Hirsch Handmaker, MD

Managing Member

Hirsch is the Chairman and CEO of The CACTIS Foundation (www.cactis.org), Founder and Managing Member of Conquering Concussions, LLC and President of Ionia Consulting, providing technical, marketing and strategic planning advice to entities interested in the health care sector. His career includes 25 years in clinical practice at Children’s Hospital of San Francisco and California Pacific Medical Center, and research in medical imaging. He has founded five (5) companies in advanced medical imaging and informatics, and the pursuit of digital transformation of practices in oncology, orthopaedics, sports medicine and radiology. A diplomat of the American Boards of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Hirsch also served as the first Director of Medical Services for the Oakland Athletics Baseball Company, and led the CACTIS team providing Vision Services at the Banner Concussion Center in Phoenix, Arizona. He served as co-chairman of the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) subcommittee for six NCAA Fiesta, Insight/Buffalo Wild Wings and BCS Bowl Games in Phoenix, Arizona, and served on the Scientific Advisory and Statewide Planning Committees for the Arizona Cancer Center of the University of Arizona College of Medicine, as well as the Cancer Healthcare Disparities Institute (CHDI). Hirsch is a Research Professor of Radiology at the University of Arizona College Of Medicine-Phoenix, has authored or coauthored over 70 publications and 2 textbooks dealing with diagnostic imaging and informatics. He has directed the expedited review process and subsequent FDA approval for two novel diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals after serving as Principal Investigator for the multicenter trials for these agents. He is leading CACTIS’ efforts directed at addressing and ending the cycle of Traumatic Brain Injury in victims of domestic violence.

Hirsch earned his B.S. at The University of Arizona and his M.D. at the University of Southern California. His internship and residency were completed at Northwestern University Affiliated Hospitals, Chicago, Illinois. Following his tour of duty in Chu Lai, Viet Nam (Bronze Star Medal), he served as Assistant Director of Nuclear Medicine at Letterman Army Medical Center, Presidio of San Francisco, followed by a Post-Doctoral Fellowship as an NIH Trainee in Medical Physics at The Donner Laboratory of the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley.