Lumos Labs Appoints Neuroscientist Bob Schafer as CEO to Propel Expansion into Digital Medicine
SAN FRANCISCO, California, May 22, 2023 -- Lumos Labs, makers of Lumosity brain training and leaders in digital health for the brain and cognition, today announced the appointment of Bob Schafer, PhD, as Chief Executive Officer. Bob joined Lumos Labs in 2015 in the acquihire of Prophecy Sciences, a neuroscience startup he founded in 2012. He has led Lumosity DTx, the company’s medical products division, as its President since its inception in 2021, and has also served as Chief Science Officer of Lumos Labs since 2019. Bob holds a PhD in Neuroscience from Stanford University, and did postdoctoral research at MIT.
PHOTO: Dr. Bob Schafer, PhD, new CEO of Lumos Labs
Krishna Kakarala, the company’s current CEO, will transition to Executive Chairman of the Board. “Over the last four years, we have made tremendous progress orienting the company to deliver on its mission of empowering everyone to discover what their mind can do. We’ve invested in the core technology of our consumer product, Lumosity, to enable continuous innovation, launched Lumosity DTx to expand the application of our technology into medical device software, and doubled down on our commitment to supporting ground-breaking cognitive research through our Human Cognition Project,” said Krishna Kakarala. “Bob’s deep neuroscience background, understanding of our products and people, and entrepreneurial experience make him the ideal person to lead Lumos Labs into the future. I look forward to partnering with Bob to strengthen our consumer brain training franchise and extend our leadership to medical applications of our technology.”
“I’m proud of where Lumos Labs is today, and thrilled about where we’re headed,” Dr. Schafer reflected. “After 15 years of being the leader in online brain training, Lumosity has created unique advantages for pioneering a new era of digital health and medicine for the brain and mind. It has given us the world’s largest and richest data set on real-world cognitive performance, which serves as the basis for many of the 100 peer-reviewed research articles to date using Lumos Labs technology. We also have a strong business centered around our dedicated user base that both funds and accelerates our research and development moving forward. No other business in our industry has that.”
“It's also exciting to see the Lumos Labs evidence base continue to grow. Beyond healthy folks, our software has now been used in research studies involving 20 clinical populations, including ADHD, mild cognitive impairment, stroke, traumatic brain injury, and multiple sclerosis," Dr. Schafer elaborated. “These studies give us optimism that components of Lumosity may be applied to the development of FDA-cleared digital medicine, including prescription digital therapeutics. Indeed, in 2021 Lumos Labs launched a new division to take on the digital medicine initiative and has already developed a candidate digital therapeutic tailored specifically to the needs of adults with ADHD. A pivotal clinical trial is now underway to evaluate its efficacy and safety. Pending the results, we plan to seek FDA clearance to offer this product as prescription digital medicine for the treatment of adult ADHD.”
Images related to this release are available for download upon request, here.
About Lumos Labs
Lumos Labs, the creator of Lumosity, is a pioneer in cognitive health and digital medicine with a mission of empowering everyone to discover what their mind can do. The company’s Lumosity program has attracted over 100 million members from 180+ countries, contributing to a dataset of over 7.5 billion cognitive games played, which serve to support over 100 collaborations with university research groups. Lumosity DTx, the Lumos Labs medical division, is at the forefront of developing FDA-cleared digital medicine. Awarded by the Future of Privacy Forum for Data Stewardship, Lumos Labs prides itself on supporting the advancement of cognitive research while protecting the privacy of its members. For more information, visit: https://www.lumoslabs.com/