Deepak Khuntia
Deepak “Dee” Khuntia, M.D., FASTRO, joined Varian in 2013 and leads the office of Medical Affairs, which is responsible for providing medical-clinical expertise to all Varian operations, including clinical research, medical evidence generation, medical science education, product development, product support, regulatory affairs, government affairs, mergers and acquisitions. Dr. Khuntia has played a leading role in innovating and bringing new cancer treatment and cardiac radiosurgery technologies to hospitals worldwide.
In addition to his responsibilities at Varian, Dr. Khuntia continues to hold a part-time clinical practice in Radiation Oncology in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he has a special interest in advanced radiation treatment technologies, central nervous system tumors, head and neck cancer, and lung cancer. Dr. Khuntia is a board-certified radiation oncologist and Fellow of the American Society for Radiation Oncology.
Dr. Khuntia holds both undergraduate and medical school degrees from the University of Illinois, and completed his residency in Radiation Oncology at the Cleveland Clinic. Prior to moving to the Bay Area, he was an Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin, where he served multiple leadership roles including Residency Director, Director of Radiation Oncology Outreach, and Course Director of Oncology for the Medical School. Dr. Khuntia is considered an expert in brain tumors, head and neck cancer, and lung cancer and has published more than 100 articles, book chapters, and abstracts.
John Pracyk
John Pracyk is an executive medical leader with deep expertise in the safe and effective design, development, and commercialization of medical devices. Clinically trained as a Neurological Surgeon he possesses an uncommon blend of business and medical expertise and is a passionate proponent of value-based care and outcomes-driven, evidence-based practices. Dr. Pracyk is a recognized thought leader and program architect in the development of collaborative healthcare delivery platforms with a proven track record of multidisciplinary program buildouts and care redesign successes. A servant leader who motivates high-performing teams to outpace innovation timelines, exceed expectations, and fuel organizational transformation.
Prior to joining Olympus, Dr. Pracyk held multiple leadership roles of increasing responsibility with DePuy Synthes-Spine, Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices. He began his MedTech career in 2016 as Franchise Medical Director where he fostered meaningful innovation to drive safety and value for patients worldwide. There he delivered deep medical and scientific insights to the R&D and commercial teams for product ideation and development, including conceptual, hands-on evaluation, and clinical research perspectives.
In 2017, Dr. Pracyk was tapped to be medically responsible for J&J’s Global Spine Platform as the Franchise Medical Leader leveraging integrated procedural solutions to drive innovation and answer unmet clinical needs. He forged relationships with internal and external stakeholders, including Key Opinion Leaders, practicing surgeons, global regulatory agencies, professional societies, and executive leadership teams from hospitals, health systems, and integrated delivery networks.
In 2018, Dr. Pracyk was appointed Integrated Leader of Preclinical Research, Clinical Research, and Medical Affairs (PCM), a newly integrated scientific platform for Spine. The PCM concept incorporates product development with preclinical and clinical research outcomes and unifies them within the context of Medical Affairs to substantiate safety, performance, and value. Their objective is to ensure that all platform decisions are medically informed, surgically literate, clinically relevant, and financially sustainable. His PCM team’s accomplishments were spotlighted in J&J’s Meet the Innovator series as they got out in front of all goals, condensed timetables to move ahead, and completed the clinical post market clinical follow up plans for the new European Medical Device Regulation a full year ahead of schedule.
Outside of Olympus, Dr. Pracyk is becoming a leading voice in the Medical Affairs Professional Society (MAPS) where he was elected President of the Americas Region, Treasurer of the Executive Committee, and Board Director. MAPS amplifies the individual voices of over 6100 medical professionals that serve patients from within 200+ medical device and pharmaceutical manufacturers. By contextualizing the real-world clinical needs of patients, providers, and policy makers MAPS succinctly translates science into value to deliver a strategically critical scientific perspective in today’s ever-changing global healthcare landscape.
Dr. Pracyk obtained his BS, MD and PhD degrees through the Early Identification and the Medical Scientist Training Programs at Duke University. He was competitively awarded research fellowships at Cambridge University and the National Institutes of Health. He received his Neurological Surgery training at Duke University & The George Washington University and then completed a clinical spine fellowship at the University of Iowa. In 2015, he obtained a healthcare focused MBA at the Haslam College of Business of The University of Tennessee. Dr. Pracyk is a Fellow of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and the American College of Surgeons, as well as a Diplomate of the American Board of Neurological Surgery. He maintains active memberships in the Medical Affairs Professional Society, American Association of Neurological Surgeons, Congress of Neurological Surgeons, North American Spine Society, AO Spine, Phi Kappa Phi, and the American College of Healthcare Executives.
