IROA TECHNOLOGIES - Key Persons

Adrienne's passion is to leverage science and technology for societal benefit while helping to build organizations, capabilities and a talent pipeline for the future. Her current activities include mentoring investigators and reviewing emerging technologies for the Rutgers TechAdvance Team and Mentors-In-Residence Program, advising for technology start up companies and consortia, and serving as the co-Executive Director for the Collective Success Network (CSN) supporting the education and career aspirations of first generation, low income college students. She is also a member of the board of directors and Treasurer for HiTOPS, a NJ based nonprofit organization providing sex education and support for all youth. As Executive Director at Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS), her role included strategic planning, organizational design and research in drug discovery and development. She helped plan translational research and biomarker discovery efforts and helped design an organization that delivered industry-leading success rates for drug discovery at BMS. She led a research team of up to 150 scientists equipped with over $50 MM in instrumentation at 4 separate sites. Together they established the analytical and informatics infrastructure for medicinal chemistry support, chiral separations and analysis, protein characterization, preclinical and clinical bioanalysis, in vivo imaging and metabolomics through internal efforts and global collaborations with academic and industrial partners. As an invited speaker at national and international conferences, Adrienne has presented scientific advances in over 80 publications, book chapters and patents with more than 90 external posters and presentations and has served as board member for the International Consortium for Innovation and Quality in Pharmaceutical Development (IQ Consortium), the Allotrope Foundation and Next-Gen Metabolomics (IROA Technologies). Most recently, she was an invited speaker about women and their careers in science.

Job Titles:

• Chief Scientific Officer
• Founder
• Director of Metabolic Profiling at Paradigm Genetics, Inc

Chris has more than 25 years of experience in metabolomics, drug discovery and development, and holds 15 patents and 100+ publications. His Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences (specialty, Natural Products Chemistry and Biochemistry) is from the University of Connecticut in 1986. He has served as Director for Drug Development with Ancile Pharmaceuticals and Associate Director for Natural Products Drug Discovery for Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS). Chris was a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy in the College of Pharmacy at the University of Illinois at Chicago before joining BMS. Chris is one of the original pioneers in metabolomic platform development. In 2001, he was appointed as the Director of Metabolic Profiling at Paradigm Genetics, Inc. where he was responsible for building the world's first parallel metabolomics platform. In 2004, he became the sole technical founder of Metabolon, Inc. where he continued to build more accurate and reproducible metabolomics platforms and work in discovery. Following the discovery of the metabolite biomarker sarcosine in prostate cancer, Dr. Beecher became a Professor in the Department of Pathology, at the Medical School of the University of Michigan and assumed the position of founding Director of the UM Metabolomics Center. Chris later joined the University of Florida, as the Associate Director for the SECIM Metabolomic Center at UF. The fact that both the UM and UF Metabolomics Centers were ultimately awarded as 2 of only 6 NIH-recognized and funded Metabolomics centers is a testimony to the strength and quality of these Centers. Chris is currently Chief Scientific Officer for IROA Technologies where he oversees the continuous development of next generation metabolomics, data generation and data interpretation platforms. Novel protocols for IROA, including the TruQuant workflow, ion suppression-correction, and sample-to-sample normalization have all been recent developments.

Job Titles:

• Professor of the Practice of Statistics, Duke University

Professor Banks is Professor of the Practice of Statistics, Duke University. After attaining a Ph.D. in statistics from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Professor Banks began a career in statistics that has spanned over 25 years. During this time Professor Banks has held numerous positions including Acting Chief Statistician and Director of the Office of Advanced Studies, Bureau of Transportation Statistics as well as Special Assistant to the Director of Biostatistics at the US FDA. He has provided consultancy services for academic, government and industrial groups developing sophisticated statistical tools for a wide range of applications. Professor Banks has served on the editorial board of various journals. His career has merited distinguished awards for his dedication to statistics.

Job Titles:

• Chief Executive Officer
• Founder
• Leader

Dr. Felice de Jong has an extensive and distinguished career in metabolomics, and life science. She holds a post-graduate degree in Technology Management from Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia; MSc in Nutritional Biochemistry from the University of Connecticut; and a doctorate in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry from the University of Melbourne, Australia. Dr. de Jong was Technical Manager, Biochemistry at Boehringer Mannheim (Roche), Australia and the founding President of Sigma Aldrich Australia, developing her first company to a successful venture from the ground up. Dr. de Jong returned to Sigma-Aldrich in Boston, USA where she ran Sigma's neurobiology subsidiary, RBI, as its President. Felice has been an active leader and proponent in the field of metabolomics since its emergence. During her 6 years as Senior/ Director of Business Development for Metabolon she gained strategic partnerships, developed new markets and led sales teams. Her current focus as the CEO of IROA Technologies is to develop services and products that facilitate core laboratories to identify compounds and achieve reproducible data. Among the unique compound libraries that she has created is the IROA "flagship" MSMLS library with over 600 key primary metabolites, as well as libraries of phytochemicals, bile acids, fatty acids, amino acids and microbiome compounds.

Gustavo "Gus" Salem has over 25 years of extensive experience in the life science industry, and is currently the President of IDEX Health and Science, LLC, a unit of IDEX Corporation.

Job Titles:

• Metabolomics Facilities Director, UC Davis

Prof. Oliver Fiehn has pioneered developments and applications in metabolomics with over 220 publications to date, starting in 1998 as postdoctoral scholar and from 2000 onwards as group leader at the Max-Planck Institute for Molecular Plant Physiology in Potsdam, Germany. Since 2004 he is Professor at the UC Davis Genome Center, overseeing his research laboratory and the satellite core service laboratory in metabolomics research. Since 2012, he serves as Director of the NIH West Coast Metabolomics Center, supervising 35 staff operating 16 mass spectrometers and coordinating activities with three UC Davis satellite labs, including efforts for combined interpretation of genomics and metabolomics data. The West Coast Metabolomics Center provides the most extensive and most in-depth analysis of metabolites available today, using a range of validated protocols for fee-for-service projects and scientific collaborations.

Job Titles:

• Head, Analytical Chemistry, Robin & Jean Gibson Term Professor, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, University of Florida

Professor Yost is Professor and Head of Analytical Chemistry, University of Florida. Prior to attaining his Ph.D. in Analytical chemistry at Michigan State University in 1979, Professor Yost had already achieved a wide range of experience in analytical chemistry applications both in his graduate studies and job experiences, and had made notable achievements in the field. Of major significance, together with Professor Chris Enke (retired Professor of Chemistry, The University of New Mexico), Professor Yost conceived the computerized tandem quadrupole mass spectrometer for analytical MS/MS studies. His subsequent research led to the realization of the instrument in which he was recognized with the 1993 ASMS Award for Distinguished Contribution in Mass Spectrometry. Professor Yost's research at the University of Florida has involved over 100 students funded by over $20M in research grants, and has led to the publication of over 160 papers and 16 patents. Based on these patents, over $30 billion of instruments have been sold. He has served on many prestigious boards including a two-year term as a member of the Florida Board of Governors (Regents) and Chair of the Advisory Council of Faculty Senates of Florida, the UF Board of Trustees, and the editorial boards of the Journal of the American Society of Mass Spectrometry and the International Journal of Mass Spectrometry.

Since 2002, Terry Cross has mentored over 50 company founders in Southeast Michigan and has been instrumental in helping entrepreneurs raise in excess of $ 100 million of capital funding. Mr. Cross was named The Distinguished Alumni in 2005 by The School of Business Administration at Wayne State University where he is also their first Executive in Residence-Entrepreneurship. He administers the prestigious Adams Family Fellowship for Entrepreneurship for The Community Foundation of Southeast Michigan. He currently serves as business plan evaluator for the SEIC Michigan 21st. Century Jobs' Fund Pre Seed Fund, the SEIC Michigan 21st.Century Jobs Pre Seed Fund, Accelerator Fund, Follow-On Fund, and Venture Match Fund, The Great Lakes Entrepreneurs' Quest and The First Step Fund in Detroit, MI. He serves on the Investment Committee of Invest Michigan and he is on the Board and Investment Committee of The Automation Alley Fund. He is a member of The Rochester Hills Mayor's Business Committee. He currently serves an adviser to The Zell Lurie Commercialization Fund at The Ross School of Business at The University of Michigan where he was named Outstanding Adviser for 2010-2011. In September of 2007, Terry was named to the Task Force for a World Financial Center by the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, one of Korea's most prestigious educational institutions. In 2010 Terry was elected to the Board of the Detroit Chapter of The American Technion Society associated with The Technion in Haifa, Israel. He is a founding member of Michigan Venture Capital Association, a Board member of Automation Alley's Entrepreneurial Initiative of Southeast Michigan, a Board Member of Ann Arbor Angels, and Chairman of The Executive Board of Michigan-Emerging an event focusing on the emerging sectors in Michigan's economic recovery.

Job Titles:

• Managing Partner of O2 Investment Partners

Mr. Fink is a Managing Partner of O2 Investment Partners. During the past 20+ years, Mr. Fink has led or participated in multiple business acquisitions, mergers and divestitures, joint venture/partnership arrangements, as well as various financings and re-financings. Mr. Fink's primary responsibilities include M&A/deal execution, finance, treasury functions and capital allocation for O2. Mr. Fink has extensive experience investing in industrials (chemicals, polymers and general manufacturing), automotive, technology, building products and business services. Mr. Fink serves on the boards of O2's portfolio businesses and is a Director of Alpha Precision Group, Greco Aluminum Railings (Chairman), O2 Specialty Manufacturing, Packaging Concepts & Design, PCT Brands (Chairman), and NTI Connect (Chairman). Previously, Mr. Fink was a partner in a major Detroit-based law firm, where he specialized in corporate, mergers and acquisitions, real estate and finance matters. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan and Wayne State University Law School.