The Team
Alexander Katz, M.D., M.S.
Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Alexander Katz is chief medical officer and co-founder of TeleRare Health®. As a board certified clinical geneticist, clinical molecular geneticist, and internist, he has seen first-hand how rapid advances in the field of genetics have transformed how we diagnose and treat both rare and common disease, and at the same time how difficult it can be for patients who would benefit from genetics-informed care to access these services. With TeleRare Health®, Alex is able to use his passion for providing high quality and convenient care to all who would benefit, particularly people with rare disease.
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Alex completed his internal medicine residency at the University of Michigan and his genetics fellowship at the National Human Genome Research Institute. Following the completion of his training, he practiced clinical genetics and served as the Director of the Genomic Ascertainment Cohort at the National Institutes of Health, where his research focused on rare genetic variants associated with cardiovascular disease. Alex is a genetics research physician at the University of Michigan and is a member of the Clinical Genome Resource Actionability Working Group. In his spare time, Alex and his wife, Erin can often be found in their neighborhood in Bethesda, Maryland with their three young boys (usually playing basketball or riding bikes).
Patti Engel, R.N., B.S.N.
President
Patti is President of TeleRare Health® which was founded in 2023 to create a company that is uniquely built around providing care to rare disease patients in a manner that is consistent with true engagement and an understanding of their needs. This includes designing a novel care model that will fundamentally change the speed of diagnosis and care delivery, as well as challenging traditional beliefs around care coordination, referrals and other issues central to the empowerment of patients and families impacted by rare diseases.
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Patti began her career as a pediatric oncology nurse where she gained a unique patient-centered perspective. She joined 3M Pharmaceuticals – where she worked in sales and marketing. Patti was a founding member of Orphan Medical, an organization committed to the development and commercialization of rare disease therapies. In 2001 Patti founded Engage Health, a health research firm that has worked to bring patient experience and voice to the rare disease drug development process for over 20 years.
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Patti graduated from the College of St. Catherine in St Paul MN, sits on a variety of boards on a volunteer basis and enjoys spending time with family and traveling.
Austin Letcher, M.S.
Chief Operations Officer
As a co-founder and the Chief Operations Officer of TeleRare Health®, Austin provides a strong background in the biomedical sciences. In 2014, he joined Sanford Research working for their rare disease program called the Coordination of Rare Diseases at Sanford (CoRDS). His experience allowed him to build a variety of long-lasting relationships with rare disease advocacy groups, patients/families, and medical experts in order to further the development of several disease-specific patient registries. He remains passionate about enabling patients and patient organizations to leverage their data to further research and collaborate with industry in the development of new therapies.
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Austin took his experience to WCG where he was able to manage several patient recruitment projects for a variety of clinical trials. After which, he began his work with Engage Health, leading their project and operations team in order to conduct health and market research studies, heavily focused in the non-interventional, qualitative research space.
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When not working, Austin enjoys taking his dog (Toshi) on walks to the park or taking time off to visit new places around the country with friends and family.
Timothy J. McLerran, DO
Chief Product Officer
Tim McLerran is a physician-turned-product leader dedicated to improving care for rare disease patients through AI-driven solutions. His journey into AI began during a research fellowship, where he developed methods to analyze thousands of small molecules in blood, reinforcing the need for AI to make sense of complex medical data. Later, while building his own health tech startup, he created clinical decision support tools and collaborated with rare disease patients, gaining firsthand insight into the challenges of delayed diagnosis, misdiagnosis, and limited access to specialized care.
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As Chief Product Officer at TeleRare Health®, Tim applies his expertise in clinical medicine, AI, and product development to build solutions that bridge critical gaps in rare disease care. He is committed to leveraging technology to accelerate diagnosis, improve care coordination, and ensure that patients receive the specialized expertise they need—no matter where they are.
Pete Celano
Advisor
Pete co-founded and sold an early remote patient monitoring company, BeClose.com. He then spent 8 years in Innovation at the largest hospital system in the Maryland/DC/Northern Virginia region (MedStar Health). Pete has been a principal with two National Virtual Clinics, in cardiovascular (Heartbeat Health) and rheumatology (Remission Medical).