Wesley Michael, President and Founder, Rare Patient Voice LLC 

Since Wes founded the company in 2013, Rare Patient Voice has conducted thousands of studies and rewarded patients and caregivers with more than $8m for their participation. Many have been recruited in person by Wes and his team at patient events like fund-raising walks and patient conferences, and through a referral programme with patient advocacy and support groups. Rare Patient Voice now covers non-rare as well as rare diseases and conditions, and has expanded from the US to Canada, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Australia and New Zealand.

Before launching Rare Patient Voice, Wes worked for healthcare market research firm Kantar Health. He was a brand manager and market research manager at McCormick (the spice company) and General Mills (working on Wheaties, Total and Kix cereals). He has a BA from the University of Pennsylvania (with a year at the University of Edinburgh) and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

Wes lives outside Baltimore, Maryland, with his wife, Cathy, children Julia and Cliff, grandson Taylor, and dogs Ace and Stanley.

Wes was nominated for “providing rare disease patients and their caregivers with the opportunity to voice their opinions through surveys and interviews to improve medical products and services”.