Journal / Research
Koa Health scientific advisory board
At Koa Health, one of our core principles was that clinical and scientific rigour had to underpin every claim we made. That meant building a scientific advisory board capable of holding us to that standard.
Chaired by Tom Insel
The board is chaired by Tom Insel M.D., former Director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) — one of the most prominent figures in global mental health research and policy.
We were also able to draw on the expertise of a group of researchers and clinicians whose work spans clinical psychology, psychiatry, digital therapeutics, and health technology:
- Patricia Areán PhD — Professor, University of Washington Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science
- Beth Rogozinski MBA — CEO of Oncoustics; formerly CPO at Pear Therapeutics
- Sabine Wilhelm PhD — Chief of Psychology, Massachusetts General Hospital; Professor, Harvard Medical School
- David Clark DPhil, CBE — Professor and Chair of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford
- Peter Fonagy PhD — Head of the Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London; Chief Executive of the Anna Freud Centre
- Steve Pilling PhD — Professor of Clinical Psychology, University College London
Why it mattered
Digital mental health products occupy a space where the gap between what is marketed and what is evidenced can be significant. That gap erodes trust — both from clinicians who might recommend a tool and from users who depend on it.
Building a board with genuine authority, and genuinely involving them in evaluating our claims, was not a PR exercise. It was a structural commitment to building something that could withstand scrutiny — which is what the space requires.
