Director of Lung Bioengineering Inc. (LBE), Brandi Zofkie leads the first centralized ex vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) service model in the United States. With a commitment to addressing health disparities and promoting community health, she believes that the utilization of EVLP will greatly expand the number of lungs available for transplant, thereby reducing and even eliminating deaths on the lung transplant waitlist. Brandi manages a team of 18 and heads cross-functional departments at Lung Bioengineering, overseeing a near-complete clinical pivotal trial, the commercialization of LBE services, the operation of two facilities in Silver Spring and Jacksonville, and the management of strategic partnerships. She is responsible for developing and implementing the company’s business plan as well as defining strategies for continued growth and expansion.
Trained by Drs. Shaf Keshavjee, Marcelo Cypel, and Tom Waddell at Toronto General Hospital on the surgical and functional aspects of EVLP, Brandi is one of world’s first Certified Ex Vivo Specialists. Between 2013 and 2020 Brandi worked as a Lung Bioengineering Ex Vivo Lung Specialist, using clinical and technical skills to assess donor lungs outside of the body for transplant determination. In this role, Brandi also educated organ procurement organizations and transplant center personnel on LBE operations and how to leverage EVLP innovation to increase the number of available lungs for transplant. Prior to joining Lung Bioengineering, Brandi was a Certified Procurement Transplant Coordinator (CPTC) at Indiana Donor Network where she medically managed organ donor patients in the ICU. Brandi also contributed as a Physician Educator Liaison, bridging the gap between physicians and organ donation initiatives and witnessing firsthand how the gift of donation can save lives.
Brandi holds a BA in Biochemistry from Capital University, a MPH from A.T. Still University and a MSBS in Human Donation Science from the College of Medicine at the University of Toledo. Brandi is an active member of The International Society for Heart & Lung Transplantation (ISHLT), the North American Transplant Coordinators Organization (NATCO), and is a credentialed CPTC through the American Board for Transplant Certification. She is also current faculty for The Alliance Innovation Advancement Series.