In this episode of Spread Love in Organizations, Naji Gehchan sits down with Greg Tietjen, Co-Founder and CEO of Revalia Bio, for a fascinating conversation that bridges science, technology, leadership, and humanity. Greg shares his unconventional journey—from studying English literature and pursuing a career in jazz guitar to becoming a physicist, scientist, Yale professor, and biotech entrepreneur. Along the way, he reflects on the life experiences, setbacks, and moments of reinvention that shaped his approach to learning, leadership, and purpose.
At the heart of the discussion is Revalia Bio’s mission to transform the way medicines are developed by creating human-centered data platforms built around donated organs and advanced perfusion technologies. Greg explains how the industry’s biggest challenge is not a lack of innovation, but the gap between promising discoveries and successful patient outcomes. He shares his vision for “Human Data Trials,” a new approach designed to generate more predictive human data earlier in development, helping researchers make better decisions, reduce risk, and ultimately bring more effective therapies to patients.
Beyond the science, Greg offers a thoughtful perspective on leadership, culture, and trust. He discusses the importance of stewardship, vulnerability, collaboration, and creating environments where people from different backgrounds can work together toward a shared mission. Drawing on lessons from music, academia, and entrepreneurship, he explores why the future of innovation depends not only on technology, but also on our ability to build trust, embrace discomfort, and transform challenges into enduring impact. This episode is a powerful reflection on purpose-driven leadership and the human side of scientific progress.
“We transform loss into enduring impact.”
MEET OUR GUEST Greg Tietjen Co-Founder and CEO at Revalia Bio.
Greg Tietjen is the CEO and co-founder of Revalia Bio, where he leads the team pioneering Revalia’s Human Data Trials™ — a new class of preclinical and clinical companion studies that generate human-relevant data before a drug ever reaches a patient. These trials are powered by Revalia’s Human Data Stack™: an integrated platform that connects perfused non-transplantable human organs, de-identified patient records, biopsy data, organ-on-chip systems, and advanced AI/ML analytics into a unified model of human biology.
Greg and the team’s founding insight was that non-transplantable human organs — often discarded due to conditions like cancer or fibrosis — could serve as the Rosetta Stone of the Human Data Stack™. These organs provide unmatched physiological relevance and enable the integration of otherwise siloed human data sources. This approach gives new purpose to donated organs that would otherwise go unused, transforming the tragic loss of one person into a platform capable of enabling others to develop breakthrough therapies that may save countless lives. It’s a system built on honoring donor gifts while bringing together care teams, biotech innovators, and regulators as One Team, moving at lightning speed to transform the future of medicine together.
Greg’s path to biotech was anything but conventional. After earning a degree in Literature and training to be a musician, a severe elbow injury forced him to change course. He went on to complete a PhD in Biophysics at the University of Chicago and postdoctoral training in Biomedical Engineering at Yale. As a faculty member at the Yale School of Medicine, his lab became internationally recognized for advancing the frontiers of human organ research.
In 2023, Greg left his tenure-track role at Yale to build Revalia full-time. Today, he’s focused on laying the foundation for a new era of biomedical innovation — one that is ethically grounded, operationally scalable, and powered by real human data.
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT: Greg Tietjen
Naji Gehchan: Welcome to SpreadLove in Organizations, the healthcare leadership podcast where we explore leadership with purpose. Naji Gehchan: Welcome to Spread Love in Organizations, the healthcare leadership podcast where we explore leadership with purpose. I am Naji your host, joined today by Greg Tietjen co-founder and CEO of Revalia Bio, a biotech company pioneering human-centric data platforms to improve how new medicines are developed. Revalia Bio was born out of Greg’s academic work at Yale University, where he was Assistant Professor leading a laboratory focused on human organ perfusion science and translational innovation. Greg holds a PhD from the University…
