About Us

Meet Our Team

We are parents, scientists, allergists, technologists and allergy and asthma sufferers, working together to solve the problem of allergies and asthma in the home.

  • Tom Brya
    Tom Brya

    Chief Exhaler

    Tom Brya

    Co-Founder and Chief Exhaler

  • Created the home allergy asthma air test
    Julian Gordon

    Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer

    Julian Gordon

    Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer

    Julian is a world renowned serial inventor who has made groundbreaking contributions to multiple fields of science. His group at Abbott Labs was responsible for developing lateral flow immunoassay technology, which led to the first home pregnancy tests. Prior to Abbott Labs, Julian’s group at Novartis (then CIBA-GEIGY) was responsible for inventing the Western Blot, an important method used today in molecular biology, biochemistry and immunogenetics for the characterization and detection of proteins. As a scientist, Julian is passionate about using evidence-based data to prevent human suffering. As he explains, “I know of no greater suffering than a mother in anguish about her child not being able to breathe normally – and not knowing what to do about it. I feel so fortunate to be part of an incredible team working to solve this problem”.
  • Dr. Paul Detjen

    Medical Advisor

    Dr. Paul Detjen

    Medical Advisor

    Ask a Chicago North Shore mom for an allergist, and she’s very likely to refer you to Dr. Paul Detjen. He has been a practicing allergist-immunologist for over 20 years after receiving his medical degree from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and completing his residency and fellowship at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Dr. Detjen is affiliated with multiple hospitals in the Chicagoland area, including NorthShore Evanston Hospital and Northwestern Memorial Hospital. He has helped thousands of families address allergies and asthma to live healthier, better lives. Dr. Detjen believes in Exhale – the product and the passionate team behind it. “I’m so thrilled that there’s finally a science-based solution for detecting allergens that trigger allergies and asthma,” Dr. Detjen says. “I know how stressful it is when your child can’t breathe easily. That’s why I am excited to be professionally involved with Exhale.”
  • Dr. Priya Bansal

    Medical Advisor

    Dr. Priya Bansal

    Medical Advisor

    Dr. Priya Bansal attended a six-year BS/MD program with Penn State University and Thomas Jefferson Medical School. She completed her residency in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at University of Illinois in Chicago and was board certified in both specialties. She then became board certified in Allergy and Immunology after her fellowship at Rush University Medical Center. Dr. Bansal served as President for the Illinois Society of Allergy and is currently a RSLAAIS governor for the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology (AAAAI). Dr. Bansal joined the Exhale team to continue her mission of aiding in the alleviation of suffering for children and adults with allergies and asthma. “As a doctor and a mom of two children with food allergies, I could not be more excited about the incredible difference we are making in the lives of our clients,” Dr. Bansal explains.
  • Runs home allergy asthma air tests
    Rachel Reboulet

    Director of Laboratory Services

    Rachel Reboulet

    Director Of Laboratory Services

    Rachel oversees our lab, where we analyze air that has been sampled from our clients’ homes. She has 10+ years of laboratory and management experience from top institutions, including the University of Chicago and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. Rachel’s professional passion is ensuring that we are using the best systems and processes in order to provide our clients with accurate and actionable data. “What excites me the most about my work is seeing the difference our data makes in our clients’ lives,” she explains. Rachel lives in Chicago with her fiancé and two cats, Ernie and Spanky, who suffer from feline allergies.
  • Katie Gragg

    Director of Customer Experience & Digital Marketing

    Katie Gragg

    Director of Customer Experience & Digital Marketing

Breakout Labs

Backed by Peter Thiel’s Breakout Labs Program of the Thiel Foundation

Inspirotec received seed funding from Paypal Co-Founder and Facebook early investor Peter Thiel’s Breakout Labs Program of the Thiel Foundation. Breakout Labs selected the company for their innovative work in science and technology.

Our Story

Our Co-Founder Prasanthi Gandhi has suffered with asthma and allergies her whole life, taking medications for well over thirty years. When her children started showing signs of allergy and asthma, she started treating their symptoms with a similar traditional approach.

Then one day, Prasanthi changed her thinking. “I hit a point where I no longer wanted to solely rely on medication for asthma and allergy management,” Prasanthi explains. “And I didn’t want my children to feel that their lives were limited by asthma and allergies the way I’d felt as a child.”

Prasanthi took it upon herself to learn everything she could about asthma and allergy prevention and management. She realized that medication could be part of a broader holistic approach to asthma and allergy care. And she began wondering how she could help others suffering with asthma and allergies.

Fast forward several years. Prasanthi, a seasoned entrepreneur, engages Julian Gordon, the globally renowned scientist behind the first home pregnancy test, among other significant medical innovations. Together, Prasanthi and Julian develop a home allergy asthma air test, a science-based solution for detecting allergens that trigger asthma and allergies in the home.

However, Prasanthi and Julian did not rush to market. Rather, they clinically, scientifically, and painstakingly validated Exhale in hundreds of homes and other locations in collaboration with leading allergists, researchers and institutions, including University of Chicago and Argonne National Labs. They also sought endorsement from leading allergists worldwide, including Dr. Paul Detjen and Dr. Priya Bansal, who both now serve as Exhale’s Resident Allergists and Medical Advisors.

Today Exhale is the only proven and patented* solution for detecting allergens that trigger allergies and asthma in the home. The only home allergy asthma air test. Our growing team is capable and committed. And most importantly, each week, more and more children and parents are sleeping through the night because we were able to help solve allergies/asthma in their homes.

 

Inspirotec’s products are protected by issued patents US 9360402, US 8038944, US 9216421 as well as other patents issued and pending in the US and foreign jurisdictions.
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