Notable Alums

Dennis

Specialty: Cardiology

Graduation Year: 1978

Dennis Wahr

Dennis Wahr, M.D.,’78, is president and chief executive officer of Holaira, a company developing minimally invasive products for patients suffering from obstructive lung diseases. He is board certified in interventional cardiology.

After receiving his medical degree from the Wayne State University School of Medicine, Dr. Wahr completed a fellowship in interventional cardiology at the University of California, San Francisco. He also has a bachelor’s degree from Albion College in Albion, Mich.

Dr. Wahr entered clinical practice for 15 years, and served as chief of Cardiology for the Michigan Heart and Vascular Institute in Ann Arbor, Mich.

He then launched the entrepreneurial phase of his career, co-founding and serving as president and CEO of medical device development companies Velocimed (2001-2005) and Lutonix (2007-2011), leaving when they were acquired by larger companies. He joined Holaira in 2012. His companies have sponsored nine clinical trials and won approval for four new products.

Dr. Wahr has served on the board of directors of several medical device companies, including Accumetrics and IDEV Technologies, and is chair of the board of Intact Vascular. He was a managing director with RiverVest Venture Partners, a firm focusing on innovations in life sciences.