Dr. James McCarter

James McCarter MD PhD is an experienced executive and researcher with a track-record of success in early-stage life-science technology companies. He is currently Medical Director for New Analyte Ventures at Abbott Diabetes Care exploring new uses for the core technology that enables the FreeStyle Libre glucose sensor.

Previously, he led research and clinical operations for Virta Health, a tech-enabled nationwide medical provider delivering the first clinically-proven treatment to safely and sustainably reverse type 2 diabetes (T2D). Dr. McCarter directed the Virta clinical trial proving diabetes reversal at scale resulting in changes to the American Diabetes Association 2019 standards of care and creating a paradigm shift in T2D treatment.

He is an Adjunct Professor of Genetics at Washington University School of Medicine and an Entrepreneur in Residence at venture fund BioGenerator. Dr. McCarter was the Founder, President, and Chief Scientific Officer of Divergence, Inc., a front-runner in the application of genomics to infectious disease and agriculture. The Company’s discoveries led to products in agriculture and veterinary diagnostics. Divergence was acquired by Monsanto where he was an executive in chemistry technology and with Monsanto Growth Ventures. Dr. McCarter chaired the scientific advisory board for Readout, Inc. and is a board observer for Neurolutions, Inc., both medical device companies.

Dr. McCarter completed his undergraduate study in biology at Princeton University, his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees at Washington Univ. and his post-doctoral training at the Washington Univ. Genome Institute, leading an international sequencing consortium. He is the founder of Washington Univ.’s Young Scientist Program providing disadvantaged students access to scientific careers and serves on the School of Medicine National Council. He is an author of over 60 scientific publications and patents and has served on 20 non-profit boards and professional advisory boards including two World Health Organization panels. Dr. McCarter is a recipient of the Innovation Award from the Academy of Science of St. Louis and is a Fellow of the Aspen Institute.