Dr. Reinhard Ebner has been a research manager and senior investigator for over 30 years. He has wide scientific, technical and strategic experience, in both academic and corporate settings, with broad knowledge of modern biology and the pharmaceutical and bio-technology industry, and a recent focus in contemporary oncology and translational medicine, and a documented record of discoveries leading to novel therapies in the clinic and on the market.
He has extensive hands-on experience with, and documented record of achievements in, target and marker discovery, assay development, high-throughput screening, signal transduction and pathway delineation, lead optimization and development, and proven expertise in solving complex questions in molecular and cell biology, particularly as they relate to disease mechanism and drug discovery.
Biography:
Having served as a research manager and senior investigator in both academic and corporate settings, Dr. Reinhard Ebner has extensive scientific, technical and strategy experience, combined with a broad knowledge of modern biology and the biomedical and biotechnology industry, with a recent focus in contemporary oncology, translational medicine and molecular diagnostics.
He received his undergraduate degree in Biology from the University of Regensburg and his doctorate in Microbiology and Genetics from the University of Osnabrück, Germany, where he then served on the faculty of the Genetics department.
In 1989, Dr. Ebner was awarded a research fellowship to work as a visiting scientific specialist at Genentech, Inc. in San Francisco. There, he identified and cloned the long elusive first type I TGF-ß receptor. He was first to show TGFß-induced epithelial-mesenchymal-transitions (EMTs) in cells in culture and, in the years following, made a series of substantial contributions to the fields of cytokine biology, receptor-ligand interactions and intracellular trafficking, cell differentiation, early development and tissue repair, first at Genentech and then at the University of California, San Francisco and at Stanford University Medical School.
After moving to Human Genome Sciences in 1995, Dr. Ebner became one of the most productive novel gene finders there and the inventor of all the HGS targets now in clinical trials and discovered many other important proteins around which HGS established pre-clinical and clinical development programs, including such molecules as DR4, the first and long sought after receptor for the cytotoxic ligand TRAIL, as well as LIGHT, IL-17B and its receptor, BlyS and TR6. In 2000, he joined Avalon Pharmaceuticals – hired as the first scientist following the company founders, where he was instrumental in the initiation of intramural and external research programs and contributed to corporate and scientific infrastructure development, working predominantly in the fields of chemical genomics, cancer research, data mining and HTS assay development. He also coordinated the company’s therapeutic antibody target discovery alliances and has a long-standing interest in alternative and novel drug discovery paradigms and development strategies.
Dr. Ebner is a frequently invited plenary speaker at national and international conferences and member of several scientific advisory panels and has served on state and national study sections. He has authored nearly 100 original research publications, with several thousand citations by others. He is a recipient of grant and manuscript peer review service awards and society memberships, an ad hoc reviewer and editor for scientific journals, has over 50 issued US patents and is the primary inventor on more than 800 patent applications world wide. Several of his discoveries have led to new therapeutics now in the clinic or on the market.
Dr. Ebner has been involved with the National Cancer Institute for many years, and is currently a research adviser in its cancer genomics section. He also is a consultant to several biotech companies, and served in various roles at CytoTest Inc., a provider of innovative molecular diagnostic solutions, initially as Chief Scientific Advisor, then as CSO from May 2015 on, and as CEO since September 2021.
Director of Research & Development/Senior QA & Regulatory Affairs Specialist – Shehla Arastu
Dr. Shehla Arastu is the Director of Research and Development at CytoTest. Dr. Arastu is primarily involved with the design and development of Fluorescent in situ Hybridization (FISH) probes that are used for the diagnosis of genetic aberrations. She is also deeply involved in scouting, planning, and implementation of next generation technologies. Dr. Arastu also oversees the regulatory compliance and quality assurance at CytoTest.
Dr. Arastu obtained her PhD in Genetics in 1995 from the Institute of Genetics and Hospital for Genetic Diseases, Osmania University, India. She has been in the field of cytogenetics for the past 18 years, during which she has had the privilege of working and training both at academic institutions (Virginia Tech, NIH) and biotech companies. This has greatly helped her gain insight into the cutting-edge research in genetics while developing an extensive repertoire of lab skills.
Dr. Arastu was involved in studying the genetic damage caused by mutagens in human lymphocytes. In addition, Dr. Arastu has extensive experience with cell culture and has used FISH technique to look at the HER-2/neu gene amplification in human breast cancer tissue specimens, and PTEN gene deletion in prostate disease.
Director QA & Regulatory Affairs/Sr. Scientist – Anitha Clarence
Dr. Anitha Clarence obtained her doctoral degree with Cytogenetics as the main area of research from The Institute of Genetics and Hospital for Genetic Diseases. As a researcher, she standardized various biochemical and cytogenetic techniques in the study of Recurrent Miscarriages. She subsequently did her post-doctoral fellowship at the National Cancer Institute/NIH Bethesda. While working as a scientist, she was focused on the application and development of modern molecular cytogenetic techniques to understand the role of genomic instability and associated molecular changes during tumor progression.
Dr. Clarence was involved in the development of an invitro model system of both human (colon and breast) cancer cell lines and mouse models to explore anueploidy as a molecular marker for cancer diagnosis and to identify gene expression signatures that assist in disease prognosis and rational cancer therapy. Dr. Clarence is currently a Senior Scientist working at Cytotest and will contribute her knowledge and expertise to discover and utilize certain DNA probes to detect mutations.
Scientific Advisor - Michael Koehler
Dr. Michael Koehler is a proven expert in the field of molecular cytogenetics with more than 25 years of professional experience in both academic as well as in industry settings. During his academic career he was among the first scientists introducing and utilizing Fluorescence in Situ Hybridization (FISH) with genomic DNA probes in Europe and after leaving university he also became a known expert in state of the art cytogenetic imaging techniques, software and systems.
Biography:
Dr. Koehler graduated with a Diploma degree in Molecular Genetics and Human Biology from the Human Genetics Institute, University of Heidelberg, Germany where he also received his Ph.D. in 1994. After working as a scientist between 1994 and 1997 in the laboratory of Prof. Michael Schmid (Human Genetics Institute, Wuerzburg University) – another pioneering research group in molecular cytogenetics – he joined the lab of Dr. Thomas Ried at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI/NIH) in the USA as a visiting scientist. At that time he made contact to Applied Spectral Imaging (ASI), the company which invented together with Dr. Ried`s group the famous multicolor Spectral Karyotyping (SKY®) application which revolutionized cytogenetic diagnosis and research. After his return to Germany Dr. Koehler joined ASI as Technical & Scientific Manager and headed the company’s European office for many years. Initially responsible for sales in Germany and technical support of ASI customers and distributors throughout Europe the demand for his expertise quickly increased and soon his activities were extended worldwide, providing customer support, giving lectures on international conferences, and supervising workshops in countries like China, India, Russia, Canada and USA as well as in multiple South-East-Asian, Middle Eastern and South American countries.
Dr. Koehler is author and co-author of more than 40 peer reviewed scientific publications and several industrial articles and application notes and has served as a reviewer for several scientific magazines in the field of molecular cytogenetics.
Chairman of the Board – Vinsen Hsiao
Mr. Vinsen Hsiao, the chairman of American cancer genetic testing company CytoTest Inc., is the chairman of Taiwanese Weihema Enterprise Group. The industries invested and operated by Weihema Enterprise Group span various fields including biomedical, semiconductor, financial investment, and healthcare industries.
Looking back at the developmental history of Taiwan's economic and trade industries, from the beginning of the rise of the stock market in the 1980s, the establishment of economic planning zones, the transformation of the science park with technology as its core, and until Taiwan becoming an leader of the international semiconductor industry after year 2000, each of the companies under the Weihema Enterprise Group, led by Chairman Hsiao, was one of the key promoters in its corresponding cutting-edge industry in various periods. In particular, several semiconductor companies under the Group have been highly evaluated by international evaluation agencies. These include UPEC Electronics Corp. specialized in semiconductor packaging and testing industrial sector; from the year of 2006 to 2008, UPEC was rated the 30th of the top 500 companies with the highest revenue growth in Asia, including mainland China, Japan, the Four Asian Tigers – Taiwan, Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong –, and the 11ASEAN countries (Deloitte Technology Fast 500 Asia Pacific, Fast 500), and the 9th of the top 50 Taiwanese high-tech companies with the highest revenue growth.
Chairman Hsiao is one of the key figures in promoting Taiwan to become an important player in the international semiconductor technological industry in 2000. The Group's developmental history in these industries can be described as a miniature version of Taiwan's economic development.
Since 2008, the companies under the Group, led by Chairman Hsiao, have been actively involved in technological development in the field of medical biotechnology. CytoTest has a group of senior and outstanding scientists, specialized in genetic cancer detection technologies and reagents development, as well as research and development in cell therapy. CytoTest, currently, has designed and developed more than 1,200 FISH probes for cancer detection; its product portfolio is the largest in the world and far more than other competitors.
CytoTest, having collaborated with world-renowned universities, medical centers, and research institutions, specializes in the design and development of DNA probes and other technological platforms, including FISH, NGS, and CRISPR/Cas.
Weihema Enterprise Group is currently actively promoting cell therapy industry by investing and developing technologies like CAR-T, CAR-NK, NK92 cell therapy, and CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing therapy.
In Memoriam: Matthew Lee – former President/Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Matthew Lee served as the President/CEO of CytoTest Inc., from early 2020 until his untimely death in September 2021. He joined CytoTest in 2020 at the invitation of Chairman Vinsen Hsiao, a well-recognized business leader, to restructure the company, strengthen the new business focus on genetics, and transform CytoTest into a modern genetics company in the era of personalized medicine.
Dr. Lee graduated from Virginia Tech with a B.S. in Biochemistry and Nutrition and then obtained his doctoral studies from Medical College of Virginia studying neural regeneration of the peripheral nervous system (PNS). He then conducted post-doctoral research on the central nervous system (CNS) regeneration and stem cell identification at the Brain Research Institute of UCLA. Dr. Lee returned to Taiwan in 2000 to join the Center for Drug Evaluation in the biologics section for two years. He then moved into the biotech/biopharma venture capital space, joining investment companies including Cheng-Xin VC and TaiAn Technologies VC, where he focused primarily on new drug development and stem cell-related investments.
After six years in venture capital, Dr. Lee was invited to join the Medical Affairs Team at Bristol-Myers Squibb, where he participated in late-phase new oncology drug developments and their eventual launch in Asia Pacific (Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong). He later ventured into biotech start-ups, helping to grow a couple of firms in Taiwan that went on to achieve IPOs on TASDAQ, including OBI Pharma (TPEX, 4174) and CrownBio (TPEX, 6554). He also assisted several other biotech companies in Asia in different capacities; many of them went on to list publicly or undergo successful mergers.
During his time with us, Matt was an enthusiastic, rigorous, and dedicated guide, who steered us through a challenging period and was a driving force in getting us to where we are today. He was a brilliant leader, scientist and manager and will be greatly missed. Most of all, he was a true friend to all of us.
CytoTest Inc. | 1395 Piccard Drive, Suite 308, Rockville, MD 20850, USA Tel：+1-202-505-0204 | +1-202-617-0180 | Fax: +1-240-238-6615 Email: sales@cytotest.com
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