Eric Schlorff

Chief Executive Officer

Forward-thinking chief executive officer with deep experience in business development and transition, raising capital, asset management, clinical trials, product design, and team development.

kevin chung, M.D.

Chief Medical Officer

Accomplished critical care physician with expertise in extracorporeal life support therapies (ECLS) and extensive research in burn critical care and organ support.

Sai P. Iyer, Ph.D.

Senior Vice President, Medical Affairs & Research

Expertise in clinical trial development and execution, first-in-class drug launches, medical affairs and evidence generation.

TOM MULLEN

Vice President, Operations & Product Development

Experience leading business operations, manufacturing, engineering, product development and regulatory remediation.

TIM VARACEK

Senior Vice President, Commercial & Business Operations

Accomplished executive with strong strategic vision and successful experience launching new products into competitive markets. Dynamic, people-focused leader with robust operational experience.

SCD Inventor & Scientific Advisor

H. David Humes, M.D.

Professor, Division of Nephrology, Internal Medicine
Center for Integrative Research in Critical Care

University of Michigan

Ayse Akcan-Arikan, MD

Texas Children’s Hospital

Dr. Ayse Akcan-Arikan is a dual-trained pediatric intensivist and nephrologist at Texas Children’s Hospital and an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine. She directs the Critical Care Nephrology and Inpatient Dialysis programs, as well as the Extracorporeal Liver Support program. Her research focuses on acute kidney injury (AKI), extracorporeal therapies, and sepsis outcomes in critically ill children. She is a leader in multiple national and international research collaboratives, including CPCCRN and WE-ROCK.

David Askenazi, MD, MSPH

Children’s of Alabama

Dr. David Askenazi is the Director of the Pediatric and Infant Center for Acute Nephrology (PICAN) at Children’s of Alabama and a Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He is a nationally recognized expert in neonatal and pediatric nephrology, with a focus on acute kidney injury and renal replacement therapies. Dr. Askenazi has led numerous multicenter studies and is a founding member of the Neonatal Kidney Collaborative. His work has significantly advanced the understanding and care of kidney disease in infants and children.

Sean Bagshaw, MD, MSc

University of Alberta

Dr. Sean Bagshaw is Professor and Chair of the Department of Critical Care Medicine at the University of Alberta. A Canada Research Chair in Critical Care Outcomes and Systems Evaluation, his work focuses on acute kidney injury, frailty, and ICU systems of care. He has published over 600 peer-reviewed articles and is internationally recognized for his leadership in critical care nephrology. Dr. Bagshaw also serves as an intensivist in two of Alberta’s busiest ICUs.

Rajit Basu, MD, MS, FCCM

Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago

Dr. Rajit Basu is the Division Chief of Critical Care Medicine at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and Professor of Pediatrics at Northwestern University. He is a global leader in pediatric acute kidney injury research, with expertise in biomarker-based phenotyping, fluid management, and extracorporeal therapies. Dr. Basu has authored over 160 scientific publications and leads several national and international research initiatives. He also chairs the Pediatric Section of the Society for Critical Care Medicine.

Andriy Batchinsky, MD

Autonomous Reanimation & Evacuation (AREVA) Institute

The Geneva Foundation

Dr. Andriy (Andrew) Batchinsky is a Ukranian-born general surgeon, a translational researcher in the USA since 2001, and the Founder and Director of the Autonomous Reanimation and Evacuation (AREVA) Research Institute and Innovation center in San Antonio, Texas. He is an innovator in trauma and critical care and a pioneer in wearable and portable heparin-free extracorporeal life support (ECLS) systems for battlefield and civilian use. His innovations include the development of biologically friendly, heparin-free ECLS and the Multimodal Extracorporeal Life Support (MELS) system patented in USA and worldwide. Dr. Batchinsky is also a Professor of Surgery and Medicine (adj.) at the Uniformed Services University in Bethesda, MD and the Director of the Department of Translational Medicine at the University of the Incarnate Word School of Osteopathic Medicine in San Antonio, Texas. He is also Manager of Consultomics LLC, a critical care innovation consulting company in San Antonio, Texas.

Katja Gist, DO, MSc

University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine

Children’s Hospital Colorado

Dr. Katja Gist is a pediatric cardiac intensivist, and she holds an academic appointment at the University of Colorado & Children’s Hospital Colorado, and serves on multiple professional committees, including the American Heart Association (AHA) Young Hearts CICU Council, and the AHA Kidney in Cardiovascular Disease Council, Scientific Subcommittee. Her research focuses on acute care nephrology, including risk stratification and prevention of acute kidney injury after cardiac surgery. In 2021, she founded and leads the Worldwide Exploration of Renal Replacement Outcomes Collaborative in Kidney Disease (WE-ROCK), a collaborative including more than 35 institutions in 11 countries and more than 2000 patients. WE-ROCK has published over a dozen manuscripts describing the contemporaneous outcomes of children and young adults requiring CRRT. Dr. Gist is widely published and has received multiple national awards for her contributions to pediatric critical care & nephrology.

Stuart L. Goldstein, MD, FAAP, FASN

Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center

Dr. Stuart Goldstein is the Director of the Center for Acute Care Nephrology at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Cincinnati. He is internationally recognized for his work in pediatric acute kidney injury (AKI), dialysis, and nephrotoxic medication safety. Dr. Goldstein has led multiple prospective studies to serve as the clinical study reports leading to FDA clearance of multiple medical devices, including QUELIMMUNE. He has authored over 400 publications and developed the first pediatric-specific acute care nephrology fellowship.

Jay Koyner, MD

University of Chicago

Dr. Jay Koyner is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Chicago, where he directs the ICU Nephrology Program and the Inpatient Dialysis Unit. A leader in critical care nephrology, his research focuses on earlier detection of AKI using biomarkers and machine learning risk scores. He has helped standardize the furosemide stress test and contributed to the development of other AKI biomarkers. Dr. Koyner is also an accomplished educator having published over 200 articles and chapters on AKI and he serves as an editor of the Handbook of Critical Care Nephrology.

Kathleen Liu, MD, PhD

University of California at San Francisco

Dr. Kathleen Liu is Professor of Medicine & Anesthesia at UCSF, where she serves as Medical Director of the Medical ICU and Apheresis/Hemodialysis Unit. Her research spans acute kidney injury, ARDS, and critical care nephrology, with a focus on clinical trials and biomarker discovery. She has been a key investigator in NIH and Department of Defense-funded studies and a leader in the ASSESS-AKI Study. Dr. Liu is widely recognized for her translational work bridging nephrology and critical care.

Theresa Mottes, APRN, CPNP-AC, CDN

Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago

Theresa Mottes is a nationally-recognized pediatric nephrology nurse practitioner with decades of experience in critical care and dialysis. She has led pediatric dialysis programs and pioneered simulation-based CRRT education. Known for her leadership and advocacy, she integrates quality improvement strategies to enhance care for children with kidney disease.

Charuhas Thakar, MD, FASN

Queen’s University Belfast

University of Cincinnati

Dr. Charuhas Thakar is Director of the Wellcome-Wolfson Institute for Experimental Medicine at Queen’s University Belfast. He is Editor-in-Chief of AKDH Journal and incoming Editor-in-Chief of Kidney360 Journal. He is internationally known for his research on AKI, progression of chronic kidney disease, and dialysis outcomes. Formerly Division Chief at the University of Cincinnati and Cincinnati VA Medical Center, Dr. Thakar has led NIH- and VA-funded studies and contributed extensively to nephrology education and policy. His work bridges clinical care, epidemiology, and translational science.

Ashita Tolwani, MD, MSc, FASN

University of Alabama at Birmingham

Dr. Ashita Tolwani is Professor of Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), where she holds the DCI Edwin A. Rutsky Endowed Chair in Nephrology and serves as Co-Director of Critical Care Nephrology. She received her Master of Science in Clinical Epidemiology from the Harvard School of Public Health and completed training in both nephrology and critical care at UAB. Dr. Tolwani is a global leader in ICU nephrology and founder of the UAB CRRT Academy, a national program offering hands-on, practical training in CRRT for physicians, nurses, and pharmacists. Her research focuses on acute kidney injury, CRRT, and citrate anticoagulation. A recipient of the American Society of Nephrology’s Robert G. Narins Award for excellence in teaching and Vicenza International Critical Care Nephrology Award, she has also been recognized internationally for advancing education, research, and practice in critical care nephrology.