Team
Team members
Jonathan Schotte
Chief Executive Officer
A technology and data executive with extensive experience leading analytics, data platforms and marketing technology across healthcare, B2B and consumer industries. At Curova he focuses on building systems that scale, so more patients are connected to the trials that fit them.
He brings a record of translating complex data into clear business strategy, leading high-performing teams, and operating in both established organizations and startups. With a background in computer science, analytics and engineering leadership, he combines strategic direction with hands-on execution.
Dr. John Burfeind, MD
Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Burfeind has been practicing medical oncology for almost 30 years. He is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, where he cares for oncology patients daily. He has spent over a decade working on using technology to improve access to clinical trials for cancer patients.
He led the team that won the UWM-MCW App Challenge in 2013, which laid the groundwork for Curova’s current technology, and won an award at the 2024 Healthcare Innovation Pitch Competition in Milwaukee for his work on matching patients to trials.
His expertise makes Curova relevant to the people who use it, because he is one of them. The product reflects what is actually needed in the clinic because it was designed by a working clinician alongside the engineers who built it.
Dr. Michael Litman, PhD
VP, Technology and Innovation
A founder and applied artificial intelligence leader with over two decades of experience turning advanced computer science into systems people can rely on. He has served as a Professor and Chair of Computer Science, directing graduate programs and leading initiatives in AI, data systems and applied research.
His approach joins rigorous technical work to practical implementation, building dependable AI that holds up under demanding, mission-critical conditions.
Nick Shera, PhD
VP, Medical Strategist
Nick earned his PhD from the University of Wisconsin in 2008, focusing on the role of genomics in personalized medicine. Over the past 15 years he has led and advised strategic initiatives in medical communications for pharmaceutical and medical device companies, building expertise where science, strategy and commercialization meet.
He now applies that experience to connecting cancer patients with clinical trials.
Taylor Wilcox
Clinical Connections Partner
Taylor is working toward her MD-PhD at the Medical College of Wisconsin. While doing so, she founded Clinical Connections, a student-led, volunteer-driven organization of graduate students, medical students, pharmacology trainees, postdoctoral fellows and medical residents, which gives patients clear, accessible information about their medical options.
Her aim is to improve patient access to trials while reducing physician workload, through personalized matching, plain patient education and dedicated physician support. Clinical Connections produces patient-friendly summaries that support recruitment and help people stay engaged once enrolled.
What we hold ourselves to
- Trial data is not written by us
- Every study on Curova comes from ClinicalTrials.gov, the public registry run by the U.S. National Library of Medicine. We do not edit study records, and every match links back to the original listing so you can read it yourself.
- A clinician reads anything clinical
- Any explainer that touches treatment, how well something works, or what happens to patients is reviewed by a named clinician before it publishes. The reviewer and the date they signed off appear on the page.
- Match reasoning is shown, not asserted
- A score is only useful if you can see what produced it. Every match lists which criteria lined up, which did not, and which need a chart or a scan we have never asked to see.
- Nobody here decides if you are eligible
- Curova does not diagnose, recommend treatment, or enroll anyone. Every study runs its own screening with its own doctors, and that is the only process that decides eligibility.
Working on trial matching?
We are interested in people with oncology, clinical research, or health data backgrounds. Write to support@cancercurova.com and tell us what you work on.
Judging it for yourself
The fastest way to decide whether any of this is worth trusting is to search your own cancer type and read the reasoning on whatever comes back.
Search trials